2 Electric Showers in 1 House

Hoki

Whats the story with changing out a power shower & putting in another electric shower in a house .

The new one il be putting in is in an extension at the back of the house downstairs .

The other electric shower is upstairs . Is there some breaker i can get to stop these being used at the same time or what is the best method ?

51fun

Yeah,
you need an interlock device to prevent both coming on at the same time
this units fits into the average distribution board

most wholesalers stock them as far as i am aware
not sure about the price(bought one a few years ago for a job)

northdublin

you need either a priority or a non priority shower unit. the priority unit will only allow one to opperate at a given time but the main shower will have priority over the sub unit. with the non priority unit you still can only have one on at a time but neither has priority over the other. imo the non priority is the more popular and a tiny bit cheaper.

Hoki

Thanks lads , whats the story with the interlock device if the two showers in the house are both fed from 2 different fuseboards ?

davelerave

you need a common point fed from the main board for the non-priority(don't bother with priority).if you have a common DHW system consider investing there(cylinder,booster pump,controls)before you go ahead

LeBash

if you are getting a priority or non priority board, the best one on the market is made by a company called LXL in Glasnevin industrial estate.

When i was looking into one myself the 2 big named brands were actually continusly using 12 Watts :eek: when the shower was off.

I think the LXL one was branded Dopke.

Hoki

cheers for the help lads , never knew this forum existed until yesterday but there is no doubt il be back with more queries in the future

davelerave

LeBash wrote: »

if you are getting a priority or non priority board, the best one on the market is made by a company called LXL in Glasnevin industrial estate.

When i was looking into one myself the 2 big named brands were actually continusly using 12 Watts :eek: when the shower was off.

I think the LXL one was branded Dopke.

contactors are 'normally energized' through the n/c contacts on current sensing relays .not a great system altogether .hopefully there's an improved version of this system available

Joey the lips

Lads as this is an electrical thread I wont argue but there is slight corrections based on the op post

a priority switch is only needed for a pumped electric shower eg Triton T90. if you want to fit 2 of these.

You do not need it to fit 2 power showers. Power showers can be wired to the socket using the fused spur thing you electricians do,

Somethine consumers call electric showers power showers but its important to distinguish exactly what type of shower it is before telling the type of switch

All this is said with the greatest respect towards the trade

Joey the lips

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055553663

more information. thanks

davelerave

Joey the lips wrote: »

Lads as this is an electrical thread I wont argue but there is slight corrections based on the op post

a priority switch is only needed for a pumped electric shower eg Triton T90. if you want to fit 2 of these.

You do not need it to fit 2 power showers. Power showers can be wired to the socket using the fused spur thing you electricians do,

Somethine consumers call electric showers power showers but its important to distinguish exactly what type of shower it is before telling the type of switch

All this is said with the greatest respect towards the trade

i think it's self-evident what he's planning to do.i call heated electric showers 'mains electric' or 'pumped electric'.and as you say a mixer shower with pump is a 'power shower'

Joey the lips

davelerave wrote: »

i think it's self-evident what he's planning to do.i call heated electric showers 'mains electric' or 'pumped electric'.and as you say a mixer shower with pump is a 'power shower'

I am supplying and fitting bathrooms 10 years unfor its never self evident the worst thing to happen to showers is Argos cause these are all the models based on the T80 which are not suitable for most places in Ireland

So tbh I never ever assume when it comes to showers.

That was all i pointed out but like I say if I have offended any professionals I apologise.

davelerave

he's taking out a power shower and installing a second electric shower .it seems obvious to me anyway.maybe not to you

Joey the lips

davelerave wrote: »

he's taking out a power shower and installing a second electric shower .it seems obvious to me anyway.maybe not to you

Well I did actually say sometime what is obvious is not the case so are we to go around in circles or just ask the op

For general information Triton T80's which are electric showers are not rec in galway that is unless they changed the rules. Additionally I did not think you need to worry about wiring differently for T80's as all they do is heat the water.

Then again I maybe misunderatand as you point out

davelerave

the description 'instantaneous electric shower' (pumped or mains)might avoid any confusion for the sparkie anyhow.although it seems reasonably clear what he's doing here(to me anyway)

Thoie

Should I be worried? My parents have 3 showers that are electric, and pump the water as well as heating it. It's not unusual for 2 to be going at the same time, and on occasion all 3 are running. Is their house going to explode?

Halla Basin

i have the every shower

davelerave

Thoie wrote: »

Should I be worried? My parents have 3 showers that are electric, and pump the water as well as heating it. It's not unusual for 2 to be going at the same time, and on occasion all 3 are running. Is their house going to explode?

depends on the capacity and type of supply they have as well as the showers.if they have 3 'instantaneous electric showers' pumped or mains with no controller
on a regular 63amp supply that would be a serious prob.sometimes 2 run simultaneously with no issues although i always fit a non-priority controller.they could have a 3-phase supply with one on each phase for all i know or even a ct-metered single-phase supply( unlikely). you would need to supply more info anyhow.i would say 2 instantaneous would be ok simultaneous on the newer 16kva supplies if the tails are 25sq/80amp

bmowner

We had two new electric showers installed at our house. There was one electric shower in the house already. I was looking at the fusebox and there appears to be only two terminals (fuses?) one for the old shower and one for the new showers. The third electric shower was an afterthought so the electrican may only have joined the 3rd electric shower cable to the 2nd (new) shower cable. Is this a problem? My wife says that they had to change something today as it was overheating? What questions should I be asking the electrician. Any help would be appreciated.

2011

What type of showers are they?? Can you post the make and model?? Can you switch them all on at once or is there something electrical that prevents this?

You may have a problem, it depends on the type of shower. You should not be able to switch 2 "instantanious" showers on at the same time. They are showers like the "Triton T90" i.e. they have a cold water feed only and heat the water electrically as it passes through them.

Joey the lips

bmowner wrote: »

We had two new electric showers installed at our house. There was one electric shower in the house already. I was looking at the fusebox and there appears to be only two terminals (fuses?) one for the old shower and one for the new showers. The third electric shower was an afterthought so the electrican may only have joined the 3rd electric shower cable to the 2nd (new) shower cable. Is this a problem? My wife says that they had to change something today as it was overheating? What questions should I be asking the electrician. Any help would be appreciated.

What type of showers are they?

bmowner

old shower is triton t90si

first new shower is mira elite st
second new shower is triton t90xr

Joey the lips

bmowner wrote: »

old shower is triton t90si

first new shower is mira elite st
second new shower is triton t90xr

They are both pumped electric showers you cannot connect these without priority switches, This seriously is a job for an electrician.

bmowner

do you mean you have to have a priority switch for the two new ones or does it affect the old one also? what is a priority switch and where should it be fitted?

davelerave

a non-priority controller preferably .it's location can vary.3 instantaneous showers with no controller on a 12kva(63amp)supply would be a serious problem.the 16kva(80amp) and 3-phase can prob take 2 or 3 showers respectively without controller depending on other connected loads.3 instantaneous is unusual these days ime.most use a large hot water cylinder and booster pump for mixers

bmowner

Thanks, from what I understand a 3 phase supply is for industrial purposes? we therefore don't have a 3 phase supply.

1. what are the implications of not having the priority controller.
2. what does the controller do?
3. where should it be placed?
4. should the new showers have separate fuses on the fuse board i.e. the 2 new showers appear to share the one fuse.
5. are there health and safety issues?

bmowner

thanks, are there any safety risks if there is no priority contoller or 3 fuses?

davelerave

sorry there i deleted that post.3-phase isn't exclusively industrial at all.it sounds like you may need to get the work checked by a registered contractor.you need to have the supply capacity to run 3 simultaneous or else a controller to regulate their operation.

bmowner

what does the controller do? eg not allow more than one shower to run at any one time?

if there is no contoller what are the possibilites? eg the fuses are tripped and the showers shut down?

basically I am wondering if there is a safety problem, such as fire possibility.

davelerave

bmowner wrote: »

what does the controller do? eg not allow more than one shower to run at any one time?

if there is no contoller what are the possibilites? eg the fuses are tripped and the showers shut down?

basically I am wondering if there is a safety problem, such as fire possibility.

overload on the mains supply/fuse is the possible problem for that scenariol.it can be a fire risk.there isn't enough info atm to say much definitively except get it checked by a registered contractor

Joey the lips

bmowner wrote: »

what does the controller do? eg not allow more than one shower to run at any one time?

if there is no contoller what are the possibilites? eg the fuses are tripped and the showers shut down?

basically I am wondering if there is a safety problem, such as fire possibility.

Your questioning it that much you sound like your still going to continue. If you have 2 showers its drawing to much current. I am not going to advise of the full risk needless to say dont swork the 2 showers together till an electrician fits a priority switch