Is this safe

[Riggy]

:Applaud :Applaud

I rather think you've missed the OP's point, he's acknowledged at least twice that what is there is not ideal, applauding stating the bleeding obvious is not likely to be helpful.

We all know that the manufacturers recommedations should be followed.

 

[androiduk2002]

your only solution here(I think0, and assuming your kitchen ring main is on a 32a mcb ring........is to simply install a little 1way board with a 32amcb(or DP32AMP MCB) for the oven, put it in the cupboard and spur it off the kitchen ring.

its the only way to do this without a new circuit, remember, you must "follow manufacturers instructions"

Im still at a bit of a lose as to how an oven requires 32amps..... though.

I used to have a AGA style cooker with 6 rings 2 ovens a seperate grill a warming draw and a griddle.

Would that explain a 32 amps requirment ?

 

[Robojin]

your only solution here(I think0, and assuming your kitchen ring main is on a 32a mcb ring........is to simply install a little 1way board with a 32amcb(or DP32AMP MCB) for the oven, put it in the cupboard and spur it off the kitchen ring.

its the only way to do this without a new circuit, remember, you must "follow manufacturers instructions"

Im still at a bit of a lose as to how an oven requires 32amps..... though.

That's what I found odd, that AGA originally (allegedly) installed a cable from the AGA to the FCU that would appear to be rated at less than the recommended protective device that they state in the manual (I appreciate that the cable is currently protected by a 13 fuse)

Thanks everyone for the input

 

[wozz]

it could have been a iol aga or similar before only needing 3 amps, has the aga been changed recently / ever for a different type? id get a new circuit in there pronto.

 

[Robojin]

it could have been a iol aga or similar before only needing 3 amps, has the aga been changed recently / ever for a different type? id get a new circuit in there pronto.

The only recent change is the addition of a energy efficiency module, which is connected to the FCU, the oven is powered by this module

 

[AAAMUSEMENTS]

The only recent change is the addition of a energy efficiency module, which is connected to the FCU, the oven is powered by this module

What does the module do?

?:|

 

[Robojin]

What does the module do? ?:|

AGA's take an age to heat up, so you have to leave them permanently on, as an all electric model it gets expensive to run, the module has settings to turn the oven off and on to save power, but not to lose so much heat that any saving would be negated

About the only thing you can say about them is they look nice, but I'd never have one based on the running costs I've been told about

 

[AAAMUSEMENTS]

AGA's take an age to heat up, so you have to leave them permanently on, as an all electric model it gets expensive to run, the module has settings to turn the oven off and on to save power, but not to lose so much heat that any saving would be negatedAbout the only thing you can say about them is they look nice, but I'd never have one based on the running costs I've been told about

We have an AGA style Esse. It works on an oil pressurejet burner which goes on and off to maintain the heat, uses a lot of oil but it's nice to cook on and does run the central heating to some extent, also supposed to heat the water but it fails to do that to any useful temperature and we have to top up with economy 7 electric.

All in all very expensive, but still makes more sense for us than an electric one (which to me seems bizarre!).

Of course if we had mains gas then we would have a conventional boiler instead of a range.

 

[muffin]

with many cookers the main element is only 2-3 kw and will not exceed 13amp.

so running it off of a 13amp supply will be fine, how often will the cooker run flat out.

if it failed then i too would say a loose connection.

its not right, and the only right way to sort the problem is run a new 30 amp supply.

re 3p....

its nothing more than 3 supplies coming in and you can take from any one of them with a single phase mcb, but when you do you should try and make sure all the large loads are not on the same phase.

that said if it has an electric hob then i would make sure it is on the same phase as that.

regards andy

 

[Robojin]

re 3p....

its nothing more than 3 supplies coming in and you can take from any one of them with a single phase mcb, but when you do you should try and make sure all the large loads are not on the same phase.

that said if it has an electric hob then i would make sure it is on the same phase as that.

regards andy

As I said have no hands on experience with 3P, but recall comments about care should be taken to avoid introducing the potential for 415v, and that you should not work alone with 3P for HSE reasons

 

[Lee321]

my guess is the aga probably pulls 15-16a and the bs1361 13a could probably hold that. but the fcu has taken the abuse of over current over the years up untill it melted totally and blew.

given that the occupier has had no issues with nuisance tripping from the aga taking a good portion of the avaliable current for that ring makes the circuit fit for purpose. i.e the aga and the other appliances as previous +4yrs.

so now to address the aga supply. clearly fitting a new fcu won't cut it. a 20a DP is no good as you have no protection for that switch.

so your left with fitting a 32a DP switch and flex rated to 32a. the switch and cable are then protected by the mcb rated at 32a.

 

[sparkytim]

IF he load is only 15-16 amps then a 20 A Dp switch on 2.5mm Radial cct with 20 A MCB will be ok, as long as circuit is ok length wise for Volt drop

 

[ProDave]

Firstly if it's on a FCU (i.e fused connection unit) then that will have a maximum of a 13A fuse in it. Unless of course someone has put an old nail in there instead of a fuse

So if it has worked for 4 years without blowing the 13A fuse, it cannot possibly be the all electric version of an AGA.

If the instructions say it needs it's own 30A supply that that's what it really ought to have. So try and find or make some capacity on the CU to run it's own feed.

I would say it's okay if the AGA is fed from a different phase to the kitchen ring, but if that's the case just use a switch for the AGA, and NOT a cooker switch with a built in 13A socket (to avoid having sockets on different phases in the same room)

But you really need to answer the rating before deciding what to do. Ask the manufacturers, it SHOULD be in the manual. Failing that measure the actual current drawn with everything on.

P.S if it is the all electric version with that much electricity usage, you really should consider an economy7 or even economy 10 tarrif.

 

[wozz]

i may be being thick here but i cant see how a E7 tariff would work with a AGA.

 

[ProDave]

i may be being thick here but i cant see how a E7 tariff would work with a AGA.

Perhaps i'm the one being thick, but I thought AGA's were designed to be on 24/7, so if that's the case E7 or E10 would at least get part of the electricity usage at a cheaper tarrif.

To be honest, the only Aga's I have ever seen have been used to heat hot water and radiators as well, not "just" as a cooker.

 

[simplesimon]

quote....

However: You comment above about this explaining why it burnt out the FCU is utter rubbish!

If the AGA drew more than the fuse rating, the fuse would blow, it wouldn't burn out the FCU.

errrrm....what about if the cables were carrying more current than they were rated at and the earth was not satisfactory therefore not achieving disconnection in time? [Watchdog removed unnecessary personal comment here]

 

[Riggy]

quote....However: You comment above about this explaining why it burnt out the FCU is utter rubbish!

If the AGA drew more than the fuse rating, the fuse would blow, it wouldn't burn out the FCU.

errrrm....what about if the cables were carrying more current than they were rated at and the earth was not satisfactory therefore not achieving disconnection in time?

You are obviously much smarter than me and you plainly thought before you typed, so if you could explain the relevance of the earth cable and the disconnection time in terms of this overload fault I'd be even more in awe of you!

 

[Lee321]

IF he load is only 15-16 amps then a 20 A Dp switch on 2.5mm Radial cct with 20 A MCB will be ok, as long as circuit is ok length wise for Volt drop

you can't fit a 20a dp because what if the aga overloads and pulls 31a?

the 32a ring mcb will not trip and 31a flows thru the 20a switch melting it

 

[steptoe]

quote....However: You comment above about this explaining why it burnt out the FCU is utter rubbish!

If the AGA drew more than the fuse rating, the fuse would blow, it wouldn't burn out the FCU.

errrrm....what about if the cables were carrying more current than they were rated at and the earth was not satisfactory therefore not achieving disconnection in time?

You are obviously much smarter than me and you plainly thought before you typed, so if you could explain the relevance of the earth cable and the disconnection time in terms of this overload fault I'd be even more in awe of you!

can any of you state the actual current at which a BS fuse will blow?

it differs for 3036 , 1361 , etc, Ive saw 13a/15a fuses hold well over 30a before they blow,

as for the earth, that would only come into play under fault conditions, not due to an overload.

 

[Lee321]

can any of you state the actual current at which a BS fuse will blow?it differs for 3036 , 1361 , etc, Ive saw 13a/15a fuses hold well over 30a before they blow,

as for the earth, that would only come into play under fault conditions, not due to an overload.

experience ahoy ^