Cabling loads

[tonyenkiducx]

I bought and installed a 40a cable for my cooker, but after actually getting the cooker I found out it was only rated at 15v. So, I'm wondering if it is ok to put that cable(And the cooker) on a 15v connection in the fusebox and run 2 or 3 plug sockets off the cable as well as the cooker?

And for those who helped me with my recent wiring/lighting problem, you'll be glad to know I have just finished fitting new cables to replace the old rubber stuff

 

[Steve]

15 volts? or 15 amps? if the latter, it is probably rated at 3kw or less, and can simply plug in. Do check the rating plate on the oven though, just to be sure.


By the way, this 40 amp cable you bought, what is the cross sectional area of the phase conductors? As this is what matters. If you put that cable in insulation, I bet it wouldn't carry 20 amps without catching fire

 

[tonyenkiducx]

Uhmm, not sure if its volts or amps for the cooker, either way it should normally be 40 for a cooker, but mine was only 15(Hopefully you can figure out which it is). But the cooker has been fine, I've had that wired in for months and I went to an electrical trade shop my dad uses and got some advice about the cable, so I would assume its right. Its the extra plug sockets I'm worried about and wether or not the fuse/cable will be allright with that much load on it.

Phase conductors? Is that those big red pulsing things from the warp drive on star trek? I really dont know much about electrics, apart from what I've had to learn, so speak to me like I'm an idiot(You wouldn't be far off).

 

[Steve]

Uhmm, not sure if its volts or amps for the cooker, either way it should normally be 40 for a cooker, but mine was only 15(Hopefully you can figure out which it is). But the cooker has been fine, I've had that wired in for months and I went to an electrical trade shop my dad uses and got some advice about the cable, so I would assume its right. Its the extra plug sockets I'm worried about and wether or not the fuse/cable will be allright with that much load on it.

Phase conductors? Is that those big red pulsing things from the warp drive on star trek? I really dont know much about electrics, apart from what I've had to learn, so speak to me like I'm an idiot(You wouldn't be far off).

1. What does the electric power on the cooker?

2. Is it actually a big standup cooker? or just an oven? Can you see a rating plate on it anywhere?

3. by phase conductors I meant live and neutral (though neutral is not actually a phase, it is grounded at the substation). What matters is the size of these 2 conductors (earth is usually slightly smaller)

The current rating of the cable (40 amps you say) is the rating of it if it is suspended in mid air for its entire length. However, what they dont print on the packet is that if its run in insulation, you must de-rate the cable, by as much as 50%.

I'm guessing here, but when people say 40 amp cable they usually mean 6mm² CSA (cross sectional area)


I have never heard of a 15 volt cooker, so lets loose that idea right now.

 

[tonyenkiducx]

I just found the manual, so heres all it says...

Fuse rating 13 AMP
supply - 230-240V, 50hz
max power 2150W(240V)
Grill Power 1800W(240V)
Oven power 2100W (240V)

It is just an oven with built-in grill, but I got one of those boxes that has a cooker switch and a socket on it as well(Not sure of the name, but I've seen them in loads of kitchens), so we used that to wire it in, and the socket is used for the dishwasher.

Not to sure about the cable, and it's all wired in so a bit hard to get to an exposed bit of the "conductors"(Allthough I could if its essential), but it is a big thick chunky thing, more than twice as thick as the socket cabling they sold me.

So, main question is, can I just stick a junction box in the middle of the big cable and then run some socket cable of that to run my two plug sockets off? I'm just worried about having cooker, dishwasher and all my plugs in the kitchen running off one cable.

Also, something that interested me. How do I work out how much I can put on one cable? Is it to do with the fuse in the main fusebox, or is it just all the individual cables coming from that fuse? I seem to have all my sockets wired into one fuse, and I was always told you couldn't do that.

 

[dingbat]

Tony, your last post tells us all we need to know about your problem.

What you need is an electrician. Seriously. What you are proposing is notifiable work and you obviously don't have the first clue about circuit design. Better safe than burned to the ground, eh?

 

[tonyenkiducx]

I didn't realise I had a "problem", I thought I was asking a question?

I really dont see the point of having an electrical forum on a DIY website(Note, Do It Yourself), and then having you suggest I just pay someone else to do it. I dont want an electrician, I want you to give me the advice I'm asking for so I can do the work myself.

If an electrician is capable of looking at my situation and then deciding on a course of action, I would like someone here to do the same, and then tell me what I need to do. If you cant give me the advice I need, then please just dont respond. I'm no electrician, but I deal with very complex logical systems on a daily basis, and I'm sure I can understand if you explain it to me.

 

[Maxxy]

I dont want an electrician, I want you to give me the advice I'm asking for so I can do the work myself.

If an electrician is capable of looking at my situation and then deciding on a course of action, I would like someone here to do the same

Sure, for 50 quid ill give you the info. Afterall, Electricians get paid, so with an attitude like that then our knowledge is worth money.

I'm no electrician, but I deal with very complex logical systems on a daily basis, and I'm sure I can understand if you explain it to me.

I do 3 sudoku's every day, but i dont know the first thing about fixing cars.

 

[baldersj]

 

[dingbat]

Blimey, keep your shirt on, Tony!

What I'm telling you is that you don't understand enough to be able to fully describe your situation in meaningful terms. Without such information nobody can properly advise you and what you seem to be proposing is unconventional at least.

You really do need a suitably competent person to examine your installation directly, consider your requirements and suggest a solution. Best advice I can offer you at this remove.

 

[industryspark]

FFS!!

tony, listen to what you are being told-GET AN ELECTRICIAN IN!

you are potentially playing with people's lives and you havent got the slightest smidgen of knowledge on electrics!

this forum is for advise you are right, but if the resident guys on here think that a job is beyond you (which it very clearly is) then they will advise you to get someone in.

lose the attitude problem and do as everyones advised-before you kill someone!

 

[Steve]

PLUG THE OVEN INTO A STANDARD WALL SOCKET!!!!

I'm being serious here. All you need is some 1.5mm² heat resistant 3Core flex and a 3 pin 13 amp plug.

Fuse rating 13 AMP
supply - 230-240V, 50hz
max power 2150W(240V)
Grill Power 1800W(240V)
Oven power 2100W (240V)

Discard the other stuff you bought.

 

[tonyenkiducx]

I want to install 2 plug sockets, and your telling me I have to pay an electrician to do that?

It might help if you actually explained why I cant do this myself, or what information i'm missing, if I understood why I cant do this then I'd be a lot happier about it. This is just a single cable, connected straight from the fuse box, directly to a socket/plug with the cooker on the end. I just dont see why its so impossible for you to help me with so little going on. Just because I dont know the jargon(like conductors) doesn't mean I'm completely clueless. I've wired up a second switch for my kitchen light, fitted two completely new plug sockets and I can wire up plugs and fix PC power supplies with my eyes closed. I can do the work, I just need to know if its going to be safe.

Thank you for the advice sparky, it is wired in at the moment, and with a relevantly sized fuse(Ok, I dont know the name of the box But its a box, with a switch and a fuse that my cooker cable goes into), so I take it that is the same as plugging it in?

 

[Maxxy]

I want to install 2 plug sockets, and your telling me I have to pay an electrician to do that?

Yes. Unless you get building control involved.

And that by putting in 2 sockets, I might kill everyone around me?

Quite possibly yes.

And that with all your cumulative knowledge, you cant help me get two little sockets wired in?

you would be better off using full size sockets, not little ones

 

[ricicle]

Do they do miniture sockets then