Circuit for Electric Cookers continue…

Types of control unit

Of the two principal types of cooker control unit, the type incorporating a kettle socket-outlet is the more popular. Since, however, it is important that the kettle is not used on the cooker hob where its flex would trail over a switched-on boiling plate it is better to have the unit without a socket where it has to be fixed immediately above the cooker.

Cooker control units incorporating a kettle socket-outlet were introduced before the days of the ring circuit when one other ‘power plug’ was the ‘Norm’ in a kitchen.

Replacing a socket-outlet with a control unit

Where a socket-outlet has been fixed at the end of a cooker circuit and a change to electric cooking is being made it is simply a question of replacing the socket-outlet by a cooker control switch. As mentioned above, if the socket-outlet is immediately above the cooker another socket-outlet above a working surface will be needed for the kettle.

Connecting a cooker to the control unit

The same type and size of cable is used both from the control unit to the cooker and for the circuit. For a free-standing cooker this cable drops down the wall to the cooker with a free droop at the end to allow the cooker to be pulled away from the wall for cleaning. The cable end in the control unit or switch is well anchored though the upper section of the cable drop can be fixed to the wall with cable clips.

There is now available a terminal box which is fixed to. the wall behind a freestanding cooker and breaks the cable from the control unit to the cooker. The section from the control unit to the terminal box is fixed and can be buried in the plaster and the final cable connecting the cooker to the terminal box remains free.

If the cooker is removed for repairs, or changed for a new model, the cooker section of the cable is disconnected from the box and the moulded plastic cover replaced.

Reconnecting the cooker or connecting a new cooker takes only a few minutes.

An alternative is a cable outlet box which has no terminals. The cable is not cut but the section down the wall can be buried in the plaster.

Split-level cookers

A single circuit is used to supply the two sections of a split-level cooker and one cooker unit or control switch can be used for both provided neither is more than 2 m (6 ft) from the control. Usually both oven and hob sections are close together. If the sections are well apart and the control unit is situated midway, the sections can be up to 4 m (12 ft) apart and still be within the regulations. The control unit can be with or without a socket-outlet as desired.

The same type and size of cable is used between the control unit and the cooker sections as for the cooker circuit and the current demand is assessed as for a freestanding cooker. Each section can be supplied by a separate cable which means two cables from the control unit, one to the oven section, the other to the hob. Alternatively, one cable can be run from the control unit to the nearest section and from the terminals of this section another cable of the same size and type is run to the second section.

It is important that the same size of cable is used throughout as this is governed by the circuit fuse as well as by the actual current a section will need to carry. In other words, splitting a cooker into two sections does not permit any reduction in cable size.

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