Hi all,
We're doing a renovation on a tight budget (isn't everyone) so as much as possible is DIY and to keep the kitchen costs down I'm first fixing the electrics myself then electrician will test, make final connections at each end and certify etc.
When originally engaging with the electrician we made it clear that the kitchen - moving to a previous living area - would have an electric hob, 2x ovens, dishwasher, fridge and heated floor.
As we have an old cottage and running things from the house CU to that area is difficult we decided to run a new circuit from the CU on a spare MCB and have a dedicated kitchen CU and contain all the new electrics in that area:
- 6mm Hob
- 4mm ring to cover the 2x ovens, 3x double sockets,
- 4mm ring to cover fridge and dishwasher and the heated flooring
- LED Lighting - 10 spots plus some LED strips under cupboards
The electrician wanted a 10mm feed for this from the main CU - running across a room, then the kitchen tot about 11m total. I have run this in the cavity following the path of the existing ring main. No insulation in that cavity but it does go through a hole in a beam. First fix and the plastering on that side of the house and the new kitchen has been completed.
Speaking with the electrician ahead of his visit to connect up, I was talking about the MK grid switches for the appliances and the fact the hob one was 20a - as I recently found Wren (supplying appliances) had said the hob needed 32A on our charter paperwork I thought I would check about it - even though the Neff website states "4.6kW power output (20A); current management options for 16A, 13A or 10A connection: limit the maximum power if needed (depends on fuse protection of electric installation." and that was what original calculations were based on.
Based on that he's now said the 10mm is not high enough rated and needs us to run a larger feed.
This leaves a quandry about the path for the cable, if we really do need to change to larger.
Are we able to run it outside underground and back in to where the new CU is? REALLY don't want to see it clipped to the side of the house - which is (and was originally) his preference, there's some stuff there already that I am working to reduce as it looks bad. Didn't want to have to dig out the new plaster anyway but the kitchen units have now been built up infront of an area where it runs too which are customised to match beams etc so pulling it all out is a horrendous thought.
TIA
