Electrician

Ruby82

Hi

I have an old consumer unit. 32amps on cooker breaker.
My kitchen appliances are high end appliances, range cooker oven 3.79kw, dual fuel cooker, gas hob, bosch dishwasher, bosch washing machine 10kg 48w and commercial single fridge 363w and a double motor cooker hood.


I would like some advice do i need a bigger cable for my cooker like 6 or 10mm, trunking in to my cooker switch.
Or can i have a new consumer unit with kitchen appliances on a different breaker and avoid a bigger cable running across ceiling in to my cooker switch.

Or do i need both, new cable 6/10mm cable trunking in to cooker switch and a new fuseboard.

Anybody with a different idea welcome, as am getting different requirements from all electricians.
Some even say i can adjust on a breaker with a new fuseboard.
Sparkys say i have overload and fire hazard.

I feel am gona get scammed by these sparkys

Am so confused...

TheSpectator

Advice? Post it in the correct forum?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/in-my-home-includes-diy-moneysaving

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've moved this to the relevant board

Rodders53

Insufficient data to compute accurately and we need to know more about why an electrician is suggesting some alterations / additions??

BUT

1)  I'd assume that the 'DOWNST. SOCKETS' ring final circuit feeds the kitchen / utility sockets for the 

gas hob, bosch dishwasher, bosch washing machine 10kg 48w and commercial single fridge 363w and a double motor cooker hood

as it would be very very unusual to feed sockets off a cooker circuit (other than the single one on a cooker switch/isolator).
Those items would not cause overload of its' 32A MCB even if all were running their water heaters at once (and it is unlikely for both to do so for dreadfully long).


2)  Cooker:  Range Cooker 3.78kW (16A max), dual fuel cooker over may be similar? 2x16 = 32A max.  Not overloaded. 
But cooker circuit calcs are done on diversity since the heating elements are not on all the time but thermostatically controlled. The load diversity rule is to take the first 10Amps of the total load, add 30% of the remainder and add another 5A if there is a 13A socket on the switch.
So for your case of two 16A ovens:  it is  10 + (22 * 0.3) = 16.6 + 5 for a socket = 21.6A. Nowhere near overloaded.

3) The BIG ISSUE you have is that the whole house is protected by a single Residual Current Device (RCD) and a fault could plunge the whole place into darkness. Scary!!
Usually there were two RCDs or some (fixed wiring) circuits were not RCD protected so that some lighting remains / can be powered from a socket.  On each floor of the dwelling.
You may find a decent sparks would recommend a new modern Consumer Unit is fitted to the latest standards.

Ruby82

Thank u for so much information.
Ive been confused by all the sparkys recommendations.
The downstairs socket only feeds the appliances other than cooker oven.
The cooker is on its own breaker as in the picture.

I needed a new cooker hood fitted thats why the electricians were suggesting all these ideas, leaving me not knowing what is the correct method.
They scared me saying its overloaded and a fire hazard.
My cooker wires in the consumer unit look like 4mm cable.
I will be having a main switch installed rather than just running on rcd

Ectophile

I would be questioning what is overloaded and why it's a hazard.  The whole point of circuit breakers is to trip if a circuit is overloaded.  If they aren't tripping, you probably don't have a problem.

 I will be having a main switch installed rather than just running on rcd

I'm not sure if you got the point that Rodders53 was making.  The RCD (or RCCB as yours is marked - they go under at least three different names*) is to trip on certain faults, including someone being electrocuted.  If you only have one, then if it trips, all the electrics go off.  Not great if it happens at night.  Modern installations have at least two.  But the best option these days is RCBOs.  An RCBO is a combined RCD and circuit breaker.  So every circuit gets its own RCD.

But apart from the possibility of falling down the stairs in the dark, it's a relatively low safety risk.  Loads of houses have only have one RCD.  There are still many houses that don't have an RCD at all.

* Residual Current Device (RCD), Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB) and the now obsolete Current Operated Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker.

Risteard

Ruby82 said:

Hi

I have an old consumer unit. 32amps on cooker breaker.
My kitchen appliances are high end appliances, range cooker oven 3.79kw, dual fuel cooker, gas hob, bosch dishwasher, bosch washing machine 10kg 48w and commercial single fridge 363w and a double motor cooker hood.


I would like some advice do i need a bigger cable for my cooker like 6 or 10mm, trunking in to my cooker switch.
Or can i have a new consumer unit with kitchen appliances on a different breaker and avoid a bigger cable running across ceiling in to my cooker switch.

Or do i need both, new cable 6/10mm cable trunking in to cooker switch and a new fuseboard.

Anybody with a different idea welcome, as am getting different requirements from all electricians.
Some even say i can adjust on a breaker with a new fuseboard.
Sparkys say i have overload and fire hazard.

I feel am gona get scammed by these sparkys

Am so confused...

You should not be removing a cover from a distribution board. That is incredibly stupid and dangerous if you are not trained.

Ruby82

Risteard said:

Ruby82 said:

Hi

I have an old consumer unit. 32amps on cooker breaker.
My kitchen appliances are high end appliances, range cooker oven 3.79kw, dual fuel cooker, gas hob, bosch dishwasher, bosch washing machine 10kg 48w and commercial single fridge 363w and a double motor cooker hood.


I would like some advice do i need a bigger cable for my cooker like 6 or 10mm, trunking in to my cooker switch.
Or can i have a new consumer unit with kitchen appliances on a different breaker and avoid a bigger cable running across ceiling in to my cooker switch.

Or do i need both, new cable 6/10mm cable trunking in to cooker switch and a new fuseboard.

Anybody with a different idea welcome, as am getting different requirements from all electricians.
Some even say i can adjust on a breaker with a new fuseboard.
Sparkys say i have overload and fire hazard.

I feel am gona get scammed by these sparkys

Am so confused...

You should not be removing a cover from a distribution board. That is incredibly stupid and dangerous if you are not trained.

Sparky removed it