Advice on installing my own electric cooker?

Sandwich

I haven't got around to it yet. Picked up some 6mm T&E from B&Q today. Some of this stuff:





The live and neutral wires do appear to be insulated, so does that still mean that I have to insulate the earth myself, and if so is black electrical tape suitable? Otherwise it's a trip back to B&Q.

I also just took off the back panel of the cooker. Here are some photos:







So this looks slightly different to the cookers in the instructional videos I've seen online, but from what I can make out the live wire goes in the far left slot, the neutral in the 5th slot, and the earth in the 6th. And I'm assuming the actual process is like in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPT_UqG7PT4

If you need more pictures just let me know what you want me to snap.

thescouselander

Ok, that's the correct cable. You should insulate the earth conductor using the correct sleeve. Obviously insulating tape might provide the correct function but that would be your risk - I'd recommend going by the book.

You have the cable order correct too. I cant see the terminal well enough to determine how the wires are held in but make sure they are in securely and that a good contact is being made.

If you find it awkward it might be the sort that needs connectors crimping on. Does the front of the terminal block pop off to get a better look?

Toxteth_OGrady

Sandwich wrote: »

so does that still mean that I have to insulate the earth myself, and if so is black electrical tape suitable?

No it's not. Get this.

:cool:

TOG

Crinkmeister

When you have tightened the screws for each wire, give the cable a little wiggle and tighten the screws again.

buglawton

newbie1980 wrote: »

straight away with the picture of consumer unit i would say the property is a council/housing trust property

they insist on a minor works certificate from a electrician upon installation
to prove proper installation

I had a very similar consumer unit fitted by a spark some years ago, so where's the LA housing clue?

Sandwich

Okay I will pick up some insulation for the earth wire today. I've just had another look at the terminal block and it doesn't appear as though the front (brown) part comes off because I undid the screws either side of it and the whole piece (wires included) moves.

Sandwich

I'm just doing the wiring. Quick question though: does the neutral wire have to be longer than the live and neutral for safety reasons? Is seems to imply so in the cooker manual:

Ectophile

I assume you mean the earth?

It will be a safety thing. If you accidentally pull the cooker out to far while it's still wired in, it will yank on the cable. If you make sure that there's some slack in the earth, then that will be the last one that gets pulled out.

Sandwich

Okay, one last check if I may. This is how I stripped the wires. I hope it's okay:



It's hard to explain how I wired this cable to the cooker, but the screws visible from the front of the terminal block open up a gap between the two bits of metal visible in this image (i.e., the larger flat pieces and the smaller ones to the bottom left of them), so that's where I inserted the individual wires:



And this is how it looks now:



I'll be wiring the other end to the wall terminal tomorrow morning, but I think that parts the easiest, so I'm fairly certain I'll be okay with that.

Toxteth_OGrady

The wiring diagram you posted in #38 shows the Neutral going into terminal 4.

In your 2nd photo in #40 you appear to have the Neutral going into terminal 5.