Shocking Kitchen Electrics - please check yours

[LittleMissSunshine]

Hi All

Ok this is a bit shocking and something that everyone should check urgently, no matter if you are tenant/landlord/homeowner.

When I moved out of my old house I found out that the oven in the kitchen was wired into a 13amp fused main plug (clearly labelled on the plug).

However, since then I have spoken to several engineers (including BBC and British Gas) and they all confirmed that this is illegal and extremely dangerous.

The oven needs to be wired into the separate special ring main in the kitchen which is a 40amp fuse and is marked as such.

Not having done this properly causes increased risk of fire and electrical shock (most likely deadly) :o

All the engineers I spoke to were surprised I survived this kitchen for all those years!!!!!

So please check your own situation and make sure you are in a safe kitchen. Please dont mess around in the kitchen yourself, get a professional recommended engineer.

LMS

[MrShed]

Not meaning to be nit picky or anything, and although what you have said is recommended(having the oven on a seperate circuit), I am fairly positive that what you have stated is not in any way illegal, nor is it unlawful - indeed it is not even dangerous, for a start it depends on the individual oven...

[MrShed]

In fact, I would even go so far as to say that basic laws of physics would mean that this kind of set up would not make it any more dangerous, but just make it nigh on impossible to use. As the fuse amperage is lower, it would be MORE likely to trip out, NOT less likely(it is when the fuse does NOT blow that fires etc can start), therefore it would just blow the fuse all the time.

Although, I am not an electrician, and so I could be talking rubbish!!

[MrShed]

Originally Posted by LittleMissSunshine

The oven needs to be wired into the separate special ring main in the kitchen which is a 40amp fuse and is marked as such.

Not all kitchens have a separate ring main. There is no requirement to create one. Only if the cooker is above 3000 watts should it not run on a 13amp socket.

[Melstin]

Plenty of professional advice is available here, totally for free:


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[Ed999]

Originally Posted by MrShed

In fact, I would even go so far as to say that basic laws of physics would mean that this kind of set up would not make it any more dangerous, but just make it nigh on impossible to use. As the fuse amperage is lower, it would be MORE likely to trip out, NOT less likely(it is when the fuse does NOT blow that fires etc can start), therefore it would just blow the fuse all the time.

Although, I am not an electrician, and so I could be talking rubbish!!

No, you're not talking rubbish. A 13 amp fuse is far safer than a 40 amp fuse, because it will blow under a 14 amp load. A 40 amp fuse will need three times that load before it will blow!

Sadly, the o/p isn't talking rubbish either. Well, not wholly. The building regulations do require that when building a new house the builder must connect the cooker to a special 40 amp circuit.

However, older properties, built before the current building regulations were invented, were NOT built illegally, because the regulations didn't apply in the old days. So the o/p is talking rubbish in suggesting that the situation is illegal, because that would depend on when the property in question was built, and she has not addressed that point.

It's the building regulations that are rubbish. A 13 amp circuit would be far safer than a 40 amp circuit.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

Originally Posted by Ed999

It's the building regulations that are rubbish. A 13 amp circuit would be far safer than a 40 amp circuit.

Apart from when it tempts people to bodge a get-around, causing a fire.