New cooker circuit without replacing fusebox?

[DIY10291]

The electrics in my 3-bed mid-terrace house are pretty old, with an old Wylex fusebox. I would like to get an induction cooker (30-45A), and there's currently no cooker circuit (and no space in the fusebox).

I had an electrician round who suggested if I didn't want to upgrade the fusebox right now (would be disruptive with 4 inhabitants, and there has been some dodgy DIY wiring over the years - so there's a risk of having to rewire parts of it), we could get a separate mini fusebox for the new cooker. I'm tempted by this option as it's significantly cheaper, and the rest of the house electrics is ok (just want the cooker) - would rather save the rewire for when we would be doing something major so needing to be away for a while. Is this a good plan?

The quote was £600 which feels steep (I was guessing 0.5-1 days labour at £200-400 + maybe £100 in parts) - I'll try and get some more but does this seem reasonable (how long do you reckon it would take)? Fusebox is by the front door, and the oven/kitchen are in the opposite corner of the house

Thanks

 

[EFLImpudence]

Are you sure you do not already have a "cooker" circuit?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The quote was £600 which feels steep (I was guessing 0.5-1 days labour at £200-400 + maybe £100 in parts) - I'll try and get some more but does this seem reasonable (how long do you reckon it would take)? Fusebox is by the front door, and the oven/kitchen are in the opposite corner of the house

Time and cost, depends on what sort of job you want made of it. Surface wired all the way, front to back, will be much quicker and cheaper, than moving furniture, lifting carpets and floorboards, to hide the cable run under the floor above.

A photo of your existing 'fusebox', might be usefull.

 

[Murdochcat]

£600 for a small CU with 1 circuit

Do you live in a castle?

Get more quotes

AND you can get induction hobs that plug in

 

[DIY10291]

Are you sure you do not already have a "cooker" circuit?

Yep - the same gas cooker has been there for 30+ years, with piezo spark

Time and cost, depends on what sort of job you want made of it. Surface wired all the way, front to back, will be much quicker and cheaper, than moving furniture, lifting carpets and floorboards, to hide the cable run under the floor above.

A photo of your existing 'fusebox', might be usefull.

Cheers - I hadn't thought of that. I don't really mind how it looks if it would save a lot - is that common practice?

£600 for a small CU with 1 circuit

Do you live in a castle?

Get more quotes

AND you can get induction hobs that plug in

Ha. Yeah I thought it seemed a lot, though house is in London with solid walls. I'd seen those hobs but they're really underpowered, no? Kinda need to be able to use all 4 at once in my house.

 

[Murdochcat]

My advice to you is get further quotes for the board replacement and new circuit

Adding a small CU is almost certainly a false economy

 

[DIY10291]

My advice to you is get further quotes for the board replacement and new circuit

Adding a small CU is almost certainly a false economy

Thanks. My line of thought was that, if we were to sell the house in 5-10 years, it would very likely be completely gutted by the new buyer (walls, plumbing, electrics all need updating) - which would be an efficient time for new CU and probably a full rewire. A small CU is only £100-ish parts and labour, no?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Cheers - I hadn't thought of that. I don't really mind how it looks if it would save a lot - is that common practice?

It depends on the property, it would not be pretty to look at. It is often done that way, when the people living in the house, need to minimise the disruption.

Can you provide some clues, on what each of those fuses supply?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yep - the same gas cooker has been there for 30+ years, with piezo spark

Maybe, but -

are you sure you do not already have a "cooker" circuit?

 

[JohnD]

View attachment 355239

You have three red (30Amp) fuses.

In a typical house of the period, one would be for upstairs sockets, one would be for downstairs sockets, and one would be for a cooker circuit.

What are yours for?

 

[Risteard]

The cost doesn't seem that unreasonable to me.

 

[terryplumb]

If the price of £600 includes VAT ,it's not overly expensive for London. I would be inclined to upgrade the fuse board for a new consumer unit ,you have no RCD protection on any of your circuits ,an upgrade is well overdue, particularly if there are existing faults on the installation that need attention.
Have you ever had an EICR done ,(an inspection/ report basically) ?

 

[Jurassicspark]

In your kitchen, do you see any outlets adjacent to the existing cooker?

 

[securespark]

Has the fusebox got a cover? The circuits are usually described on the inside of that.

 

[Risteard]

If the price of £600 includes VAT ,it's not overly expensive for London. I would be inclined to upgrade the fuse board for a new consumer unit ,you have no RCD protection on any of your circuits ,an upgrade is well overdue, particularly if there are existing faults on the installation that need attention.
Have you ever had an EICR done ,(an inspection/ report basically) ?

It's fair even outside London.