Would I need to change wiring when changing cooktop

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Shanemc

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#290653 25-Nov-2021 14:57

Hi, wanting some advice on what type of cooktop I can replace our one with - without needing to have the wiring changed.

We have a late 80s house. A fairly standard Ceramic 4 burner bench cooktop and separate oven. I can not find anything indicating the wattage on it. But similar looking cooktops today seem to be around 6000watts. The fuse seems to be rated 32A. This would be running the cooktop and standard oven.

I am wondering about getting a larger cooktop - like a 5 burner (7502 - 8929W) or get an induction cooktop (6600 ~ 7200W). Are either of these going to be problematic?

Cheers

Shane

insane

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#2819222 25-Nov-2021 15:45

32A * 230V = 7360W max

You'd need to speak to a sparky to understand whether your wiring is indeed rated to support a full 32A power draw, and if not, if simply upgrading the breaker/RCD etc would be sufficient. When I put a new oven in my sparky ran some new beefy wiring, far thicker than what had been there before, and I've got a hybrid 90cm electric oven with gas hobs.

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robjg63

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#2819229 25-Nov-2021 16:05

We had a gas cook top and built in 60cm electric oven.

We decided we wanted an induction hob (4 positions) and a single gas wok burner and we replaced the oven with the same size.

The electrician said our wiring was fine, but did some upgrades in the switch box.

You will need to get the electrician to check it out - probably a good idea to do that before you buy anything - just so you know.

I have to say though - the induction is great. It's much faster than gas.

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k1w1k1d

1486 posts

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#2819237 25-Nov-2021 16:12

Get your sparky to take a look first. He/she will be able to advise what you can fit with the existing wiring etc.

timmmay

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#2819327 25-Nov-2021 18:48

I upgraded the oven from old style to one with an induction hob. Didn't change the wiring, haven't had any problems. My electrician (also my neighbor) checked the proper circuit breaker was in there and said if it blows he'll upgrade the wiring. Hasn't yet and it's been a few years. If you turn the oven and every element on at once then it might draw max current, but that won't happen often.