Cooker wiring help please

[Cornish Maid]

Hi,

We have a small flat which we rent out. Our most recent tenant, who has just left, has disconnected his cooker leaving just a 1 inch piece of wiring sticking out of the wall. We are not sure what the wiring was like when he moved in, as previous tenant of 10 years, had a table top plug in cooker and never used the hard wired cooker circuit. There was a blanking plate on the wall, and we assume there was a coiled wire behind this. Does the cooker feed cable belong to the cooker or the wall IYSWIM?

Do we need to replace the wiring leaving a long enough "tail" for future tenant to connect direct to their cooker, or is there some form of junction/terminal block we could fit to permit a cooker to be attached to this small piece of wire that remains?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks

 

[plugwash]

The normal way to connect a cooker is to use a cooker outlet plate. This looks similar to a blanking plate but has a cord grip at the bottom and a set of big terminals for connecting the cable from your cooker to the fixed cabling.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Manufacturers/BG/BG_Cooker_Outlet/index.html

It sounds to me like when disconnecting the cooker the tennant took the outlet plate as well (either by mistake or because he wanted to keep it or whatever) in which case it should be a simple matter of fitting a new one. If in doubt post a picture of the current situation.

 

[JohnD]

it sounds to me more as if the cable came straight out of the wall without a cooker outlet. With luck there is enough spare cable to fit one now.

They need an extra-deep backbox. A metal flush box recessed into the wall is neater, but will need a deep hole.

if there is stll a blanking plate, TURN OFF THE POWER and see what is behind it.

Photos will help
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

 

[Cornish Maid]

Thanks for replies.

There is a metal back box still in the wall, with the wire from the wall switch above running to it. Knowing what the tenant was like - even took the light bulbs and curtain hooks - he probably "half-inched" the cover when he took his cooker!

Hopefully there is enough wire left to fit an outlet plate as Plugwash suggested.

Thanks again

 

[SteNova]

one of these needed

 

[Cornish Maid]

Further to the excellent advice here, been out today and bought a cooker outlet connector to replace the missing one. However, it has the terminals and cable grip on the back to receive the cable ends in the wall, but its completely "closed", ie no cutouts for the cable to the cooker to come out, once its screwed to the wall. I assumed it might have a "break out" point on the side or base to create an opening, but there is nothing. As I am not actually at the flat, its difficult to visualise how it will work. How does the wire come through the cover to reach the cooker?

Excuse my ignorance if this is a thick question, but can't get my head around it at the moment!

 

[JohnD]

have you got a back box in/on the wall already? or did you buy one with the cooker outlet? What is it made of?

or are you talking about the front piece?

what brand is it?

 

[seasickstevie]

It should be tapered like the one pictured by SteNova.
The top is slim. The bottom deep.

The bottom piece will be of thin plastic and should just break out.

If not, you've bought the wrong type, or it's been manufactured wrongly.

 

[Cornish Maid]

Thanks for latest replies.

Excuse my ignorance, having now unpacked the item and inspected it properly, there is a slightly thinner section in the base (although you cannot see it from the outside) which is I guess the break out point for the flex. Apologies for jumping the gun - should have had a proper look first

 

[sparkwright]

Have you got enough cable from the cooker switch to work with when fitting the new outlet?

If not you will either have to replace that cable, or move the cooker outlet box across to get the length.

 

[Cornish Maid]

Have you got enough cable from the cooker switch to work with when fitting the new outlet?

If not you will either have to replace that cable, or move the cooker outlet box across to get the length.

That is the next problem we might have to overcome. Hoping it is long enough, but if not, the cable runs through a conduit in a straight line from the switch, so we may have to pull through a new piece.