Radial or ring final

[butler26]

hi to all

ive asked this question here before but didnt get a straight answer so i need some advise here please .ive an assessment coming up soon so testing my circuits .the one im confussed with is i have a fancy shower the runs of my boiler so it is not an electric shower,but it needs power to operate the radio lights and steamer.it was in the house when i bought it. the circuit has been wired like a ring final in 2.5mm t.e with a length of 2.5mm flex spurred from a junction box under the floor to the control unit wich powers radio and other accessories, there is nothing else wired to this circuit just the shower control unit. is the a ring or is it realy a radial where they used 2 pieces of 2.5mm to double up the crass sectional area.advice need urgently

thanks

 

[Andy™]

i would treast it as a radial with parallel conductors. can you not access the JB and disconenct one of the 2.5's?

 

[butler26]

the the floor is tiled so i cant access the jb so what your saying is test it as a radial and record the R1+R2 result on the test sheet,should i also record a comment about parallel conductors

 

[Andy™]

you do know j/bs need to be kept accessible, dont you? unless its a maintenance free type?

 

[Barx]

If both legs go to the same place along the same path then as said above, I would class as radial. BUT, if one leg toddles off somewhere else on the way to from that point, then it is a ring. Well that would be my not so staight answer. lol

 

[butler26]

i no this but when i bought the house seven years ago i didnt have a clue about electrics. its just that if i wired one of these shower i would have run a radial instead of the two condutors. it just that when i record results i didnt no wether to test as a ring or radial

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:46 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:43 ----------

are you allowed to test one of these circuits as a radial and record the results on a cert even though it looks like a ring final circuit

 

[ProDave]

I would say a circuit with an inaccessible junction box is NOT one to use on an assessment.

Re those steam shower cubicles, the biggest load as far as I know is the steam generator which is about 3KW so it should have been okay on a 15A radial with just one 2.5mm t&e

I hate those steam cubicle things, mainly because they have lots of boxes of electronics and controls on the back, and IMO they should only ever be installed where they can back onto say a cupboard in an adjoining room, where you can have an access trap. Otherwise when the thing goes wrong you have to uninstall it just to get at the back to find and fix the fault.

 

[Badfish]

Does this ring final circuit/radial have both legs terminated in the consumer unit? if so can you not take one leg out of the consumer unit and terminate into a surface mounted socket outlet making the circuit a true radial, not forgetting to put the appropriate circuit breaker in.also do you have a fused spur before your shower control unit as this sounds like it may need a 3 or 5 amp fuse.

 

[butler26]

im doing a cu change for the assessment and must test all circuits and record the results thats why im asking should i test as a ring or radial i just want advice on testing this circuit as i have no probs with the rest of the circuits i have to test

thanks

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 21:01 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:56 ----------

booth legs are terminated in the one circuit breaker but i dont want to put a surface mounted socket anywere from this circuit

 

[green-hornet]

If your testing this circuit, it will soon become apparent if its a ring or radial circuit.

 

[butler26]

no it doesnt have a fused spur before the shower, i didnt install it im just doing a cu change and need to test all circuits

 

[NozSpark]

Test it as a radial with parallel conductors and make a note your cert that "circuit xx is a radial circuit wired with parallel conductors (2 x 2.5mm T&E)", as for the junction box,,, it's an existing circuit, you can't have everything

 

[batty]

no it doesnt have a fused spur before the shower, i didnt install it im just doing a cu change and need to test all circuits

You need need an isolator somewhere.

 

[butler26]

i dont want to offend anyone all i want is a straight answer do i treat this as a radial or a ring

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 21:09 ---------- Previous post was made at 21:07 ----------

thanks NozSpark thats all i wanted to no nice straight answer thanks alot

 

[batty]

Is it wired direct into circuit without an isolator?

 

[butler26]

its not an electric shower so yes think it is but i never installed it, it is RCD protected and ive never had a problem with it .if i installed one of these fancy shower units i would use an isolator and put it on a radial

thanks

 

[batty]

So this is a movable shower cubicle.

 

[steptoe]

so,

you are going for your assessement for scam membership and you dont know the difference between a ring and a radial?

ask your assessor,

maybe when he picks himself off the floor for laughing and collects your cheque he might tell you to book another visit when you are competent enough.

either that or start a thread in the first day at college beginners part of the forum.

 

[butler26]

yes it is a movable shower cubicle

 

[Andy™]

you are going for your assessement for scam membership and you dont know the difference between a ring and a radial?

to be fair, the first version of 7671:2008 didnt know either....