in after a cowboy, cooker nearly burnt the house down!

[ExArmy]

I have just been to look at a job where i was asked to install a cooker as the previous one had nearly burned the house down apparently. when i took the cooker out there was a large burnt patch (300m accross), loads of charcoal, almost got through 1/2" ply below . when i pulled out the heat resistant flex i couldn't see where it had been plugged into, but it's likely it was plugged into the ring. it is a 3200W cooker from argos, the customer had got an argos technician out and apparently the cookers fine and it was down to the installation. customer reckons it was sat ontop of the connections and it was bodged up, I did try asking the customer to clarify how the cooker was connected up, but couldn't get much out of her! theres a 2.5 T&E running below the worktop behind the cupboards, not connected to anything but still live? but couldn't find where it came from as all the cupboards are full to the brim!

it's only a small house, 2 up 2 down, it's TT, got a 100mA RCD upfront and a 8 way 3036 board with 3 circuits (ring, lights and shower). ZE is 5-6ish ohms. would it be ok to spur it off the ring to a fused spur above the worktop, and then down to the cooker? an just put it on a minor works?
I'm not entirely sure what the line is about working on a circuit without 30ma RCD protection, do i need to add an RCD first or not?

also, the voltage is 250V at this house, 3200W at 250V is 12.8, so it i put a 13A fuse in the FCU then it will be alright? i seem to remember something from college saying all calculations to be worked out at 230V, in which case the current will be 13.9A and it will be more than the fuse rating. probably never blow, but what should i do here?

 

[Strima]

My BGB is encased in a titanium folder....Bring it on.... :13:

Mine has pike nuts on it, went for the Gothic look... :lol:

 

[ExArmy]

Electricity northwest eventually changed the cutout for a PME one, and i have the customer agreed to a new board and a new cooker circuit. installed the cooker circuit just now and tested it, but the oven(brand new) is getting extreemly hot at the bottom, so i have disconnected it and told them i'm going to have to have a look into it.

heres the pictures from when it set onfire the first time

and the flex i removed, customer said originally it was because of the way it was wired up that i got too hot and the oven was sat on the JB, but i don't think thats possible as heres the flex i removed, not melted and looking in good condition. there was far too much copper on show, and no use of a flex clamp but i don't think that started the fire.

and before installing it i turned the lower plinth thingy round so there was not charcoal showing like so:

i've read through the instructions, no mention of an air gap below needed. whats your suggestions? gonna phone the manufacturer tomorrow anyway

 

[Amp David]

All ovens that i have installed have already had and air gap cut into the top of the plynth then usually at the back of the unit its open

 

[ExArmy]

i've just cooked my tea, unscrewed the oven and pulled it out and it was red hot too, but there was a 20mm gap between the wood and the metal oven, whereas theis cheapo argos oven just sits on the wood! what about new bit of wood, with a load of 20mm holes in it for cooling? i can't really sit in on 2 spacer to make an air gap as theres only so much room below the worktop.

 

[pto]

lets face it it a cheep oven

 

[Guitarist]

Maybe the cooker was objecting to that flooring pattern....

 

[ExArmy]

well i've decided the best people to speak to are the local kitchen fitter shop, I reckon a new base, drill a load of 25mm holes in it, and fix some louvre vents to the front and back so air can circulate below the oven. hopefully that will do the trick

 

[Silly Sausage]

Surely that oven must be faulty. The inner oven spaces are covered with insulation.
Doesn't seem right that the outer casing is getting that hot to burn the surrounding woodwork.

 

[alarm man]

its a shame that lino didnt get damaged...it either bad taste or the kids are out of control..mg_smile:

 

[Guitarist]

If you are following man. Instr and it is scorching the surrounding woodwork then it has to be either a faulty oven or a faulty design.

 

[Silly Sausage]

its a shame that lino didnt get damaged...it either bad taste or the kids are out of control..mg_smile:

Better than drawing on the walls.

 

[alarm man]

as archy said its the cooker not the unit,you could drill as many holes as you want but a cooker is going to get very hot,the unit shows no sign of burning bar one bit on the rhs which could have happened when it caught fire,the cooker looks more damaged on the lhs while the unit shows no damage on its lhs

 

[ExArmy]

so do you think it's 2 faulty ovens in a row from argos then?

 

[telectrix]

there are only so many causes of excess heat. 1. undersized cable. 2. underrated accessories. 3. poor connections. 4. naff ovens. once you have eliminated 1,2,and 3, then there's your answer.

 

[RISElectrical]

Can people stop saying the kitchen is a special location please!