Non bike related wattage to a 3 pin socket.........

daniel_b

Good morning commuters,

apologies, this is well off topic, but as I had such a fantastic, and incredibly helpful response to my questions about garage lighting, I thought I would chance my arm.......

The house we bought a while back has an electric towel radiator in the bathroom - it's fairly small, and won't accommodate the three towels we use regularly as a household.

The current element is 300w, and rather than being wired into it's own dedicated socket, a hole has been drilled through the wall, and it is then wired into a standard 3 pin plug (In the main bedroom), and plugged into a wall socket - I've added a wireless timer thing from Tapo so I can set when it comes on etc, and it's proved very reliable, and no issues electric wise that I can tell in the not inconsiderable time we have been using it like this.

The replacement I am thinking of is this one, which comes with a 900w element:
https://ukradiators.com/zennor-anth...x-w600mm-straight-900w-thermostatic-wifi.html

My ideal would be to replace like for like, so I can complete it all myself, but if the prognosis is that this will be unsafe, then I'll get an electrician in to sort it out for us.
If it's not 100% safe, is there anything I can do to make it viable, ie maybe replace the socket in the bedroom with an RCD one?

The main house fuseboard was only replaced at the end of 2020 (Due to a new extension) so is very much up to date, and fit for purpose.

What would have to happen if we did need a permanent socket, would it be a case of them having to wire down directly to the fuseboard, or could they tap into the existing upstairs wiring?

Thanks in advance,

Dan

Mad_Malx

Pretty sure mine was wired (professionally) into a switched &fused connection unit, that is a spur from an existing 3 pin double socket.

900w won’t be a problem for the 3 pin circuit, but there may be bathroom rules.

daniel_b

Thanks @Mad_Malx - I realise I may not have been that clear with the above post.

The cable is routed through the wall and plugs into a 3 pin wall socket in the main bedroom in the house.

masjer

I think it should be installed on to a fused spur, not a socket. You can get them with built-in timers.

me-109

900W is 3.75 Amps draw, so stick a 5A fuse in your plug. Bathroom wiring regs would require a fused outlet if it were connected in the bathroom, so that you can't have a socket in the bathroom you might accidentally or deliberately electrocute yourself with. Not sure if the current connection would contravene the technical implementation, but it would work to the same end and not exceed any circuit load. It's not like trying to wire a shower into a switched socket.

Mad_Malx

daniel_b said:

Thanks @Mad_Malx - I realise I may not have been that clear with the above post.

The cable is routed through the wall and plugs into a 3 pin wall socket in the main bedroom in the house.

Yes, I understood that. I'm saying the same thing as masjer & me-109.
I'm not sure if having a plug outside the bathroom changes things, but a fused spur (from your existing bedroom socket) is neater and a very small job. Also frees up your bedroom socket.

daniel_b

Thankyou all, sorry if I confused things - I just though my original post was not that clear in hindsight.

The builder and qualified electrician who carried out the replacement of the fuseboard, and all the wiring for our extension, as well as the new fuseboard for the garage was a real stickler for detail, and a real perfectionist, so I have zero doubt that has been done to the highhest of standards - also late last year the local inspector used our house to come round with him to see what he had wired and where, and clearly that was all totally fine.

It's a small bathroom, and the radiator is currently almost as far away as it can be from the shower, although I plan to move it slightly further away when we fit the new one, and closer to the door.

I'll drop by builder a line and see what he recommends, but what you have given me here is incredibly useful - massive thankyou to you all

masjer

I like the idea of those Tapo timer sockets. They look good quality (and cheap). I might pick up a couple and make use of Alexa.

daniel_b

masjer said:

I like the idea of those Tapo timer sockets. They look good quality (and cheap). I might pick up a couple and make use of Alexa.

For me they have worked really well, keep an eye on Amazon, as often they are available at a very decent price, for the 3 or 4 packs.
I also bought some of their bulbs, and they are excellent too - use one for an outside light, and some for inside when we are away, though they function fine as normal lights, and you can just turn off the schedule.

An awesome feature when it comes to turning lights on and off, is that you can set it to turn on/turn off X number of minutes before or after sunset or sunrise, so the time automatically changes each and every day, rather than you having to go in and adjust it all the time.

I don't use Alexa or anything of that ilk, all done through an app on my phone, but still bloomin excellent.