Towel rail

[Badfish]

Hi chaps a customer wants to put a towel rail at the end of a bath.The bath will have a small 6 inch ledge and they want the towel rail above this.The fcu will be outside the bathroom but i'm not sure that the flex outlet should be near the rad and i don't think the flex will be to long.Can a flex outlet be this close to a bath(all circuits are rcd protected) or any other ideas to have this towel rad where the customer wants it.

 

[steptoe]

use the flex outlet simply as a way of hiding the hole where the flex goes through the wall to the other side where it will be jointed.?

assuming its on an inside wall of course.

EDIT,

this also assumes that the rail is suitably IP rated and the manufacturer states that it is suitable for use in the zone.

I know I shouldnt assume, but I often assume that people arent stupid either.

 

[Badfish]

Good point steps, will have to check as the plumber is supplying the rad.

 

[Evans Electric]

I'm just making an observation here , for reasons unknown over the last couple of years ,I have come across more RCDs not tripping than ever before ,even using the test button.

Could it be that there are more RCDs anyway ? I am also led to believe that not testing them as recommended has a detrimental effect , no idea as to the truth of that.

Then I start to think of the reliance on RCDs for this growing amount of stuff in bathrooms and think of this towel rail ,mounted on the end of the bath with a non functioning RCD , Interesting, but stupid!

 

[meady]

I'm just making an observation here , for reasons unknown over the last couple of years ,I have come across more RCDs not tripping than ever before ,even using the test button. Could it be that there are more RCDs anyway ? I am also led to believe that not testing them as recommended has a detrimental effect , no idea as to the truth of that.

Then I start to think of the reliance on RCDs for this growing amount of stuff in bathrooms and think of this towel rail ,mounted on the end of the bath with a non functioning RCD , Interesting, but stupid!

Funny you should mention that because I have come accross 2 faulty RCDs this week. One was a crabtree starbreaker and the other a wylex. Both dident trip on testing and dident trip when the test button was pushed. I believe the wylex one was only installed a year ago and makes me wonder if it worked at all

 

[Badger]

to be fair, ive noticed that lately the reliability of rcds is not good, and im still a beliver in proper 4mm bonding in bathrooms from light to switch to shower and then basin.

 

[Larnacaman]

I agree, there is far too much reliance on RCD devices being installed as a back-up if you like for earthing systems and the like, with little regard to these devices failing!!!

As i normally work on the larger projects, we tend to use literary thousands of RCD devices over these projects of every type and description. and quite a number of them end up in the bin through total failure or out of spec tripping.

There is in my experience no substitute for ''Good'' old fashioned earthing practices.

Reliance of RCDs in TT systems to supplement a woefully inadequate resistance on the normally installed single rod, is just dammed plain stupid.....

Wasn't there a recall of Wylex and i think other named manufacturers RCDs just recently?? Not too sure if it was only 16A RCBO's or across the board of RCBO ratings....

 

[Evans Electric]

It was MCBs only but Wylex and Crabtree originate from the same source ,I believe .

I don't look upon them as the great safety ,life saving devices that our leaders do, without a regular testing regime .

Who has ever had a call " I have tested my RCD and it didn't trip, can you come and change it ?"

 

[Larnacaman]

OK Evans Electric, my mistake, i thought it was RCBOs.... lol!!

I have a very good theory why homeowners don't test their RCD test button regulary, especially on those split CUs that seem popular in the UK.

It means that they will then have to go around, resetting all the clocks on the various appliances throughout the house. So they only do the test ONCE!!!

 

[Sidewinder]

There is a research paper kicking about that shows that IF RCD's are not tested 1/4ly then the failure rate increases by around 77% IIRC!

 

[sparkytim]

This one ?

http://www.esc.org.uk/business-and-community/research/rcd-spotlight.html

 

[Sidewinder]

Nah mate, not that one as the one saw had figures and it was the report, IIRC it is on the NIC disk.

Can't remember where mine is now!

 

[sellers]

I agree about the amount of RCD's being found faulty, but how many MCB's could be faulty without ever knowing?