I had a stove/oven unit which dated back to the fifties at least and died months ago.
After much haggling, the landlord finally sent over a new unit, but upon installation, one of the delivery guys noticed that the stove/oven was on the same electrical plug as the fridge, and said that it might cause problems. Another one said it was not an issue, and that only the top part of the unit was on the same plug as the fridge and that the bottom part was on a different plug.
After I turned the circuit back on after installation, the light connected to the upper part worked (the fan area) , whereas the stove/oven part did not. They asked me to keep on turning off and on the circuit breaker but it did not make a difference. My guess is that a fuse was blown.
The installation crew tried to blame me for not turning the circuit breaker on and off correctly, but it’s not that complicated. Bottom line, the fridge came back on, but the stove/oven unit is not working, but for the fan/light area . The crew then left after saying that “electrical stuff is very expensive”.
I just want to know what I could be up against, and if I ever would be able to use anything else than a hotplate for cooking.
Should I try changing a fuse? Is it complicated? If the landlord ends up sending someone else over, what should I pay attention to? What is dangerous or safe, considering he might never tell me the truth and try to blame me to avoid footing the bill ?
I would also like to know if it is safe to have the circuit breaker located in the bedroom, and if there should be a distance between the breaker and the bed.
Answers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I just wanted to add that while the installation guys were working on removing the old electrical stove/oven unit, an alarm went off, and it’s only when i turned the circuit breaker off that the alarm stopped. But the breaker I turned off was the same one as the fridge.
I hope this makes sense, I am not electrically savvy, but I am now wondering if this has anything to do with the landlord refusing to replace the unit for the longest time.
The questions that you are asking makes me think that you don’t have anywhere near the technical knowledge required to do anything useful about this yourself.
If you have breakers, you probably don’t have fuses.
Where are you posting from? If you are in the U.S. it would be the landlord’s responsibility to fix it and make sure that it is safe.
In the U.S. the stove/oven is usually fed from a single dedicated 240 volt outlet. The fridge will be on a different 120 volt circuit. While it’s not an NEC requirement, it is common practice to put the fridge on its own dedicated circuit, and also to put the microwave on a different dedicated circuit. Older homes and apartments may not be wired this way and there’s no requirement for the landlord to make it that way.
Ovens tend to have a fairly high current draw. It is best to have them on a dedicated circuit, even if you are in a country where 220 or 240 volts is the norm.
From what you’ve posted, the installation crew sounds like a bunch of idiots.
I agree, especially the last sentence!
If you are in the USA, you might try to reset all of the circuit breakers that are ganged so that you are actually throwing two breakers at one time. There will only be two or three of them. Turn them off and then turn them on. Done! If that does not fix your problem, get the landlord to get it fixed. It is not your responsibility to fix the installers screw ups. It is his responsibility.
As far as a breaker box in the bedroom, I do not know if it is legal. I would put my own battery operated smoke detector above it. If it fails it will most likely shut off the electricity. It could burn the wires! A smoke detector could save your life. Cheap life insurance!
In the UK, it would seriously be the landlord’s responsibility. Shoddy work like this could earn him a big fine, or even time in jail if it caused someone an injury.
I would tell the landlord that he has a few days to get it sorted, and up to whatever code you have locally, before I took it to (in my case) the local council.
i agree there is confusion here.
what exactly is the stove, make and model? what country? what alarm went off? do you have a circuit breaker panel in your bedroom? do you have a fuse box and a circuit breaker box; or one or the other?
Agree with the gist of the previous posts. The OP is in overhis/her head already.
But … The fact the stove was from the 50s tells us the building is at least that old. At which point almost any assumptions we might make about how it was put together are faulty. Even if the building is in the US.
Fuses mixed with breakers: been done. Knob & tube connected to conduitted romex. Been done.
OP: Keep your hands off, and get on the landlord & the installers pronto to make this right.
This confuses me. In the US, an electric oven would be on a 240V circuit, and a refrigerator would be on 120. Unless the oven were gas, and only a light and fan were on a 120 circuit. But then there still wouldn’t be two electrical plugs.
Do any ovens (not necessarily in the US) use both a 240V plug and a 120V plug?
Former appliance salesman here, and just as an FYI, a cooktop/oven combo is called a range.
In the UK, all appliances are 240 volts, but a high wattage item like a cooker, has to be connected directly (no junction boxes, and no sharp bends) to the circuit breaker board. 6mm is considered adequate, provided that the cable is not in conduit or some other enclosed space, in which case 10mm is required. Most electricians use 10mm anyway, just to be sure.
Hi everyone and thank you for your replies.
I am posting from the US, Los Angeles. It’s an old building and I know it’s his responsibility to fix this, but the reason I’m posting is that I am planning to contact him again but I am aware that if he sends anyone, that person might not tell me the truth or do the job properly as it happened in the past.
@48Willys: The only thing I know about breakers is the breaker box. I opened it, and already switched all the breakers to the right, and back to the left, but it did not make any difference. And yes, @LSL guy, I agree that I should not do anything else.
@johnpost, the stove make is Danby DER3009W. The alarm that went off came from the upper area of the old stove unit, when the installation guy started to unscrew the upper part (which also had an oven - it was an old unit with two ovens, one upper, one lower. The upper area is now replaced by the new fan and light.)
I now remember that when they replaced the fridge, I noticed that it was not grounded, but they assured me that it was perfectly safe. It is located next to the dishwasher with is part of a cupboard which includes the sink. The dishwasher is not working properly as well They are also smoke detectors in every room. The one in the bedroom is not above the breaker box, it is on a adjacent wall. Would it make a difference if I installed one above it?
So let’s say that the landlord eventually sends someone to take a look. Let’s say that the repair guy does “something” and leaves telling me it’s safe. How do I know that he is not messing around and taking risks? What should I be looking for? I want to ask him the right questions.
I meant to add that I am looking to move, but I lost my job and it’s hard finding a new place right now. Thank you for taking the time to reply to this post.
As far as “blowing a fuse” when they installed it, I am assuming that’s what happened, because when I isolated the breaker and turned it off and on, the stove never worked. Even after I turned all the breakers on and off.
@Moonshiner Thank you. It will be easier and faster to refer to the unit as a range. Appreciate it.
@ZenBeam It’s an electrical oven. When they pulled the old range out, I saw something that looked a cord set with four “plugs”? (what you plug the electrical cord into)
It looked more like an extension cord with four plugs.
@ bob++ Thank you for the specifications.
Do you mean four outlets, like in this picture? or do you mean four holes in a single outlet, like this picture?
This page shows a couple different 240 volt plugs, one with four prongs, and one with three.
Four prongs on one plug perhaps? Like this maybe?
Prongs are the metal conductors that stick into the wall receptacle the plug is the thing the prongs are attached to.
@Zenbeam Not exactly anyone of them. They were four black outlets kind of like this: How does an Electrical Outlet Work? (with pictures) , if you scroll to the 230 volt one, but they were different because they were round and the top metallic part was round as well, not flat like in the photo.
@Rick Kind of like the one you posted, but I don’t remember 4 metal parts, just three.
May be something like this:http://www.electricgeneratordepot.com/duromax-10-4-30-to-50-amp-rv-adapter-for-all-standard-50a-rv-s?CAWELAID=230006220000000088&cagpspn=pla&"cagpspn=pla"&gclid=CL_cjJSShr0CFQ5gMgod5lcA3g
But they were four of these together, all with the part which I think is called the Male part (not the receiver) I will keep on looking on the web.
This one is orange but the shape of the metal parts looks right. http://www.amazon.com/51924-Outdoor-25-Foot-Grounded-Extension/dp/B0009HKEXC/ref=sr_1_9?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1394392011&sr=1-9
They were black and the plastic part around the metal was black, and the shape was round.