DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi,

Our old single electric oven just packed up and we've ordered a new one that's coming tomorrow (just a cheap Bush RLWFOX). The instructions for it say that it should be hardwired in.

Because there is a cooker switch above the work surface, I wrongly assumed our current oven was hardwired in. When I removed it this afternoon I discovered it actually plugged in.

Having checked the manual, the Total power(W) is listed as 2215-2635. And I've since read in a couple of places that anything under 3k is OK to plug into a socket.

So am I correct in thinking I can put a 13 amp plug on the end of the new oven and just plug it in?

It it were me, I would remove the cable from the hob, and put it into a duel cooker connection unit then rewire the hob and oven from the cooker connection unit.

You have said new oven comes with no cable, so you need to do some rewiring, but also you can see the bottom of the hob and today there is normally a divider between hob and oven so both have independent cooling air, the hob often draws the air from under the casement and up the back, so having a socket or other unit at the back of the casement can cause a problem.

It looks as if the oven was put in a cupboard rather than a unit designed for an oven, in the old days of halogen hobs one could get away with this, but the electronics in an induction hob do not like getting hot, and we must consider the worse case scenario, being 2 hours into the Christmas dinner and the power failing, which means no fan cooling, so all the oven heat goes into the unit it is housed in, so need a unit to take the heat.

I like eye level ovens, although when you do drop something then a lot worse, but not having to bend down is good, but my stand alone cooker has three heat areas for the oven and can draw nearly 20 amp on just the oven, allowing closed door grilling etc. So in general if you want oven under the hob, a stand alone cooker works out better. There are exceptions like steam ovens, but that opening does not look as if designed for an oven.

I know many people do put the oven under the hob even when built in, I assume waiting until they can afford to make it eye level so once they can they don't need to buy new oven and hob as well.

However you need to consider now the future, fitting a cooker connection unit in that space will not be easy, specially if insuring the cables follow safe routes, it may well be your fitting it as a stop gap, but now is the time to consider that housing. It will be easier to wire with the housing out.

Reading what you can said on the other forum, I would likely use a good quality plug, and some 1.5 mm flex and as a temporary basis plug it in so you have an oven while you consider the over all situation.

You really need a double cooker connection unit, hard wired in which looking at pictures means removing the cupboards to let the cable and back box into the wall, even if they then go back in same position, if anything like my own home you will want to consider do you want a new unit actually designed for a oven, so you likely need some breathing space to fully consider options.