Electic Cooker Point

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We are getting an electic built in cooker/hob, but we don't have a spur socket for the cooker in the kitchen.

The 30 amp feed for the electric cooker is currently powering the shower. Can this feed also be used to power the new cooker point or will it need a seperate feed.

I'm planning to call an electrician in, but I'd like to know what my options are open to me, and what is possible, so I'm not ripped off.

Any advice will be much appreciated

Jim
 
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To answer simply: No.

You will need a separate circuit. If I were you, I would consider reverting the 30A circuit back to the cooker, and have a new shower circuit installed that is suitable for 10.5kW showers. This will (hopefully) not be much more work than just installing a new circuit for the cooker, but it will allow you to install a more powerful electric shower at a later date if you so wish.
 
On closer inspection, I've noticed in my airing cupboard a switch for an electric water heater which is no longer in use, but it still has power to it. We now have gas central heating and the electric water heater has gone.

The shower is 9.5kw, presumably, the power to old electric water heater switch will be strong enough for the shower.

Jim
 
jimbob70 said:
On closer inspection, I've noticed in my airing cupboard a switch for an electric water heater which is no longer in use, but it still has power to it. We now have gas central heating and the electric water heater has gone.
What is the rating of the circuit that used to be used for the water heater? i.e. what size cable and what rating MCB?

The shower is 9.5kw, presumably, the power to old electric water heater switch will be strong enough for the shower.
Bit confused - are you saying that the shower is presumably 9.5kW, and asking if the switch could cope with it, or saying that it is 9.5kW, and presuming that the old switch will be OK? A 9.5kW shower on a 30A circuit is not right. Do you have an old fashioned fusebox, or a modern CU with MCBs? What is the rating of the main switch? What size is the cable feeding the shower? You could be in a risky situation here.

Anyway, no - it is extremely unlikely that a switch for an immersion heater would be anywhere near the capacity required for even a small electric shower, let alone a 9.5 - 10.5kW one, but then neither would the circuit supplying it.

If you've got an unused CU position from the old water heater, can't you use that for the cooker?
 
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This all looks remarkably dodgy to me.

That cable going into the "shower" switch looks like it's either 2.5mm or 4mm. Probably 2.5. Not 6mm, which is on the limit for a 9.5kW shower, and not 10mm, which is what is generally recommended.

As for the round cable - AFAIK, flex of approx ½" O.D. will be 4mm.

Have you ever felt these cables when the shower is running? Do they get hot?

Also, you have no RCD on the shower, which would be highly recommended, even if you weren't running it on an undersized cable with a rewireable fuse.

You must get an electrician in to sort this lot asap.
 
You have to be certain that every aspect of the circuit is capable of supplying the full load current for the appliance in question.

Are the tails (supplying the CU) big enough?

Has the CU supplying the shower got a main switch greater than or equal to the shower circuit (in the case of a one way CU) or 100A in the case of a larger CU?

Is the DP switch rated accordingly?

Is the cable big enough to account for voltage drop, and other factors like insulation?

Have you got RCD protection?

Also check that the main fuse and meter are rated to 100A.
 

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