13 Amp plug on a 2.9kW oven

[JT101]

Hi Everyone

So i've installed my first kitchen and everything has gone well. I've wired in the oven based on a sparkies recommendation but I just want to check I've done things correctly and try to understand a bit more about cooker circuits.

The oven is a single NEFF fan oven 2.9kW . There are no other ovens in the kitchen, and just a gas hob. The previous kitchen that had been installed in the last few years has a dedicated cooker switch which goes back to the circuit board on it's own dedicated fuse. Next to this fuse is a shared 30A RCD which covers the oven, ground floor lighting, sockets etc. A socket is spurred off of the cooker switch and is controlled by it. It is at the back of the oven unit.
2900W / 230V = 12.6Amps. So I put some 2.5mm flex on the oven with a 13A plug, and plugged it into the spurred socket. I'm pretty sure this is what the sparkies recommended to me.

Based on this I've got a few questions I hope someone can help me with.

1) Is this safe / correct setup, and do I need to have it certified and tested by an electrician?

2) I can see that you want a fuse as close as possible to the maximum rating of an applicance, but just out of interest what could happen if you put a 12.6A cooker on a 30A fuse? For example, if there was a fault in the oven, could it get hotter and hotter and hotter and start a fire before it tripped out at 30A?

3) Both sparkies I spoke to said to use 1.5mm flex on the oven. But I thought this was only rated up to 10A? I put a 2.5mm cable on there in anycase which I believe is rated to 13.5A, but a 1.5mm would have been a lot easier to wire into the plug.


Many thanks. Looking forward to your responses

 

[JT101]

You guys must be mind readers. Yep, can't find the manual and I can't find a place on their website to download a new one, but the model is Neff b44552.5gb
I did ring their customer service who told me the oven should be hardwired, but if the electrician installing it decides to use a plug it is up to them. She was indicating that this could be common practice, but hard wiring was recommended.
I replaced the 2.5mm cable with a 1.5mm heat resistant flex now, so at least that's correct.
I plan to have the electrician come and have a look, and potentially hard wire it, but it's safe now right? Heat resistant flex, 13A plug, spurred socket off of a cooker switch back to a 32A fuse on a modern MCU all on a dedicated circuit, and protected by a shared 30A RCD.
I mean what can I say. It should be hardwired, but I wonder how many electricians or installers just add a plug like I've done on a dedicated circuit. Not sure what the benefit is other than preventing it being plugged into a regular socket by accident.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Dear JT

That's ridiculous, all new appliances come with installation and user instructions.
You can get new ones from the Neff website here
User manual | NEFF - http://www.neff-home.com/uk/service/manual

Unfortunately, you have not provided a valid model number. But in any case, you MUST follow the manufacturer's advice. That is the rule, the manufacturer's instructions must be followed: not your postman, not the man in the B&Q shop and not an electrician. Some tradespeople have funny ideas in their heads about the way they have "always done things".
Time moves on and some peoples knowledge doesnt't keep up.... Some don't know what they are doing in the first place....

If you have a problem and do not do what NEFF say, then you'll find the nice shiny warranty from neff goes in the bin.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

As long as the plug and socket are of good quality it will be fine. The reason fixed loads at or close to 13a are not always on a plug is that fixed loads over 2kw should not be on a RFC for general use, with a plug it would be possible to do this rather than a dedicated circuit.
The other issue is that sockets and plugs are not great at prolonged current close to their maximum. They tend to burn out. This is a reflection on poor quality as much as anything though, and as long as you don't use cheap crap, and make sure terminations are tight and well made without losing half the strands of the flex you will be ok leaving it as it is.

 

[richy3333]

I've seen 2.5mm T&E shoved in a plug top that was definitely not pretty.

One of my local retards stripped back some 6mm T&E to cram it in to a plug top!

I'm sure he NEFF stuff I've wired in recently didn't come with a flex but the instructions asked for HO5 rated cable.

 

[JT101]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Thanks Taylorwocities for the link I couldn't find it before and point taken about following the manual. The oven did come with a manual, but I think the clients threw it out accidentally, so I'll have to download a new one. I'm confident that the plug and wiring I have at the moment are all sound and good connections, but as you say we should follow the manual to validate the warranty.

 

[Octopus]

So you know the model number but choose not to disclose it..... I refer you back to post # 11

 

[Taylortwocities]

The oven did come with a manual, but I think the clients threw it out accidentally, so I'll have to download a new one

Ahh. I thought that it was YOUR kitchen.so, basically, you are doing this for clients and - I assume for reward.
I think you need to get your act together, then.

Everything you need to know is on the Neff site.

 

[ruston]

One well known kitchen manufacturer stipulates no more than 2mtrs of flex on their ovens for example.

 

[Dave OCD]

One well known kitchen manufacturer stipulates no more than 2mtrs of flex on their ovens for example.

That would mean a connection outlet plate directly behind the oven as you need the thing out of the way and some slack to physically get in and connect it up. I prefer an appropriately sized H07 flex direct from the cooker panel to the oven and hob, just seems easier to me unless the two things are in different places of course.

 

[ruston]

I know , but they just design them lol.

 

[davesparks]

One of my local retards stripped back some 6mm T&E to cram it in to a plug top!

I'm sure he NEFF stuff I've wired in recently didn't come with a flex but the instructions asked for HO5 rated cable.

so any cable with harmonised colours and 300V insulation then?

 

[davesparks]

That would mean a connection outlet plate directly behind the oven as you need the thing out of the way and some slack to physically get in and connect it up. I prefer an appropriately sized H07 flex direct from the cooker panel to the oven and hob, just seems easier to me unless the two things are in different places of course.

Why an 07 voltage rating?

 

[Dave OCD]

Why an 07 voltage rating?

Because that's the one they always keep in stock at the wholesaler I use most.

 

[davesparks]

....

If you have a problem and do not do what NEFF say, then you'll find the nice shiny warranty from neff goes in the bin.

The warranty will only be invalid if the problem is caused by the failure to follow the instructions.

 

[telectrix]

Why an 07 voltage rating?

too stop the volt drop. can't have these pesky volts dripping off when xmas dinner is cooking.