New oven installation... confused about amps/wiring

[electric_n00b]

Hi all,
I replaced my old Electrolux oven which operated with a 13 amp plug.
The new Kenwood oven I ordered says a 16 amp (Requires hardwiring to a dedicated circuit) is required (see pictures below). Is it not possible if I just buy a 13 amp plug and do the wiring in the terminal box at the back of the oven and simply plug it back in?

My old oven was run seperate from the hob (picture below). The old oven connected to a board where I can switch other appliances on/off (picture below).

I was reading up some electric rule of thumbs and it was said anything under 3 kWh can be operated with a 13 amp plug, but anything over needs to be hardwired into either a 20amp supply or a 32amp supply...

Any help would be appreciated as I would need to make a decision to either exchange the oven or go ahead and install it

Thanks all!

 

[littlespark]

Quite simply, no you can’t.

It’s not designed to be on a 13A plug.

It’s rated at 3.5kW, and even using rule of thumb, You get 4amps per kW at 250v . Normal voltage is 230, so works out higher.

So 3.5kW is 14A… the fuse won’t last very long.

Depending on the set up for the hob, which I take it is electric too, you could double up the cooker outlet behind the oven. But that needs checked by a professional for cable size, wiring method and main circuit breaker size.


Oh, and throw away that “safety” plug thing. It’s not needed.

 

[James]

Agree with the above, buy an oven with a 13A plug attached.

throw away the plug in child safety thing, they have probably caused more fires than they have saved children’s lives.

 

[brianmoooore]

Oh, and throw away that “safety” plug thing. It’s not needed.

throw away the plug in child safety thing, they have probably caused more fires than they have saved children’s lives.

 

[Markyd]

No....leave it alone or send it back and get one rated for a 13 amp plug

 

[Midwest]

Before doing that, I would like to know what that standard cooker switch is comprised of. Perhaps the original installation was adapted to accommodate an oven with a 13A plug & lead?

The original install, could support a 3.5kW oven.

 

[brianmoooore]

Agree with Midwest above. Chances are that the socket can be replaced with a second cable outlet, but there are a few things that need to be checked by someone who knows what they're doing, not least whether the manufacturer's instructions require the oven to be fused lower than the circuit protection device.

 

[pc1966]

You can get double-outlets for oven connections, etc, so that might be a solution even though it probably needs a bigger back-box:

45A 1 Gang Dual Appliance Outlet

Wall connector for ovens, hobs and hoods

www.cef.co.uk

 

[pc1966]

If that 13A socket is simply connected to the grid-switch and cable is good for the oven's rating (which at 3.5kW is pretty certain) then another cooker outlet could be used to connect the cable there, but better still would be something like this as less chance of someone connecting a full-power cooker in the future:

20A 1 Gang Flex Outlet Plate White

Polar profile

www.cef.co.uk

 

[brianmoooore]

What kind of circuit arrangements do we have here? There's a switch marked 'oven' on the grid panel, and also a conventional cooker isolator with a 13A socket.
Does one feed the other, or is it two completely separate circuits, with the conventional isolator coming straight from the CU?
Is the feed to the oven switch on the panel a circuit separate from everything else and also straight from the CU?

 

[pc1966]

Good point, we might be making assumptions that are not really true!

 

[littlespark]

As far as i believe it, the grid switch marked oven supplied an older oven that did work from a 13A socket.
The cooker switch, and cooker outlet i would think supplies an electric hob.

The new replacement oven is too large for a 13A socket.


I wouldn't trust a 3kW oven running through a grid switch....
Its bad enough with washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers etc...

One bad connection, a bit of heat, and all those switches become useless. Lose the ability to run any of those appliances because of one fault.

 

[brianmoooore]

Panels like that, wired with 2.5mm2 solid are a nightmare. I've always avoided fitting them, but have had to deal with the aftermath of others fitting them on a few occasions. The only time I've used grid panels like that are for light switches, and then I wire them with multi stranded singles.

 

[brianmoooore]

Needs to be established whether the supply to the cooker isolator + socket is suitable to supply both oven and hob, after diversity is taken into account. I'd be happier with that arrangement rather than involving the feed from the grid panel.