i am just wondering why there is regulations against sockets in bathrooms. I know that you can put in a socket as long as it is 3m from zone 1, but why the restriction. They are allowed elsewhere in Europe and are the regulations not harmonized back to ICE 60364, like most other European regulations. what is the difference.

Because a young French girl killed her even younger three cousins when she dropped her hair dryer in the bath they were sharing. Also because a young mother died here in the UK after a electric heater fell in the bath. There's four reasons to get the ball rolling.

Andy

It's just meant to dissuade people from taking portable appliances into the bathroom, doesn't always work of course because there are idiots that will run an extension lead but it's a start I suppose. There will always be stupid people about, even if you couldn't have sockets on the same floor level someone would still do it!

Surely though, with all circuits of the location and socket-outlets intended for general use being RCD protected, there's no danger now.

I know the dangers that are involved with water and electricity, but why do one country ban sockets and other countries have them and use them not for portable appliances but for washeing machines etc. is it just a legacy from pre rcd days

RCD won't protect anyone from L-N contact though will it Spin.

Won't protect anyone if it doesn't operate, whatever the fault.

Yes, that's true but is the mcb not there for that. Is there not a protection device available for all types of faults.

MCB won't protect against electric shock.

But they will disconnect the circuit quickly hopefully before a serious damage is done.
Is there anything that will protect against shock apart from separation?

I think it is something to do with the maximum length of flex fitted as standard to appliances like hair driers. Mrs P has overcome this safety feature by adding and extension lead to the hair drier so she can see what she is doing in the big mirror in the bathroom!

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John Peckham

http://www.astutetechnicalservices.co.uk/

Yer cant stop someone using an extension lead.

Yer cant stop some pilchard flying a kite in a thunderstorm to light up a key.

Yer cant improve the failure rate of RCDs much below 7%

RCDs with an expectation of saving 95% of people (re read it as not saving 5% of the population -if working OK

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Regards,
Ebee (M I S P N)

Knotted cables cause Lumpy Lektrik

Back in my student days, a french girl I shared a house with used to prop the ghetto blaster (remember those) on the bath taps to listen to C90 chrome tapes with a mix of really soppy eighties music on, whilst luxuriating in the bath.

She smoked Disque Blue by the carton - and when she said to me "but Cherie - i do ze same thing at 'ome" - in that smokey french accent, I lost the will to explain the science behind RCD's and that this particular house didn't have any.

The biggest drama was when she found out she'd picked up my tapes of the Clash by mistake - now that was dangerous territory

regards

OMS

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Failure is always an option

At the end of the day we are superior to them. We ban sockets in bathrooms, we drive on the correct side of the road, we have polarised mains sockets, we have water tanks as a backup against supply failures, we have traffic lights with an amber phase, and we speak the de-facto international language English.

LoL - Fog in the channel - Europe cut off, screams the headlines in the british press.

regards

OMS

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Failure is always an option

Mr Peckham the current MrsP is an amiable sort of person but pray tell how you know what my good wife gets up to in the confines' of our bathroom especially while I'm away!
I just hope you haven't had your AVO out

MrP

I was hoping for a more technical answer. Anyone know what IEC 60364 states regarding the subject.

IEC 60364's purpose is to only provide guidance, efforts were made to harmonize the electrical installation requirements in 1969, but these efforts were unsuccessful because of the large number of differences between the various systems prevalent throughout Europe. The result, therefore, was a document (IEC 60364) that provided guidance to an authority on developing national wiring principles that would, in turn, serve as the basis to further develop practices.

Countries adopting IEC 60364...need to develop additional rules usable by electrical system designers, installers, and enforcing authorities.

The next big meeting planned in the EU regarding IEC 60364 will stretch over 2014/2015 and this time will involve the NEC.

regards

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"Take nothing but a picture,
leave nothing but footprints!"
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"Oh! The drama of it all."
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"You can throw all the philosophy you like at the problem, but at the end of the day it's just basic electrical theory!"
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Thanks rocknroll

It seems that it is a practice that has not been changed in each individual country. I know that there will always be differences between the regulations in each country and this seems to be one of those differences where each country will claim that they are doing it properly!

The UK also has fused plugs which overheat/melt if used at their rated current :-)

http://www.theiet.org/forums/f...d=50127&enterthread=y

Best regards

Roger