Our existing 7kW shower is looking a bit sick now. Have looked at a replacement 9.5kW shower. The notes on the box recommend a 40amp MCB, however I seem to remember reading somewhere that a 45amp was the correct rating. As I've seen some manufacturers claimimg that 6mm cable is o.k. for their high powered showers I was just wondering if this recommendation is correct.
In a similar vein, I've heard of some showers that operate from a seperate cold water tank. Has anyone come across these? Do they also heat the incoming water? It's another option worth exploring and would overcome potential problems when another cold water draw off is used.
In my mind the ideal solution would be a nice mixer shower to run off the combi, but wifey is concerned that if the combi ever packed up we would be without washing facilities. Mind, if we ever had a power cut we'd be stuffed anyway. 8)

[quote author=L.Spark  link=1097618257/0#1 date=1097620832]Power showers are good, but some people insist on electric  
[/quote]
i consider it a bad idea to have shower and bath relying on the same thing

especially when its a tank that has a tendency to run out

an electric shower is totally independent of the houses hot water/central heating system and i think that is a very good thing

Looks like we'll be sticking with the instantaneous assuming I can get a MCB. Our CU is a Crabtree SB6000. Rang some whloesalers today. One said no chance and another wanted 30 quid. CEF said that their Proteus range is compatible. Having a little knowledge of trade counter staff and from reading various posts I'm a little apprehensive about accepting their advice straight off. If I can't get the correct MCB I may as well go for a mixer shower and hope we have an indestructible combi.
Thanks for the info so far chaps.

Spongebob - if you're putting in 10mm, and a new breaker, go for a 10.5 - 11.5 kW shower on a 50A breaker.

Re the loss of boiler in a power cut - check what load it is - mine's under 200W, which is well within the range of a low cost inverter, so you could rig something up to drive it, or if you have a flaky supply, but don't want to go down the route of having a generator, buy a cheap UPS off eBay, and power the boiler from that.

Ban...it's looking like a 9.5kw due to the fact that wifey has been out today and purchased it. She is now wanting it fit like yesterday. Can't get it through to her about the MCB.
Thanks for the advice on the boiler. Just as soon as I figure out what an inverter and a ups are I'll look into it. Actually the boiler is scheduled to be moved into an outhouse (another job on the seemingly never-ending list) so an alternative mode of powering it in an emergency wouldn't look out of place in there.

I had a look at the UPS on offer on the net, ( not done e-bay yet), They're not cheap and seem to be aimed mainly at p.c's.
After seeing the front page of the Daily Express today, I think that I'll shortly be joining the list of panic buyers in search of emergency back up power supplies.
I reckon an inverter is out of the question cos I'll need to store and charge batteries, so it looks as if I'll have to get a generator. Never struck me before but we also have an electric oven and hob. Don't suppose there's anything out there that will run those. I know that there probably is but I don't want some great big massive thing cluttering up my outhouse and keeping me awake through the night.

keep you awake...ittal keep the whole town awake  

theres some big gennys on e-bay

i also keep meaning to get something sorted on the backup front, but cant be arsed to spend out...

in mean time ive got plenty of batterys and brought a cheep small ups a while back

one of my jobs on the list was to instal emergency sockets arround the house

had a feeling we would ahve need for em soon..slightly un nerving, that they publish something today...i dident even see it

ss

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46412&item=4329694760&r...

hahhaha, what have I done lol  

[quote author=plugwash  link=1097618257/15#15 date=1098139124]you wan't a big ups
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SL480KH
i dread to think what it costs though
480KW!!!!



[/quote]
Well a 5kVA one is about £5K, so if the pricing is linear....

parts cost ???

lol


i have a nice big brick built shed and....ill stop there!

ss

Daily Mail today ran a similar story to the one in the EXpress on Monday. Until I sat and thought about it I didn't realise how dependent we were on electricity. Boiler, fire, oven and hob, phone and all the appliances. When we first moved here almost seven years ago we had regular power cuts and we're not out in the country. We survived, but if they ever return I plan to make life a little bit more bearable. Panic buying here we come.

P.S. Got new shower in yesterday. Far superior to previous 7kw, but how do you guys cope with that 10mm all the time? 10mm had previously been run in from CU to shower switch, that was bad enough. Needed a short length from swithch to shower that I got from a local shed. It must have been an odd-ball as it was slightly bigger than the existing. Was tempted to snip a couple of the cores to make it more manageable but I got there in the end.

[quote author=spongebob  link=1097618257/15#22 date=1098315242]but how do you guys cope with that 10mm all the time? [/quote]

Difficult to work with but has to be done sometimes, no tight bends etc

Quote:


Never snip any strands of copper out as this will limit its current carrying capacity