general rant....ish

[Guitarist]

Dave, I can understand where you are coming from mate. What I am quite impressed about though, is that the OP recognises that although he is by his own admission "no electrician", he felt uncomfortable connecting appliances without local isolation and made the decision to get the electrician who installed the system to take ownership of it.
Personally, I wish more kitchen fitters would be this conscientious and while I'm sure the electrician who did it was annoyed that he had been questioned about his design, I can't fault the OP for refusing to connect what he wasn't sure about.

 

[Tonkatoy27]

So, has the fridge etc, got a 13amp fuse? and if not would you consider it ok on a 16amp MCB?

 

[Guest55]

So, has the fridge etc, got a 13amp fuse? and if not would you consider it ok on a 16amp MCB?

This point highights a small problem in the original post and that is cooker outlets are being used as the connection point to each appliance ?
Should have just used standard sockets which would retain the correct sized fuse , then theres no prob in running direct feeds from the CU.

 

[Tonkatoy27]

This point highights a small problem in the original post and that is cooker outlets are being used as the connection point to each appliance ?
Should have just used standard sockets which would retain the correct sized fuse , then theres no prob in running direct feeds from the CU.

The electrician will probably say that there wasn't enough room behind for plug tops, in which case, why the hell didn't he install FCU's or sockets in the cupboards. (we're going round in circles now)
For what it's worth, I wouldn't put a socket behind a kitchen appliance anyway, nightmare if the fuse blows.

 

[Geordie Spark]

The electrician will probably say that there wasn't enough room behind for plug tops, in which case, why the hell didn't he install FCU's or sockets in the cupboards. (we're going round in circles now)
For what it's worth, I wouldn't put a socket behind a kitchen appliance anyway, nightmare if the fuse blows.

Some time ago, our next door neighbour's tumble dryer caught fire & the only means of isolating it were: 1) at the socket which was behind it & 2) at the consumer unit.

The lady didn't think of turning off the main switch at the consumer unit, & instead called the fire brigade. By the time they arrived, the kitchen was destroyed & I can't help wondering if there was a local, easily accessible means of isolation would she have had the presence of mind to use it & therefore reduce the damage to her kitchen?

It was because of this that I always fitted either a FCU or some other means of isolation on my jobs, and if the customer was a bit "iffy" about it, I would tell them about my neighbour's tumble dryer. They usually agreed after that !!

 

[Strima]

A lot of this is speculation in case of an emergency. You could get to the point of installing a firemans switch for all the kitchen circuits 'just in case'...

As with any regs and installation common sense should apply but often it isn't the case as £25K on a gucci kitchen far outweighs a couple of hundred quid on sorting the electrickery properly.

 

[Engineer54]

These numbty's that don't want to see socket outlets or other appliance control/isolation switches etc above the worktop, in there kitchens soon live to sorely regret there decision. These fashion conscious idiots that spend literary thousands on a kitchen, seem to always fail to see that a kitchen is primarily a work station, not just a room to impress family, friends and neighbours!!

So now, every time they buy the latest electrical gadget, they have nowhere to power it unless they open a cupboard door, that not only spoils the look of their kitchen (that they wanted in the first place), but the trailing lead(s) now becomes a trip and/or catching safety hazard!!

Pop-up worktop outlets i hear you all cry, ...These things are usually of such bad quality and design that after just a few months the pop-up starts failing and any seal that was there to stop liquids passing is also starting to let liquids past the worktop seal, ...open or closed!!

Now, how many socket outlets are we recommended to be fitted to an average sized kitchen?? ...There needed for a reason!! ...lol!!

I have never and will never install worktop appliance outlets in base or wall cabinets, or a cooker control unit. Then again i don't blindly follow BS7671/OSG's either!! lol!!

 

[Guitarist]

So, has the fridge etc, got a 13amp fuse? and if not would you consider it ok on a 16amp MCB?

If the appliance states it must have a 13 amp fuse, and the only protection is via a 16 amp MCB, then straight away there is a breach of the regs. Regardless of what we think, and regardless of whether we consider it safe or not, manufacturers instructions must be followed.

 

[telectrix]

If the appliance states it must have a 13 amp fuse, and the only protection is via a 16 amp MCB, then straight away there is a breach of the regs. Regardless of what we think, and regardless of whether we consider it safe or not, manufacturers instructions must be followed.

by breach of regs. do you mean lack of discrimination between the 13A fuse and the 16A MCB?

 

[Guitarist]

by breach of regs. do you mean lack of discrimination between the 13A fuse and the 16A MCB?

No, I mean if the plug is cut off and the cable connected directly to a fixed appliance outlet, relying on the MCB for protection of both the cable and the appliance.