Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

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vulpi
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by vulpi »

Hi,

I live in a new build, and the builder installed a shaver socket near a corner of the bathroom.

I've got 2 questions relating to this:

* Is it safe to install a stainless steel corner cabinet, as in the picture, and move the shaver socket to inside the cabinet? I realise this means cutting a hole in the cabinet
* The builder's Site Agent told me it was fine to charge my electric toothbrush using the shaver socket - picture below. However, from reading other posts on UH, should I replace this with a shaver/toothbrush socket to go inside the cabinet?

I can cut and fit the cabinet myself, but I'd intend to get an electrician to replace the socket.

Any help really appreciated!
_cabinet.jpg
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_socket.jpg
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ayjay
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by ayjay »

That socket is not suitable for toothbrushes, it even says "Shavers Only".

Leaving a toothbrush charging on there will burn out the socket.
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vulpi (Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:40 pm)
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by Someone-Else »

It will be safe to move it, but a couple of points to note.

Leave room around the socket to you can actually fit the "face plate" on.
Will there be enough room in the cabinet for the toothbrush to stand up? (They have to stand up when charging)
Don't forget you will have a hole where the socket was.

Why are you ignoring what the socket says?

You want one as shown below

Image

Oh, look, it has a beard and a tooth brush :-P
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vulpi (Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:48 pm)
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by ericmark »

It is an interesting point, the putting of the plug into the socket causes many shaver sockets to switch on, the isolation transformer inside the device is not powered unless some thing is plugged in, the early shaver sockets would over heat and discolour if left energised for an extended time. Which since when I started to shave some 50 years ago there were cordless shavers which are clearly no different to a cordless tooth brush shaver sockets for years even following the instruction shavers only could over heat.

So if you want to charge a tooth brush or shaver, then it needs the tooth brush sign to show it is continuous rated.

If there is a lock on the bathroom corner cupboard then it does not need to be a shaver socket, it's not considered as being part of the bathroom. As to access without use of tool or key not so sure, what forms a room, clearly a socket inches outside the bathroom door is OK, also above ceiling and below floor or behind a bath panel (assuming tool required to remove bath panel) but exactly where the line is drawn is another question. So if there is a lock on the cupboard but the lock is never used, does it comply?

The problem with shaver sockets is they can only supply one item, so 4 bedroom house would need 5 shaver/tooth brush sockets to charge the families tooth brushes, and question is if rechargeable why do they need charging in the bathroom? Image you can get tooth brush chargers, but it does not say it complies with BS4573 the same applies to USB outlets, one would assume a 5 volt outlet is far safer than a 230 volt outlet, but USB outlets are not to BS4573 so although likely safer, they don't comply with IET/BSi BS7671 regulations. However inside a locked cupboard it would not have to.

ImageUSB outlets and the chargers shown to my mind are safe, a charger like this Imagecould charge the whole families tooth brushes, but it does not comply for use in a bathroom.

Some times it seems rules have not kept up with technology.
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by Someone-Else »

ericmark has a fair point (That I overlooked) why go to the expense of buying the correct socket and putting it in a new position when all you need do, is as most folk do (and me) plug in the tooth brush charger elsewhere. Ours is in the kitchen.
Above are my opinions Below is my signature.

Would you hit a nail with a shoe because you don't have a hammer? of course not, then why work on anything electrical without a means of testing Click Here to buy a "tester" just because it works, does NOT mean it is safe.

:mrgreen: If gloom had a voice, it would be me.

:idea1: Click Here for a video how to add/change pictures


Inept people use the QUOTE BUTTON instead of the QUICK REPLY section :-)
vulpi
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by vulpi »

someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:31 pm It will be safe to move it, but a couple of points to note.
Great, thanks for confirming there's no specific restriction around positioning it inside the cupboard.
someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:31 pm Will there be enough room in the cabinet for the toothbrush to stand up? (They have to stand up when charging)
Yup, good point - I already contacted the seller on Amazon to confirm the various heights between shelves, and I can definitely fit the toothbrush on the stand inside
someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:31 pm Don't forget you will have a hole where the socket was.
Yeah, I'll patch the original hole up before fitting the cupboard onto the wall.
someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:31 pm Why are you ignoring what the socket says?
Haha, yeah, that's what happens when we believe new-build Site Agents! He said people do it all the the time... :-/

Anyway, the one in your link looks ideal - I'd seen similar elsewhere on UH, so figured I'd use this opportunity to replace it.
someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 2:31 pm You want one as shown below
Image
Oh, look, it has a beard and a tooth brush :-P
Yup, noted on both the graphics! Funnily enough, when the house was being built, I specifically told them we'd definitely be charging toothbrushes in the en-suites and asked them to fit plates accordingly...
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by vulpi »

someone-else wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:27 pm ericmark has a fair point (That I overlooked) why go to the expense of buying the correct socket and putting it in a new position when all you need do, is as most folk do (and me) plug in the tooth brush charger elsewhere. Ours is in the kitchen.
In our last house, we did indeed charge our toothbrushes away from the bathroom - in the bedroom - but only because we didn't have appropriate wiring in the bathroom.

So one thing we were looking forward to, moving into a new build, was knowing that we'd be able to just leave the toothbrushes in the bathroom and be able to charge them there.
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by vulpi »

ericmark wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:22 pm why do they need charging in the bathroom?
It's just laziness really! There's only two of us with electric brushes anyway.
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by LadySpark »

OK, I would suggest that you change the socket anyway because it is not intended for the continuous charging of an electric toothbrush. Putting a socket inside a cupboard is not an issue, other than accessibility but you know if you can reach it or not.

I am slightly concerned that you are planning to put a socket into a steel cabinet into the bathroom. You might well meet all the regulations and I trust that you will earth everything correctly but my gut feeling is that the risk of shock is higher due to water and electricity in the same room so you probably don't want to be mounting in steel, in an inaccessible place where you won't easily see damage. The plastic socket will look a bit out of place in the steel cabinet anyway. Is there nowhere else that you could put it?
vulpi
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Fit a toothbrush/shaver socket in stainless steel corner cupboard?

Post by vulpi »

Hey, LadySpark,
LadySpark wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 2:59 am OK, I would suggest that you change the socket anyway because it is not intended for the continuous charging of an electric toothbrush. Putting a socket inside a cupboard is not an issue, other than accessibility but you know if you can reach it or not.
Agreed, I'll be changing the socket now anyway, regardless of what the Site Agent told me.

LadySpark wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 2:59 am I am slightly concerned that you are planning to put a socket into a steel cabinet into the bathroom. You might well meet all the regulations and I trust that you will earth everything correctly but my gut feeling is that the risk of shock is higher due to water and electricity in the same room so you probably don't want to be mounting in steel, in an inaccessible place where you won't easily see damage.
...so this is kind of where I came in, with my original question - I was hoping that if it was installed and earthed correctly, then even although it's in a steel cabinet, it would be safe - but was looking for confirmation that this was indeed the case.

LadySpark wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2019 2:59 am The plastic socket will look a bit out of place in the steel cabinet anyway. Is there nowhere else that you could put it?
Yup, you're right - to get over this though, I'd need to look for a metal faceplate, to match the metal cabinet. The reason for the builder fitting it in the corner is because it's just about the only place in the bathroom that it can be fitted, so putting it inside a corner cupboard was intended to kill 2 birds with one stone.
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