Emersion\light sewitches in Hotpress?

lastbuilders

Hi All,



Can anyone tell me if it is possible to put the emersion switch and light switches in a hotpress? My electrician says it is not possible due to a regulation but another electrician I asked said it can be done?



Lastbuilders

Sparky

lastbuilders wrote:

Hi All,



Can anyone tell me if it is possible to put the emersion switch and light switches in a hotpress? My electrician says it is not possible due to a regulation but another electrician I asked said it can be done?



Lastbuilders

No 100% not allowed, its the cause of fires in the past. There was exceptions but in the latest RECI newsletter, come june there will be no exceptions.

The only thing allowed in a hotpress is a fuse spur unit for say a shower pump.

Benster

Sparky - are you sure it's def. not allowed, as we have a switch in our hotpress and it's a new build, 1 yr old now.

Mind you, given some of the other electrics in our place, this wouldn't surprise me...

B.

Sparky

Benster wrote:

Sparky - are you sure it's def. not allowed, as we have a switch in our hotpress and it's a new build, 1 yr old now.

Mind you, given some of the other electrics in our place, this wouldn't surprise me...

B.

Yeah positive, yours was a year ago so it would of been an exception to put it in there or that the sparks just put it in anyway.
If you read the ETCI rules on immersion switch's, it states that no electrical appliance or switching device, (with exception of an immersion element, pump and spur outlet) is allowed in a hotpress.

There was exeptions allowed in cases where it was'nt feasable to put it outside, ie no room etc.

But coming June, it wont be allowed at all.

Dont forget this is for hotpress's that are small, Its a grey ares in relation to those huge walk in hotpress's where you have the shelfing on one side above the cylinder, and storage on the other. Because the switch can be say put in the center of the whole area where clothes dont go near it.

The whole idea of the no switch is to do with clothes covering it and leading to the cause of a fire.



Taken from Aprils RECI newsletter. http://www.reci.ie/pdf/news_april2006.pdf

FillSpectre

I knew my electrician was wrong. I got the whole house rewired and I had to point out a few things I felt weren't regulation and they changed some but others I was told I was wrong. One of which was the emersion switch.

Sparky

Is wiring outside the house (garden) is the coduit meant to be reinforced for safety like in an industrial work shop?

Sparky

Once the wiring is atleast in either metal conduit or plastic wavin, then its ok.
Its for mechanical protection ie: a shovel etc.
If its for the likes of garden lights thats what we use.
If say for instance it was power to a shed, we would use SWA in 2in plastic conduit.

Gwynston

Strange - the light switch for our hotpress is outside, but the immersion switch is inside. It is at the back behind the tank though, so unlikely to be blocked by clothes.

Does this make our electrics non-conformant? Just wondering if it might affect house insurance if the electrician failed to follow the rules...

crosstownk

I had my house rewired last October and the electrician said that the regs required him to put the switch outside - I assume the same regs as posted above. He mounted it about 3 feet or so from the ground! It has it's advantages as you can see when the immersion is on from the landing - but - the switches are a great source of amusement to my 2 year old!!! If you have young children try and have it mounted at normal switch height

Sparky

Yeah that too came in and was there for disabled people.
But tbh, its not enforced as if we done it like that in a house, we would'nt get paid.
Also what disabled person can get up the stairs? (without one of those stairs yolks ofcourse)

Reyman

I'd imagine the rule may also be because of the risk of touching a live wire and the copper cylinder/pipes at the same time with two different hands.

This would mean 220V straight across your chest.

You're unlikely to survive a shock like that

Sparky

Well thats if the cylinder is'nt bonded by a 10sq earth, all metal work in the house must be bonded for this reason.

Borzoi

Sparky-s wrote:

Yeah that too came in and was there for disabled people.
But tbh, its not enforced as if we done it like that in a house, we would'nt get paid.
Also what disabled person can get up the stairs? (without one of those stairs yolks ofcourse)

It is enforced on new builds - and I totally agree it's daft on upper floors, but then again you might as well be consistant

Reyman

Bonding the cylinder to earth isn't going to protect you if your other hand is touching 220v.

In fact it ensures you're a goner.

Unless of course you have a nifty ELCB protecting you.

FX Meister

Reyman wrote:

This would mean 220V straight across your chest.

You're unlikely to survive a shock like that

Not exactly true Reyman. I've had many 500V shocks and survived them all. As for the 220V, we use 230V here in Ireland.

Reyman

FX Meister wrote:

Not exactly true Reyman. I've had many 500V shocks and survived them all. As for the 220V, we use 230V here in Ireland.

Perhaps a 500V hand to foot shock would be ok, particularly with rubber footwear. But a 220V hand to hand shock with a good earth. You'd need a good 'constitution' to walk away from that !

Xennon

Voltage doesnt kill, Current does.

Static shocks are thousands of volts, but because the current is very small it has little effect.

Dave