Disconnecting a cooker

N

notalecky

Guest
I have an electrical cooker that is connected like this.

Orange switch on wall with word cooker on it.
Electrical cable going from switch to back of cooker.

I wish to throw this cooker out.

Is it OK to disconnect it like this:

1 - Switch off switch that says cooker.
2 - Switch off the electrical mains supply.
3 - Cut wire leading into back of cooker
4 - Put insulating tape onto wire I have cut
4 - Switch on electrical main supply.
 
Be very careful here, the voltage and amp rating for a cooker is considerably higher than that for a standard socket. I wouldn't cut it without first testing to ensure the supply is gone using a phase tester (yes even if the main circuit breaker is off), which means removing the panel at the back of the cooker where the wire is connected and testing it there. If you are unsure then get a professional.
 
I disconnected my old cooker as follows:

1. turn off all mains supply at fuse board
2. remove switch cover for cooker (your 'orange switch')
3. open up and you'll find the mains wires connected to the wires coming from the cooker; you should be able to unscrew these connectors.
4. your cooker is now disconnected and you should be able to 'pull through' the cable leading from the cooker into the socket and remove from the socket altogether. if you can't do this, cut the cable as near as you can to the socket and pull it up.
5. now you have to insulate the remaining wires as these will be 'live' when you turn the electricity back on.
6.trim back the exposed copper wire and sheath each one in layers of insulating tape and tuck them back out of the way into the socket box, making sure nothing is touching. Put back the socket cover as before, to leave things neat.

I'm not sure this is the approved electricians way of doing it, but I did this many, many years ago (have a gas cooker instead) and have had no problems, and spent the (then) £100 I would have been charged on something much nicer!
 
I would second stobear's advice about checking for live connections with a phase tester (screwdriver with a voltage detector built in - they only cost about €2) even after the cooker and its circuit have been switched off. You can't be too careful!
 
Kildrought said:
I disconnected my old cooker as follows:

1. turn off all mains supply at fuse board
2. remove switch cover for cooker (your 'orange switch')
3. open up and you'll find the mains wires connected to the wires coming from the cooker; you should be able to unscrew these connectors.
4. your cooker is now disconnected and you should be able to 'pull through' the cable leading from the cooker into the socket and remove from the socket altogether. if you can't do this, cut the cable as near as you can to the socket and pull it up.
5. now you have to insulate the remaining wires as these will be 'live' when you turn the electricity back on.
6.trim back the exposed copper wire and sheath each one in layers of insulating tape and tuck them back out of the way into the socket box, making sure nothing is touching. Put back the socket cover as before, to leave things neat.

I'm not sure this is the approved electricians way of doing it, but I did this many, many years ago (have a gas cooker instead) and have had no problems, and spent the (then) £100 I would have been charged on something much nicer!
Click to expand...

Bad plan I would say. if you ever want to put an electric cooker back in you have now lost the wire from the switch to the cooker. Impossible to put the wire back in and simply pushing it through. You'd have to chase the wall. Additionaly, most gas cookers have an electrical connection for their clocks and if they have electrical ignition for the gas. This big thick cooker wire can be used for that. In fact, our gas cooker just needs a 13 amp plug connection, so I used the bigger cooker wire to power a socket that i plugged the gas cooker into.
So open the switch, using phase tester confirm the wires is dead. DO NOT do a straight cut accross the wire. Electricians will always cut the live/neutral about an inch apart so that they cannot touch.

To be honest, if I was you, I'd cut the wire, pair it back, and connect the loose ends into a junction box the same way you would connect a plug. this guarantees that no prying hands could ever to somehow manage to get at the cables.
 
Depends on how things were done in the first place, I could thread a cable back if need be; the original channel is still there. My gas cooker has a standard plug for electric ignition and I had a separate socket for that. I always thought that using a 'high powered' cable for a lower power use wasn't good (but as I've said, I'm not in the trade).
 
Hi Legend99, your post has been niggling me for a while and I always promised that when I got around to registering, I would reply on the basis of safety;

If I understand properly, you have the cooker cable connected to a socket?

This means that a 20amp rated socket is now protected by a 32amp circuit breaker or fuse. This means that if the connected appliance or socket develops an overload fault, the socket may well be well on it's way to flames before the 32amp protection steps in.

I am speaking from experience as I came across a kitchen destroyed because the extractor was connected directly to the cooker circuit. The extractor developed a fault and went up in flames, but the cooker circuit protection never stepped in and isolated the circuit.

My advise would be to replace the 32amp mcb or fuse at the board with a 20amp one.
 
Its not a direct connection. its a connection made via a plug that has a 5 or 13 amp fuse, can't remember which.
The plug only serves to power the clock, oven light and electrical ignition on the gas. With the plug having its own fuse, my understanding is that this would blow if there was an issue??
 
Take your point, but as I said I was under the impression that any issues would be caught by the fuse in the plug.
if it comes to it, i can always extend the socket that powers the dishwasher and run a spur off that to power the plug on the cooker. The downside of that of course is that the cooker Master Trip on the wall will then no longer switch on and off the cooker.
 
The 13amp fuse in the plug will only protect anything connected after it.

Honestly, just changing the cooker MCB at the board from a 32amp to a 20amp one will suffice.
 
You sound competent, so isolating the board by the main switch fuse (top or bottom left) and disconnecting the MCB connections and replacing with a 20amp, making sure all the connections are clean and tight, should be simple enough for you.
 
i shall go investigate tonight. Sick of bloody electricyt. had to hang 2 mirrors with lights in the bathroom and ensuite over the weekend and the electrician had only left about 6 inches of wires in each location. Some nightmare trying to hold the mirrors close enough to make connections without having my arms and then mirror fall off me!
 
I share your sentiment. 6 inch tails don't really reflect incompetency on the part of the housewirer. It's usually down to the pathetic design of the imported accessories that we have to deal with.
 
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