Wiring a new cooktop Stove

[jason]

Hello,

I have an old 1960's cooktop that i am replacing with a new cooktop I purchased. The old 3way wire went into a junction box under the cupboard attaching the main house wire to the standalone oven and the old cooktop. So I have 3 wire lags that connects all 3 wires (one red, one black, one bare).

First off how the heck to I get the lags apart, it looks like a normal nut and screw senerio but its not budging, looks like some gunk or glue was put on the lag/wires after it was installed.

1.)Is this true of old 220 wiring? 2.)Do I need to cut all the wires and get new lag connectors?

Next question is after I get the wires free my new stove came with 2 hot wires and a green ground wire, in the instructions it says only use with a grounded circuit. I know this house does not have a seperate ground wire just 2 hots and a unshielded bare wire.

1.) Do I just connect the green wire to the unshielded bare wire in the junction box? 2.) The old stove had some of the bare wire connected to the house bare wire and a couple strands of the bare wire connected to a screw on the old stove. Do I need to do this on the new stove (there is not screw on the new one to do this) or just hookup the green ground wire to the bare house wire?

Last question is how do I know if I have aluminum house wire on this

220v circuit, it tells me to use special connectors if I am connecting copper to alum. wire.

Thanks Jason

[xrongor]

you need to call an electrician.

randy

[SQLit]

right on

[Travis Jordan]

Just cut the wires, pull out the old junction box if necessary, install a new one, and use wire nuts for the new connnections.

Yes

Just hook up the green wire; it is already connected at the stove end.

Make a clean cut of the red, black, and bare conductors. Looking at the wire from the end, observe the CENTER of the conductor. If it is silver, you have Al wire. If it is copper colored, you have....copper.

[jason]

Thanks for an answer Travis.

So if I cut the red, black, and bare wire and look and its AL I need to get a AL to copper connector, if its copper I can just use wire nuts (big ones in this case)? Correct? I think this wire is a #6 so is that why they used that wire lag/nut that I can't seem to get loose?

Just for my own knowledge (i know this is not smart). What would happen if I were to utilize the existing old connection from the junction box(the one that went into the old stovetop) and just tied the new 3 wires from the new stove to the end of the wires that went into the old stove. Instead of making the conneciton at the junction box? It would be like an extention of the cord comming out of the junction box but I would not have to cut anything in the juction box.

THanks again Jason

PS. Please no more call an electrician responses, if I thought I needed to do that I would have, hence the reason for news groups to learn somthing you don't know. I know it puts more money in the electrician pocket and also can keep me alive longer, but if i want to kill my self installing a stove , so be it. :)

[Travis Jordan]

For copper you could use a split bolt connector that accepts 2x#6 (taped up afterwards, of course) inside a regular covered junction box, but for a neater and more professional installation I would use a terminal box with lugs that accept your wire size - see your local electrical supply store. A third acceptable option is to mount a range receptacle on the back wall and put a range plug on your new cooktop. That is what I did with my stove since it allows me to pull it out and disconnect it for cleaning underneath and behind it.

BTW, aluminum wiring was most popular from about 1963 through 1973. If the stove was originally installed in the early 60's it is unlikely that you have Al in the walls.

If you add another junction box to contain the splice, that would meet code and would probably work just fine. I wouldn't do it because it wouldn't be workmanlike.