Help! - Shower Pull Switch, wires too short!

[Bootneck73h]

Hi,

The shower pull chord switch has snapped at my mom’s home and having unscrewed the switch I discovered a horror show(see pic). So I’ve had cut the wires back to clean them up but having done so it’s left me with nothing reasonable to wire up the new switch.
There’s nothing left on the cable to pull through and access to the loft in this very old dwelling is going to be an epic so re-routing isn’t really on the table.
Could I use some SpliceLine in-line wire connectors to extend the wires and if so would the 32 amp ones cut it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Whoops thought it was a light, reminder to self, read first post more than once, must do better.

Just looked and they do a 16amp model now, how long before they have a 32amp range?

 

[DPG]

Whoops thought it was a light, reminder to self, read first post more than once, must do better.

I've done the same before!

 

[nicebutdim]

Don't think a kinetic switch will meet requirements for a shower isolator!

It could pull in a contactor....


...anything to avoid a pull cord and drylining box combo

 

[mainline]

It could pull in a contactor....


...anything to avoid a pull cord and drylining box combo

Could always mount the switch in the roof space and pop the cord through a hole.

 

[timhoward]

Could always mount the switch in the roof space and pop the cord through a hole.

...anything to avoid a pull cord and drylining box combo

Could always run a gas pipe....

 

[mainline]

Could always run a gas pipe....
View attachment 112732

You know you're getting old when as a child you remember the bright light from a gas mantle.

 

[mainline]

Would mounting an RCD/RCBO protected switch on the wall comply with UK regs.

I would think so as it's very common to have RCD protected circuits supplying switches, especially on a wall

How about a Kinetic switch solution, Rx in the loft stuffed through the existing hole and switch double sided taped to the wall?

They have their place, but I'm not a fan of kinetic in the respect of reliability compared to hardwired, if it uses electronics then It's going to fail at some point.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Knee jerk reaction as usual, the problem is In a bathroom, keep up mainline.

Kinetic switch's have proven to be reliable so far, had them in our place in France for a number of years, saved chasing down stone walls.

 

[pirate]

Quinetic amazing, but I'd never use for that application.
My preferred installation is to mount the isolator outside the bathroom. Bring the 10mm cable into a dual box, plenty of room for terminations, DP switch in one side, cable into the other "half"...easy to switch on/off and plenty of room to make terminations.

 

[mainline]

Knee jerk reaction as usual, the problem is In a bathroom, keep up mainline.

It does relate to having a switch in a bathroom keep up, especially with the regs

 

[Penguin]

Hi,

The shower pull chord switch has snapped at my mom’s home and having unscrewed the switch I discovered a horror show(see pic). So I’ve had cut the wires back to clean them up but having done so it’s left me with nothing reasonable to wire up the new switch.
There’s nothing left on the cable to pull through and access to the loft in this very old dwelling is going to be an epic so re-routing isn’t really on the table.
Could I use some SpliceLine in-line wire connectors to extend the wires and if so would the 32 amp ones cut it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Oh dear,… As you mentioned it’s the loft above this ‘Pull Cord’ ISO then id certainly suggest getting above the pull cord and fitting a suitable 40/45amp JB and run a new T&E.

I fully commend my colleague who suggested cutting out and fitting a dry liner.
But as this an ‘Isolator Pull Cord’. I could imagine that within a number of operational pulls those feeble plastic wings will give way.???

If however the cables are routing down next to a joint then ‘Jog On’, cut and fit a dry liner, multi- tool out a bit of the joist above and as well as the plastic wings, also screw up into the remaining joist.

Hope this helps.

 

[Spaldingsparks]

Its A design Fault! The problem only became really bad when the manufacturers stopped putting 2 fixing screws on each terminal perhaps they could start doing that again, especially for 10mm cable the second screw helps to flatten the cores into a good connection and a good wriggle and re-tighten means the problem happens far less often but someone needs to design out the loose cable issue before we have to install metal Switches like the DBs

 

[nicebutdim]

Its A design Fault! The problem only became really bad when the manufacturers stopped putting 2 fixing screws on each terminal perhaps they could start doing that again, especially for 10mm cable the second screw helps to flatten the cores into a good connection and a good wriggle and re-tighten means the problem happens far less often but someone needs to design out the loose cable issue before we have to install metal Switches like the DBs

 

[mainline]

View attachment 112746

Same as the Crabtree, probably more that have twin terminal screws.

 

[Mikegh]

When this repair has been completed, preferably using a switch without a neon indicator, turn the switch on, and never turn it off again, unless someone is making a repair on the shower that requires its cover to be removed. It's an isolator for maintenance purposes.

There's a very small fire risk with the isolator on.
A shower installer said he sees it very occasionally

 

[brianmoooore]

There's a very small fire risk with the isolator on.
A shower installer said he sees it very occasionally

Fire risk is minimal when no current is being drawn. l Not much different from any other permanently live cable in a house.
Tracking could occur at the connector block inside the shower, especially if it's already been cooked by a poor connection and a bit of moisture's got in, but the RCD should deal with that before things get anywhere near ignition.
The fire risk is orders of magnitude more for poor connections in ceiling mounted 45A switches!

 

[nicebutdim]

Same as the Crabtree, probably more that have twin terminal screws.

Single screw terminal on Crabtree.

 

[mainline]

Single screw terminal on Crabtree.

Yes apparently they have stopped producing 2 terminal screw ones for some reason

 

[Spaldingsparks]

Single screw on Crabtree must be how they increase sales or is that to synicle

 

[RetiredNY]

"Value engineering."