Moving a fuse box under the 17th Edition

[dsuley]

Hi guys,

I have come across a fuse box which needs changing and upgrading, this is above the cooker and I need to move it. Firstly, I needed to know how far away it needs to be from the cooker according to the 17th Edition. Secondly what do you think would be the best way or thing to do to extend and run the cables over?
I am going to notify the local authority and they will be coming to inspect after the first fixing.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[johnhainsby]

hi dsuley
where is the electric meter and the cutout .great care should be taken here with the rooting of cables etc because the kitchen being classed as a
special location, the joining of the exsisting cables for future testing and inspection?why not move the consumer unit out of the kitchen completely
it would be a lot safer and easy to get too for future inspection and testing

regards john hainsby

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There's no specific figure in BS 7671.

Nor is there in the Building Regulations or the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations.

AFAIK BS 6172 specifies an exclusion zone for hobs which extends over the hob and a further 50 mm horizontally in every direction along the work surface, and upwards for 760 mm. In this zone there may be no combustible materials.

For cookers the zone is 20 mm side clearance on the lower part of the cooker (oven sides) and then 150 mm each side for the top part of the cooker (above the level of the burners and pan supports). The upper zone extends vertically to either 610 mm above the top of the cooker if it has an eye-level grill, or 760 mm if the highest point is the hob burners.

So in the absence of any specific installation instructions for the cooker there, or being fitted, then go for at least those distances, even if it's not currently a gas cooker.

Crimping, or a box with DIN rail terminals would be OK to extend the cables, but you need to think about where you'd do that - obviously you can't have a box where the CU currently is.