Switch behind cooker

[Ambergreen45]

Hi,

I need to replace an old cooker. There is a hard wired switch behind the cooker and the cable seems to be inside a metal conduit buried within the plaster. I could not pull the cooker to take a proper picture since it is a gas appliance. There is an Unswitched FCU and a 2 gang Cooker Switch & Socket with neon at around 400mm above the top of the hobs (above and behind the cooker). There are also a gas pipe, central heating, hot water an other copper pipes that run alongside and behind the appliance.

The new cooker will be gas and will also have an electric cable flex that will run behind it and up to the switch. Currently on a budget, I would like to leave the hard wired switch where it is but put a 600mm x 600mm splashback supported with brackets and enough gap between it and the wall to allow the 13Amp plug to be connected to the switch. Would that be a viable solution?

Another point: There is an old extractor fan with a pull cord located well above the cooker. Could that now be a problem? I may not use it at all but is it a requirement that kitchens do have an extractor fan even though there are windows in the same room? Just want to be sure.

I have included two pictures.

Thank you.

View media item 73602 View media item 73603

 

[conny]

Not an electrician but seem to remember from a few years back that you should not have a switch at the back of a cooker in case you need to turn it off in an emergency, (such as a chip pan fire). Putting a splashback up, whilst possibly protecting the switch from excess heat, would actually restrict access to it in an emergency even further.

Hopefully one of the electricians on here could advise you better but I would certainly be looking to move it to the left a bit to achieve safe access.

PS. Your gas cooker should be on a flexible hose to enable it to be serviced. If it is solid pipe connected I think this may be illegal.

 

[EFLImpudence]

But the switch is hardly relevant to a gas cooker.

It's just a bit untidy.

 

[Ambergreen45]

PS. Your gas cooker should be on a flexible hose to enable it to be serviced. If it is solid pipe connected I think this may be illegal.

The installer will provide a flexible hose.

But the switch is hardly relevant to a gas cooker.

Does it mean I could let the cable flex run behind from the top of the cooker to the socket above it, without having a splashback? The new cooker does not have a lid.

The plug is just to allow the gas igniter and the oven light to work.

 

[EFLImpudence]

But the switch is hardly relevant to a gas cooker.

Does it mean I could let the cable flex run behind from the top of the cooker to the socket above it, without having a splashback? The new cooker does not have a lid.
The plug is just to allow the gas igniter and the oven light to work.

Oh no, I wouldn't suggest that.
I thought the new cooker would be similar.

Is there somewhere else you could plug in the gas cooker, even with an extension lead?

 

[Ambergreen45]

There is another socket on the other side but that would mean the extension lead would need to pass behind the cupboards where the sink is; there was a water leak in the past though. But that's a possibility to do that. If the Cooker Switch was not used, could it remain there though? I know this kind of installation, ie switch above cooker use to be very common some years ago.

On the other hand, I presume a cooker lid or a splashback on brackets with a wall gap would prevent steam and a certain amount of heat from affecting the flex and 2 gang switch (if that is the reason for the new regulation)...

 

[Ambergreen45]

Since I have a concrete floor, central heating and hot water pipes run behind the cooker. If the cable flex from the cooker touches those pipes, should I be concerned?