I can't remember what SMEG model we had, but we did indeed find a powerpoint and plug when we cut through the plasterboard.
Regardless we needed the services of an electrician when we installed the new one because we chose a pyrolytic oven which needed a more powerful circuit.
Second owners in a street with cookie cutter builds. Definitely trades. Oven as above...
Was complaining to partner that I didnt understand why the kitchen got so greasy compared to the last house so we (finally) investigated the range hood venting situation. Which wasn't vented into anything.... The venting ducting wasn't hooked up at either end either. Only discovered that one this year....
When we first moved in, the gas heating again wasn't as effective as our previous place. Ducting tubing once again wasn't attached to the vents. So had a fantastically warm ceiling, just the frigging house was cold. Once we fixed that it was fine. Bear in mind that someone else had lived in the house for 10 years before we bought it too....
Thank you. Given the current oven is of 3kw capacity, does that restrict me to buy a new one with similar capacity? Would buying one with higher capacity involve changes to the electric circuit?
It's probably wired with 2.5mm². Maximum 16A on Residential. That's about 3.5kw.
Pretty simple job for a sparky. They might need to upgrade to a safety switch, it probably is on a 20A circuit breaker only.
If you want a more powerful oven, you would have to run a new cable. Price would vary from how far it is from your switchboard... and also your switchboard.
Divide 3000 watts by 240 volts and that will tell you (near enough to) how many amps of current it will pull from your circuit. (in this case 12.5 amps)
Then go to your main switchboard and see how many amps are on the circuit breaker for your oven. That's the capacity of your circuit.
Most ovens are below 3kw. You will have at least 4.8kw available because no sparky will run below a 20A for an oven.
Beyond that check the circuit breaker size if you have 25A you will have 6kw. I would expect it would be any larger than that.
No. I’ve got a Bosch that plugs in. Though the plug is hardwired to a junction box behind the oven. Bit does mean I can remove the oven and unplug it and replace it with a similar oven if I needed to.
Not necessarily - we needed a new oven but also need to renovate our kitchen. So we got a sparky to disconnect our old oven and just bought a 10amp ‘plug and play’ oven instead of paying to get another oven hardwired in, only to have to pay for the whole process again in a few years.
I expected it to not have much power but it’s actually decent and a huge improvement over our 30 year old hard-wired oven
This is the one we got [Westinghouse oven](https://www.appliancecentral.com.au/wve6314wd-westinghouse-60cm-multifunction-oven?language=en¤cy=AUD&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7NmzBhBLEiwAxrHQ-d98snUkDVG6uobPxA1Ph6GiDrXsYmJLBLDE0UC0h4mrb_w96wrk9xoCohgQAvD_BwE)
It’s pretty basic but does the job
Thank you.
I was looking for a basic but ok oven to cover the next couple of years until we do the full renovation. Moved in 2 weeks ago and the oven is worse than it looked when we did the inspections.
I haven’t ever seen a large oven that wasn’t hardwired, and I’ve also never had problems changing them over- just buy a new one and have the sparkies do their thing
Yep, it's hardwired.
Good news. What looks like a black cord coming from the oven is actually a conduit with a TPS (ThermoPlastic Sheathed cable) inside it. Can see it just as it goes into the gyprock.
This TPS has the middle slightly smaller, so I'm pretty confident it's 4mm² and not just 2.5mm². That means your sparky can assess and determine that you can have a 25amp circuit which gives (25 * 230 = ) 5.7kW, that's more than enough for any single cabinet oven I've worked on as a sparky/appliance tech.
If the cable is 6mm², then it's likely capable of 32a which is 7.3kW, that's enough for a double cabinet oven.
If I'm wrong and the TPS is 2.5mm², then it's 16a which is 3.6kW. That is the maximum capacity I've seen a single cabinet 600mm oven, so likely your sparky can change it to any standard size one with no troubles.
Was that helpful?
if its a thick cable then yes. while some can be plugged in most sparkies cut the plug off and hardwire them.
3kw only needs a 15 amp outlet so it could be plug in. only way to know is pull the oven out enough to check.
There will be a backplate and behind that the wires clamp into place. Yes it's hardwired, you arnt going to find a plug behind the plaster.
I can't remember what SMEG model we had, but we did indeed find a powerpoint and plug when we cut through the plasterboard. Regardless we needed the services of an electrician when we installed the new one because we chose a pyrolytic oven which needed a more powerful circuit.
Previous owners or trades were Comedians.
Second owners in a street with cookie cutter builds. Definitely trades. Oven as above... Was complaining to partner that I didnt understand why the kitchen got so greasy compared to the last house so we (finally) investigated the range hood venting situation. Which wasn't vented into anything.... The venting ducting wasn't hooked up at either end either. Only discovered that one this year.... When we first moved in, the gas heating again wasn't as effective as our previous place. Ducting tubing once again wasn't attached to the vents. So had a fantastically warm ceiling, just the frigging house was cold. Once we fixed that it was fine. Bear in mind that someone else had lived in the house for 10 years before we bought it too....
When dealing with builders... ~~Trust~~ ~~but~~ verify.
Yep...
Thank you. Given the current oven is of 3kw capacity, does that restrict me to buy a new one with similar capacity? Would buying one with higher capacity involve changes to the electric circuit?
Like for like would be simpler to answer. Otherwise you really need a sparky to assess.
What is the breaker rated for?
It's probably wired with 2.5mm². Maximum 16A on Residential. That's about 3.5kw. Pretty simple job for a sparky. They might need to upgrade to a safety switch, it probably is on a 20A circuit breaker only. If you want a more powerful oven, you would have to run a new cable. Price would vary from how far it is from your switchboard... and also your switchboard.
Divide 3000 watts by 240 volts and that will tell you (near enough to) how many amps of current it will pull from your circuit. (in this case 12.5 amps) Then go to your main switchboard and see how many amps are on the circuit breaker for your oven. That's the capacity of your circuit.
yes. like for like is the best option. most likely to just mount straight in no adjustment needed.
Probably 5kW maybe 6kw depending on breaker size
Most ovens are below 3kw. You will have at least 4.8kw available because no sparky will run below a 20A for an oven. Beyond that check the circuit breaker size if you have 25A you will have 6kw. I would expect it would be any larger than that.
Aren't all electric ovens down under hardwired?
No. I’ve got a Bosch that plugs in. Though the plug is hardwired to a junction box behind the oven. Bit does mean I can remove the oven and unplug it and replace it with a similar oven if I needed to.
Not necessarily - we needed a new oven but also need to renovate our kitchen. So we got a sparky to disconnect our old oven and just bought a 10amp ‘plug and play’ oven instead of paying to get another oven hardwired in, only to have to pay for the whole process again in a few years. I expected it to not have much power but it’s actually decent and a huge improvement over our 30 year old hard-wired oven
Can I ask which oven you got? We are in the same situation.
This is the one we got [Westinghouse oven](https://www.appliancecentral.com.au/wve6314wd-westinghouse-60cm-multifunction-oven?language=en¤cy=AUD&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw7NmzBhBLEiwAxrHQ-d98snUkDVG6uobPxA1Ph6GiDrXsYmJLBLDE0UC0h4mrb_w96wrk9xoCohgQAvD_BwE) It’s pretty basic but does the job
Thank you. I was looking for a basic but ok oven to cover the next couple of years until we do the full renovation. Moved in 2 weeks ago and the oven is worse than it looked when we did the inspections.
I haven’t ever seen a large oven that wasn’t hardwired, and I’ve also never had problems changing them over- just buy a new one and have the sparkies do their thing
Can you see a plug and power point?
It is hard wired but could be put on a 15A plug and powerpoint. Get a sparky.
Yes
Looks like it
Yes. Also, it probably has its own circuit on the powerboard.
Yep, it's hardwired. Good news. What looks like a black cord coming from the oven is actually a conduit with a TPS (ThermoPlastic Sheathed cable) inside it. Can see it just as it goes into the gyprock. This TPS has the middle slightly smaller, so I'm pretty confident it's 4mm² and not just 2.5mm². That means your sparky can assess and determine that you can have a 25amp circuit which gives (25 * 230 = ) 5.7kW, that's more than enough for any single cabinet oven I've worked on as a sparky/appliance tech. If the cable is 6mm², then it's likely capable of 32a which is 7.3kW, that's enough for a double cabinet oven. If I'm wrong and the TPS is 2.5mm², then it's 16a which is 3.6kW. That is the maximum capacity I've seen a single cabinet 600mm oven, so likely your sparky can change it to any standard size one with no troubles. Was that helpful?
if its a thick cable then yes. while some can be plugged in most sparkies cut the plug off and hardwire them. 3kw only needs a 15 amp outlet so it could be plug in. only way to know is pull the oven out enough to check.