Fitting electric cooker query

[morrisminordriver]

Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob. Does anyone know if the wiring (to the fuse box) that’s worked fine for the ceramic would be adequate for the induction?
Thanks.

 

[Ollie78]

It should be, you can check the rating on the MCB itself and compare it to the spec of the oven. It will likely be a 32amp or 40amp with a nice fat cable.

Note, I am not an electrician, no responsibility taken etc..

Ollie

 

[Dee J]

Too many variables. What's your existing setup? Probably 32A mcb and 6sqmm cable (typical cooker point). Some induction stuff needs more, some doesn't. Or maybe you've got 45A / 10sqmm which is sometimes installed for larger cookers.. Few domestic devices use more. Read the spec for the new item - the install details should outline the supply requirements.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mine runs fine on the original 1970's wiring.

You won't regret the induction hob - they're brilliant. I prefer mine to a gas hob, let alone any other electric one.

 

[lurker]

Are you just talking about a separate hob?
I have just installed one.

These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.
Our new separate electric oven is a tad under 12 amps, and I have used a three pin plug with this too.
I had a 40 amp supply (spur) which were needed for old cookers. I wired this to a ganged pair of standard sockets and swapped the 40 amp fuse for a 32 amp. This was easy as I have a new fuse box. Be aware your current pans may not work on induction hob DAMHIKT.

 

[porker]

These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.

Some are low powered and run off a 13A plug and some are higher power and don't. Mine is over 7kW and needs a 32A MCB. As stated above, it all depends.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Are you just talking about a separate hob?
I have just installed one.

These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.
Our new separate electric oven is a tad under 12 amps, and I have used a three pin plug with this too.
I had a 40 amp supply (spur) which were needed for old cookers. I wired this to a ganged pair of standard sockets and swapped the 40 amp fuse for a 32 amp. This was easy as I have a new fuse box. Be aware your current pans may not work on induction hob DAMHIKT.

"Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob ..."

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Mine runs fine on the original 1970's wiring.

You won't regret the induction hob - they're brilliant. I prefer mine to a gas hob, let alone any other electric one.

I could probably get a nice warm inner glow just standing next to one by now

An aside - a neighbour who had to have a pacemaker fitted was told he coudn't use his <1 year old induction hob anymore

 

[deema]

If you don’t know the answer to the question you should not be messing with it. Electric isn’t like gas, you can’t smell it, it doesn’t kill you slowly, it doesn’t need the right air / gas mix to catch fire.
Electricity tends to kill instantly, if not using the right rated connection overheat and cause fires. You wouldn’t mess with a gas hob so why mess with electrics?

 

[lurker]

"Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob ..."

Yeah but..... two separate items might not have been considered

 

[Rorschach]

If the kW rating of the cookers is the same then you will be fine.

I would suspect they would be similar as Ceramic hobs draw a big current in use, at least as much as most induction hobs.

 

[lurker]

We looked at the pros and cons of 3kw vs 7kw.
The 3 kw you can only run two rings at full wack at once.
Her majesty said that was ok by her.

 

[Rorschach]

We looked at the pros and cons of 3kw vs 7kw.
The 3 kw you can only run two rings at full wack at once.
Her majesty said that was ok by her.

I do all of our (stove) cooking on a 2-ring induction hob that runs from a 13A plug. Works fine for us right now.

 

[lurker]

I could probably get a nice warm inner glow just standing next to one by now

An aside - a neighbour who had to have a pacemaker fitted was told he coudn't use his <1 year old induction hob anymore

So the EMC and medical devices directive don’t work then?
It’s a shame because I spent two years serving on the British standards committee that wrote them and harmonised with the EU some 25 years ago.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

That's what he was told at the hospital. It may be excess caution, but I'd be nervous to chance it too. It could also be that like a great many products, not all hobs on the market actually meet EMC standards.

 

[lurker]

That's what he was told at the hospital. It may be excess caution, but I'd be nervous to chance it too. It could also be that like a great many products, not all hobs on the market actually meet EMC standards.

Illegal to place on the market if they don’t meet standards.
But who out there is policing this(I could rant at length,), so you are most likely correct.

I have looked at nhs website since I posted and they advise 600mm between the hob and the pacemaker. Which seeing as there is a plate between you and the innards sounds over cautious to me. Unless ........... the person is very short and their chest is near level with the hob top. Or the hob is not grounded. Which I suppose these generic warnings need to consider.

 

[morrisminordriver]

If you don’t know the answer to the question you should not be messing with it. Electric isn’t like gas, you can’t smell it, it doesn’t kill you slowly, it doesn’t need the right air / gas mix to catch fire.
Electricity tends to kill instantly, if not using the right rated connection overheat and cause fires. You wouldn’t mess with a gas hob so why mess with electrics?

I’m not doing anything to the electrics myself, just trying to get an idea if we need to get an upgrade of the existing cooker feed before getting a new induction range cooker.

 

[morrisminordriver]

Thanks got all of your replies, it’s very helpful. I will try to find out the Kw rating of our existing and had proposed cooker. We’ll get it professionally installed.

 

[Ozzy Osborne]

As you are changing the characteristics of the installed circuit and the Induction hob will be in what is known as a special location (kitchen), you should have it installed by a competent registered electrician. Some Induction Hobs give off a magnetic field, hence the posts above reference pacemakers, some cannot be fitted to a circuit which are protected by RCDs for the same reason and will trip regularly. Always best to get a professional opinion where electricity is concerned, saving money may not necessarily save lives.

 

[Just4Fun]

I understand that different spec products may be offered in different markets so this might not apply in the UK, and I don't know much about electrickery anyway, so take this with a pinch of salt ...

I have had at least three 4-ring induction hobs in our kitchen - they don't seem to be the most reliable of devices. All of them have had 2 wiring options, so that they could run on single-phase or 3-phase supplies. Our first one was installed at the same time as we renewed the kitchen, so we had a 3-phase supply installed for it and I assume the replacements were also wired that way. Since 3-phase is unusual in UK kitchens I guess you will be using single phase. (How) will that change the performance of the hob? I don't know.

I also have a couple of single-ring induction hobs I bought from Ikea. I bought them as a stop-gap when one of the kitchen hobs failed. Since replacing the kitchen hob I only use the Ikea jobbies when cooking outside. They are single-phase and wired up with a conventional plug. They work fine, and were cheap, but of course don't have the capacity of the 4-ring hob in the kitchen.

Overall I like induction hobs, but they have not been reliable.