kitchen appliances not working -electricity problem?

TELLIT01

You say you took the fuses out and put them back in.  Did you check to see if the fuse wire was intact?

FreeBear

This surface mount box needs replacing

The consumer unit (fuse box) is also well old and you should be budgeting for a replacement in the near future. A modern consumer unit will come with things like RCDs which will give you a higher degree of protection. And with MCBs in place of rewireable fuses, easier to see when one trips and reset it.

mi-key

Agusya said:

Belenus said:

In your final photo, there are what appear to be 5 fuses and 1 breaker.

Have you checked those fuses?

Do you know how to do that safely?

I took them out and back in. Ive already played with switching on and off switches. Nothing happens. Cooker has fuse next to switch button but Im not sure what to do with it

That looks like the cooker main switch. Does the red light come on when you switch it? If not, you need to check the fuse under the little panel in it

nofoollikeold

1. You have an old style 6 way consumer unit.
2. Looking at your photograph, from left to right you have:
2.1 A white fuse.  Probably 5 amp and intended for a lighting circuit.
2.2 A blue fuse. Probably 15 amp and intended for an immersion heater.
2.3 A Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) which has replaced an old fuse.  Your MCB is rated at 45 amps, and is probably for a shower, although it could be for a cooker circuit.
2.4 Three red fuses, each rated for around 30 amps.  The one to the right of the MCB appears to be labelled upstairs sockets, the one to the right of that seems to be labelled downstairs sockets.  The final, extreme right hand side fuse is unlabelled.  I would expect this is the one for the cooker circuit.
3. The fuses are not the same as MCBs, removing and inserting them does nothing.  They have a piece of thin fuse wire screwed between two terminals.  The wire runs through a ceramic "tunnel" in the body of the fuse (which I should really call a fuse carrier).
4. If a fuse is overloaded it will burn out inside the tunnel, and will need to be replaced.
5. To replace a fuse:
5.1 Turn off all power at the main switch.
5.2 Pull the fuse carrier completely out from the consumer unit.
5.3 If you have a multi-meter you can test the fuse wire.  If you have continuity between the terminals (e.g. the prongs which stick into the consumer unit) the fuse is OK.  
5.4 Undo the small screws, one at each end of the "tunnel" and remove any remains of the old fuse wire.
5.5 Get a piece of fuse wire, which MUST be of the correct rating.  (5 amps for white fuses, 15 amps for blue fuses, 30 amps for red fuses).  You can get a card of fuse wire with a length of each wound onto it.  Do NOT attempt to use any other wire, nor use 2 pieces of 15 amp for a 30 amp.  
5.6 Poke the wire through the tunnel.  Wrap the open end of the wire round the shank of the screw where the wire emerges from the tunnel.  Two turns clockwise looking down on the screw are sufficient.  Tighten the screw.  With the wire reasonably taut, wrap two turns round the shank of the screw at the other end (again clockwise looking down on the head of the screw) and tighten the screw.  
5.7 Cut the excess wire just past the second screw.
5.8 Re-insert the fuse carrier.
5.9 Turn off all appliances on the affected circuit, then turn on the main switch at the consumer unit.  
6. One by one, turn on the appliances on the affected circuit.  If all continues to work, problem solved (but see below).
7. If the fuse goes again when a particular appliance is turned on, this indicates a fault with the appliance or the wiring leading to it.  Depending on how handy you are with mains voltage electricity (UK = 230 volts = quite likely to kill you) you may be able to diagnose further.  However, you would be well advised to turn off the appliance and leave it turned off, replace the fuse again (so you can run other appliances) and call an electrician
8. In your particular situation:
8.1 You would be well advised to change the consumer unit for a modern one with residual current devices to cut the electricity off in a fraction of a second if problems occur.
8.2 Given the problem you have had it would be advisable to get at least the kitchen circuits checked by a qualified person.  

mi-key

macman said:

Basics: is there a separate ring main for the kitchen, or is it part of the 'downstairs sockets' circuit? If the latter, are the other downstairs sockets working? If the former, are any of the kitchen sockets working?
It really is time to get those ancient wired fuses replaced with MCB's, and label up each circuit properly. 
If other sockets are affected, then the problem isn't the switched FCU next to the cooker. The fuse supplying the ring main has blown, or maybe a loose connection somewhere on the ring if some sockets are still working.
If you don't know how to check the fuse in an FCU or check the fuse wire on the CU fuses then you need to get a competent person in to fault find. 

Unless the washer and dryer have been powered from a spur taken from the cookers supply, which wouldnt be the first time that has happened !

Rodders53

Fuse wire in the red 'downstairs sockets' or red one adjacent to it on right may have blown?  It shouldn't have, but...

With fuseholder out look in the other side and the white ceramic bit to see the wire across the hole or a simple black hole with nothing. 
Fuse wire is available from Wickes and other similar diy stores (and maybe your local corner shop).  How to do it is on You Tube.  Use the right fuse wire size.

Fuses normally blow under fault conditions so washer or dryer or something else may have a problem.  So unplug and switch off all devices on that kitchen circuit before replacing fuse holder and switching consumer unit back on.

One of the 6 fuse holders has been replaced with a MCB (the 45A labelled one - shower?) Such plug in MCB replacements are becoming difficult to find now.

Certainly time to consider updating that consumer unit.

Agusya

mi-key said:

Agusya said:

Belenus said:

In your final photo, there are what appear to be 5 fuses and 1 breaker.

Have you checked those fuses?

Do you know how to do that safely?

I took them out and back in. Ive already played with switching on and off switches. Nothing happens. Cooker has fuse next to switch button but Im not sure what to do with it

That looks like the cooker main switch. Does the red light come on when you switch it? If not, you need to check the fuse under the little panel in it

What am I checking it for and how do I remove it? I tried to lift it but its not coming off

mi-key

Agusya said:

mi-key said:

Agusya said:

Belenus said:

In your final photo, there are what appear to be 5 fuses and 1 breaker.

Have you checked those fuses?

Do you know how to do that safely?

I took them out and back in. Ive already played with switching on and off switches. Nothing happens. Cooker has fuse next to switch button but Im not sure what to do with it

That looks like the cooker main switch. Does the red light come on when you switch it? If not, you need to check the fuse under the little panel in it

What am I checking it for and how do I remove it? I tried to lift it but its not coming off

When you switch it, does the red light come on?  If not, then turn off the main power in the house first, then use a flat blade screwdriver or similar to fit under the little catch bit on the right of the panel. It may be quite stiff as the fuse could be attached to it in a clip.

If you dont have a multimeter then the easiest thing is just to swap the fuse over for a new one, put it back in, house power on then see if the switch works now

GDB2222

Agusya said:

mi-key said:

Agusya said:

Belenus said:

In your final photo, there are what appear to be 5 fuses and 1 breaker.

Have you checked those fuses?

Do you know how to do that safely?

I took them out and back in. Ive already played with switching on and off switches. Nothing happens. Cooker has fuse next to switch button but Im not sure what to do with it

That looks like the cooker main switch. Does the red light come on when you switch it? If not, you need to check the fuse under the little panel in it

What am I checking it for and how do I remove it? I tried to lift it but its not coming off

Before you mess with that, have you actually checked that the fuse wires are intact in the fuses on the consumer unit, yet?  That’s the obvious place to start. 

Do you have 30A fuse wire and a screwdriver? 

macman

I really don't think that the OP should be trying to diagnose the fault. They should put some insulating tape across that broken surface mount box (as a very temporary fix only) and get in someone who is competent.
If you don't know how to pull the fuse on a switched FCU or change a fuse wire then you shouldn't be DIY-ing.
There are at least two issues on this install that need attention from a professional sparky, and possibly others that we don't know about.