Oven and induction hob connection

Hi Guys,

I am having trouble trying to find information on the following, can anyone help please??

I am installing a new kitchen and am putting in a 7.4kw induction hob and 4.2 kw Oven. seperate supplies and switches.

I am going to have glass splash backs and want to minimize the amount of cut outs on the splash back.
So is it possible to mount a false bottom to one of the wall units and have the isolation switches mounted flush on the underside of the wall units??
If this doesn't comply with regs is there any other way of doing this?

Thanks

you can put switches inside cupboards, so avoiding the cutouts in the splashback.

FWIW, glass splashbacks look great when there in a showroom/clean, but they can be a PIA to clean when crud gets down the back of them. They are also difficult to seal without them looking messy. You also need a very flat wall to mount the glass against without it looking rubbish.
If i were you, i would take more time to consider installing these.

Thanks for the reply,

All the walls are going to be skimmed so should be relatively flat, and im not attempting to fit them myself, will use an established company to supply and fit.

So would it be better for the switches on the underside or inside??

higgster said:

Thanks for the reply,

All the walls are going to be skimmed so should be relatively flat, and im not attempting to fit them myself, will use an established company to supply and fit.

So would it be better for the switches on the underside or inside??

Click to expand...

The wall ought to be very flat, not relatively flat. I would really nail the fitters down about this. How long is the wall? How many pieces of glass will that call for? Glass doesn't really fit well to concave/convex walls! Be advised

IMO, place the switches inside the cupboards, preferable on the side, near the top and front. This puts the ugly things out of view, but they still remain readily accessible for whatever reason.

If you fit switches in the back of wall cupboards then cut a clearance hole in the back of the cupboard and mount the switch on the wall.

Remember that in the event of an emergency you may have to empty the cupboard before you can isolate the appliance. ( or hit the CU main switch and lose all power and lights ).

Cheers for the advise guys, At least I was on the right track, I have a couple of options so will have a think and see what will work best.

As for the glass splash backs, there will be two walls, one is approx 2.5m long with a higher portion to go up to the extractor, the other wall is 4m long with a window to go around. so multiple peices.

We havn't agreed anything yet, the company come around once the kitchen is complete that way they can make an exact template to suit.

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Thats what I thought, so is underneath a wall cupboard 'clearly visible' ??

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its going to be a matter of opinion here, but there is nowt wrong with a switch inside a cupboard, so long as it is secure/proper materials etc.
How many airing cupboard have you seen with FCU's inside?

Why do you need an emergency switch for a cooker?

Ive had a few near death experiences with food, but they always been due to consumption, not preparation

I know another contributor here will state an example of not being able to use the controls provided on the cooker itself in the event of an emergency, but that is a rare as rocking horse plop (Hi Bernard )

How many times do you have visitors come into your house and cook unsupervised? If that were to be a probable scenario, whilst instructing them on where stuff is (such as wooden spoons for unplugging dangerous items) you could show them the switch is.

Where is the emergency control switch for gas cookers?

no disrespect Holmsybaby, but i think section 537.3 "switching off for mechanical maintence" (AKA, cleaning) is usually the primary reason for the installation of such switches.

In a commercial installation, i might adopt a different view point, probably based on a risk assessment of some form

mikhailfaradayski said:

I know another contributor here will state an example of not being able to use the controls provided on the cooker itself in the event of an emergency, but that is a rare as rocking horse plop (Hi Bernard )

Click to expand...

It is the rare events that catch people out. Like the oven thermostat contacts not opening when the oven was seriously overheating.

lol, i thought you'd say something like that.

I still say that it is perfectly acceptable to place a switch inside a cupboard.
Id further add that some might argue that the average cooker switch is not even suitable as a device for emergency switching, although there does seem to be a contradiction of sorts between the suggestions of table 53.2 and 537.4.2.6

mikhailfaradayski said:

lol, i thought you'd say something like that.

Click to expand...

It had to be said because that incident was very dangerous, made more so because to get to the consumer unit a heavy settee had to be moved.

A chip pan fire with the controls above the hobs has happened to a friend.

mikhailfaradayski said:

I still say that it is perfectly acceptable to place a switch inside a cupboard.

Click to expand...

If the customer is happy after being told the possibly effects of having the switch not easily accessible then perhaps it could be acceptable.

mikhailfaradayski said:

Id further add that some might argue that the average cooker switch is not even suitable as a device for emergency switching, although there does seem to be a contradiction of sorts between the suggestions of table 53.2 and 537.4.2.6

Click to expand...

If it removes the power from an overheating or otherwise dangerous appliance then it serves the purpose.

I would seriously consider fitting a "decor" panel (the type that sits between two kitchin units) between the cooker and the next unit. This would provide two purposes. Firstly, ventilation for the cooker (though not usually nessecary), and second, a place to mount the switches that is very accessible!


Failing this, then mount them UNDER the upper cabinets, or INSIDE the base cabinets, AT THE FRONT - right by the door.

bernardgreen said:

mikhailfaradayski said:

lol, i thought you'd say something like that.

Click to expand...

It had to be said because that incident was very dangerous, made more so because to get to the consumer unit a heavy settee had to be moved.

Click to expand...

Fair enough, forewarned is forearmed.

A chip pan fire with the controls above the hobs has happened to a friend.

Click to expand...

chip pan? do people still use them? maybe a contender for the most dangerous appliance/utensil in the kitchen? If i had one, id be more concerned about where my fire blankets and extinguishers were, not my switches.

If the same chip pan fire happened over a gas hob, how would the problem have been dealt with then?

mikhailfaradayski said:

I still say that it is perfectly acceptable to place a switch inside a cupboard.

Click to expand...

If the customer is happy after being told the possibly effects of having the switch not easily accessible then perhaps it could be acceptable.

Click to expand...

Id argue whether having the switch inside the adjacent cupboard, top and front is any less accessible than a switch mounted over work tops then obscured by microwaves, pasta/tea/coffee/sugar jugs, mug trees (chip pans ) etc

mikhailfaradayski said:

Id further add that some might argue that the average cooker switch is not even suitable as a device for emergency switching, although there does seem to be a contradiction of sorts between the suggestions of table 53.2 and 537.4.2.6

Click to expand...

If it removes the power from an overheating or otherwise dangerous appliance then it serves the purpose.

Click to expand...

Ah, its not fair to say that - thats too much like common sense, and we all know that has no place when we are dealing with the regs
I know what you mean and i agree with the spirit of that, but in terms of the regs, i can see scenario where the switch would be acceptable as an emergency switch and also where it would not.

What do you think to the possible contradiction i mentioned above?

Heres another thought, along a similar theme:-

If a cooker switch is suitable to be used as an emergency switch, then i would say so is the main switch in the CU ( as it fits the same criteria)

and it is decided that it is not permissable to fit a cooker switch inside a cupboard.

Does that make any CU installed in a cupboard (or behind heavy settee)non-compliant?

Whats your opinion of FCU's in airing cupboards?

One last thought before i go baste my mind in alcohol -

Whenever this debate comes up and a have another look through section 537, i can't help but think the authors of the emergency switching bit were referring to mainly industrial applications and didn't really have a cooking-related emergency in the forefront of their mind. IMO thats why domestic sparks wrestle with this part of the big red joke book