Heated bathroom towel rail connected to the light switch/circui?

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larknz

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#2449550 29-Mar-2020 15:32

What also matters is what your insurance company says if there is a fire in the house. Many fires are blamed on electrical faults when they have trouble identifying the cause.

gregmcc

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#2449561 29-Mar-2020 15:54

snnet:

I would call a hard wired timer a fixed wired appliance.

a fixed wired appliance is defined in AS/NZS3000 :-

1.4.7 Appliance, Fixed

An appliance that is fastened to a support or otherwise secured in a specific location

Towel rail timer doesn't fit that description, but would fit:-

1.4.3 Accessory

Any device, such as a switch, fuse, [lug, socket-outlet, lampholder, fitting, adaptor or ceiling rose that is associated with wiring, luminaires, switchboards or appliances; but not including the lamps, luminaires, appliances or switchboards themselves.

Got to remember when reading legislation and standards all the terms are usually clearly defined so there is no confusion on exactly what is meant.

gregmcc

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#2449565 29-Mar-2020 16:02

Bung: The only exemption I'm aware of is for homeowners in the house they live in. That excludes landlords doing maintenance in properties they own. Plumbers can get a restricted license to do some work related to HWCs etc.

I know that builders push right through the limits as far as disconnecting and reconnecting fittings go. A relative had their lounge extended simply by moving the end wall of the house 2400mm (2 widths of Gib) and filling in the gap. They mentioned that is was only a 2 man crew. When I asked about the electrical it was "That was easy, all the switches and sockets were in the end wall so the builder just extended the wires.":

Right off the bat, the electrical work done is prescribed electrical work, it was not done by the home owner. The person doing the work was been paid to do it, so it is quite clear the person doing it must be an electrician and must issue a CoC and ESC for the work.

The homeowner could have done the work under the homeowner exemption, seen the wiring was extended "AKA an alteration" this would need checking by an Inspector Before been livened and a CoC and ESC would have been issued by the Inspector.

I would be asking the builder for a CoC and ESC to prove that they work they done was safely and correctly.

gregmcc

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#2449568 29-Mar-2020 16:09

snnet:

It's amazing how much conflicting information is out there. My dad is a licensed builder and when he renews his stuff part of the test said all of these things he could straight out do electrically without any mention of inspection or certification. I don't know where they find this information, and it's kind of worrying seeing as the same large department looks after both industries

If I was a guessing man I would say that the information comes from a "consultant" that was specifically hired to tell them this information. Usually these consultants have some kind of engineering degree, and usually no real world experience in the trade - and that is why they get these things so wrong.

I have seen this many times before.

snnet

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#2449672 29-Mar-2020 18:49

gregmcc:

a fixed wired appliance is defined in AS/NZS3000 :-

1.4.7 Appliance, Fixed

An appliance that is fastened to a support or otherwise secured in a specific location

Towel rail timer doesn't fit that description, but would fit:-

1.4.3 Accessory

Any device, such as a switch, fuse, [lug, socket-outlet, lampholder, fitting, adaptor or ceiling rose that is associated with wiring, luminaires, switchboards or appliances; but not including the lamps, luminaires, appliances or switchboards themselves.

Got to remember when reading legislation and standards all the terms are usually clearly defined so there is no confusion on exactly what is meant.

Okay, I would have called it a fixed appliance under the statement that it would be secured behind a plate requiring the use of a tool to get to it. The legislation needs a huge overhaul, there are contradictions all over the place between the act, regs, wiring rules and specific standards.

NumPy

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#2450081 30-Mar-2020 14:47

gregmcc:

Yeah, a towel rail timer is an easy job and chances are you have done an alright job, but good luck finding an electrical inspector to sign off, can't say I've *ever* met another inspector who was willing to sign off on a homeowners work. But do let us know how you get on when/if you find one.

Inspector booked for Friday the 24th April :-)

No biggie at all, its a local inspector who does Certification of DIY or any other electrical work. They only doing essential services right now so a towel rail timer does not cut it. They even advertise on their website that they do "Certification of DIY or any other electrical work"

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phrozenpenguin

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#2512545 25-Jun-2020 23:15

@NumPy did this get sorted easily - and how is the timer working? Looking at getting something for our two towel rails. Thanks

trig42

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#2512586 26-Jun-2020 08:45

We have one of the Goldair timers on our towel rail. Works fine. We have it come on at 4am and 4pm, off 5 hours later (so it runs for a total of 10 hours a day). You can adjust how long the rail is on for between 4 hours and 10 hours I think by switching it on and off quickly to increase the on time by an hour. It works on a 12 hour clock, so the sequence runs twice a day.

The only pain is you have to remember to reset it if you have a power cut, otherwise it will run for four hours after the power is restored, and repeat that 12 hours later, which may end up being when you don't want or need warm towels.

gzt

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#2512795 26-Jun-2020 12:52

I have a manual switch on the same gang as the bathroom lights. This was a quirk of the installation and height of the rail. In practice manual it works out well. Manual switching would be a pain at skirting height and never used. This stays on all winter unless we are out for a while. I'm thinking about a timer for summer.

phrozenpenguin

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#2513743 27-Jun-2020 19:33

Thanks, I had seen the Goldair ones and was going to get a couple probably, good to know they work.

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