Siting of cooker switch

[Tabitha]

Hi,
Can I have some advice please guys?
We are having a new kitchen fitted with a built under electric oven and gas hob, sited against one of the kitchen walls. At the moment there is no cooker switch as we have a gas cooker. We have just had an electrician to look at the job and he asked if he could site the cooker switch on the wall above the worktop to the right of the oven and hob. Now it could be just me, but I think that the cooker switch will look pretty ugly on my nice newly tiled wall (bare with me). Do any of you experts have another idea as to where we could site this switch, preferably out of site.
Thanks

 

[GaryMo]

Not at all, your electrician gave you good advice. The switch should be readily accessible and within reach of your cooker (2 meters).

 

[Steve]

A kitchen is not a work of art, it is a functional room.

Theres nothing like a nice neat row of electrical accessories along a kitchen worktop. Keep them all level and straight and it'll look good.

 

[sparkyspike]

If you don't want your cooker switch to stand out, then avoid the vertical type faceplates. Instead go for the horizontal ones with a socket, or, if your cooker is small enough, the single square ones.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Only the oven is electric (plus the hob ignition, I expect) - a good chance that only an FCU is needed, rather than a large cooker switch, or if not then just a 20A switch.

What's the rating of the oven?

 

[Tabitha]

I think that the oven is near to 3KW (2.7 or something like that).
The electrician is also running 2 other double sockets off the same cable and he said that I would need a cooker socket because if all the sockets were being used at the same time it could trip out. I did plan to ask him if he could use the horizontal plate with the extra socket on, but why do they have to make them with a dirty great red switch on....isn't the words 'Cooker' enough then???

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I think that the oven is near to 3KW (2.7 or something like that).

Then a switched FCU is all you need.

The electrician is also running 2 other double sockets off the same cable

That has no bearing on the switch for the cooker.

Unless....

and he said that I would need a cooker socket because if all the sockets were being used at the same time it could trip out.

Surely he's not proposing to have them downstream of the cooker switch?

What are the sockets for?

Do you have a separate cooker circuit? What rating is the MCB, and what size is the cable?

Is he an electrician or a kitchen fitter?

but why do they have to make them with a dirty great red switch on....isn't the words 'Cooker' enough then???

Actually no, it isn't...

 

[BS3036]

but why do they have to make them with a dirty great red switch on....isn't the words 'Cooker' enough then???

Actually no, it isn't...

MK cooker switches seem to have white levers though...?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So they do.

I guess they aren't classed as devices for emergency isolation, or if they are then MK are ignoring the preference for red.

And if it's not to be classed as an emergency isolator then it doesn't have to be on the wall....

 

[BS3036]

Yeah, but you said 'preference'. I believe the reg says 'readily accessible and durably marked'.

I don't think anyone who thought about it would argue in favour of hiding the switch.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

537.4.2.4 The means of operating... shall be clearly identified, preferably by colour. If a colour is used this shall be red with a contrasting background.

As I said - if MK do regard their CCUs as emergency devices then they are ignoring the preference for a red lever....

I don't think anyone who thought about it would argue in favour of hiding the switch.

OK - let's think about that.

Why not? What is the switch for?

 

[BS3036]

What is the switch for?

Safely removing the source of energy if there's a fat fire. It won't be the only thing you do though. Last time it happened I ruined a perfectly good towel, but the fire went out. I guess the next thing you do is move the pan onto a cold plate, but by then I would have wanted the red glow to have started to reduce, and the switch is the quickest way to save having to work out which knob to turn in a panic.

You don't really think it's a good idea to hide it, though, deep down?

 

[theoutlaw]

I think that the oven is near to 3KW (2.7 or something like that).
The electrician is also running 2 other double sockets off the same cable and he said that I would need a cooker socket because if all the sockets were being used at the same time it could trip out. I did plan to ask him if he could use the horizontal plate with the extra socket on, but why do they have to make them with a dirty great red switch on....isn't the words 'Cooker' enough then???

Me not being a sparky, is running domestic sockets off a potential supply of 40amp allowed?
Not worried about the current draw, more the risk of getting a huge belt off a normally 16amp socket.
Go easy, as I said I aint a sparky.

Tony

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What is the switch for?

Safely removing the source of energy if there's a fat fire.

Inside an oven?

It won't be the only thing you do though. Last time it happened I ruined a perfectly good towel, but the fire went out.

You put out a fat fire in an oven with a towel?

I guess the next thing you do is move the pan onto a cold plate, but by then I would have wanted the red glow to have started to reduce, and the switch is the quickest way to save having to work out which knob to turn in a panic.

Ovens don't usually have lots of knobs.

You don't really think it's a good idea to hide it, though, deep down?

I didn't say I did.

Or that I did not.

I wanted to consider what the purpose of the switch is. So far we've got one vote for emergency switching. Shame there's no way to add a poll to an existing topic.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Me not being a sparky, is running domestic sockets off a potential supply of 40amp allowed?

Yes. It's usually 32A after all.

Not worried about the current draw, more the risk of getting a huge belt off a normally 16amp socket.

16A??

And anyway - the rating of the device is irrelevant, 230V is 230V, and no MCB will save your life when it might only take as little as 50mA to kill you, and will certainly take less than the smallest MCB will pass indefinitely.