Electronic thingy?

[The Medway Handyman]

I'm going to box in the gap under my showertray this weekend.

I've a mad plan about putting some LV LED lights in, but I want them to come on when the shower is used.

It's a power shower, so the pump is inside the shower unit & it's connected via an RCD plug.

I know you can get vacuum cleaners where you plug in a power tool & the vac starts when the tool is switched on.

Is there a similar device I could buy off the shelf?

Bear in mind, my electronics knowledge is on a par with Colonel Custers Indian fighting skills.

[Scott M]

Asked the same in my thread "Wha'd'ya call 'em?" starting 8th April.

Scott

[Andy Champ]

I'm bored with trying to google for it, but is something like this any use?

I've got a free EON branded one which turns off all the odds and bits attached to my PC when the PC is shut down.

Andy

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You can buy extension leads with say a four way socket. You plug the master device into one marked socket, and when that is switched on it makes the other sockets live.

[Andrew Gabriel]

If you don't want to delve into the pump's electronics, a couple of other options would be a flow switch on the shower feed, or a pipe stat on the hot shower feed. The latter would act as an indicator when the water was running through hot, and provide a convenient run-on period afterwards (whilst you're toweling down) and the pipe is still hot. Could use it to control an extractor fan too (although I personally prefer to switch the extractor on after I've finished in the shower room, and not during the shower).

[meow2222]

Simplest is 2 or 3 diodes in the neutral line to the pump. When running, these give you 2-4.5v, depending on number and diode type. They don't get you isolation though, so you'd need to feed the resulting ac through a small transformer.

A wallwart and a bimetal thermostat on the hot pipe might be easier. There are many ways to do it. Probably the simplest is a plug-in extension lead with built in control.

NT

[John Rumm]

Perhaps you could find someone to knock up one of these for you:

[Mentalguy2k8]

Get yourself one of those inspection lights plugged into an extension lead, take it into the shower with you and hang it on the shower rail :)

What about some kind of idea similar to movement-detecting infra-red security lights, so if movement is detected in the shower cubicle, the lights come on and stay on with some kind of pre-determined cutoff? Or sound activated? Shouldn't be too hard to calibrate them for the sound of the pump/water to trigger them but not other "bathroom noises" (!).

Or just take a feed from the existing circuit and put them on a pull-cord on/off switch.

[Man at B&Q]

these give you 2-4.5v, depending on number and diode type. They don't get y ou isolation though, so you'd need to feed the resulting ac through a small transformer.

Kil two birds with one stone and use a current transformer.

MBQ

[meow2222]

these give you 2-4.5v, depending on number and diode type. They don't get you isolation though, so you'd need to feed the resulting ac through a small transformer.

That might killing 2 LEDs with 1 stone. V_out would rise dramatically during startup, and if the pump ever stalls.

NT

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Since it's quite common for couples to both use the bathroom facilities at the same time, you could arrange for a motion-detector in the bog pan, so that when you're in the shower, your girlfriend's bowel movement triggers a switch.

[Andy Burns]

Just remember to leave a drip loop!

[The Medway Handyman]

give you 2-4.5v, depending on number and diode type. They don't get you isolation though, so you'd need to feed the resulting ac through a small transformer.

many ways to do it. Probably the simplest is a plug-in extension lead with built in control.

I wouldn't know what a diode was if it bit me :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

Now that would work!

Any idea of the proper name anyone?

[Andy Champ]

I'm not going to Google for it AGAIN. YOU can look up thread...

Andy

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Something like master/slave socket - lots on Ebay.

[The Medway Handyman]

This seems exactly what I'm after

Thanks.