Oven, Hardwired vs Plug

M1k3H

M1k3H

M1k3H

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Our oven is slowly breaking down, now struggling to go over 140 degrees. Considering it's the free one we got with the house 7 years ago, and most on our estate replaced theirs within 2 years, we are quite lucky it lasted this long.

Reading its manual it seems to be hardwired into the wall, whereas the ovens we have found use a plug.

I will be taking it out of the cabinet tomorrow to confirm and also measure to make sure the new oven can fit before ordering. In the meantime, wanted to ask if anyone knows whether I can install a socket without invalidating my home insurance or whether I can simply remove the plug and connect to the wall without invalidating the oven insurance? Or should I get an electrician to have a look instead?

Appreciate the advise.
 
No, you can’t put a 13A plug on the end of an electric oven/cooker cable and just plug it into a 13A.

Unless you really want to burn your house down.

That hardwired switch (45A rated I think) is wired directly to you house’s consumer unit because electric ranges/ovens used to draw higher currents than your ring mains were rated for.

Get a proper sparky in now.
 
TheOracle said:
Can't you just buy another oven which needs hard wiring, then just WIRE the cable in where it is now? Obviously turn it off at the fuse board first :cry:
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Needs a qualified electrician to fit and certify the installation. Building regs since 2005.
 
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labbby said:
ooopsy by me then. still house hasn't burned down yet lol
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If and when you sell, the questionnaire from the buyer may ask about additional electrical work requesting certification. Until then you are OK if it is safely installed and working.
 
Armageus said:
Post a link to the ovens you are looking at, as I've never seen one that wasn't designed to be hardwired.
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Two ovens I'm looking at are:

www.indesit.co.uk

Built in Oven Indesit IFW 6340 IX UK - IFW 6340 IX UK - Indesit - Affordable, Reliable Kitchen & Home Appliances | Indesit UK

Indesit Built in Oven IFW 6340 IX UK : check out the specs and discover all the innovative functions of the appliance for your house and family.
www.indesit.co.uk www.indesit.co.uk
and
www.hotpoint.co.uk

Built in Oven Hotpoint SA2 544 C IX - Hotpoint

Hotpoint Built in Oven SA2 544 C IX : discover the specifications of our home appliances and bring the innovation into your house and family.
www.hotpoint.co.uk www.hotpoint.co.uk

Reason I'm looking at these two is because a friend works for them and can currently get either of these as a brand new but with minor cosmetic defects, so can get them for around £130 which is decent.

TheOracle said:
Can't you just buy another oven which needs hard wiring, then just plug the cable in where it is now? Obviously turn it off at the fuse board first :cry:
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See above, but even a few other ovens I was looking at had a plug.
 
Puzzled said:
Might just need a new heater element rather than buying a new oven
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Yeap, that's probably true, but the oven itself isn't great. Have always had issues with heat distribution.

I asked them when we bought the house and they wouldn't even give me money back if I chose to instal my own, so kept it. (was a brand new house)

Edit: Our current oven is Lamona model no. lam3301
 
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Lamona is beko made for Howdens.

You don't need to be a spark to connect to an existing supply, certainly are guys aren't and they do a lot of installs.
 
Just make sure it's isolated before you do it.

We have an isolator switch in the kitchen, so I'll turn it off at that and open the circuit on the consumer unit, overkill maybe but you can be pretty sure it won't kill you.

Even go one step further and put a meter to it to test it.

Have you considered trying to fix it, @Mr.Cookie gave me some help on these very forums a few years back turned out was actually very easy and inexpensive to replace a failed element.
 
Mr.Cookie said:
Lamona is beko made for Howdens.

You don't need to be a spark to connect to an existing supply, certainly are guys aren't and they do a lot of installs.
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Maybe not, and maybe I was swayed by the lack of knowledge about 13A and cooker circuits. If so I admit wrong. I am no spark, just a reasonably able DIY'er who fitted an electric shower down to the connection into the existing supply. That was in 1994 and I did get the network electrician to fit the new tails and then check over my work. The regulations are written to reduce the involvements of a Del boy fitter causing problems down the line and any doubt should be expressed.
 
As long as you are not modifying the existing circuit, you don’t need an electrician to fit/change an oven. It’s no more difficult than wiring a plug.

Edit: it should be RCD protected, if it isn’t, get an electrician ASAP.

You can get ovens that run if 13a plugs, standard single fan ovens only draw about 2kw.

Those that draw more tend to be because they also have a top heating element (grill) and some also have a bottom heating element and therefore need more power.

They need to be hard wired as they are usually rated at 16a (needing a dedicated 20a radial circuit) or more. A double oven/range is almost always a 32A circuit, sometimes more.

You can even get 4 ring induction hobs that run off 13a plugs. They’ll be rubbish as they can’t draw enough power. I’d avoid anything that didn’t need a dedicated 32a circuit on that front.
 
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Hagar said:
Needs a qualified electrician to fit and certify the installation. Building regs since 2005.
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I rewired a hardwired oven myself... I don't believe that is notifiable work or needs to go to building controls? I've rewired a lot of bits at home. The only things I don't touch is the consumer unit other than isolating circuits so that I can work on them safely.

I agree withe others though, certainly do not use a 13A plug for a hardwired oven!
 
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