COOKER ELECTRICS

[BARCUD]

Hi guys, I've posted this in 'appliances' but thought later perhaps it would be better here ?
I've had a new gas cooker exchanged by a gas fitter. I now have to connect the cooker to the mains for the ignition e't'c' to work. I have a cooker electric switch on the wall so do I put a plug on the cooker lead and plug into this switch ?

BARCUD

 

[ColJack]

did the old cooker have an igniter feed to it?

and yes it's an acceptiblke way to do it as you've said providing that it's a gas oven also..

 

[BARCUD]

Hi and thanks for the reply.

TAKE A LOOK AT MY PHOTO ALBUM .
The cooker has a gas oven and hob. I need to connect the cooker electrics and then the hood to the mains supply. On the cooker wall is the switch that you can hopefully see in my photo album. It has E N L coming from above the switch and E N L coming from below the switch.

Also behind the cooker lower down is an uncovered switch that is live !!!

BARCUD[/u][/b]

 

[ColJack]

lazy git...
See the 2 sets of words below the reply window.. ?
click the one that says "Show My Images" and then click on the picture you want to include...

View media item 9151View media item 9152
tadaa... easy huh?...

any way, to the point..

that cooker switch has seen better days ( might be worth changing it for a nice stainless one to match the new cooker ), as well as the "exposed" cooker outlet below which needs seeing to..

it's also not in an ideal place right above the cooker itself ( which it looks like it is from the pics.. )..

you have several options..

1. you could change the fuse / breaker in the fuse board for a 6 or 10A one and connect the igniter to the cooker outlet plate
2. leave it as it is and plug it into the socket with a suitable sized fuse in the plug ( 3A at a guess )
3. change the cooker outlet plate for a fused spur ( or unswitched socket ) and wire ( or plug ) the igniter into this..

option 1 would require a part P registered electrician or a fee payable to the LABC..
option 2 is the easiest but leaves you with an unsightly ( and most probably dangerous ) plug above the cooker ( wider angle picture showing the whole cooker area required )
option 3 is the best if you can change the cooker switch to one without a socket.. ( not entirely sure you can get horizontal cooker switches without a socket..??? )

personally I'd go for option 3 as it takes care of the "exposed" cooker outlet which needs to be done anyway..

 

[BARCUD]

Ta very much.

Yes, that switch hasn't been used for years and is for the bin.

Is this correct ?
Take the cooker flex and put it into a 45A outlet plate,
then tale a line from this toa 13A switched fused connection unit.

This is what I had originally planned and sounds similar to your option number 3.

The 45A outlet plate would be low behind the cooker and the switch would be on a side wall to the right of the cooker.

How am I doing so far ?

many thanks again, BARCUD

 

[ColJack]

no, you change the cooker outlet plate to either a fused connection unit ( unswitched ), or a socket outlet ( again unswitched )..

you then wire the igniter into this fused connection unit, or plug it into the socket ( if it has a plug )

as for your cooker hood, that's a seperate issue and needs different tactics...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1) You must move that cooker switch - it is dangerous to have it there.

2) The cooker outlet plate must then be moved so that it's vertically below the switch, or disconnected.

3) What rating and cable size is the circuit? You could potentially use it to serve a few FCUs for hob & oven ignition, hood etc.

 

[BARCUD]

Oh dear I'm totally confused now.

ColJack - The cooker switch in the photo is fed from above, by what size cable I have no idea. There is then a feed from this to the plate below.

My plan is to, remove both the switch and plate, this leaves me with the cable feed.

To this cable I will connect a unswitched FCU. (can it be a switched FCU ?) Also into this FCU I will put the cooker cable.

This FCU will be situated away from the hob.

ban-all-sheds - as I've just mentioned I don't know the size of the cable, how do I find this out ?

If the cable is the right size would I be able to run a cooker FCU, and then run a hood FCU fron this ?

BARCUD

 

[ColJack]

we want a wider angle photo and then we'll be able to advise further..

doing what you suggest is going to need to be done by a Part P registered sparky, or notified to the LABC in advance of starting the work...

while the wall is minus the tiling, now is the time to re-arrange the electrics in that area to suit..

using that feed to do the cooker hood and such means you will no longer have a large feed should you change your cooker for a part electric one at any time in the future, and would need new cabling run in then...
so if you're happy to stick with gas, and don't intend to move out any time soon then you're golden..

BAS, how come you're not screaming at him to get a pro in, he sounds just as clueless about electrics as the attractivebrunette, and also seems determined to ignore advice and do it his way... ( re the cooker switch and cooker outlet plate / fused spur suggestion )

 

[Chri5]

The cooker cable is 6mm and is more than adequate to run a radial circuit consisting of a few fused spurs and even a couple of sockets.

The fused Spurs are for minor cooker control / timer /ignition and for fan vent. They will have or need 3amp fuses.

So if the existing cooker cable is fused at say 40amp, and you have now adapted it and put in 2 x 3amp fused spurs you could add on some sockets if you need them.

Due to rules on cable routes you should only have cables running vertically or horizontally from a fitting (socket, fused spur etc..).

Make life easy and retain the existing cooker switch cavity and have a blank plate over it. This will then satisfy the cable zone rules and allow you to run cables from the fused spurs new (safe position) to the side of the cooker, back for the cooker and fan connections.

 

[BARCUD]

ColJack - yes I am clueless about electrics hence my post here on the forum.
But how does my plan explained in my last reply to you differ from your suggestion that makes me 'determined to ignore' your advise ? The only difference I can see is my question regarding 'a switched FCU'.

{My plan is to, remove both the switch and plate, this leaves me with the cable feed.

To this cable I will connect a unswitched FCU. (can it be a switched FCU ?) Also into this FCU I will put the cooker cable.

This FCU will be situated away from the hob.}

Feel free to put me right as that's why I'm writing this.

Clueless BARCUD

 

[ColJack]

ColJack - yes I am clueless about electrics hence my post here on the forum.

That comment wasn't aimed as a slur at you, it was a friendly shot at BAS..
He exploded at another poster asking questions about a hob intall, and at the people trying to give her advice to stop her buring the kitchen down..
Yet he seems content to spoon feed information to you regarding the partial rewire of your kitchen...

But how does my plan explained in my last reply to you differ from your suggestion that makes me 'determined to ignore' your advise ? The only difference I can see is my question regarding 'a switched FCU'.

I advised to fit the unswitched socket or fused spur in place of the existing cooker outlet plate that is missing it's cover, the one behind the cooker presumably..

then you say that you're going to remove the cooker switch and cooker plate and move the cable feeding it somewhere else..

as already advised several times, this is then notifiable to the LABC under Part P of the building regulations. You must notify the LABC before you start work, pay a fee, wait for an inspector to come and see your work and sign it off, wait for a tester to come and test and sign it off, then you get your building compliance certificate......... or get a Part P registered electrician who will do the work for you and notify his results to the LABC, then you get your certificate...


as already repeatedly asked, if you could provide us with a wider angle picture of the cooker area so that we can see the surrounding walls etc, then we can get a better overview of the situation and adjust our advice accordingly..

 

[BARCUD]

ColJack, I've been involved with forums for as long as I can remember the internet being around. They have revolutionised the way we acquire information and we can get advise 24 hrs a day FREE of charge. BUT the drawback is when someone calls you a 'dickhead' on a forum you can't tell if they were smiling or scowling when they wrote it. Hence I thought the 'clueless' was aimed at me ! sorry 'bout that.

First thing in the morning I will post a couple of pics and hopefully you won't have gotten fed up with me and will advice. Much appreciated.

BARCUD

 

[ColJack]

first thing in the morning?

do you think i just sit here in my undies waiting for posts to come in so I can feel usefull?

oh wait... yeah I do at the minute since I'm out of work...

I'll try and use more smileys in future...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

He exploded at another poster asking questions about a hob intall, and at the people trying to give her advice to stop her buring the kitchen down..

After 4 pages of her demonstrating that not only was she utterly ignorant, she was so stupid that she didn't see that her complete inability to understand anything meant she shouldn't be doing it. To the extent that she chose a 3A cable to power a 28A appliance....

Yet he seems content to spoon feed information to you regarding the partial rewire of your kitchen...

Advising him to move an accessory away from a hob isn't really spoonfeeding a partial rewire...

I advised to fit the unswitched socket or fused spur in place of the existing cooker outlet plate that is missing it's cover, the one behind the cooker presumably..

He can't - he's got to move them...

then you say that you're going to remove the cooker switch and cooker plate and move the cable feeding it somewhere else..

as already advised several times, this is then notifiable to the LABC under Part P of the building regulations.

Whether he moves it or not, adding an FCU is notifiable.