In planning my new kitchen I need to decide if I am going to move the cooker location or not. I have come to the conclusion that if the existing wire is suitable I will leave the new appliances in the same location, if the cable is not suitable then I will get a new one run to a different location in the new kitchen. I have read with interest the various discussions on how relavent diversity is (which i understand, although clearly i am not an electrician or i wouldnt be asking the questions) and would welcome any comments in that area also.
The info is as follows: existing cooker 10.8kw, new cooker and hob 12.4kw combined. Cooker isolation switch does not have a built in socket so there is no additional load. Cable run from CU to isolation switch 12m, cooker circuit in CU has 40amp MCB.
Now the hard part, I can't identify what the existing cable is, there is nothing useful on it and i am also worried about it, as the previous house owner was a bit of a diy electrical botcher (i.e. the cable/MCB combination may not have been correct in the first place). I have had a look inside the cooker isolation switch at the cable and each core of the cable is made up of 7 smaller strands that look to me to be about 0.9mm in diameter. Does this imply 6mm cable? This is the bit I don't understand, in 6mm cable does that indicate the size of each cores or the two cores together? So I guess the answer to that question could also mean that it is 10mm cable currently installed?
I also found different ratings for different cable sizes. The general opinion seems to be 6mm max 37amps - 10mm max 50 amps - well at full load my cooker and hob potentially could pull 51.7 amps?? (which is why i ask the diversity question).
So in short can anyone help me identify what cable I currently have, and what cable I am likely to need?
(i suppose the other alternative is to use the existing cable for the hob and run a new one for the oven and have two isolation switches - problem there is that there are no spare spaces for an additional MCBs in my CU, 2x6mm cables into the same 40amp MCB - could that work?)
Many many thanks for any responses up front!
Alix
The info is as follows: existing cooker 10.8kw, new cooker and hob 12.4kw combined. Cooker isolation switch does not have a built in socket so there is no additional load. Cable run from CU to isolation switch 12m, cooker circuit in CU has 40amp MCB.
Now the hard part, I can't identify what the existing cable is, there is nothing useful on it and i am also worried about it, as the previous house owner was a bit of a diy electrical botcher (i.e. the cable/MCB combination may not have been correct in the first place). I have had a look inside the cooker isolation switch at the cable and each core of the cable is made up of 7 smaller strands that look to me to be about 0.9mm in diameter. Does this imply 6mm cable? This is the bit I don't understand, in 6mm cable does that indicate the size of each cores or the two cores together? So I guess the answer to that question could also mean that it is 10mm cable currently installed?
I also found different ratings for different cable sizes. The general opinion seems to be 6mm max 37amps - 10mm max 50 amps - well at full load my cooker and hob potentially could pull 51.7 amps?? (which is why i ask the diversity question).
So in short can anyone help me identify what cable I currently have, and what cable I am likely to need?
(i suppose the other alternative is to use the existing cable for the hob and run a new one for the oven and have two isolation switches - problem there is that there are no spare spaces for an additional MCBs in my CU, 2x6mm cables into the same 40amp MCB - could that work?)
Many many thanks for any responses up front!
Alix