Installing Shaver Socket

In message , at 16:55:44 on Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Uncle Peter remarked:

When I was measuring earlier today, it fluctuated from about 241 to 243 (which I averaged to 242).

Measuring it again now it's between 240.3 and about 241.9 going up and down over a period of a few tens of seconds.

ARW explained that earlier.

Reply to
Roland Perry
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That suggests that your secure accomodation owners are using a 240V VPhase device.

Reply to
ARW

In message , at 16:57:48 on Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Uncle Peter remarked:

Mine is right next to the washbasin, and something plugged into it (like a shaver charging lead) could dangle in the water.

Not really, they are halogens recessed in the ceiling. And of course the switch is a pull-cord.

Reply to
Roland Perry

I live in a bungalow run from a small fully enclosed steel cube shaped substation over the road which doesn't look that old. The voltage varies from 240V to 240.1V.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

I haven't seen that post.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

So what? Don't do that then. And if it is, you simply switch it off and not stick your hand in to retrieve it. And if it's on a 1 amp circuit, it can't give you much amps anyway.

A lot of bathrooms have a normal pendant light fitting. Do you ever hoover your bathroom? Do you plug that into an isolated outlet too? What about a hairdryer?

Reply to
Uncle Peter

In message , Uncle Peter writes

I think my FIL still has fuses. The house was built around 1970 or so I think and still has the original fusebox.

I replaced ours (which actually had some early form of breakers) becuase it was pretty ancient, I wanted space for more circuits and there was none, so would have had to install another one anyway. We have a TT supply and only had an old ELCB which I don't consider safe enough in this day and age. I would ahve added RCD's anyway, but there were required under the regs anyway

Reply to
chris French

1 amp??

I always assumed that the meain reason for the isolation is because of the risk of someone plugging/unplugging something with wet hands.

Most pendant fittings are probably high enough up to not be at any great risk of splashing, or someone getting out of the bath and replacing the bulb (hence being out of the zones)

I don't normally plug the hoover in with wets hand hanving got out of the bath. For most bathrooms there should not be a socket to plug a heairdryer into in there (given the 3m from the bath rule)

Reply to
chris French

The old house was built mid 1980s and had fuses.

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris

Mine still has re-wireable fuses and an unopened pack of fuse wire.

The RCDs aren't installed in the CU, they are individually protected sockets where required (like next to the kitchen sink).

Reply to
dennis

"Safe enough in this day and age"? We aren't more likely to die of electric shocks than we used to be. I've got fuses and no breakers at all, and would never bother replacing them if they still work. To me a fuse is there to prevent a fire. If I get a jolt now and then who cares? In fact the only times I've had a jolt were easily avoidable anyway - for example a damaged flex on my lawnmower.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

I was assuming a fuse of that value somewhere, perhaps in the shaver light itself.

Unless you're up a ladder, why is that of concern? If it does concern you, then try drying your hands first.

You're just as likely to plug something in with wet hands in the kitchen, on a 30 amp ringmain that is not isolated.

I can't see me splashing my shaver socket either. I'd have to cup my hands full of water and deliberately throw it at it.

The mirror is in the bathroom, so obviously people will plug it into the hall so they can se what they're doing in the mirror.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

I just prefer being sensible enough not to sit the kettle in the sink when using it. We never used to "need" all this protection.

Reply to
Uncle Peter

Not me.

Reply to
ARW

I'll rephrase that for the pedantic. If you get a jolt now and then who cares?

Reply to
Uncle Peter

It doesn't have a 1:1 turns ratio.

Slightly wrong meaning of regulation in context of transformers.

The transformer adds an inherent impedance to the supply. This means that the output voltage will be reduced by any load applied. To compensate for this, the transformer steps up a little, or the shaver might not have enough power to work as designed. Regulation in this context is the amount the output voltage changes as the load changes.

You could use a larger transformer, which will have better regulation. However, shaver sockets are required to limit the load to some value (I don't recall the value, but I think it's something like 25W). They do this by using a 25W (or rather, 25VA) transformer, and having a self-resetting thermal trip, so it will cut out if you overload it, but it's a slow trip.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

I'm not sure it ever was 110V since isolating shaver sockets existed. The US had standardised on 120V before the UK standardised on 240V.

10-15 years ago IIRC, some States reduced their voltage a little as an every saving measure, but that was to figures like 117V, possibly as low as 115V somewhere.

Before US standardisation, the original supplies were mostly 100V, and were gradually increased differently in different areas to get more power through the existing circuits, with some areas having 110V.

110V is often wrongly given as the US mains voltage.
Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

In message , at 17:30:16 on Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Uncle Peter remarked:

I recommend you go and look at it now.

Reply to
Roland Perry

In message , at 17:31:47 on Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Uncle Peter remarked:

It'll kill you before 1 amp fuse has time to blow.

Really? Before things like halogen downlighters most had surface-mounted ceiling mounted fittings

Very rarely, it's a mop-and-brush sort of a place. In any case, it's a but difficult for the hoover to accidentally fall in the bath.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a socket in a UK bathroom that would be suitable for a hairdryer, although they are common in the USA.

Reply to
Roland Perry

In message , at 21:17:27 on Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Uncle Peter remarked:

The only mirror in my bathroom is (getting back on topic) a very small shaving mirror.

Reply to
Roland Perry

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