# Is there a recess in the back of all electric ranges? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646 "2007-04-04T00:01:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/1 "2007-04-04T00:01:11Z")
My old electric range is about to bite the dust, so I went to Sears and bought a new one that will be delivered Friday. I picked a model based on features, price, reviews, etc, with no regard to form factor (except that its a 30" model.) Looking at my current range, I see that it is plugged into a box mounted on the floor at the back of the range, nestled into a recess behind the storage drawer. Is this recess common in most electric ranges? My new one has a warming drawer rather than storage at the bottom; how likely is it that the unit extends all the way to the back at the bottom? Should I go back to Sears and physically inspect the floor sample to make certain it will fit? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/2 "2007-04-04T00:44:09Z")
Mine has it. Unit is about 10 years old, or so. The surface-mount 240 V receptacle is fairly common, so I suspect most range manufacturers take it into account, since most people want their ranges flush against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/3 "2007-04-04T08:45:42Z")
You might want to go look, or call sears and ask them. Our last one did not. The house had hookups for gas and electric, though, and it was a gas range. The electric box kept the range from sitting flat against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/4 "2007-04-04T12:36:37Z")
Mine is around 4 years old and has the recess. I imagine it’s a standard feature for electrics due to the bulk of the power cable. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/5 "2007-04-04T14:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] Our last one did not…it was a gas range. [/QUOTE] And that would be why. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/6 "2007-04-04T15:21:27Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] And that would be why. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I know, but lots of houses have hookups for both, and it would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-recess-in-the-back-of-all-electric-ranges/398646/7 "2007-04-11T21:33:51Z")
For all of you Dopers hanging on the edge of your seats wondering how things turned out: the stove arrived safely, and it DOES have a recess in the back. But probably due to the warming drawer, the recess isn’t very deep, so with the surface mount box where it is, the range sits about two inches from the wall. Aesthetically, I don’t care, but the oven door handle blocks a cabinet drawer from opening, so somethings gonna have to be done. Most likely I will just unwire the outlet, remove the box, and use a Sawzall to open the hole in the floor a few inches, then put the box back closer to the wall. The cable happens to come through the only part of the basement with a finished ceiling, so I’d rather not try to get at it from that side.