Hi,
I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers. I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?
Thanks
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Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
Hi, I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers. I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all? Thanks
MrMan wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@diybanter.com:
You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question in. Most of the people in this group live in the US or Canada. American and Canadian wiring practices and electrical codes are very similar to each other -- and very different to yours.
Most of the people
and electrical
alt.engineering.electrical might be one place to pose this question. I think there are/were a couple British EEs there.
Most of the people
and electrical
I was thinking the same thing. What's the 6mm? Is that the size of the box or what? And I've never seen a 32A breaker. In the US, they are all multiples of 5, like 15A 20A 30A, etc. They used to sell plug fuses that were odd sizes, like 5A 7.5A 8A 10A etc. They were not common but used for industrial apps like specific motors and stuff.
On Tuesday 22 January 2013 21:09 MrMan wrote in alt.home.repair:
What country are you in?
On Wednesday 23 January 2013 03:24 Doug Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:
uk.d-i-y would be the best group for a UK specific enquiry.
Seeing as you suggest that the OP is not in the US (I was not sure if a 32A cooker circuit exists or not in the USA), then I'll answer the question in a British context.
(I am not a professional electrician, though I do hold Electrical Installer qualifications[1] and a working knowledge the the IEE Wiring Regulations
17th Edition - current).So to the OP: =============
In the UK:
you *can* replace the cooker outlet with one or more 13A sockets wired in a radial configuration (ie daisy chained, branched, any way you like).
This is classified as a standard (albeit extremely rare) 32A radial circuit.
If you are replacing a single cooker flex connector with a socket, that is fine. If you need to daisy chain another socket off that for some reason, you will need to do in in 4mm2 or 6mm2 depending on how the cable runs (eg surface run on wall, buried in insulation etc). This will help:
HTH
Tim
Forgot a couple of things:
On Wednesday 23 January 2013 09:02 Tim Watts wrote in alt.home.repair:
[1] So I can wire my own house and make the Building Inspector feel warm and fuzzy about accepting my own certification.I should note that the terminal capacity of a typical accessory like a socket is 6mm2 per terminal. This means you *cannot* form a tee-junction in
4mm2 or 6mm2 cable - only in 2.5mm2 for a ring circuit.It's still possible but you'd have to use junction boxes. This partly explains why 32A radial circuits are not popular - too difficult to implement in practise.
Tim Watts wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@squidward.local.dionic.net:
Look at the headers of his message -- specifically NNTP-Posting-Host. The message was posted from an IP address located in the UK.
And we don't have 32A circuits in the US.
Nice answer, Tim, and interesting information too. I've not encountered your radial circuit description before.
Tomsic
On Wednesday 23 January 2013 13:13 Tomsic wrote in alt.home.repair:
Thank you. There is a standard radial circuit that is more common (though not as common as a ring) - that's the 20A radial, which can almost always be wired in 2.5mm2 cable, which makes it very practical. The downside it that if you lay it out "wrong" someone might come along and stick lots of heavy loads on and trip the breaker. That's why I prefer rings - they are a little more flexible.
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