Single Built Under/in Oven

[ferlew]

Getting an oven from Currys, (to match new hob - shallow I know) thing is, they are asking £90 to install, surely it's just a matter of unplugging the old one, removing from the housing, and putting new oven in housing, and plugging in.
How can they warrant £90? Or am I missing something?

[Togo]

Gas safety laws req. a qualified fitter plus if they are taking the old gear away its a good deal. Think your house insurance.

[TheWinner]

Doesn't it have to be hardwired in?

[Togo]

On the other hand if it is a single electric built under oven and you have a socket already in situ its a bit steep.

[Gavmacp]

Years ago wired in girlfriends cooker, I was rather chuffed. Friend, electrician, said I was a prat as this was dangerous.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

If its a simple plug in oven and you have a socket below the worktop then they will just need to test for polarity,earth fault loop impedance and rcd trip times.They should then check the distribution board to confirm the correct mcb/rcd is installed.If the new oven is only 13a and the supply is 32a then they will have to downgrade the protection at the distribution board or local to the oven.They may take your old oven away.....£90 is a bargain...a new McLaren aint cheap you know :-)

[Togo]

Is that an all electric McLaren you have your eye on sparky? Haha.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Half and half togo...:-)

[ferlew]

This will be the 4th one we have had in he 14/15 years of living here, we have never had to have an electrician before, just slotted the oven into the housing, and a couple of screws to anchor it, then just plug in the integral plug into the socket in the kitchen cupboard.

[ferlew]

Am already paying for the old one to be taken away and recycled brightspark.

[Togo]

// just slotted the oven into the housing, and a couple of screws to anchor it//
You identified the main danger right there ferlew. If not fixed properly or if the housing is damaged, opening the oven door can cause the unit to fall onto your legs, and if hot and laden a nasty accident is liable.

[EcclesCake]

Why would you need to replace your oven so frequently?

[-Talbot-]

Togo
// just slotted the oven into the housing, and a couple of screws to anchor it//
You identified the main danger right there ferlew. If not fixed properly or if the housing is damaged, opening the oven door can cause the unit to fall onto your legs, and if hot and laden a nasty accident is liable.



Seriously?

[BRIGHT SPARK]

If its so easy.... then do it yourself and save £90

[diddlydo]

Since getting married in 1971 we have had 3 electric cookers. Each time my husband has wired them into the existing cooker box. We're still very much alive!

[Togo]

The appliance should be securely fitted to the cabinet using appropriate screws; otherwise, the appliance could move in use which can casue damage to adjacent furniture and lead to increased noise or vibration in use. If the appliance is not secured, there is a risk of the appliance tipping forward when the door is opened.
Seriously Talbot. The same applies to a tower or 'eye level' oven.
http://www.glotech.co.uk/guides/ovens-installation-advice/

[Dogsbody2]

Can't believe I'm reading some of the above dire warnings. An oven sits in a slot in a housing, and goes back about 500mm in a housing that is 600mm deep. It's not going to slide out and fall, unless perhaps you mount it at an upward angle of thirty degrees, and it is not going to tip out, because it will be constrained by the size of the gap it is pushed into. Even if you sat elephant on the open door the housing would break up first or the whole thing would be pulled off its attaching screws to the wall behind.
All that's needed are the modest mounting screws, generally two or four, that merely hold the oven in place on the flat bed of the housing aperture.

[ferlew]

It arrives tomorrow, will report back.

[Togo]

Dogsbody has obviously never fitted one of these ovens. The oven has no chassis, ( as does a free standing oven) the doors are bottom hinged with a double glass panel making the very front heavy. The doors on most of them need quite a good pull to open them, It is possible (if the fixing screws are missing or located in a part of the housing that has been damaged or has existing oversize screw holes) to cause the oven to slide foreward and drop. I have come across this very scenario many times during my working days. The flat bed that is mentioned also has to be cut away to comply with manufactures ventilation guidelines in some cases and is not a full base in the first place on a dedicated oven housing under or tower housing.

[-Talbot-]

The oven has no chassis, ( as does a free standing oven) the doors are bottom hinged with a double glass panel making the very front heavy. The doors on most of them need quite a good pull to open them, It is possible (if the fixing screws are missing or located in a part of the housing that has been damaged or has existing oversize screw holes) to cause the oven to slide foreward and drop.


I have come across this very scenario many times during my working days.



Seriously?

[The Builder]

Yes Talbot, I have to agree with Togo. This isn't just being picky. I've often found this. A lot of these units have a clear space at the top to allow for ventilation. A heavy, drop-down door causes the oven to tip forward dramatically if the top fixing screws aren't in place.

That's not the whole issue though. To answer Ferlew's question...
Under Law, every tradesman has a "duty of care". What Bright Spark is saying is that no visiting electrician will have an idea as to the safety of the existing installation.

In today's litigation-happy world, the electrician would be crazy not to carry out a few checks on the installed circuit. Any passing div might have installed that cooker circuit previously. All responsibility passes to the tradesman in these situations. He is certainly guilty of "covering himself", but he's of course covering your safety as well.

I don't want to be too po-faced about this. Many of these simply plug into a regular 13A socket these days, with four screws in the front mount.

All it is, is that when you call someone in, all responsibility is dumped onto them.

It's most likely a very simple job that you could do yourself quite easily.