Oven - RCD or not?

My original plan was to have 2 ring mains in the kitchen - one NOT protected by the RCD which would carry just 4 things - the CH boiler, the fridge, the freezer and the oven (which needs a 13A supply). The other ring would carry everything else - kettle, washing machine, toaster, telly, etc., etc.

The guy has dropped a b*****k and made the NON-protected circuit a radial, feeding just the boiler, the fridge and the freezer. He's used 2.5mm cable and I know that as long as the MCB is 20A rated, that, in itself, is OK. The oven is now on the protected circuit and I know that that circuit - even given the extra loading of the oven - is, in itself, OK.

But it's not what I planned and it's not what I asked for.

To put it right would mean that he would need to use 4 junction boxes, which would be under the floorboards in the bathroom - the same floorboards that are going to be sheeted over with hardboard or thin ply before having vinyl cushionfloor lain on top - in other words, not easy to get to them if needed later on. OR, the other way to put it right would mean hacking chases in 3 of the kitchen walls - 2 of which have been newly plastered, the other newly tiled :o(

So, should the oven be RCD-protected (leave things as they are) or not (get him to put things right)??

TIA John.

Reply to
John
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I reckon you'd get the fridge, freezer, oven and CH on the 20A radial, which will run in 2.5mm cable.

Most ovens are 2.2kW plus a bit for the fan. Fridge and freezer won't run continuously and are probably only about 300W each when firing. CH will take very little. Even if the oven takes 3kW, there's still 1.6kW to run the other appliances, which is easily enough.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

I think he knew that and that was his original plan - however as I understand it, the sparky ( or he forgot to communicate properly to the sparky?) has forgotten about the oven and put it on the RCD side of the circuit - he want to know if people have had problems with the oven on the RCD side of the circuit - Our oven is on the RCD side and so far we've not had any problems

Jon

Reply to
Jonathan Pearson

Ah. I thought the original plan was to put a ring on the non-RCD side and the sparky only put the oven on the RCD side because he thought the 20A radial wasn't man enough, even though actually it is.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Yes when I read it at first, it was the same thing that jumped into my head also, mainly as we've been through the same sort of thing!

jon

Reply to
Jonathan Pearson

Yep, your right Jon. Initially wanted two rings, the oven being on the non-protected one. Sparky has put oven on protected ring and yes, I was just wondering if that will be a problem regarding nuisance tripping or other problem. If it's OK for an oven to be protected by the RCD then I'll leave it as it is, thereby avoiding lots of hassle.

Thanks, John.

Reply to
John

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:35:00 +0100,it is alleged that "John" spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:

[snip tale of best laid plans etc]

The oven being on the RCD side of things shouldn't matter. _Some_ stoves/cookers/ovens can trip an RCD, especially if not used for a period of time and the element gets damp. However we have one on a

30mA protected circuit and it has never tripped.
Reply to
Chip

There shouldn't be a problem with nuisance tripping, at least not after it has been used once to prove that the element doesn't need drying out. The main problem is that a single kitchen ring with all the major appliances could be overloaded, if you have a tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher and microwave already on it.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

I've a whole-house 30mA RCD. It hasn't ever tripped. I've an electric oven, hob, kettle and immersion heater on it.

Reply to
Chris Bacon

Reading my own post again, I suppose it does sound confusing - sorry :o)

I never wanted a radial circuit in the first place, but rather two rings - one RCD protected and one not, the UNprotected ring to take the oven, fridge, freezer and boiler. Sparky made mistake and ran a 2.5 from CU>boiler>fridge>freezer and ended it there, forgetting about oven and then back to CU.

So, oven is now on protected ring and I'm wondering if I'm going to get lots of nuisance tripping or some other problem because of that. The house is going to be let out so I don't want the tenants ringing every fart's end saying that they can't use the oven.

Given the hassle it'll be to get him to put his mistake right, should I just leave the oven on the protected circuit?

John.

Reply to
John

I can't type fast enough - messages are appearing before I've even replied to another :o)

Thanks everybody, I'll leave it as it is.

John.

Reply to
John

How many of the following devices are there (or expected to be) on the RCD side:

  1. Washing machine.
  2. Tumble Dryer
  3. Dishwasher
  4. Microwave.
  5. Kettle.
  6. Oven.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

I believe the argument is that the construction of cooker elements can lead to a small amount of leakage, it really depends on how bad this is and how much other equipment is sharing the same RCD. And the rating of the RCD of course ;)

Our oven and hob is on a 30ma RCD protected circuit though ;)

Lee

Reply to
Lee

One each of 1, 4, 5, and 6.

John.

Reply to
John

I wouldn't worry, then. 32A ring, yes?

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Yep, that's right Christian.

J.

Reply to
John

just wondered why you planed the job and don't trust the electrician you employed to do the work?

Reply to
mitchd

Because he's not actually an electrician. He's a builder who's doing lots of other stuff for us and who also does wiring as well - building control have been informed re: Part P, of course.

John.

Reply to
John

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 20:51:45 +0100, "John" scrawled:

Oh dear. Probably best if its all on a 30mA RCD then.

Reply to
Lurch

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