Socket behind oven

mac123

Hi,

there's a double socket directly behind where my under the worktop oven will go, are there any regs that state how far away the socket for this electrical oven should be??

I.e, will the heat from me cooking my turkey cause any danger to the socket??

Cheers

Mac

plumb1_2

As long as the oven isn't touching it and there is a gap it will be ok.
Most ovens are below 550mm deep, and base units 600mm deep.

Mikeyorks

It's not an ideal spot - but the oven should be sufficiently insulated to not do it any harm. If your turkey starts to melt the socket - it will do the same to the adjacent units!

More seriously - if the socket is not in use and it's concerning you, just fit a blanking plate over it? e.g.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea/searchresults.jsp?_dyncharset=UTF-8&howMany=5&searchText=blanking+plate

mac123

sorry, should've mentioned that the oven will be plugged into this socket

plumb1_2

mac123 wrote:

sorry, should've mentioned that the oven will be plugged into this socket

You should move the socket either above the unit or into a adj unit.

raymond

There is no need to move the socket, but you should not use it to power the oven unless it is switched by a spur unit otheriwise you cannot turn off the power to the oven ... when cleaning for example.

ToAoB

I am not 100% on this but you'll need to have this checked out, so here's my penny worth;

As the cooker is probably the highest rated device in the whole household - it's safer for it to have its own fuse/circuit breaker in the consumer unit (fuse box). In saying so, you will need a seperate circuit just for the cooker with own cooker switch in the kitchen where you can easily isolate the power from it for cleaning, etc.

Connecting directly to a double socket is only safe if using lower rated cookers such as the baby belling cooker types.

(think about during an event i.e. Xmas, etc, where you may be using cooker to maximum use alongside with other equipments that you may use at the same time, etc and you may end up tripping the fuse by overloading!)

Pauls

I'm not a electrician or anything, but shouldn't the oven be on a separate supply? I may be wrong, but I thought that most houses have a separate connection point with a big red switch that says 'cooker' on it? (or is this just old fashioned ones?)

Anyway, we had our kitchen installed around 5 years ago, and have a separate illuminated switch above the worktop for the oven, and a single socket which is just for the electronic ignition for the gas hob.

Mikeyorks

No - the oven can be plugged into a 13amp socket - provided (see the OP - this is an under unit oven) it is only an oven. It's when it's a full blown cooker with hob, that you should run it off a separate 30amp circuit with double pole switch etc.

If the OP has a separate electric hob - that must be run off a separate circuit, with double pole isolator.

But - as he has since identified the oven will be plugged into the socket behind the oven - the post from Plumb1 is appropriate. In that the socket should ideally be moved into an adjacent unit - so the oven can be isolated without having to pull it out.

raymond

Before you plug it in, you need to ascertain whether it is connected to the ring or if its a spur. I would be very suspicious about finding a socket behind a unit, its possibly a DIY job and may not be safe to use for an oven.

The rating of the socket may be 13A but that is irrelevant it is the cable that is important and how it is connected to the consumer unit. The earth is particularly important as if it not up to the job the fuse may not blow or may be slow to blow if there is a short to earth in the cooker.

How old is the house?
How old is the wiring?
Do you have an RCD?
Is the socket connected to an RCD?
Do you have a green and yellow earth wire connected from the incoming supply or do you have a large green and yellow earty wire disappearing off somewhere to a ground stake?

These questions are a few of the questions to be answered and why it normally recommends in the instructions that cookers and hobs are connected by a qualified electrician even though it may come fitted with a 13A plug.

mac123

ToAoB wrote:

As the cooker is probably the highest rated device in the whole household - it's safer for it to have its own fuse/circuit breaker in the consumer unit (fuse box). In saying so, you will need a seperate circuit just for the cooker with own cooker switch in the kitchen where you can easily isolate the power from it for cleaning, etc.

It is on its own circuit and the double socket is new and is for 1. the cooker, and 2. the ignition for th gas hob.

I know that it can be plugged in there and can be isolated if she burns the turkey etc but will the plug overheat being behind the oven.

thanks for all your replies

mac