Hi,
I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers. I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?
Thanks

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"MrMan" wrote in message
...

Hi,
I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?
Thanks




--
MrMan

MrMan wrote in :

I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?

You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question in. Most of the people
in this group live in the US or Canada. American and Canadian wiring practices and electrical
codes are very similar to each other -- and very different to yours.

On 1/22/13 9:24 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
MrMan wrote in :

I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?

You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question in. Most of the people
in this group live in the US or Canada. American and Canadian wiring practices and electrical
codes are very similar to each other -- and very different to yours.


alt.engineering.electrical might be one place to pose this
question. I think there are/were a couple British EEs there.

On Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:24:36 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

MrMan wrote in :

I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?

You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question in. Most of the people
in this group live in the US or Canada. American and Canadian wiring practices and electrical
codes are very similar to each other -- and very different to yours.

I was thinking the same thing. What's the 6mm? Is that the size of the
box or what? And I've never seen a 32A breaker. In the US, they are
all multiples of 5, like 15A 20A 30A, etc. They used to sell plug fuses
that were odd sizes, like 5A 7.5A 8A 10A etc. They were not common but
used for industrial apps like specific motors and stuff.

On Tuesday 22 January 2013 21:09 MrMan wrote in alt.home.repair:


Hi,
I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?
Thanks





What country are you in?

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."

On Wednesday 23 January 2013 03:24 Doug Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:

MrMan wrote in
:

I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?

You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question
in. Most of the people in this group live in the US or Canada. American
and Canadian wiring practices and electrical codes are very similar to
each other -- and very different to yours.

uk.d-i-y would be the best group for a UK specific enquiry.

Seeing as you suggest that the OP is not in the US (I was not sure if a 32A
cooker circuit exists or not in the USA), then I'll answer the question in a
British context.

(I am not a professional electrician, though I do hold Electrical Installer
qualifications[1] and a working knowledge the the IEE Wiring Regulations
17th Edition - current).


So to the OP:
=============

In the UK:

you *can* replace the cooker outlet with one or more 13A sockets wired in a
radial configuration (ie daisy chained, branched, any way you like).

This is classified as a standard (albeit extremely rare) 32A radial circuit.

If you are replacing a single cooker flex connector with a socket, that is
fine. If you need to daisy chain another socket off that for some reason,
you will need to do in in 4mm2 or 6mm2 depending on how the cable runs (eg
surface run on wall, buried in insulation etc). This will help:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technica...ltageDrop.html

You can and should leave the cooker isolator switch in place. It can remain
as a 32A unfused switch. The fuse in the UK plugtop takes care of local
fusing requirements.

HTH

Tim


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."

Forgot a couple of things:

On Wednesday 23 January 2013 09:02 Tim Watts wrote in alt.home.repair:

(I am not a professional electrician, though I do hold Electrical
Installer qualifications[1] and a working knowledge the the IEE Wiring
Regulations 17th Edition - current).

[1] So I can wire my own house and make the Building Inspector feel warm and
fuzzy about accepting my own certification.


So to the OP:
=============

In the UK:

you *can* replace the cooker outlet with one or more 13A sockets wired in
a radial configuration (ie daisy chained, branched, any way you like).

I should note that the terminal capacity of a typical accessory like a
socket is 6mm2 per terminal. This means you *cannot* form a tee-junction in
4mm2 or 6mm2 cable - only in 2.5mm2 for a ring circuit.

It's still possible but you'd have to use junction boxes. This partly
explains why 32A radial circuits are not popular - too difficult to
implement in practise.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent
moral busybodies."

Tim Watts wrote in :


Seeing as you suggest that the OP is not in the US (I was not sure if a 32A
cooker circuit exists or not in the USA), then I'll answer the question in a
British context.

Look at the headers of his message -- specifically NNTP-Posting-Host. The message was
posted from an IP address located in the UK.

And we don't have 32A circuits in the US.

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday 23 January 2013 03:24 Doug Miller wrote in alt.home.repair:

MrMan wrote in
:

I have a cooker switch that I never use as we always have gas cookers.
I was wondering if I could convert the obsolete cooker circuit to a
power outlet, maybe a single socket. The cooker circuit is wired in 6mm
and into a 32a breaker. Would I need to change the breaker at all?

You probably should try to find a UK-specific group to post this question
in. Most of the people in this group live in the US or Canada. American
and Canadian wiring practices and electrical codes are very similar to
each other -- and very different to yours.

uk.d-i-y would be the best group for a UK specific enquiry.

Seeing as you suggest that the OP is not in the US (I was not sure if a
32A
cooker circuit exists or not in the USA), then I'll answer the question in
a
British context.

(I am not a professional electrician, though I do hold Electrical
Installer
qualifications[1] and a working knowledge the the IEE Wiring Regulations
17th Edition - current).


So to the OP:
=============

In the UK:

you *can* replace the cooker outlet with one or more 13A sockets wired in
a
radial configuration (ie daisy chained, branched, any way you like).

This is classified as a standard (albeit extremely rare) 32A radial
circuit.

If you are replacing a single cooker flex connector with a socket, that is
fine. If you need to daisy chain another socket off that for some reason,
you will need to do in in 4mm2 or 6mm2 depending on how the cable runs (eg
surface run on wall, buried in insulation etc). This will help:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technica...ltageDrop.html

You can and should leave the cooker isolator switch in place. It can
remain
as a 32A unfused switch. The fuse in the UK plugtop takes care of local
fusing requirements.

HTH

Tim


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."

Nice answer, Tim, and interesting information too. I've not encountered
your radial circuit description before.

Tomsic

On Wednesday 23 January 2013 13:13 Tomsic wrote in alt.home.repair:


Nice answer, Tim, and interesting information too. I've not encountered
your radial circuit description before.

Tomsic

Thank you. There is a standard radial circuit that is more common (though
not as common as a ring) - that's the 20A radial, which can almost always be
wired in 2.5mm2 cable, which makes it very practical. The downside it that
if you lay it out "wrong" someone might come along and stick lots of heavy
loads on and trip the breaker. That's why I prefer rings - they are a little
more flexible.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."