Difference Between Hardwired & A Plug

[CW1]

Hi,

Looking for a new integrated oven & realised they generally (not Hotpoint) need to be hardwired rather than having a plug (as I do now).
What does it need to be hardwired into & why can't it just be wired to a plug ?

[Tuvok]

Our cooker is hardwired and I think it has its own fuse in the fuse box

[Canary42]

I expect Builder will be along some time to answer this, but I believe it is because an oven needs a meatier circuit than the usual ring main so should have a separate feed from the mains with a higher rating.

[The Builder]

Yes, Canary's right CW.

With a plug (most separate ovens are plug-in these days), you can have a load up to the maximum of 13amps. (Roughly 3 kwatts)

Most are less than that... around 2.5 kw.

Anything that draws a current over that has to be hard-wired, with a heavier cable, and a higher rated circuit-breaker (fuse.)

[CW1]

Thanks for the fast answers :)

The shop said that as I have a plug now, I can't buy an oven that's more than 13amp, fair enough & not an issue. So, The Builder, a plug *could* be used ? Everything, except Hotpoints, seem to have to be hardwired.
Btw, the oven's nowhere near the fuse box !

[Buenchico]

A 3-pin socket (and the cabling associated with it) can provide current up to 13 amps, which equates to 3 kilowatts of power. Almost all ovens currently on the market use more power than that, meaning that a higher current will be drawn. If you plugged such an oven into a 13 amp socket then, hopefully, the fuse to the circuit would blow (or the circuit breaker would trip out), leaving you with no power to the oven. However if the fuse/circuit breaker failed to work as intended, there would be a serious risk of fire.

Cookers need to be hard-wired to a dedicated power supply, typically capable of providing up to 45 amps of power. So the cabling that supplies your 3-pin sockets with a maximum of 13 amps can't be used; you must get an electrician to run a new cable between your house's consumer unit (where the main fuse box is) and the cooker point.

[Buenchico]

ao.com is frequently recommended as a reliable supplier of white goods by AB members and their prices are highly competitive. So it might be worth taking a look at what they can offer you:
https://ao.com/

If you do so, you'll be able to use the filter options down the left hand side of the page. Click on 'More filter options', and then on 'Power' to find the filter button which enables you to limit your search to models which come with a plug attached and don't need you to find an electrician.

[The Builder]

Chris... you may be overstating things here.
CW mentioned an oven. A simple single oven, even with a grill, is most often plug-in (to a socket.)

You mention a cooker. That's completely different.
What is it CW............ a single oven?

[CW1]

Thanks The Builder. I'm sure the ones I've been looking at have been less than 3kw :/ Running a new cable from the fusebox would be nigh on impossible :((
Looks like my option is. Hotpoint :(

[Old_Geezer]

The cable goes directly into the wall connection. There is nothing to unplug.

[The Builder]

Not necessarily just Hotpoint, CW. There are many others.

Do what Chris says, and check the spec for "power requirements"

Do you not have a "cooker point"?

[Buenchico]

I tend to (wrongly) use the terms 'cooker' and 'oven' as synonymous, TB. So I should have taken a little more care in my post.

However CW1 refers to an 'integrated oven' in her question, which I took to mean a built-in model, such as one of these:
https://ao.com/l/electric_single_ovens/1/42-43-45/
If you look at the filter options on the left (under 'Power'), you'll see that the majority of them require hard wiring.

[CW1]

Sorry, it's an integrated oven & grill.

[CW1]

No cooker point, The Builder, just a plug in a cupboard under the oven.

[The Builder]

Ok, thanks to Chris there. I've done some searching and think I can see the problem.
It's a matter of nomenclature, that is, they keep moving the goalposts.

We're both right. Many single ovens, even with a grill, are still, as I maintained, less than 13amps.

What I have found is that some of them, even less than 13amps, say they should be hard-wired.
Looking deeper, they specify hard-wiring as connection to a 13amp fused spur (which is run from a standard socket circuit.)

There's the discrepancy. I was rattling on about connections to a cooker point, which is definitely not needed in most cases.

I can see why. Taking 13amps via a plug will possibly cause eventual overheating of the plug, even though it has a 13amp fuse.
Silly isn't it?

So, I guess anything over 2.5kw has to be connected to a fused spur to avoid plug burning. My own oven is 2.5kw, and plugs right in to a socket.

CW, do you have a socket near where the oven is going?

[The Builder]

Ok, you do have a socket.

Connect a standard fused spur into the ring circuit (right next to the socket under the oven.)

https://www.screwfix.com/p/13a-switched-fused-spur-with-neon-white-with-colour-matched-inserts/8009D?tc=DA8&ds_kid=92700049750762320&;ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249401&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1247848&ds_rl=1248154&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm6ak48KS6AIVg8reCh28wATnEAQYAyABEgI8VfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Connect the oven to the fused spur. I would use flexible heat-resistant 3-core cable (1.5mm cable)

[fourteen85]

I had a new Bosch oven last year and that was a 13 amp plug fitting

[bhg481]

I am not an electrician but I seem to recall a RECOMMENDATION that devices which are semi-permanently connected to the mains should be hard wired. This includes such things as cookers, washing machines, freezers etc, which are rarely moved. This is sensible to a degree but makes it a real pain-in-the-neck if you need to move them for some reason (cleaning/repair etc). Perhaps this is why the oven manufacturers are recommending hard-wiring, even for an oven which takes sufficiently little power to be used off the normal ring.

[CW1]

The Builder, I do have separate switches in a panel in the kitchen, on the outside wall, where I can switch off appliances individually.
I can find a plug in oven on AO as per Buenchico's advice (I do buy big appliances from there as a rule anyway) but I'll run all your advice by the electrician as well.
Thanks all :)

[woofgang]

bhg, can you remember whwere you saw that and who recommended it? Most of the deliver/fit/take away the old white goods deals rely on the fact that white goods apart from ovens and cookers do just plug in....the deliver/fitters don't need much training and the process is fast and easy.

[Ryzen]

Manufacturers and models differ ...you have 3 options..hard wire to a dedicated outlet...hard wire to a fused connection unit..or plug into a 13a 3 pin socket. Generally if its intended to be plugged in ..it will have a plug already fitted. Check the wiring spec before you buy and do as recommended.