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Electric oven Power q's
Moorron - 20/10/10 at 04:30 PM

Hi lads i need some advice on installing an electrical single oven.

Our build in oven stopped cooking right about 6 months ago, looking at it shows the top outer element has gone and for the life of me i cant find a replacement. So i want to replace the whole cooker.

When i originaly installed this broke oven it had a 13 amp plug on it which made it a 5 minute job, but many of the ovens in the stores round here require 'hard wiring in'. My question is.....

Can i just add a lead and 13 amp plug to the new unit (cut the old one off the duff one) or is there more to it and the new unit must be wired to a 30 amp supply?

All the ones we have looked at are 2.3 Kw so i really need the nod that i can use a 13 amp supply.

I cant use my 30 amp supply as its used to power the garage (i didnt do this).

Thanks

interestedparty - 20/10/10 at 04:33 PM

If it's an oven on its own then 13amp is usual, and OK

balidey - 20/10/10 at 04:42 PM

Personally I would look harder for a replacement element . Seriously I couldn't get one for mine then I found it was identical to another make and model. Now I know what to look for I can and do replace the elements when they go. For the sake of £20 and a couple of hours thats what I would do.

loggyboy - 20/10/10 at 04:48 PM

Its elec hobs that sap the power. (and grilles to a certain extent.)

(ps I have a nearly new free standing belling double oven and hob that will be going on ebay at weekend if your intrested )

suparuss - 20/10/10 at 04:56 PM

2300 / 240 = 9.58 amps. id say a 13 amp plug would be fine.

edited to say- make sure you use a suitable cable though! maight be a good idea to chop it off the old one if it came with it.

[Edited on 20/10/10 by suparuss]

tegwin - 20/10/10 at 05:08 PM

Why not get a sufrace mounted putress box, stick a fused isolater in it, wire it to the ring main (socket) and then hard wire your cooker to that?

It guarantees a better and safer connection than trying to stuff big cable into a 13A plug...

MakeEverything - 20/10/10 at 06:32 PM

Or you can install it properly with a flex outlet behind the oven and a cooker switch to the side.

Bluemoon - 20/10/10 at 06:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
Why not get a sufrace mounted putress box, stick a fused isolater in it, wire it to the ring main (socket) and then hard wire your cooker to that?

It guarantees a better and safer connection than trying to stuff big cable into a 13A plug...


If it's designed to run of 13A plug the cable will fit (they seem to come pre-wired).. even most 2.5mm^2 cable will fit into most 13A plugs safely, but like you say the cable must be rated correctly and heat resistant.

I had an issue with our oven and the 13A plug. All was withing the ratings, BUT the plug had burnt out it's pins, the black plastic insulation had melted in to the contact area causing a high resistance and over heating. Worst part is as it's built into a unit I had no idea there was a problem apart form a funny weak and misdiagnosed burning smell that I guess was the socket! I only found out as we had to replace an element, so had to remove the oven from the unit.

Nasty, had to replace the socket and plug, ended up using an old 13 amp socket (MK) and MK plug (the old hard plastic type) that didn't have the black insulation on the pins (as these can cope with higher currents with out over heating, in-fact sockets where rated to 15A with the correct plug at some past time).

Dan

[Edited on 20/10/10 by Bluemoon]

MakeEverything - 20/10/10 at 09:35 PM

Plugs without the black insulation on the pins arent supposed to be used now, and any half decent sparks will replace it.

As i said previously, install a flex outlet, and use a cooker switch. Plugtops are only rated to 13A peak load, whereas a cooker switch is rated to 30A or 40A dependent on type.

Using a plug on a cooker is asking for trouble as bluemoon said.

quote:
I had an issue with our oven and the 13A plug. All was withing the ratings, BUT the plug had burnt out it's pins, the black plastic insulation had melted in to the contact area causing a high resistance and over heating.


The black insulation isnt the cause of the overheating, its a symptom. As above, plugs arent designed to take a constant 13A+, or deal with the heat emitted from the back of the oven. Not even the stronger bakerlite ones.

In all honestly, if you need to install a cooker switch, you should get a 17th edition sparks to do it for you, who is part P registered.

blakep82 - 20/10/10 at 10:34 PM

what about espares.co.uk for a new element?

smart51 - 21/10/10 at 12:56 PM

An oven on its own will run of a 13A outlet no problem. As stated above, it is electric hobs that require a 30A main. Wire it into a fused outlet below work top height if you want to do it properly. These fit onto the same back box as a 3 pin socket so its easy to swap one for the other.