I'm refitting a kitchen and the new hob will be slightly to the right of the old one. This means that the cooker control switch will now be partly above the hob, unless it is moved. Are there regs. governing the relative position of the cooker switch and the hob? TIA Steve
On 19 May 2004 14:34:11 -0700, in uk.d-i-y snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Steve Wilson) strung together this:
Although I don't know the relative regulations to this it can't be above it by any amount. It should be at least a couple of inches away, preferably further.
Not to close that you get burned if the chip pan goes on fire, and not to far away that you can't get to it in time if something does catch fire.
Or, in other words, anywhere between 300 and 500 mm away from the side of the hob is ideal. It is also a god idea to drop a connector unit for the hob / cooker below the worktop height so all the wiring is hidden away from the worktop area.
You can't do this. Indeed, when I was in Italy, our apartment had just such an arrangement and right next to the Wok burner too. We manage to melt the faceplate pretty well, but luckily no-one noticed.
Christian.
When we moved in here, there was a built in overn contained in a floor-to-ceiling unit. No apparent main switch. Eventually found it in the rear corner of the cupboard ABOVE the oven (at a heaight of about 6 feet, and 600mm back)!
My own house (not the kitchen I am refitting) also has this arrangement. One side of the faceplate looks a bit like one of those Dali paintings of the melting watches. It's yet another thing on the to do list.
Cheers, Steve
The connector unit arrangement you describe is already in place. The hassle is that if I move the switch as far as I would like, the existing wiring won't reach. This means at least some crimping, which is not my favourite way of joining wires. Cheers, Steve
Crimping is not my cup of tea either, but a new length of 6mm csa' T&E cable won't break the bank. Safer as well.
When you say "slightly to the right" and "partly above the hob", can you give an idea of actual measurements?
I looked into this fairly recently and discovered that there is nothing specific in BS7671 about this, other than the usual erection requirements of safety, fit for purpose etc.
For example 462-01-02 requires that a device for switch "The control switch or cooker control unit should be placed within two metres of the appliance, but not directly above it."
This is only *guidance* as it does not refer back to a specific regulation.
There is the issue of common sense though - if you have to reach across a "live" hob in order to switch it off, you may be in some trouble if you've just spilt fat on the thing and the whole, including the control knobs, is in flames. Likewise, putting a control unit with socket outlet over a hob is completely daft as trailing leads will inevitably come too close to the hob units.
As I said, I have looked into this recently. This is because of some work I did for a client where I needed to issue a certificate. The cooker control unit (including socket) was directly above the cooker (large double oven, six burner range thing) and it would have involved a lot of disruptive work to the kitchen in order to move it, due to cables and outlets being buried in plaster and a large tiled splashback. The mitigating factor is that the clients plan to redecorate the kitchen "soon" (implying within 12 months) and so, having searched the "regs" and the OSG, I came to the conclusions I have mentioned and felt able to sign them off with only a warning rather than a "fail", and an understanding that they would arrange to have the control unit moved when they redecorate. I suspect some here may disagree.
Oh yes, and the socket wasn't an issue because there are plenty of other sockets in the kitchen and this socket isn't ever used, testified by the lovely build-up of fat gunge :-)
Hwyl!
M.
Does that mean you can put it below the hob - i.e. in the cupboard ?
Common sense might suggest that that wasn't the best location, especially since spilt burning oil will probably migrate downwards, but I really can't see anything specifically outlawing it, and I'm sure I've seen designer kitchens with the switch mounted directly under the worktop, though not enclosed in a cupboard.
There's nothing specifically outlawing having the switch on the wall in the conventional position but enclosed in a locked cupboard, but would you do it?
I suppose it boils down to the intended purpose of the cooker switch:
It isn't functional switching (despite being called a "control switch") because there are controls on the cooker for this;
It *is* isolation for maintenance as it is usually the only DP switch in circuit;
It *might be* emergency switching, as it is certainly more convenient and possibly safer than making sure six or seven control knobs are all in their "off" positions, but in that case what about a dual fuel (gas/electric) cooker?
To borrow from another thread, a competent person might reasonably be assumed to be able to apply a certain amount of common sense.
HTH
Hwyl!
M.
Martin Angove wrote >
Height is standard, about 4 inches or so off the worktop. The left edge of the switch would overhang the hob by maybe 2 inches. I guess you could reach past the towering chip pan inferno with only light charring to the back of the hand! Cheers, Steve
The connector unit arrangement you describe is already in place. The hassle is that if I move the switch as far as I would like, the existing wiring won't reach. This means at least some crimping, which is not my favourite way of joining wires. Cheers, Steve
Agreed, but the top of the supply cable disappears into the ceiling and is joined who knows where, possibly not until it reaches the consumer unit. There might be just enough slack in this cable though, so I may get away with only replacing the cables that drop down to the connector units. Cheers, Steve
I have my fingers crossed for you. Good luck with it.
However turning it off is probably a pretty pointless exercise in this situation.
But if it is possible to turn it off while at a safe distance from it, then it makes sense to turn it off first before you start throwing wet clothes at it.
Why, I really don't see what difference it is going to make, unless you insist on hanging onto the wet clothes after you've thrown them.
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