Eletric oven installation and extending cooker switch cable Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[KenMo]

Hi all, first post! I’ve just had a new kitchen and am having a couple of slight probs fitting the new oven.

1. The new oven has come with a flex and the manual is saying to connect a plug to this. I was quite surprised at this as the last time I connected an electric cooker it was hard wired into 6mm cable and a heavy duty cooker switch. What’s the best thing to do here? The 6mm cable is already present at the oven, should I remove the flex and hard wire in the 6mm cable or will this invalidate the warranty? The alternative I suppose is to fit a socket on the wall behind the oven wired to the 6mm flex?
2. The other problem is that the cooker switch has had to be moved by about a foot as it is now directly above the new gas hob. I am trying to move the switch but the cable from the mains is very slightly too short by only an inch and I cant get any more pull on the cable. Do regs allow me to extend this cable using connector block or soldering/crimping or does this have to be done with a junction box?

[ericmark]

In reverse order:-
1) The Part P regulations will make it expensive to DIY there is a link in projects well worth reading.
2) Cables can be extended but the route has to be horizontal or vertical not both so you are likely to have to chase back into ceiling space there is a possibility you could use 45A Cooker Outlet see http://www.screwfix.com/prods/16686/Ele ... ker-Outlet as an example.
3) One has to follow manufactures recommendations I would have expected to connect into a Cooker Outlet as shown above but there may be overload requirements one would need to read the manufactures recommendations.
I would have expected also to remove the plug and wire into a fused connection unit but maybe the manufacturer wants it to be removable for maintenance. Since either the LABC or a registered electrician will be involved I would ask their advice.
Eric

[Sara H]

KenMo - The reason you have a plug and not a requirement to get an Electrician to fit a new 6mm cable is simple. This is not an all electric cooker. You have a new gas hob and I would imagine that the cooker as you call it is the under hob grill/oven. As it has no requirements for 4 or 5 cooking rings the need for a large input of power when cooking is significantly reduced.

As Ericmark and yourself have said any modifications you do will invalidate your manufacturers warranty. So cutting the plug and using an FCU or removing the cable and using a slightly homemade longer versions of the lead is a No No.

The easiest fix and one that is still within the regs. Would the assumption be that the cable to the Cooker Switch is long enough even in its new location but the cable from the Cooker Switch to the existing Cooker Connection Unit be too short?

If YES then the easiest solution would be to identify the cable route from the Cooker Connection Unit via removal of the face plate and then look for cable entry location. Hopefully this would give you an idea of the cable route back to the Cooker Switch location. If you can locate the cable route then all you have to do is chisel in a new back box location, fit a unswitche socket outlet and all is done. Go for a recommended brand of socket outlet as these are more likely to accept a 6mm cable. This can be done by a qualified Electrician without the need to modify anything within the fuse board but it would need testing to ensure that all is correct.

If NO then you will need to get a Part P qualified electrician to install a new circuit for the cooker which does not have to be in 6mm as the Cooker will only be rated at 13A max. However it would be better if it is done in 6mm as you don't really want ot rip you kitchen apart if you decide to change back to an all electric cooker at some later date.

HTH

Sara

PS. A woman that knows more about kitchens than just appliances :wink:

[KenMo]

Thanks Eric. After removing part of a baton and a couple of holes in the wall I was eventually able to pull the cable enough to fit the cooker switch in a suitable location so that problem is solved.

The manufacturer (Hoover) recommendations are very light on detail but for both the electric oven and gas hob they appear to be suggesting that a standard plug is fitted to the supplied cable so I am going to fit a double socket behind them supplied from the cooker switch and this should do the job.

[KenMo]

Thanks also Sara H. As i said in the above post I think i have it sorted, i had a lot of trouble but eventually made the cable reach to the new cooker switch position. The cable from the cooker switch to the back of the oven/hob has plenty of slack so i have it hooked up to a double socket and both the oven and hob plugged in to this.

For some reason my posts seem to be delaying in appearing here. I posted the last one before Sara at some point on Sat but it didnt go up till Sun!

[ericmark]

The Sysops are rather slow and I have complained we are informed of reply's before they are released for reading.
When I first looked at your reply on feeding a hob from a socket I thought ups then I saw it was gas so that's OK.
Seems a good method the cable from isolator to socket should be less than 3 meters and if unless marked hob and oven will need RCD protection.
So I would write on them with felt pen hob and oven if not RCD protected so it complies.
Also it would come under Part P.
Eric