HOW- TO HOW-TO: REPLACE AN ELECTRIC SHOWER

Showers are replaced because the old one is not working or you want a shower with better performance.
This How-To guide only covers electric showers working off a mains water supply.
Unless you are familiar with and understand your electrical supply and circuitry, you should look at
How-To: Understand your electricity supply.

SAFETY DISCLAIMER
Carefully follow all safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of the equipment you are using. If in doubt,
contact a qualified electrician.

MATERIALS
• Electric shower • Mini trunking for surface mounting cable: 25mm
• Isolating switch, 45 amp, double pole with x 16mm for neatness, 38mm x 16mm for easy
on/off indicator installation and for 16mm cable
• Wall box for switch • 10mm twin and earth cable
• Earth bonding clamps • Woodchip countersunk screws, No.8, 45mm (plated)
• Conductor sleeving, green and yellow • Insulation tape: black, red, green and yellow
(large section) • Masking tape
• Oval plastic conduit for cable, 25mm • Plywood and battens, may be needed to
• Woodchip screws, No.8 18mm reinforce ceiling if a pull switch is used
HOW - TO 1
TOOLS
• Electric drill with hammer facility plus HSS drill • Brick-laying bolster chisel, 100mm
bits, masonry bits and flat bits • Cold chisel, 25mm
• Joist detector • Flooring or electrician’s bolster chisel, 60mm
• Cable/pipe finder
• Small file, 150mm flat tapered
• Power tracer
• Bradawl
• Rapitest circuit tester
• Craft knife
• Hand-held circular saw
• Electrician’s draw tape (mole) or 4m x 1.5mm
• Plasterboard saw, utility saw or padsaw single core cable
• Floorboard saw
• Tape measure
• Junior hacksaw
• Combination try square
• Club hammer
• Ball point pen, for writing on masking tape
• Claw hammer
• Fibre pens, black, red, green, blue and brown
• Insulated screwdrivers: 4mm x 100mm,
5mm x 190mm and 8mm x 150mm • Torch or portable light
• Pozidrive No.2 insulated screwdriver • Stepladder
• Insulated wire cutters • Dust sheets
• Insulated pliers, 150mm • Safety goggles and dust mask
• Insulated wire strippers • Work gloves, leather

MATERIALS FOR PLUMBING

• Copper pipe, 15mm
• Service valve, 15mm
• Double-check valve, 15mm
• Straight connectors, Yorkshire, 15mm
• Straight connectors, compression, 15mm
• 90 degree bend, Yorkshire, 15mm
• 90 degree bend, compression, 15mm
• Solder
• Flux
• Jointing paste for use with potable
(drinking) water

TOOLS FOR PLUMBING

• Silicone sealant
• Blow torch
• Heat pad
• Mastic frame gun
• Junior hacksaw
• Copper tube cutter
• Round file, medium cut

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 F1

F2

BEFORE YOU START

E L E C T R I C I T Y S U P P LY
Please read How-To: Understand your electricity supply.
Determine the maximum current available from your electrical supply. This will be marked on the electricity
company fuse mounted on or near the mains intake head adjacent to your meter (F1 and F3). Modern dwellings
will have either 80 amp (A) or 100A intake supply.
Most electricity suppliers consider this adequate for normal household requirements, including a standard size
electric cooker and one shower rated at 40A for an 80A supply or rated at 45A for a 100A supply. In some areas,
the supply might be inadequate. When you turn on a heavy load (such as a cooker and an existing shower) if the
lights flicker, you might have a problem. Consult your local electricity supply company.
If you only have a 60A supply, consult a qualified electrician or your electricity supplier for advice.

CONSUMER UNIT PROTECTION

Look at your consumer unit. Check the protection devices (F1, F3 and F6). Do you have rewireable fuses,
cartridge fuses or miniature circuit breakers (MCB)?
Is there a residual current device (RCD)? This is a safety device required in a shower circuit. It should be rated at
30 milliamps (F1 and F2). It may control part of a split-load consumer unit (F1) or it may be separated from the
unit and wired into the shower circuit (F3 and F6).
HOW - TO 3
 F3

F4

EARTHING
Check that the water pipe to the shower is earth bonded (F1, F3 and F4). The cable must be 10mm single core,
with green and yellow sleeving, and must be firmly clamped to the metalwork. It should run back to the earthing
terminal adjacent to the consumer board (F1 and F3) or fixed to the earth bar in the consumer unit. Pipes adjacent
to baths, basins and radiators must be bonded with 6mm2 cable.
THE EXISTING SHOWER
Carry out the following electrical investigations with the shower circuit isolated (switched off) at the
consumer unit.

Determine the wattage (power consumption) of the existing shower (7kW, 7.5kW and so on). You may have to
look for a plate or label inside the unit to determine this.

HOW - TO 4
 F5

SWITCHING
Unscrew the isolation switch cover. This may be ceiling mounted next to the shower or wall mounted outside the
shower room. The inside should be marked 30A DP (double pole). This is suitable for showers up to 7kW, while
45A DP is required for more powerful showers (F5).

CABLES
Isolate (turn off) your main electricity supply at the consumer unit and remove its cover. Look at the outer cover of
the cable feeding the shower fuse. Determine its size from the dimensions (Table 1).
TA B L E 1
Cable Size Overall Dimensions of Sheath
Lower limit Upper limit
4mm≈ 5.6 x 10.5 7.2 x 13.00
6mm≈ 6.4 x 12.5 8 x 15.00
10mm≈ 7.8 x 15.5 9.6 x 19.00
16mm≈ 9 x 18.0 11 x 22.50

TA B L E 2 C A B L E A N D F U S E R AT I N G S F O R A S H O W E R
Shower Rating Type of Protection Fuse Rating Cable mm≈
Maximum Length m
7kW, 30A Rewireable Fuse BS3036 30 10 45
7kW, 30A Cartridge Fuse BS1361 30 6 20
7kW, 30A Cartridge Fuse BS1361 30 10 45
7.5-9.5kW, 40A 40 6 20
7.5-9.5kW, 40A 40 10 50
10.0-10.5kW, 45A 45 6 19
10.0-10.5kW, 45A 45 10 30
10.0-10.5kW, 45A 45 16 45
7.0-7.5kW, 30-32A MCB Type 1 32 4 15
7.0-7.5kW, 30-32A MCB Type 1 32 6 27
7.0-7.5kW, 30-32A MCB Type 1 32 10 31
8.0-9.5kW, 40A MCB Type B 40 10 40
10.0-10.5kW, 45A MCB Type B 45 6 25
10.0-10.5kW, 45A MCB Type B 45 10 41
10.0-10.5kW, 45A MCB Type B 45 16 70

NOTE
Table 2 applies where the earthing is as F1 and F2. If your earthing is different, consult a qualified engineer.
Check that the circuit is RCD protected.
HINT
If you are installing new cable, unless 16mm2 is called for (due to a long run), use 10mm2. You may wish to
upgrade your shower at a later date.

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F6

F7

W AT E R S U P P LY
Water supply is via a 15mm pipe fed from the rising main. All showers have minimum and maximum water pres-
sure requirements, which vary from model to model. Read the manufacturer’s specifications to ascertain these.
Your water supplier should be able to tell you whether your supply is suitable.

WATER AND BUILDING BY-LAWS

A shower supplied by mains pressure water must be incapable of allowing back-syphonage of contaminated water
into the mains supply. This could occur if the showerhead (on a flexible hose) became immersed in water in the
shower or bath at the same time as a sudden drop in mains pressure.
You must therefore include a double-check valve in the direct cold water supply pipe leading to the shower unit (F6).
A flexible shower hose must be fitted, with a restrictor attached to the shower rail or the wall to prevent it from
dangling in the shower tray or bath (F7). A service valve must be fitted and be readily accessible for maintenance.

CHOOSING AN ELECTRIC SHOWER

There are plenty to choose from. The higher the wattage, the more efficient the shower is. Most are surface
mounted (F6), but some may be partly recessed into the wall. Some models have an almost-flush central panel in
the shower with a separate power pack (F7) that can be mounted under a bath or in an adjacent cupboard within
3m of the control panel. It should not be mounted anywhere there is a danger of it freezing.
For ease of installation, try to buy a shower with similar water connections to the existing one.
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 F8 F10

F9

RUNNING CABLE
Cables may run under floors, between ceilings and in roof spaces. They must not run under or through insulation,
as they may overheat and cause fire.
If they pass through a joist, the hole must be a minimum 50mm from top or bottom of the joist (F8) to prevent it
from being weakened. If they run parallel to a joist, they should be fixed with cable clips to the centre line. Clip
6mm2 cable at horizontal intervals of 250mm and vertical intervals of 400mm. Clip 10mm2 cable horizontally at
300mm and vertically at 400mm. Clip 16mm2 cable horizontally at 350mm and vertically at 450mm. Each cable
has its own size of clip.
Cables may be run inside walls. If they are buried less than 50mm, then they must be recessed within 150mm of
the ceiling or the corners of the room (F9). They should be run in oval plastic tube. Non-permitted runs, such as
diagonally (F9), should be in an earthed metal conduit or metal cable cover. This reduces the likelihood of the
cable being penetrated when using wall fixings.
Cables may be surface mounted, when they should be clipped as above OR they may be run in plastic mini-
trunking (F10). This may be self-adhesive or, if the surface is not sound, fixed to the wall or ceiling with screws
and plugs at 600mm and 80mm centres (vertical and horizontal intervals). Couplers for straight joints, corners,
tee-joiners and stop ends are also available.
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 N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 N N2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 B B

WARNING

F12

F11

T E R M I N AT I N G C A B L E
1 Earth conductors must be sleeved with green and yellow sleeving.
2 Copper conductors should not be visible at terminations.
3 Wire the RCD F11
4 Wire the switches as in F5.
5 Wire the shower as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
6 Wire the consumer unit as in F1, F3 and F12.

FITTING THE SHOWER

1 Fix boxes for the RCD and switches. These should be recessed for buried cables or surface mounted for
plastic.
2 Prepare chases (recesses in the plaster) for buried cable or fix trunking for surface cable.
3 Run cables, including 10mm earth bonding if necessary; leaving plenty of extra cable for the shower
(2 x box length for switches and RCD, plus 2 x overall length of consumer unit: 300-500mm).
4 Wire the switch and RCD if new and separate them from the consumer unit.
5 Isolate the electricity at the consumer unit. Check the cable at the shower and mains with a power tester.
6 Disconnect the old shower cable from the consumer unit. Replace the old fuse or MCB with a new one of
the correct size.
7 Turn on the mains at the consumer unit. Check there is no power at the old shower with the power tester.
The current should be dead.
8 Isolate the water at the shower. Disconnect the pipe and cable from shower and remove the old shower.
9 Mount the new shower. If the shower is to be re-tiled, this must be completed before fixing the new shower.
10 Run new pipe-work, installing a double-acting non-return valve and a service valve if required.

I M P O R TA N T
Flush out the pipe-work before connecting it to the shower.
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F13

CAG
DC AC
CAG
DO
AC
0

CON

Continuity tester

11 Use the continuity tester (F13) to check the polarity of the wiring (full instructions are given with each tester),
with the switches and RCD on and the conductors separated. Check readings across L+N, N+E and L+E
– all must be negative.
12 Connect the cable to the shower. If there is no earth bonding, connect the earth-bonding cable to the shower
pipe and any other pipes in the room (F4).
13 Switch off the power at the consumer unit and connect the new cable to the shower fuseway or MCB. Make
the earth and neutral termination by screwing the wire end to the consumer unit’s buzz bar (F12).
14 Turn on the water and electricity. Check the shower is performing correctly.
15 Replace any floorboards and tidy up the walls.

I M P O R TA N T
If you have any doubts about wiring, do all the preparatory work – run cables, fix piping and mount switches –
then call in a qualified electrician.
HOW - TO 9