How it Works1 min ago
Electric Cooker Instillation Rules
19 Answers
We are having a new electric cooke and my husband wants to connect it himself. I heard this was not allowed any more and we had to get a qualified electrition. Any one know the regulations now.
Answers
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If it's a new installation you have to get an electrician. If you're not changing the position or any wires, your husband could probably do it if he's competent with DIY etc. However, I'm a bit nervous around electrics and would get an electrician if I were you, especially as my OH is useless even with a hammer and I'd be scared to death if he tried to replace an oven.
If it is just a plug in single oven in an under worktop unit he should be OK. If this is a free standing cooker with separate grill and is to be hard wired into an existing 30amp supply, tell him to take out the fuse at the box or switch off the supply before even disconnecting the old cooker. Check your insurance on him before you let him loose. NO forgiveness from a 30 amp supply.
If it is a new cooker just do it yourself. I have done it several times , it is easier than connecting a plug. Turn off the power >open the cover of the connection point. The cooker has 3 colour coded wires that go into the 3 colour coded slots of the connection point.Place each wire in its appropriate slot and secure it by tightening up the grip screw, put the cover back on and fasten it > Turn power back on , job done. Takes 2 minutes max. Very hard to see how you can go wrong, I suppose being totally colour blind might be a difficulty but there are signs as well as the colour code.
Details here
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Unless the cooker and / or the connection point are over 30 years old the wires are Brown, Blue and Green/Yellow striped.
Both cooker and unit will be that same colour code unless they are over 30 years old, ( in which case you need to have the house rewired.)
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Unless the cooker and / or the connection point are over 30 years old the wires are Brown, Blue and Green/Yellow striped.
Both cooker and unit will be that same colour code unless they are over 30 years old, ( in which case you need to have the house rewired.)
The issue here is about understanding the regulations. These say that domestic electrical work (indeed all electrical work on the mains supply system) must be undertaken by a competent person. That means all electricasl work.
Then there are additional requirements under Building Regulations Part P that require electrical work in certain domestic situations requires that the competent person by demonstrably qualified - i.e. done training and has been verified as competant to do certain tasks. Work in the kitchen is one of those areas, however changing over a cooker at a pre-installed cooker point is NOT a task that requires a qualified person (just a competent one).
BS is both competent and qualified, so I don't blame him for saying what he does. As well as doing the physical mechanical bit of removing large cables from connectors and replacing the connections at the new cooker (which a competent person could do), good practice says that the circuit should be tested and a competent person probably doesn't know how to do it, or have the equipment to undertake an earth fault loop test (which tests the impedance of the circuit under high current (fault) condition.
There's a dilemma.
If your husband does it, I do not believe it invalidates your house insurance, in much the same way that it is also recommended practice to re-test a domestic electrical system every 10 years (using a qualified person). But how many people do that, and failure to do that doesn't invalidate the house insurance either.
Then there are additional requirements under Building Regulations Part P that require electrical work in certain domestic situations requires that the competent person by demonstrably qualified - i.e. done training and has been verified as competant to do certain tasks. Work in the kitchen is one of those areas, however changing over a cooker at a pre-installed cooker point is NOT a task that requires a qualified person (just a competent one).
BS is both competent and qualified, so I don't blame him for saying what he does. As well as doing the physical mechanical bit of removing large cables from connectors and replacing the connections at the new cooker (which a competent person could do), good practice says that the circuit should be tested and a competent person probably doesn't know how to do it, or have the equipment to undertake an earth fault loop test (which tests the impedance of the circuit under high current (fault) condition.
There's a dilemma.
If your husband does it, I do not believe it invalidates your house insurance, in much the same way that it is also recommended practice to re-test a domestic electrical system every 10 years (using a qualified person). But how many people do that, and failure to do that doesn't invalidate the house insurance either.
In these situations, Kendra, it's common for people to confuse two completely different questions........
1 Ist it legal?
2 Is it sensible? (i.e. safe)
The legality is immaterial. So, is it safe? Who knows? That's the point. Your husband is perfectly capable of making the connections. Even an electrician will tell you it's not a difficult job.
What you don't know is:
Is the cable the right size? If so, how is it routed. It may be installed in a way that reduces its current-carrying capacity. It may be impossible to tell, but a couple of tests will give you some idea.
Is a functional Earth present? The Earth connection may have been lost years ago. You wouldn't know until there's a fault ........... and the circuit does NOT disconnect properly in the way that it should.
Sorry to sound all po-faced and preachy, but this comes up quite often. Even a voluntary Q&A site has a "duty of care" of sorts. It may not be legally binding, but this does bring me back to my first point above ....... it should be, at least, sensible.
The simple tests that an electrician would make, take very little time. No huge bills.
1 Ist it legal?
2 Is it sensible? (i.e. safe)
The legality is immaterial. So, is it safe? Who knows? That's the point. Your husband is perfectly capable of making the connections. Even an electrician will tell you it's not a difficult job.
What you don't know is:
Is the cable the right size? If so, how is it routed. It may be installed in a way that reduces its current-carrying capacity. It may be impossible to tell, but a couple of tests will give you some idea.
Is a functional Earth present? The Earth connection may have been lost years ago. You wouldn't know until there's a fault ........... and the circuit does NOT disconnect properly in the way that it should.
Sorry to sound all po-faced and preachy, but this comes up quite often. Even a voluntary Q&A site has a "duty of care" of sorts. It may not be legally binding, but this does bring me back to my first point above ....... it should be, at least, sensible.
The simple tests that an electrician would make, take very little time. No huge bills.
Connecting a cooker to an existing point ought to be no issue. Presumably it was ok for the cooker removed: all you do is connect to the replacement. But if not confident best leave it to someone who has experience.
I'm not qualified but I believe regulations don't need a competent person to do the job, but it does need a competent person to check the job before use. If you haven't changed anything, and are merely replacing one cooker with another I don't see there ought be anything to check.
I'm not qualified but I believe regulations don't need a competent person to do the job, but it does need a competent person to check the job before use. If you haven't changed anything, and are merely replacing one cooker with another I don't see there ought be anything to check.
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