Cabling for induction range cooker-a cautionary tale!

[HotCrossBunplease]

I’ve just had a fab new induction range cooker delivered. (Stoves brand)

It was replacing an existing Rangemaster installed 8 years ago as part of a full kitchen refurb. As the wiring was all done carefully and to regulations then, I rashly assumed that the new one could just be wired into the wall where the old one was removed.

Unfortunately my builder has just told me that we only have 6mm cabling from our fuse box (consumer unit) to the cooker circuit. The induction range has a much higher power load than my old gas hob/electric oven one, so I need 10mm cabling. And replacing that is not a 5 minute job as apparently 10mm is so much thicker than the 6mm that it can’t just be pulled through the same route that the 6mm wiring currently goes. He’s given me an electrician to contact to confirm but he’s pretty sure that connecting to the existing 6mm circuit will just trip the fuse.

NB the spec of the new cooker says Max power load 17.97-19.17 KW. Looking at the spec for my old Rangemaster, it was only 7.4 KW, a huge difference.

So my post is for 2 reasons:

1. to warn anyone getting a new cooker, particularly an induction one, to make sure you have the right wiring. I understand that 6mm in cooker circuits is quite common.
2. To ask if anyone else has had to upgrade from 6mm to 10mm and if there are any other issues I need to look out for?

I could send the cooker back but it is so lovely and I have my heart set on induction now ☹️.

You can get lower power induction hobs, I've just bought a Neff one. The compromise is that you can only have two rings going full pelt and two on low power if they're all on at once. I bought from an independent shop who did a site visit then told me exactly which ones would work.

This isn’t a standalone hob though, it’s a range cooker. So you need to account for the power to the ovens as well as the hob.

I mean to me that's silly.

A fast home car charger is normally, what, about 10kw so you are talking almost double that.

You are talking about 80A at max power, which I am not sure would go in a standard consumer unit. Plus if you have other stuff on line like a car charger and electric showers/tumble dryers you might go over the 100A primary fusing limit.

At full power it would cost about £4.50 an hour to run. I suppose the only saving grace is it is not like an arga where you are running it 24/7 and I doubt it would run at full power all the time you were using it (otherwise you would be dumping 20kW of heat into the kitchen).

I'm sure an electrical bod who knows more will be along to comment, but to me that seems more like an industrial level supply requirement than a domestic one.

Did they make you aware of the potential power requirements when they sold it ?

Yes, I made this mistake with a new cooker a few years ago, it wasn't induction but it did require a new wiring connection compared to the old, knackered range cooker I was replacing. I had the electrician box in the wiring around the skirting just to get the blasted thing fitted properly, then had a joiner make it all look nicer a while later.

We've since moved house and I can't even use the cooker anymore, and may never use it again since we've moved to a kitchen with induction hob and we love it so much compared to the gas hobs. Bit of a waste really!

At full power it would cost about £4.50 an hour to run...

Oh My God 😱😱😱

It’s an interesting comment. The power specification is there on the manufacturer’s and the retailer’s website but as a layperson I had no idea how this translated to wiring needs and it didn’t occur to me to show it to an electrician in advance. We had a builder in anyway working on the bathroom, same guy who did our kitchen and connected up the old range 8 years ago, so I just planned to get him to connect the new one to the existing box on the wall.

There was no warning on the retail site such as “make sure you have 10mm cabling” or anything that would point to a non-standard requirement.

I’m actually trying to contact Stoves to double check that we really can’t use the existing 6mm cabling. Their line has been busy all morning. It’s possible my builder is just being a bit too conservative, but he did send the spec to the electrician, electrician said his gut feel was 10mm but to check with Stoves.

Fortunately we don’t have a car charger @GasPanic , terraced house with no drive.

Hi op,

When we got our lovely 😍 stoves range cooker a couple of years ago, it replaced a normal non fancy single oven cooker. We didn't need any changes to the wiring etc. Our electrician just added an updated/extra connection to the fuse box that was enough to handle the power of the range.

I think that would require me to be using all 3 ovens (2 standard plus one slow cooker oven) plus the grill plus have 5 pans on the hob at full power. That’s never going to happen, we are a family of 3 and don’t even host Christmas!

Is yours induction@Bluebellsinthewind ?

I think most of the time it would run a lot lower than 20kW.

But the problem is you have to wire and fuse for the worst case operating scenario.

The earlier poster that talked about having one that did not have everything that could be turned on at once makes sense to me because it helps limit the max current to a more reasonable level by stopping everything being turned on at once. If 20kW is your real max power consumption then you are probably going to have to wire in at a great deal of expense for a scenario you will hardly ever encounter/use.

I would talk to an electrician before making any decision..
My induction hobb is standard but is 5+ years. I think it only works full power intermittently- not on all 4 at a time .
I find that exceedingly frustrating as I like to mostly stove top cook (having learned to and cooked in France for 40 years). Sorry for bragging to make my point. I tried to use a wok on it one day and what a joke!

I would highly recommend you getting the necessary wiring so you can use your new equipment. That or get a mixed gas/induction top. Your choice. I still prefer gas. Good luck! :)

@HotCrossBunplease yeah mines is an induction. Sounds the same as yours. I can post a pick of it, if you would like?

I agree. If it can be made safe but will just trip the fuse if I try to use everything at once, I’m happy to live with that limitation. I just need professional advice on the safety aspect I guess.

Just to add, I cook a lot and use everything at once frequently. All the ovens/hobs etc.

What? You would be happy with your cooker flipping the fuse several times a day? Why pay extra for that ?
I would send back the fancy over priced cooker and get a cheaper one that meets your needs. ;)

Thanks @Whataretalkingabout? I’m comfortable with the choice of cooker, have done a lot of research into gas v induction and used my brother’s induction a lot. I do cook Asian food but am going in with eyes wide open re limitations of induction re woks. Unfortunately a range cooker with a gas/induction combo does not exist and we have to have a range due to kitchen layout.

No, I just explained that my needs will never involve having all the ovens, the grill and all the induction burners on at the same time.

Thank you. A pic would be fab, or if you know the model Eg Richmond/Deluxe/Precision and width (90/100/1100) that would be great.

I understand about the gas, OP, was just wanting to inform you. I know that in Switzerland gas is no longer even allowed in new buildings .
It sounds like you need advice from an electrician before making any decisions!
Happy cooking.

I have gas though. Have just removed a range with a gas hob. I’m actively choosing to change to induction.

Yes, we had the same a couple of years ago when we replaced our gas/electric range with a range oven with induction hob. Electrician had to install an extra cable off our fuse board just for the range cooker. Added an extra cost we hadn't planned for, but just one of those things.

It's a Richmond with the same dimensions as yours.

Thanks. Lovely colour!

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