Question about " SHAVERS ONLY " socket in the Toilet

Hi guys

Our new flat has this odd shaped " shavers only " socket in the bathroom, near the sink...it says 230v on the left half and 115v on the right half  . As with most bathrooms in the UK...there are no other outlets in our bathroom so i was wondering if i could add some sort of adapter and use this socket for other purposes like hair dryer etc.

Cheers
Zufan

I use mine for my electric toothbrush....

Zufan,

Find your fuse box and make sure you have the correct fuse wire handy before you turn on that hair dryer.  I think you will find that circuit is designed to blow when anything with more than a very small motor is plugged into it.

UK current is deadly when it hits water.

Jim

Hey Jim

Not quite sure from your response if you are saying it would be ok to use a hair dryer..our dryer is around 1400watts. So would that be ok ?
Sorry but not sure about fuse wire either..i mean i know where the fuse box is but not sure about fuse wire.

Its amazing that a lot of bathrooms dont have sockets..It seems the Brits are paranoid about electric shock etc. you can tell by the fact that a lot of bathrooms have the string-pull lever to turn bathroom light on/off.

I just didnt want to plug the dryer all the way in the bedroom to be able to use it in the bathroom.

Cheers
Zu.

No, I was speaking advisedly.  I should have said that in a more straightforward way: nothing electrical should be taken into the bathroom.  You should get into the British habit of using the hair dryer in the bedroom. The building code in the UK is intended to prevent electrical appliances from being used in bathrooms.  When 240V appliances fall into a bathtub, the occupant dies.

Jim

When 240V appliances fall into a bathtub, the occupant dies.

Obviously, this would happen in the US as well. I think what he's saying is it's best to just avoid the socket, forget it's there. Remember, the UK has higher voltage than in the US, which is why they have all the laws about electricity in the bathroom. It's not paranoia, it's just sensibility.

Best to play it safe and not play with the electricity. 

 We use 240v in my native Austria too and but we have sockets in the Bathroom.....anyway, thanks.

Zu.

Why not ask in an electrical shop where people (should) know about this stuff? Somewhere like Curries or Dixons or whatever - they might also sell the adapter you would need to plug a 3 pin plug into a 2 pin socket.   

Good idea Britwife..will do.

Yea i've now confirmed that one cant use the shavers-only socket..blow dryer will " blow " socket.

I find it very interesting the way UK wall sockets have on/off switches, so you don't automatically have a live current coming through when you don't need it. (Well, I've only noticed this in the flat where I'll be living; don't know if it's like that all over the UK.) Of course I discovered this when I plugged something in and then stood there like an idiot wondering why it wasn't working.

Yes that's standard. I got very confused in the US trying to find the light switch in my then girlfriends kitchen. It was on the plug socket and I just thought it turned the plug socket on.

I think the UK made the on/off switches a requirement a long while back.
As regarding the sockets and lightswitches in bathrooms, an electrician told me that
if there's water on the socket or on your hand or whatever then you could risk receiving a 240V
current just by touching the switch.

I think it's just a case of the UK being a bit overcautious, but they do reckon the extra voltage could
make a difference between life or death.  Obviously, if you're in the bathtub and an electrical appliance that is
on falls in you're toast whether you're in the UK or US but the more incidental shocks from sockets and switches
may be the difference.

Strangely, it seems that the 240V shaver sockets are ok, so if you plugged in the shaver and then stuck it
in the bathtub (full of water) you'd think that'd be just as much a hazard...

Matt

Part of it too, might be the space issue.   In my parents bathroom in the states, the sockets are over the sink and the bathtub is six feet away.  Here in the UK, my sink is right next to the tub.  And there's no shelf or anything-things are always falling in the tub. 

the bathroom shaver socket has (or should have) an isolating transformer in it so that you cannot be connected directly to the mains supply.  It's the only type of socket permitted in the bathroom