Purpose of shower switch

No, I actually want to know why. As yet, no sensible reason has been given.

And you could have just used the fuse/circuit breaker in the consumer unit for that.

And I was a pillock for answering it. My apologies.

I could have done but it is on a shared RCD.

That in itself probably breaks some silly regulation.

The neon is optional in uk regs.

I can't understand how that can work with no earth. Is the water coming out of the shower when unearthed not at about 120 volts (the average of the heating element voltage)? That would give you more than a tingle.

Daft, as it's easier to see. I saw one with a silly plastic 0 and 1 indicator once, and I assumed it was just cheap s*it.

Yes some people do that here. But for some reason they only turn on the tank when they're going to need it, so they have to plan their shower in advance.

I don't have these problems, as I just shower in cold water (or whatever the incoming mains is). I see no point in having hot or warm water to wash in, as soap and shampoo work at any temperature.

About the only advantage of a fuse over a circuit breaker is that you can physically remove a fuse and keep it with you while you are working on the appliance, safe in the knowledge that almost certainly no power can be restored. A circuit breaker can be restored to the on position by someone who doesn't know that it is off for a reason.

I heard of a case years ago of a woman who called out an electrician. The electrician turned off one circuit and started work. The husband got home from work, saw that the ring main was off, thought it had tripped and turned it back on. The electrician died even though the RCD tripped within the regulation time, probably because it was an hand-to-hand across-the-chest shock and he had had a heart attack previously which left him more susceptible.

It's illegal to have an electric shower in the USA? I doubt it.

The other advantage is no nuisance trips. That's one of the main reasons why I still have fuses in my house. That and I see no point in replacing the consumer unit with circuit breakers. My tradesman neighbour is constantly called out to work out why houses keep tripping for no reason. It's often just something tiny leaking a little bit of current to earth.

So RCDs aren't that good then. Anyway, they don't protect against live to neutral shocks, which is what my neighbour got when he was up a ladder fixing a light. No harm from the electricity (healthy people don't die from 240V), but he did sprain his ankle falling off the ladder.

The husband must have been a real "maroon".  Apparently seeing the Sparky's Electric Service van in the driveway not a big enough clue? =-O

Maybe he lived in one of those dodgy areas where nobody has their own driveway, and the electrician was parked some distance away?

And why was someone with a heart condition being an electrician?

Why are you in this group if you hire people? Most of us tend to do stuff ourselves. Cheaper, fun, and you get it done the way you want.

Anyway, if I hired someone, I don't care if it meets silly little rules, I just want it to work.

You can use HV water as long as you've verified the integrity of your plumbing isolation devices :-)

What is an electric shower?

In our home built about 1952, we had a light in the shower stall, but it was in the ceiling. It didn't seem dangerous. The switch was outside, unreachable if you were inside the shower.

Are those still legal in the US?

But what is an electric shower? Like an electric storm?

You could probably find one of those on ebay but I haven't seen any for

In the USA there are showers and in most bathtubs one has the choice between a bath and a shower. There used to be two sets of handles but now everyplace has one set, hot and cold, and a diverter valve to choose between the bath tap and the shower. Everything else is in the wall.

What's an electric shower?

Not to be confused with an eclectic shower, which is what this group is. :)