Playing it safe with electricity in Brazil

@marcotenore - at least it appears you have an earth (ground), so you should be ok, and what you describe is very common here, albeit not the safest! If you have a shower that plugs into a socket it is also easiest for any maintenance. But make sure it is all connected correctly in your electric panel with the correctly rated trip switch.

About setting the shower to zero after use - you do not need to do that, as the electric is cut off as soon as the water stops flowing (assuning the flow switch inside is working correctly). What you do not want to do is touch that rotary heat adjustor while the water is actually running, as that is when the electric IS connected to the shower head!

So you need to reduce the heat to zero after every shower? I have never been touching the heat rotary switch on the shower head at all.
-@marcotenore

Porcelain block is better.

No need to fiddle with the switch.  Just leave the way it is. 

Assuming you have no gas piped in from the curbside ( which would prompt you to purchase a gas heater, a R$ 2,500 purchase on an entry level model ). Those rinky dinky electrical showers are a setback to the 60's and 70's, when having an electrical or gas heater was only found in  rich folk households.

If your shower head has no toggle switch for different temperatures, and yours is set a maximum ( winter, ), then grab a couple extra  resistors for your model showerhead and stash them at your pantry or storage.   these things have a tendency to go  bust from time to time. 

@Peter Itamaraca thank you, good advice🙏

Those electric showers scare me too. I see that they have some kind of ceramic connector that is exposed with no electrical tape. Why do they use this instead of just directly connecting the wires and wrapping with electrical tape to at least provide some protection from splashing water?
I was badly shocked by an improperly installed cook top range in an airbnb in Rio. Luckily was wearing sneakers or I think I may have been a goner.
-@marcotenore

I am not sure where you are from. Many countries in the world do not use the US-style "wire nut" connectors. In their early designs, they were well known to loosen over time, expansion and contraction and all of that. So, those wire nuts were banned in lots of countries, even today. Have you tried to find them here in Brazil? Some are available, but can be quite difficult to find and very few people use them for anything but things like speaker wiring. The ceramic blocks you are referring to are quite old-fashioned, but when properly used, are very safe, simple, and secure.

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=AB5 … p;dpr=1.25

The single biggest problem with them is that most people either do not know how to use them or are simply too lazy to use them correctly. Stranded wire should NEVER be placed in them and secured down with a screw; stranded wire should never be held down with a screw as a clamp. That is not legal or code anywhere. Without the correct use of crimped ferrules, the wires are not secure, cannot carry a full load, and will break.

https://www.efixx.co.uk/Know%20How/ferrules

@rraypo good info thank you. What is the issue with just twisting the two wires together and wrapping with electrical tape? Why is one of those porcelain things even needed?

TIA

@rraypo good info thank you. What is the issue with just twisting the two wires together and wrapping with electrical tape? Why is one of those porcelain things even needed?
TIA
-@marcotenore

If you only have 2 wires coming from the shower then it you will not be safe as there is no earth (ground). This is not uncommon in older buildings, as many years ago no earth circuit was ever installed - to save money. The practise of (properly) connecting wires together with insulating tape is also common in construction here, but I would certainly advise against in in shower installations, even if using high tension tape.

As showers often need maintenance (eg replacement of heat element as mentioned previously, cleaning of head, etc), then it is easier and safer to simply pull a plug from a socket. The danger I have seen with tape is that often people try to reuse the same bit of tape, or it is not properly secured when reconnecting...

I see, thank you. I do have three wires and I'm hoping the green one is ground and is actually grounded (new house). So no safety benefit to having a porcelain connector vs twisting the wires together and wrapping with insulating tape. Keep in mind this is happening outside the wall. My concern with the porcelain was that it wasn't covered and therefore water could splash on it. So I thought at least the wires covered with insulated tape would provide some protection.