13 amp Oven - HELP!

[Teek]

Hi,

I have currently taken out my old kitchen and all the appliances, the new kitchen will have a Diplomat ADP3240 electric oven plus other stuff.

Some people are telling me that this oven can be plugged into a normal socket on the ring main and others are telling me that you need a dedicated line from the consumer unit to an isolating switch and then wired to the oven.

I don’t know what to believe as I want to run the chasers for the conduit before I start tiling etc.

I also need to know the type of cable to use 2.5, 6mm, 10mm, etc, etc

Oven spec:

Energy Rating = B
Capacity = 57L
Grill rating = 2100W
Oven Rating= 2100W

Your help is greatly appreciated

Regards

Teek

 

[JohnD]

It sounds like a typical UK single oven. Can the oven and the grill be switched on at the same time, or is it one or the other?

If it's one or the other (as is usual) then the max load is 2100Watts.

Tell your chums that 2100 Watts divided by 230Volts means it takes about 9Amps, and that a 13Amp plug can supply up to... ummm.... 13Amps, so this oven can be run off a plug and socket.

It does no harm to have a dedicated radial circuit in a kitchen for the oven, maybe next time you will buy a double oven that takes more power.

But from what you've told us it is not necessary at this time.

However, your hob will have to be either a gas one, or to have its own radial circuit of higher power, since an electric hob takes more power than a plug can provide. So too will an electric cooker.

If you are running new circuits and chasing the walls, this is an ideal time to put in a new radial circuit to save the difficulty of doing it later. Use 6mm cable since this will be suitable for future use for an electric cooker or a double oven. If you have a huge house and kitchen and might one day want one of those enormous range cookers with six burners and three ovens, run it in 10mm.

 

[Teek]

Thanks for the quick response JohnD…. You’ve explained it very well.

The hob is gas so therefore no need for the extra current, also the oven and grill cannot be put on together.

I’ll take your advice and put in the 6mm cable………. Is this the same as 2.5?

Regards

Pratik

 

[JohnD]

No

2.5mm cable is made of copper wire with a cross-section of 2.5mm sq

6mm .....? so it is a lot thicker and can take the greater current without overheating. it is more expensive but I imagine you will only need a few metres, not a reel of it.

You should be aware that new circuits, and electrical work in kitchens and bathrooms, is notifiable under the building regulations and has to be inspected and certificated.

 

[Teek]

So basically I have a ring main with 2.5mm cable supplying power to multiple sockets, I then take off a spur to an isolating switch using 6mm cable and then to the oven with another piece of 6mm cable……. Is this correct?

 

[JohnD]

No, if you're putting in a new cooker circuit in 6mm, you need to take it back to the consumer unit and give it a dedicated MCB.

 

[Teek]

Could I not just keep the 2.5mm cable (ring main) and just take a spur of it instead?

The oven/grill will remain the same for a long time i.e. not looking to change it.

 

[JohnD]

If you want to take a spur off the ring, you can, in 2.5mm cable, and with a 13A fuse in the FCU.

 

[Teek]

Thanks JohnD....... this is exactly what i was intending.

 

[carthusian]

Reading these posts from 2006, I just would like to clarify one thing. How VERY critically is the 13 amp calculation? We have been given a single oven 3.2 kw but have no dedicated cooker circuit. The amp calc would rate this 13.33 amp. Dare I plug this into the normal ring main. Would a fused spur and 2.5mm cable help? Anyone out there still giving advice (John D ?) would be welcome.

 

[JohnD]

a 3kW fixed load on a ring circuit is best avoided as it uses a large proportion of available power. A 3.2kW oven is a bit high for a plug or FCU but might run OK as you get a bit of leeway for short periods, and the oven thermostat should not run at full power for long. But it is more than the correct design load. Most domestic ovens sold in the UK domestic market only draw about 10 amps.

However the next question is, what else is on your ring? Washing machine? Tumble drier? fan heater? Dishwasher? These are all heavy load appliances that run for extended periods

Toaster, kettle, iron are heavy load appliances that run for short periods.



A related question is how old is your electrical installation, what sort of consumer unit (fusebox) do you have?

 

[carthusian]

Hi John D and thanks for replying. Looking at all the posts, you're THE man !
Yes, we use all those things from time to time plus a microwave combi oven, but would obviously be very aware of not putting these on when the oven is running. The hob is gas.
We bought the house 2 years ago with the existing elec installation. Our sparks says this is all modern and o.k so, why don't we run a 30 amp supply and be done with it? Because the consumer box is in the hallway and the kitchen at the back of the house. The floors are woodblock and the distance is 70 feet so the disruption element is unacceptable. Hence the need to plug this into the ring main. My wife is worried about anything electrical ( !) and we have a small child so safety IS important but against this, if the oven could be run from the ring main our life would be so much earier as presnetly we have no oven cooker !

 

[mikeyd]

I certainly wouldn't put a plug on it and plug it in a socket. I've seen the mess a 2kW heater can do in an old worn socket. A FCU on the ring still isn't advisable.

Wooden block floors upstairs? There may be ways of routing the cable you (or I) wouldn't think of (for example, up through the airing cupboard along the attic and back down behind a full height wardrobe) I would get an electrician round, they know all the tricks.

 

[The_Scotty]

Bite the bullet and buy an Oven with a smaller rating that is more suitable for your current situation