Changing oven cooker switch

[Charlie's mum]

Hi everybody,

First off, I'm really sorry but I couldn't manage to edit my profile.

Location- Derbyshire, England.

Trade- wildlife & land management.

Experience- changed a few plug sockets, light switches, very basic stuff!

So basically, just in time for Christmas my electric oven has decided to die.

It's around 2 years old and currently hard-wired into a 13amp fuse isolator switch.

When it initially wouldn't power up we changed the fuse in the switch and it powered up again. This only lasted about a week then died again. Now a new fuse isn't doing anything

In desperation we've decided to replace the isolator switch with a nice shiny new one which can handle up to 45A.

Trouble is- when I removed the faceplate to rewire I found the following:

2 mains cables wired into the same single isolator switch. That's right, 2 red live wires in one terminal and 2 black neutral in the other along with 2 earth wires. (Not including the oven cable obviously)

This makes a total of 9 wires into a single socket i would only expect to see 6 in.

Is this normal??!

Can I simply rewire just 1 of the mains wires and then isolate the other 1 for safety? Or is it perfectly ok to wire 2 cables into 1 socket? Seems strange to me.

It's an old house with lots of previous DIY efforts which are slightly suspect...

Haven't got a bean in the bank to call an electrician so it's either attempt a repair myself or cook the turkey over a fire outside. Might be quite good fun but still...

Any advice much appreciated!! Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Murdoch]

Sounds to me that the existing oven only requires a 13A supply - changing the fused spur to a 45A isolator is NOT a good idea.

Back to basics what make and model is the new oven and what do the installation instructions say about the load / connection / circuit?

I would not recommend you try and install this until you establish what is required ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Charlie's mum]

Thanks for responding, installation guide states 15A minimum- have (bought a standard double pole 45A cooker switch which all the online guides recommended)

Had an electrician install the oven around 2 years previous- he used the existing cable & 13A wall socket from the old oven (which was 30 year old gas), that's why I wondered if it had blown. Surely an oven requiring 15A minimum shouldn't be wired to 13A fuse socket? Bit confused to be honest.

It's a Zanussi (ZZB20601XV)

Thank you!

 

[Murdoch]

Changing the fused spur to an isolation switch is not advised with proper checks .....£50 now is far cheaper than recovering from a house fire

 

[Geoff1946]

So it's a built in oven with grill, no hob.  The spec I googled says it needs a 13amp fuse.  Hence if the fuse repeatedly fails the oven is faulty.   DO NOT connect it without a fuse.

There is a chance that the fault is the fused spur itself, overheating.  Does it look at all burned where the fuse is?    If you want to try your luck replace it like for like with a good quality new one.  Take your cooker switch back. That's the wrong solution.

 

[Charlie's mum]

Thanks to both of replies.

Sounds like it may be the oven after all then!

Geoff- I can't say it looks burnt exactly, but it's very old and worn-looking. The thing I find really strange is that two mains cables are going into the single socket.

Could this cause it?

Thanks

 

[Murdoch]

The thing I find really strange is that two mains cables are going into the single socket.

That's just a sign its a radial or ring circuit ..........so nothing unusual there

 

[Geoff1946]

The thing I find really strange is that two mains cables are going into the single socket.

Could this cause it?

Completely normal. It will hopefully be a ring circuit.  A cable starts from a 32amp circuit breaker, (or fuse if very old), runs to your first socket outlet, then continues to the next outlet, then the next, and so on, eventually going back to the circuit breaker so forming a ring.

Of course, if your house is full of dodgy DIY, ......  well it could be anything.

 

[Charlie's mum]

That's very reassuring that all is normal with the wiring (in theory at least). I'll try replacing the fused spur as suggested and see what happens. Must be an oven fault otherwise.

Thank you!