wiring in new cooker - advice please

[chewymix]

Hi

We just moved and the place used to have a gas cooker which we asked to be removed. We moved in and brought with us an electric cooker and i wired this into the existing cooker outlet, ie the big outlet on the wall with cooker written on it. As this is an existing supply there is nothing wrong with me installing this myself is there? I have not broken any building regulations by doing this?

thanks

 

[didthathurt]

Whilst the installation of fixed equipment falls within part P, it is non-notifiable unless it involves the addition of or extension of a circuit. This means you can DIY it without involving Building Control but the job should be checked by a qualified person - ie you're supposed to get a spark in to check and test the job.

 

[whistler]

You need to be sure that the cable from the socket to the consumer unit is the correct rating. The house I moved into had electric oven and gas hob. The circuit had 6mm cable which is ok for the oven, but when I replace with a combined electric oven and hob, it will need 10mm cable.

 

[JohnD]

To be more precise:

Look at the manufacturer's rating plate on your cooker. It is likely to be inside the oven door, or round the back where the cables go in. It will say the power demand in voltage and watts or Amps or kWatts.

Watts = Volts x Amps so you can easily see how many amps it will draw at max power (in facts cookers almost invariably run below max power, as, even when you have all rings, and the oven, and the grill on at the same time, they are all thermostatically controlled and cycle on and off).

Then go and look at the rating of the MCB that supplies the cooker (it will most often be a B32, might be a B40 if there has been a big range cooker before.

also look at all the cable that is used for the cooker circuit (it should all be the same size). You will probably not be experienced enough to recognise its size by eye, but if you measure the width, come back and someone will know (another handy trick when you are learning is to buy or scrounge a few cable clips for T&E in sizes 1mm sq; 1.5mm sq, 2.5mm sq, 6mm sq and 10mm sq and keep them handy to compare to cable sizes. If they are in your pocket take the fixing pins out first!).

What you are trying to establish is (1) that the rating of the cable and any switches or junction boxes is at least as high as the rating of the MCB and (2) that the expected power draw of the appliance is not greater than that of the MCB (but there is some leeway here that we won't go on about just now)