Regarding cookers, safety question

MsPennyMinder

Does anyone know if duel fuel freestanding cookers need space on the sides or if they can be flush to cabinets?

My research seems to say Gas needs a gap (maybe not always) but nothing on electric ovens. I ask cuz my current gas fs cooker is a deathtrap and is melting my cabinet door ( it was like that when I moved in, I can only now afford to do something about and I miss have a working oven). The space is *exactly* 60cm, so Idk if 60cm flush duel fuel will have exactly the same issue ( I cannot afford to burn my kifchen down!) Or if electric is different and it will be fine or if I should swallow my disgust and get a noticably smaller cooker for an air gap at the sides??
 
(I'm going gas oven to electric oven because the current one likes to attempt to gas me the few times I've used it and I literally cannot deal with that concern anymore.) 

Any advice here?

ThisIsWeird

Is this your own house, or rented?
Is there an 40A electric cooker point nearby? 
You definitely want to stick with a gas hob? 

Flugelhorn

I don't know about the gap for gas cookers but my electric freestanding cooker is flush to the units without any problem.

FreeBear

If it is just the cupboard door that is being melted (vinyl wrap ?), you can get heat deflectors that help to reduce the problem. Heat deflectors are just a length of thin steel or aluminium angle fixed to the edge of the cupboard - Usually used with a built in oven, so most of the metal is hidden by the oven trim.

MsPennyMinder

I do own it yeah, I'll get heat deflectors to try but yeah it has warped and cracked the vinyl covering of the cupboard door

ThisIsWeird

You clearly want shot of your gas oven, and I don't blame you, so a dual-fuel makes sense, assuming you wish to retain the gas hob?
Shortlist a few models, and look up their instructions - they will give the requirements. 
Most likely they will specify an air gap of some size, but in practice the sides of a FS electric oven do not become 'hot' - you'll easily be able to place your hands on them. So there's no risk of your cupboards bursting into flames.
The 'foil' wrap, tho', is pretty susceptible to heat, and it likely won't take much to cause what you've already seen. And, annoyingly, the oven front and door are the parts that tend to become more hot.
Perhaps look for models with oven doors inset a bit on their sides? 

Albermarle

You clearly want shot of your gas oven, and I don't blame you, so a dual-fuel makes sense, assuming you wish to retain the gas hob?

We have always preferred a gas hob, but have been reading stuff recently that they give out some nasties into the kitchen air, and being a fossil fuel will probably get phased out at some point. Induction hobs seem to be the go to one nowadays.

And, annoyingly, the oven front and door are the parts that tend to become more hot.

The better ones have glass doors that do not get hot, just warm. 

MsPennyMinder

Thanks for all the help, I've started to look at particular cookers to check their manufacturers recommendations. 

Follow up question: installation quides keep mentioning must have red cooker switch..... I have a (slightly akward to access) plug socket in the cupboard next to the cooker which it is plugged into. It is not red. The flat was a long term rental before I bought it and shall we say, had many creative and (cheap) modifications and adjustments to it. Is this correct and safe? I never clicked that it wasn't counter accessible like other cooker switches I've seen previously and Idk if it is isolated from the rest of the kitchen?

This flat is very much uncover one rock and a host of other questions arise....

ThisIsWeird

It sounds as tho' you do not have a dedicated cooker circuit (which would end with the 'red cooker switch'). That is no surprise, since your cooker was all-gas, and only needed electricity for 'sparks' and possibly a clock. So, your current cupboard socket is almost certainly just a 'normal' power socket like all the others in the kitchen.

If you fancy an electric hob - ceramic or induction - then you will need a new cable from your CU to a 'red' switch. There is also a good chance you'll need this for 'just' an electric oven too, but that depends on the oven rating - some 'may' (but you'd need to check) be ok with a normal 13A plug (some built-in ovens were ok on 13A circuits).

Almost certainly, tho', you are going to need some electrical work. Even if the current socket can supply the oven part, it should still be accessible for obvious reasons. 

Where is your CU in relation to the kitchen?

silvercar

The spec on my range cooker (gas hob, electric oven) was for a 5mm gap on either side. It was a pain, too easy for food and liquids to disappear through the 5mm gap and impossible to clean. I would either go for flush fitting or a decent gap.

Albermarle

There is also a good chance you'll need this for 'just' an electric oven too, but that depends on the oven rating - some 'may' (but you'd need to check) be ok with a normal 13A plug (some built-in ovens were ok on 13A circuits).

I had to replace our electric oven a couple of years ago. As the old oven worked off a standard 3 pin 13 amp plug, I researched carefully new ovens that would do the same. A minority do, but most need to be hard wired into an appropriate wall socket.

We bought a Bosch oven that could be just plugged in to a normal socket, and the gas hob does the same.