Home Repair forum - Installing Electric Oven

Author

Installing Electric Oven

pecymanski@yahoo.com

2007-05-31, 9:25 am

Hello,

I am doing some work on my kitchen and have questions related to
adding an outlet for a new electric stove.

Curently have and getting rid of:
Cooktop - 30 amp circuit
Double Oven - 50 amp circuit

Want to install an electric oven which based on stove documention
requires a 40 amp circuit.

Questions:
1. Can I use the 50 amp circuit and simply replace the breaker at the
box with a 40 amp breaker?

2. I have done simple electrical work on 120 (replacing outlets,
lights, etc), but have not done any work with 240.
I think I should be able to handle installing the outlet for the oven,
the 240 just puts me off a little. The cable for the
50 amp has black, red, white and then a bare metal piece that I am
guessing is a ground wire. It was attached to a screw
in the junction box that the old double oven fed from. I am used to
the ground wire being copper, this one is a silver color and
appears to be aluminum if I had to guess. Will the installation of
the oulet for the stove be as straighforward as a normal 20 amp
outlet?

Thanks for any advice,
Paul

Edwin Pawlowski

2007-05-31, 9:25 am

<pecymanski@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> Double Oven - 50 amp circuit
>
> Want to install an electric oven which based on stove documention
> requires a 40 amp circuit.
>
> Questions:
> 1. Can I use the 50 amp circuit and simply replace the breaker at the
> box with a 40 amp breaker?

Yes. Having a wire larger than needed is OK.
>
> 2. I have done simple electrical work on 120 (replacing outlets,
> lights, etc), but have not done any work with 240.
> I think I should be able to handle installing the outlet for the oven,
> the 240 just puts me off a little.

Think of it as two 120's. Not a big deal, really.

> The cable for the
> 50 amp has black, red, white and then a bare metal piece that I am
> guessing is a ground wire. It was attached to a screw
> in the junction box that the old double oven fed from. I am used to
> the ground wire being copper, this one is a silver color and
> appears to be aluminum if I had to guess. Will the installation of
> the oulet for the stove be as straighforward as a normal 20 amp
> outlet?

Yes, just hook the wires to the appropriate terminals.

Doug Miller

2007-05-31, 9:25 am

In article <1180618461.901241.214110@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>, pecymanski@yahoo.com wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I am doing some work on my kitchen and have questions related to
>adding an outlet for a new electric stove.
>
>Curently have and getting rid of:
>Cooktop - 30 amp circuit
>Double Oven - 50 amp circuit
>
>Want to install an electric oven which based on stove documention
>requires a 40 amp circuit.
>
>Questions:
>1. Can I use the 50 amp circuit and simply replace the breaker at the
>box with a 40 amp breaker?

Probably. The only problem you might have is that the lugs on the new oven
might not be large enough to accommodate the wires on the existing circuit.
>
>2. I have done simple electrical work on 120 (replacing outlets,
>lights, etc), but have not done any work with 240.
>I think I should be able to handle installing the outlet for the oven,
>the 240 just puts me off a little. The cable for the
>50 amp has black, red, white and then a bare metal piece that I am
>guessing is a ground wire. It was attached to a screw
>in the junction box that the old double oven fed from.

You guess correctly. The black, red, white, and bare wires are hot, hot,
neutral, and ground, respectively.

> I am used to
>the ground wire being copper, this one is a silver color and
>appears to be aluminum if I had to guess.

Might be tinned copper, too.

>Will the installation of
>the oulet for the stove be as straighforward as a normal 20 amp
>outlet?

Pretty much. The only real difference is that 240V circuits, and 240V devices,
have two hot conductors instead of one. Connect hot to hot, neutral to
neutral, and ground to ground, and you'll be fine.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Jim Jensen

2007-05-31, 1:25 pm

"Edwin Pawlowski" <esp@snet.net> wrote:
[color=darkred]
> Yes. Having a wire larger than needed is OK.

For my GE oven, a 40 amp circuit is the MINIMUM RECOMMENDED dedicated =
circuit size. Is there really a need to replace the 50 with a 40?

Chris Lewis

2007-05-31, 1:25 pm

According to Jim Jensen <me@privacy.net>:
> "Edwin Pawlowski" <esp@snet.net> wrote:
>
>
> For my GE oven, a 40 amp circuit is the MINIMUM RECOMMENDED dedicated circuit size. Is there
> really a need to replace the 50 with a 40?

Usually not. The wire is sized large enough, so unless the new oven says
40A breaker only, you're okay with a 50A breaker. Houses can have anywhere
from 40A to 60A stove circuits by code.

The OP said the new unit is a "stove" at one point and "oven" at another. Which
is it?

Wallmount ovens are usually hardwire, no receptacle needed. New stove installations
must have receptacles, and almost always must be 4 wire.

Pay attention to the oven's installation instructions about 4 wire versus 3.
The unit probably has a removable ground bonding strap inside the oven's
wiring box. With a 4 wire connection, you must remove it - the strap is only
for 3 wire connections.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

pecymanski@yahoo.com

2007-05-31, 5:25 pm

> The OP said the new unit is a "stove" at one point and "oven" at another. Which
> is it?
>

Chris,

It is an electric stive, sorry for confusion.

Thanks for the help,
Paul

pecymanski@yahoo.com

2007-05-31, 9:25 pm

Ok,

Just to clarify a few more things. I have bx cable with the two hot
wires (red and black) and the neutral. The wires appear to be 6-
gauge. There is also a thin wire (bonding wire?).

Questions:

1. In all the books I have looked at the grounding wire is the same
gauge as the other wires. The bonding wire is very thin. Is the
bonding wire, the grounding wire?

2. Do I need a 3 or 4 wire range outlet? I guess another way of
asking if I use the bonding wire to connect to the grounder connection
on the 4 wire outlet or if I should use the 3 wire outlet.

3. One book I read said "Though some codes allow a 40-amp circuit for
a 50-amp range, many electricians prefer a 50-amp circuit so that the
ranage will be protected when all the burners are on at the same
time". So does this mean I should keep the circuit at 50 amp instead
of changing the breaker to 40 like the oven document said? The
document did have an asterict next to this which pointed to a section
that said "Note: Check local codes for required breaker size."

Thanks for the help.
Paul

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