All-electric range cookers

[belu]

Hi there

We had originally planned to install an electric hob with separate built-in double oven for which our (excellent) French electrician has connected two separate cables in our new build - the one for the oven being a 32amp.  My wife has now decided that she would like to look at having an all-electric range cooker (we have no gas at the property) but our electrician has said that this is not possible.  We realise that the range cooker's power rating is a 45 amp but we have been told by an electrician here in England that it is quite safe and common to install a range cooker in the UK even where the wiring is 30amp because it is highly unlikely that all the burners/both ovens and grill will be used at the same time.  All that is needed (he said) is for the circuit breaker in the fuse box to be upgraded to a 45 amp and that no additional wiring would be needed.

Can someone tell us if this is correct as our French electrician says absolutely not.  It may be that he feels that he has completed his work and doesn't want to fiddle about any further with it.  Any advice/suggestions would be most welcome.

[Anton Redman]

It is a new build so it is going to require an inspection by the CONSUEL. Your electrician will have run a 6mm cross-section cables to the oven point. This rated to a maximum of 40 amps and is normally protected by a 32 amp disjoncteur. If the inspection revealed too small a cable your electrician would probably find all his work subject to much more scrutiny.

If you require 45 amps then you need 10mm cross-section. Unless you are very lucky in the position of the cooker versus the Tableau d'electricite then feeding 10mm through existing conduit will be impossible, it is also probable that the existing conduit is not big enough to have the required air circulation if you install a larger cables.

If you subsequently fitted a 40 amp, rather than 45 amp disjoncteur the cable would be protected and the disjoncteur would trip rather than the cable be overloaded

[Gluestick]

Unless you are on cheap rate (HC-HP), and only cook after midnight, investigate a gas fuelled range.

However, you may well be lottery winners.....................................................

[Www]

[Framboise]

Hmm, I am inclined to agree.

We have a dual fuel range, gas hob burners with electric ovens and in retrospect I would much prefer all gas to this option.   Firstly electric takes ages to warm up properly before you even start cooking, secondly every time I use the big oven it "pops" the main fuse and thirdly whichever oven I use the meter goes haywire!   Given a choice I would certainly opt for all-gas next time.   [Www]

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="Framboise"]

Hmm, I am inclined to agree.

We have a dual fuel range, gas hob burners with electric ovens and in retrospect I would much prefer all gas to this option.   Firstly electric takes ages to warm up properly before you even start cooking, secondly every time I use the big oven it "pops" the main fuse and thirdly whichever oven I use the meter goes haywire!   Given a choice I would certainly opt for all-gas next time.   [Www]

[/quote]

Yes, but the gas equivalent of the electric 'popping' off is the gas bottle running out - usually when you've left the kitchen to join the the guests in their 'perros, and therefore don't notice for the next 25 minutes, until it dawns on you that there is neither sound nor smell coming from the oven anymore!

p

[Gluestick]

If you cook lots (which we do!) manifold two large bottles.

And put a Post It with the date on on or near the bottle/s with the last change date: one soon becomes used to gas consumption.

Picking up the bottle, or even tilting it sideways allows you to ascertain how low it is becoming.

In the UK we have an electric double oven (conventional radiant heat in the upper: and fan-assisted in the lower, larger): but the hob is gas.

In France, it's all gas.

And our new range in France will be all gas.

 

[belu]

Thank you all for your replies.  Looks like the range is out of the question without some serious aggravation and I've think we've had enough of that over the past 12 months!!! 

[Joanna]

[quote user="Framboise"]

Hmm, I am inclined to agree.

We have a dual fuel range, gas hob burners with electric ovens and in retrospect I would much prefer all gas to this option.   Firstly electric takes ages to warm up properly before you even start cooking, secondly every time I use the big oven it "pops" the main fuse and thirdly whichever oven I use the meter goes haywire!   Given a choice I would certainly opt for all-gas next time.   [Www]

[/quote]

What make is it?  I've just bought a dual fuel range cooker - a Falcoln - and am now beginning to feel rather alarmed.  I've always used dual fuel cookers here but they've always been the conventional single oven type and I haven't noticed excessive electrictiy consumption even if they didn't work very well.  (Very cheap and not sealed properly so they stank).

[Bobc]

We bought a Falcon Classic 110 Deluxe last year and have been very pleased with it.

Both electric ovens heat up very quickly - the left hand oven has a boost setting which increases the heat up speed further.

We regularly have both ovens running together with the electrically heated griddle plate with no problems with the supply ‘tripping’.

No problems with excessive electricity consumption - we have friends with the same model - he is a French registered electrician and so would probably notice!

Our cooker was supplied by Expert, Marmande (47). A good trade discount, plus free delivery and installation. No connection other than a satisfied customer.

Kind regards,

Bob Clarke

www.legrindouxproperties.com

[Joanna]

Wow, Thanks for that Bob - it would have been tragic after spending years waiting to get a decent cooker to find it was too expensive to use!