currently we have electric for a power shower (cold & hot water fed) running from a fused, switched spur which then goes to a pull cord in the bathroom. It’s shoddy work (previous house owner) and I’m replacing the wiring.

I have 1.5mm twin & earth that will run from a fused, switched spur to a new power shower via a dedicated suitably rated RCD, but do I need to retain the pull cord in the bathroom?

If you don’t know I’d say you should not be messing, especially with bathroom electrics, isn’t it the law now you have to be qualified? You know to stop all those diy’er deaths,

You need part p etc now don’t you?
I’d imagine you also need minimum 6mm 2+1 cable as well (which is supposed to be assessed by someone qualified), and i’m pretty sure you do need an isolation switch in the same room, pull cord for obvious reasons…

I have 1.5mm twin & earth

Please get an electrician in… 🙁

As it’s effectively just a pump and doesn’t contain any heating elements then the power consumption will be very low. Check the exact power requirement of the unit and get cable to suit.

6mm as an absolute minimum but more likely 10mm for anything over 8.5kw You really don’t want to tinker if you don’t know what you are doing

Can I have your bike when you…well…you know… *bbzzzzzzt* *pop*

The OP’s talking about a power shower with both hot and cold supply, the unit is basically a pump and they tend to draw about 3 amps. You’re thinking about an electric shower with a powerful heater in it.

1.5mm is designed for Lighting so if it’s drawing less than 100 amps, It’ll be fine.

Jeeze, and you lot say I don’t know what I’m doing…..

It’s a power shower, as I said. I also said that it has a hot & cold feed, i.e. it doesn’t heat the water. The thing is rated at 150W. The manual says 1mm twin & earth is the minimum, so I’ve intentionally gone higher. The RCD is rated at 30 mA – as recommended by the manufacturer.

The electric can be isolated in 3 places (main consumer unit, spur and RCD). I can find no regulations that say a pull cord needs to be in the bathroom. This is all I’m asking.

EDIT
Oh, and as allthepies mentions, it’s under 3 amps. Infact, the fused spur has been quite happy with a 3amp fuse in it for years

Firstly, check the power shower’s pump rating. I would guess it’s around 500W. This equates to about 2amps load so 1.5mm FTE is fine run from an FCU with a 3 or 5 amp fuse.

The FCU should be outside zone 2 – ie further than 0.6m from the edge of the shower/bath.

The RCD should be rated at 30mA.

The pull cord is not really a requirement as you’ve got a point of isolation with the FCU. I’m guessing the pump only runs when the water flows so it’s not like an electric shower which would need a suitable isolator.

If you’re replacing like for like there is no requirement for notification to building control unless it’s in a special location (ie a place containing a bath or shower). However, if the pump’s under a floor somewhere it’s could be argued that it’s not a special location.

Obviously it’s difficult to give guidance without actually seeing the job so “caveat emptor” or the electrical consultancy equivalent applies.

Any questions, just ask.

Rich.

Short answer – no pullcord required.

I had such a unit installed by a part p electrician and there’s no pullcord for mine. He spurred the shower off the upstairs ring circuit.

My mistake. Too many IPAs to read OP properly

Thanks chaps (well, the sensible non knee-jerk ones!), that’s what I thought. Just wanted confirmation!