Moving oven wiring

[Scott]

I'm currently installing a brand new kitchen and I plan to move my double oven to a different wall in the kitchen, so I need to move the oven wiring as well. The oven is hard wired to some thick wires that are produding from a round wall plate. My plan is to purchase some new wire of the same guage used currently, drill a hole in the floor below the wall plate and run the wire in the crawl space to the new wall, where I would have installed a new wall plate. I figure I would need some kind of conduit but I'm not sure what is best in this situation. I also assume I would have to secure the wire to the floor joists. So, my question is, does this make sense? is there a particular kind of conduit I need? i.e. metal, pvc etc.

[zxcvbob]

Does your exising oven hookup have 3 wires or 4? I'd bet it's 3, and your electrical inspector will require 4 when you move it. Besides, how were you planning on splicing the new wires to the old?

I think I'd run new wires back to the breaker box. (And an electric oven is one of the few application where I'd consider using aluminum wire.)

Best regards, Bob

[SQLit]

You can do that, you will need to leave the junction box where you connect the new wiring to the old accessible.

You do not need conduit if the wiring is concealed or not subject to physical damage. Use SER cable. There are large staples that are made for nailing it down to the studs and joists.

As for the comment on running a new line. New is always better, some feel safer. I would match the cable size and material. If it is copper use copper. There is less of a chance of the splice becoming loose over time. Aluminum does tend to compress over time. My electrical service has AL connections in it and I tighten them yearly. Home has been built for almost

30 years.

[Chris Lewis]

According to SQLit :

Further, if you're fishing the cable under the floor, you don't need stapling. This is the exception to the "support every 5'" (or whatever it is) rule.

However, CHECK your local situation. Some locales need conduit for _everything_. If your house isn't wired with 100% conduit, then you probably don't need conduit for this. Or, perhaps only a short sleeve where the wire is exposed above the floor.

If it's aluminum, I'd probably still use copper. Connecting aluminum to aluminum is just as tricky as aluminum to copper, so you'd have half as many connections to worry about, and the cost difference is probably not worth it.

That's probably a bad idea. If you're just carefully snugging them up, no harm done. But if you're winching them down hard every year, you're continuously squashing the aluminum down more and more each time. It _will_ eventually fail. Tightening Al wiring is something you only need to do _rarely_, and with considerable care.

When do you plan on finishing? (sorry, couldn't resist).

[zxcvbob]

It's cheaper and lighter than copper, and high-amperage lugs are designed to work with aluminum wiring (but check the label just to make sure). Coat the ends with that black de-ox goop, and make sure all the screws are *tight*.

Up to 30A, I use copper for everything. Over 30A, I start to consider AL but usually end up using copper. If it's a very long run though, I'd probably use aluminum.

Bob

[Chris Lewis]

According to Joe Bobst :

>

[Mark or Sue]

My goodness, how much does copper wire cost in your area. I bought a 500' spool of #2 copper THHN/THWN for about $160. This would do a 120' feeder with an oversized grounding conductor. Someone posted to buy wire at an electrical store, but I've found Home Depot and Lowes to be hard to beat, especially if you want a large spool. I'm not a contractor though, so I get no discount at the electrical supply store.

-- Mark Kent, WA

[Chris Lewis]

According to Mark or Sue :

[Sorry, that should be #4 copper, not #2]

THHN isn't rated for direct burial.

If I recall correctly, my quote for a 120' length of feed was going to be around $950 Canadian (approx $650US). It was three 120' lengths of #4 UF (I think that's the Canadian designation, I'd have to look again) with a bare #6 ground as a bundle. No outside sheath. Intended for direct burial.

It looks very much like what people call "triplex" (I think), only it was direct burial rated.

This is in line with "normal" Ontario Hydro installation costs of about $10/foot for buried 200A services, and $6/foot for buried 150A.

Practically had heart failure.

In contrast, in the #3 Al version, it was around $500.

The electrician is a good friend of mine, so he wasn't skimming off the side.