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Cooker and shower on the same circuit

Hello everyone,

A few months back, a qualified electrician told me that a cooker and a shower can both be put on the same circuit; that doesn't sound right, surely loads using such a large amount of power must be on their own individual circuits?

I haven't been able to ask a question about this until now because I had difficulty logging into my IET account and had to get a new username and password for it.

Thank you,

Dasa

Parents
  • I am not aware of any regulation that says "you can not do that" But as has already been said it is a very odd way to proceed and poor practice.

    If the circuit is sized for the cooker OR the shower, then sooner or later both will be used and trip the MCB.

    If sized for cooker AND shower then see earlier remarks about large cables and terminal sizes. An MCB big enough for cooker AND shower might not fit a standard consumer unit and probably wont discriminate with the cut out fuse.

    I have installed a single circuit for a cooker and a shower, but only as a temporary measure for my own use in a single person  flat.

    I have also used a single circuit to supply the cooker OR the shower via a changeover switch, useful when only a limited supply is available.

    Have even installed a three way changeover in a place with only about 32 amps available.

    One 3 amp circuit for lighting

    One 3 amp circuit for 13 amp sockets for only low loading appliances.

    One 32 amp circuit to supply the cooker, or the shower, or the other socket circuit used for heaters, water heaters, and other heavy loads. All a bit of a bodge, but needed as LPG that was used for heating and cooking became hard to obtain.

Reply
  • I am not aware of any regulation that says "you can not do that" But as has already been said it is a very odd way to proceed and poor practice.

    If the circuit is sized for the cooker OR the shower, then sooner or later both will be used and trip the MCB.

    If sized for cooker AND shower then see earlier remarks about large cables and terminal sizes. An MCB big enough for cooker AND shower might not fit a standard consumer unit and probably wont discriminate with the cut out fuse.

    I have installed a single circuit for a cooker and a shower, but only as a temporary measure for my own use in a single person  flat.

    I have also used a single circuit to supply the cooker OR the shower via a changeover switch, useful when only a limited supply is available.

    Have even installed a three way changeover in a place with only about 32 amps available.

    One 3 amp circuit for lighting

    One 3 amp circuit for 13 amp sockets for only low loading appliances.

    One 32 amp circuit to supply the cooker, or the shower, or the other socket circuit used for heaters, water heaters, and other heavy loads. All a bit of a bodge, but needed as LPG that was used for heating and cooking became hard to obtain.

Children
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