What can I do myself in Scotland?

[Silvan]

Hello,

I am thinking of replacing a gas hob with an electric hob. I will get the gas hob removed by a registered gas fitter (at the same time as he/she does a boiler service).

The hob will be in a space which had an an electric cooker in it many years ago, there is a wall-socket underneath the worktop and a cooker isolator switch above the worktop. Am I allowed to fit the electric hob to the existing wall-socket? The house was built in 1980 and I will be fitting the hob to a socket which was originally intended for a cooker, so the circuit should be okay I think? It would just be a matter of using the switch above the worktops to isolate the socket (plus cutting off the electric supply to the whole house as a precaution), removing the cover from the socket and connecting to the existing terminals.

Do regulations in Scotland permit me to do this?

Thank you

 

[Taylortwocities]

The answer is in the wonderful WIKI Like most simple queries.
//www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:building_warrants:required

PS Is there really electricity in Scotland? Blimey!!

 

[JohnW2]

The answer is in the wonderful WIKI Like most simple queries.
//www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:building_warrants:required

Do we know if that information is up-to-date? The document linked to is dated 2009. If it were a 2009 document about, say, notification requirements in England, it would clearly be very wrong by now.

Kind Regards, John

 

[DaveHerns]

Is the existing wall socket already serving an electric oven?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Here's the latest
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00431055.pdf

Seems it depends on the type of property.

Going back to the actual question.

Some queries:

1. Is the existing "socket" a standard 13A one that takes a regular plug?
2. Is this on a separate dedicated circuit (maybe marked as "cooker" on the fuseboard)?
3. What is the fuse/MCB rating for this circuit?
4. What is the specification/power requirments for your new hob?

 

[Silvan]

The existing socket is not in use just now, and am not thinking of putting any kind of oven in the space underneath the oven (will be using a table-top oven plugged in with a standard 13amp socket to a different circuit).

The WIKI refered to above has alot of blank pages, I can only see info about what requires a warrant.

 

[Silvan]

Here's the latest
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00431055.pdf

Seems it depends on the type of property.

Going back to the actual question.

Some queries:

1. Is the existing "socket" a standard 13A one that takes a regular plug?
2. Is this on a separate dedicated circuit (maybe marked as "cooker" on the fuseboard)?
3. What is the fuse/MCB rating for this circuit?
4. What is the specification/power requirments for your new hob?

Answers:
1 - the existing socket is not a 13amp three-pin. It is a cover plate over a box, inside the box there are screw-down connectors I think.
2 - there is a big switch above the worktops marked "cooker" which switches on/off power to the socket under the sink. There is a unit in the porch with pull-out fuses. In the unit are three fuses with pairs of white dots (5A embossed on the box), one fuse with pairs of blue dots (15A embossed on the box), two fuses with pairs of red dots (30A embossed on the box). There is also an RCD for the whole house. Maybe if need be I can pull the fuses out one-by-one and see if one of them only affects the cooker socket?
3 - don't know yet.
4 - haven't got it yet, it will be a basic one, I checked one out on Curry's website, seems to be 6KW with all the rings on.

5 - it's in my house

The PDF refers to a Warrant. I don't know if the term Warrant is used in England. As far as I know a Warrant is something that you get in Scotland prior to doing work, then it gets signed off by the council after the work is inspected and complete, a bit like planning permission but not so heavy duty.

 

[skenk]

[

Answers:
1 - the existing socket is not a 13amp three-pin. It is a cover plate over a box, inside the box there are screw-down connectors I think.
2 - there is a big switch above the worktops marked "cooker" which switches on/off power to the socket under the sink. There is a unit in the porch with pull-out fuses. In the unit are three fuses with pairs of white dots (5A embossed on the box), one fuse with pairs of blue dots (15A embossed on the box), two fuses with pairs of red dots (30A embossed on the box). There is also an RCD for the whole house. Maybe if need be I can pull the fuses out one-by-one and see if one of them only affects the cooker socket?
3 - don't know yet.
4 - haven't got it yet, it will be a basic one, I checked one out on Curry's website, seems to be 6KW with all the rings on.

5 - it's in my house

The PDF refers to a Warrant. I don't know if the term Warrant is used in England. As far as I know a Warrant is something that you get in Scotland prior to doing work, then it gets signed off by the council after the work is inspected and complete, a bit like planning permission but not so heavy duty.

Is this socket 'under the sink' the same one that is actually a 'cover plate over a box' and controlled by the cooker switch? If it is and it's on one of the 30amp fuses, it'll probably be fine to connect a 6kw hob to but that should be confirmed by a competent electrician (earth loop impedance & insulation resistance testing, verification of cable size etc). You don't need a building warrant. Incidentally why do you want a basic electric hob? Gas is cheaper and better.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Ah

there is a wall-socket underneath the worktop

Not a wall-socket then!

You should find out which fuse does what. If it is one of the red fuses for the cooker circuit then you can wire directly your 6KW hob to that.

 

[Silvan]

Thanks for the advice and sorry I have been unsure of some terminology and just plain daft with some.

When I said "under the sink" I should have said "under the hob", may bad for sure.

I'm not sure what to call the thing under the hob, it is a cover with a box underneath and in the box there are screw-down connectors I think (though I haven't actually checked this and last time I removed the cover was 15 years ago).

It seem very probable that I could do this myself but I would not be able to do the "earth loop impedance & insulation resistance testing, verification of cable size etc" which is mentioned in a previous post. What I would really like to know is whether or not the law and/or council regulations in Scotland mean I must get an electrician to make these checks and also if I do have to get an electrician to make the checks does he/she have to provide a certificate of any kind?

If the wiring put in place when the house was built in 1980 was for a cooker (keep in mind this would have been a cooker with oven not just a hob) then if that 1980s cooker was designed to draw the same or more maximum current than the hob I will be fitting then it seems to me it should be okay. Did cookers in the 1980 tend to draw more power or less power than those for sale nowadays?


We are thinking electric might be better than gas because we worry a bit about leaving the gas on (although I have subsequently found out that all gas hobs/cookers nowadays have automatic shut off if left without a flame). Also electric seems a bit easier to clean. Plus at some point in the future I hope to fit a new kitchen and if I can remove and replace an electric hob myself I can avoid involving a gas fitter.

 

[skenk]

The 'socket' is probably a cooker outlet plate

It would almost certainly be cheaper to employ a gas man to fit a new hob rather than paying over the odds for cooking on an electric hob

You don't have to use an electrician but given your lack of basic electrical knowledge I'd certainly recommend it

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The answer is in the wonderful WIKI Like most simple queries.
//www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:building_warrants:required

Do we know if that information is up-to-date? The document linked to is dated 2009. If it were a 2009 document about, say, notification requirements in England, it would clearly be very wrong by now.

The WIKI refered to above has alot of blank pages, I can only see info about what requires a warrant.

The problem is that this site recently changed the software package(s) it uses, and the Wiki facility is now so execrable that I, for one, have lost all appetite for working with it, so I, for one, am no longer keeping articles up to date.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The WIKI refered to above has alot of blank pages, I can only see info about what requires a warrant.

But you are in Scotland, and asked about Scottish regulations, so you should be very interested in what requires a warrant.

As for work which does not, I imagine that, just like the E&W ones, the Scottish building regs contain some sort of non-specific requirements for safety - have you looked at what they say, and what the technical guidance book says?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Plus at some point in the future I hope to fit a new kitchen and if I can remove and replace an electric hob myself I can avoid involving a gas fitter.

I've got a gas cooker which I have removed and replaced many times for cleaning and decorating reasons.

 

[skenk]

Common on cookers but i've never seen a gas HOB that had a user demountable (bayonet) connection.