Separate consumer unit for kitchen?

[Alan]

Hi everyone

I'm re-wiring and installing a new kitchen for my girlfriend and looking for some advice!..apart from don't do it ;)

Currently there's a supply for the cooker 6mm^2 via the usual cooker swith onto the CU. There's also 1 double socket from the ring.

The kitchen will have a new electric hob and oven (around 9kW total), extractor hood, fitted dishwasher, fitted washer/dryer, fridge freezer, cabinet lighting, plus the usual kettle (3kw?), toaster, gizmos etc etc.

There's quite alot more load than there is currently and i'm not keen to extend the ring further for the appliances etc. I could add another dedicated line back to the CU for just the kitchen..although this would be tricky.

I'm wondering if it would be ok for me to use a supply for an old electric shower that is no longer used. I was thinking about dropping this supply down from the attic into the kitchen to a separate CU? I can then take a dedicated supply to the fridge/freezer and and then use another circuit/s for the appliances and sockets (with a spur to the extractor hood)???

If that sounds ok...whats the best way to physically extend the 10mm^2 from the attic to the kitchen (are there heavy duty junction boxes?) What sort of arrangement as far as the new CU would you recommend? MCB's etc?

The main CU is an old fuse type (*6) (with no RCD..i think..only had a brief look) and will need upgrading so i want to keep that in mind also.

Any advice appreciated as always...

Alan

[Christian McArdle]

That would be a little odd, but would work. I would be inclined to drop the separate CU, replace your main consumer unit with something modern and use the 10mm shower circuit as a kitchen radial socket circuit off an RCBO (or RCD side of split load).

Then the fridge/freezer could have its own non-RCD circuit (means disruptive work) or could be taken off the cooker circuit (minor dodginess, but would be perfectly fine, especially if you have a cooker switch sans socket).

There's oodles of diversity available on the cooker circuit (assuming 32A MCB with 6mm), especially if the fridge/freezer is FCUed in, rather than leaving a socket, so muppet can't install fan heater on it.

Christian.

Alan wrote:

[steve]

What is the state of the earth bonding? presuming that kitchen contains incoming water main if going to have floorboards/carpets up for new earth cable then might as well run new ringmain in for the kitchen and a radial for the fridge/freezer. If running new cables and are going to install a new CU at a later date the leave some accessable slack in the cables to make wiring into new CU easier

Would the diruption in bringing the 10mm down from the attic be better or worse than disruption of running new cables?

If bringing down cable from attic TLC do a 60 amp junction box item no AA JB60

Might it make sense to use the 10mm cable for the cooker/hob and the

6mm for ring etc

[Alan]

Thanks for the feedback... By dropping the 10mm from the attic i was trying to avoid taking more cables back to the CU... that's going to be quite tricky! I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get it done though... I'll do a combination of both... I may as well get a new CU now (not had to do that before though), probably split load. I think I'll use the 10mm for the cooker/hob, take the 6mm for the ring, maybe take a new line for a non-rcd to the fridge/freezer? (2.5mm?) The kitchen is in an extension, so will have to channel everything through the walls and back through the main house. Haven't seen any bonding in the kitchen at the moment (its old!) so that task was going to be addressed at the same time... Alan