Redring "Super 7" Shower Failure

I developed a dislike for my Redring "Super 7" shower when the #@!&ing thing tried to burn my house down.

I kid ye not, although I do exaggerate somewhat. Here's a picture of it (right).

Looks harmless enough, doesn't it?

So there I was, innocently having a shower when it suddenly went cold. Not brutally cold, just onto the low range instead of the high range. Thinking that it was probably down to the switch, which had seemed a bit unreliable recently, I switched it off.

When I'd recovered from Hypothermia, I came back with a screwdriver, expecting to find some problem with the low/high switch. Instead I found this (on the left).

Now, unfortunately it's not very clear from that photo (naff webcam, sorry), but just above the microswitch (black thing in the middle bottom of the photo) you should be able to make out some scorching. Also note the piggyback crimp connector just to the left of the microswitch (I disconnected it). This should be brass colour, not black. Further up you should be able to make out some discolouring of the wiring and other components, and of the back of the box itself.

The bit that really worried me though was this.

The insulation is shot and two wires have melted together.

So I disconnected the shower and rather than get a replacement electric shower I plumbed in a proper thermostatic mixer shower. Much better.

A little further investigation and I think I can guess what hapenned. These are pictures of the microswitch block at the bottom of the second photo, only it's been taken out. You are looking at it from its top as it is in the above photo.

In the left hand microswitch you can see that one of the connectors is missing and there is a big burnt hole where it should be. I'm guessing the switch jammed and started sparking. The heat from the sparks melted the microswitch and conducted sufficiently far up the cables to cause the insulation damage and melt them together.

Fortunately, no harm to any persons or other things, living or dead, was done, but I believe there could have been and hence I will be not be installing or recommending any Redring products for the forseeable future.