Electric Towel Warmer

[Bluebell]

Happy New Year all

What was your favourite Christmas present?

Mine is a 230v electric towel rail.  
But Is it ok to fit it in the heads i.e. in the shower? The wiring would be external to the heads i.e. in the saloon. It is also freestanding so could be used outside the heads.

Any advice gratefully received.

[floydraser]

Best to check the installation instructions but I'm sure they are designed to be in a bathroom but not anywhere they could be directly splashed by the shower. If you are living aboard you may want to wire it through one of these:

https://www.timeguard.com/products/time/immersion-and-general-purpose-timeswitches/7-day-fused-spur-timeswitch

I was advised to and find it very worthwhile; warm towels every morning.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

It is all to do with the IP rating (amount of damp/ water protection) of the appliance and zone areas in bathrooms. 

[woodwose]

Devices that can be splashed by the shower should be IP66 or higher. In house installations, anything actually in the shower has to be low voltage. In addition, the circuit should be protected by an RCD and everything earth bonded. Even then, there are circumstances where boat RCDs might not trip.

However, since it is a towel rail, I assume you will want to mount it where it can't be splashed by the shower or the towel will get wet.

Nigel (Ludham)

[Poppy]

Another classic example of why the BSS should not be simply advisory but mandatory with respect to 'mains' installations !

[Poppy]

[Bluebell]

16 hours ago, woodwose said:

Devices that can be splashed by the shower should be IP66 or higher. In house installations, anything actually in the shower has to be low voltage. In addition, the circuit should be protected by an RCD and everything earth bonded. Even then, there are circumstances where boat RCDs might not trip.

However, since it is a towel rail, I assume you will want to mount it where it can't be splashed by the shower or the towel will get wet.

Nigel (Ludham)

Thanks for that Woodwose (Nigel of Ludham) a great response as usual. As the towel rail is rated at IP22, it appears not suitable for being splashed. The heads on board is not large enough for the rail to be mounted out of reach of the shower (to be fair it's hardly big enough to shower in!)

Plan B then, use it free standing to warm the towel before and dry it after use.

PS

BTW even if it was suitable for wall mounting in the heads, I would have used it to dry the towel after showering rather than wetting the towel in the shower!!!

[annv]

Hi If you have a calorifier why not extend the feed or just run the hoses from the engine to a large dia copper pipe or pipes easily made to measure or buy a small towel rail fit in the  shower then back to engine lot safer and free heat. John

[Bluebell]

23 minutes ago, annv said:

Hi If you have a calorifier why not extend the feed or just run the hoses from the engine to a large dia copper pipe or pipes easily made to measure or buy a small towel rail fit in the  shower then back to engine lot safer and free heat. John

Thanks Annv  (John), that sounds like a good idea. Now you’ve given me a plan C!!

[ZimbiIV]

I fitted a towel rail 2 years ago it is on its own circuit breaker and the shower curtain covers it when having a shower.

The breaker is 1 amp

paul

[D46]

38 minutes ago, annv said:

Hi If you have a calorifier why not extend the feed or just run the hoses from the engine to a large dia copper pipe or pipes easily made to measure or buy a small towel rail fit in the  shower then back to engine lot safer and free heat. John

That's fine but depends on how high the top of the towel rail is in relation to the header tank on the engine , it's all to easy to get an airlock that the engine's circulation pump can't remove as it isn't designed to pump that well .

However it does work if you careful with the installation .

The other thing that will happen if you get an airlock is as it stops the water retuning to the engine it also stops the colirifier heating up as the water isn't passing round the coil.

[annv]

Hi D46 My dual fuel towel rail is 4ft above the engine once its  bleed it becomes sealed so no airlock can happen and free heat when engine is running except when on shore power when it switches to mains power, it  keeps condensation away when showering and nice and warm towel to dry with which then drys them quickly even in winter . John

[D46]

48 minutes ago, annv said:

Hi D46 My dual fuel towel rail is 4ft above the engine once its  bleed it becomes sealed so no airlock can happen and free heat when engine is running except when on shore power when it switches to mains power, it  keeps condensation away when showering and nice and warm towel to dry with which then drys them quickly even in winter . John

It does work but airlocks are difficult to remove and can still appear due to I suspect the fact the engine circulation pump is a centrifugal pump which can cause air bubbles + it's not designed to pump coolant that high or long distances , hence why calorifiers are best installed  close to the engine , it's also of cause possible to install an inline pump to assist the movement of water and remove any air via the header tank .my own matrix heater works and that's above the header tank but it's a pig to bleed and does airlock occasionally . 

[woodwose]

The wiring regulations say that a device rated at IP22 has to be at least 0.6m away from a water source like a sink, bath or shower. However, if there is any chance of a water jet hitting it then it has to be at least IP65.

A 1A circuit breaker would offer absolutely no protection whatsoever if you come into contact with the mains. Only a 30ma RCD would do the job but I am not sure that I would want to risk it.

Nigel (sunny Ludham)