shower cable and connection Help, advice and problem solutions on all aspects of home appliances from washing machines to TV's

[lizo2007]

I recently had a shower fitted by a friends mate, who i was informed had many years of electrical experience. Anyway i dont have much knowledge on installing electrical devices in the home but i checked over the work that had been done and noticed that the way the wiring for the shower had been connected was as follows........The shower unit was connected to a pull switch using 10mm cable. The cable that was entering the pull switch (power supply cable) was old wiring that was used to supply and old electrical heater that was ripped out of the bathroom. The old wiring was still there and was used to power the pull switch. it was alot thinner cable and when the shower unit was in use, i was in the loft space and noticed this cable was getting hot. So i believe he had wired this incorrectly and should of used 10mm cable from the pull switch and wired it directly to the fusebox and not to old electrical cable that was not in use in my loft. SO.......... am i correct in saying that all that needs to be done is to fit a length of 10mm cable from the pull switch and wire it directly to my fuse box. I have a spare 50amp fuse in the box, should i use that one.

[thedoctor]

Please turn it all off, go to our projects section and read the project on Part P of the building regulations, then call a qualified electrician to check it over and do it properly. Part P is now law. If your installation does not meet the required regulations and, if it is certifiable but has not been certified, your home insurance may not be valid and you are taking huge risks.

[stevenc1603]

Depending on the kw rating of the shower you can get away with 6mm2 cable, but if its getting hot then its not right. If the old wiring was supplying a heater I would guess that it might be as small as 2.5mm2 and if so then its definately not enough.

As DIYdoctor said, switch it all off and get it checked over as it sounds like its in dangerous condition.

[TheDoctor5]

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