HI all, just have a question please. I removed an old rangehood. I then got my kitchen plastered and painted. I now would like to install the new rangehood but I have been told that the plug should be moved and put behind the flute. I didnt realise I had to as I would have done this well before i plastered and painted. What i want to know is does the plug have to be behind the back of the range by law or some health and safety issue. All i was intending on doing, was putting my new range up and then just switching over the old hard wire to a plug socket - yes i know you will technically see the plug but my last one was that way and i didnt really think much of it until an installer said it would be better - and yeah maybe it will look better but it stuff up plastering/painting etc plus add more cost. Help appreciated please. thank you
Only for aesthetic purposes,if you want to install it where seeing the plug dos’nt annoy you,install it
omamari,
Nov 19, 6:33am
If you hide the plug behind the flue you will need an isolating switch that is accessible
hammer23,
Nov 19, 9:25am
Big tick,if flue is coverd with a shaped casing.
fast4motion,
Nov 19, 9:28am
How much roof space is there above the rangehood? Ideally you'd just drill a hole in the top plate (of the wall) and drop a new cable down to a socket behind the flue. This could be supplied by a switch which you would fit in place of the ceiling rose you have on the wall (assuming that's where the old rangehood was wired). No need to damage the plaster/paint. You could even mount a surface socket and run the cable in some trunking on the wall, as it'll all be hidden by the flue. Or mount a surface socket in the ceiling above the flue, or on the ceiling under the flue, etc etc.
ETA: If that ducting runs through the ceiling, a skilled electrician probably wouldn't even need to get into the roof space. They could possibly do any of the above work through the hole that your ducting runs through.
mansonprincess,
Nov 19, 11:18am
ok thank you, this has all been very helpful, i guess what i was kinda asking was did i have to get this done, or can i leave where it is even thought it will look UGLY so im told. but yes some of the ideas have been very helpful and things i didnt think of originally
mansonprincess,
Nov 19, 11:20am
the old rangehood was hardwired, you can see the little round thing to the right in the photo
pauldw,
Nov 19, 1:35pm
For most things the "isolation" switch is the breaker in the fuse panel.
ryanm2,
Nov 19, 4:09pm
Good practice, yes, but it not actually a regulation is it?
mansonprincess,
Nov 19, 4:43pm
yip thats what i want to know, so what im trying to say is if i didnt upgrade my rangehood and left it how it was, is that legal - or has someone just stuffed up and couldnt be bothered doing it properly. because I have rung an installation company and they want me to get the plug put in the right place - and said that it would look better - but im not sure if i really care about look, i just want what is easier and they said it might become a concern down the track or if i want to later sell the house - so now im not sure what i do - i was happy to leave it how it was and have the plug showing cause i didnt think anything of it all this time
mansonprincess,
Nov 20, 9:05am
ive just looked at it and realised the cord is on the opposite side, so i guess im going to have to get it rewired ahhhhhh :(
mansonprincess,
Nov 20, 9:26am
when you say isolating switch, do you just mean like to turn it off at the wall cause i have already when it was hard wired - i have an on off plug at the wall and an on off button on the range itself or are you meaning something else
budgel,
Nov 20, 10:28am
Yes, they mean on/off at the wall.
supernova2,
Nov 20, 10:30am
An isolation switch is a switch fitted on the line between the fuse box and the range hood. So if your old system had a switch on the wall somewhere that's the isolation switch.
From what I can see in the picture I'd just be cutting the plug off the new hood and hooking it in to the round thing ( ceiling rose) just like the old one was. Is that legal - dont know.
Part of the problem you have might be that the wire for your new hood is designed to be within the space covered by the flue cover so unless the ceiling rose in also within that space you are going to have to find a way to get the wire out from within the flue cover which means it will probably need some sort of grommet. Nothing is impossible though. It's called thinking and often installers don't appear to have that skill in their tool box.
mansonprincess,
Nov 20, 10:43am
thank you all for your help, i have gone ahead and booked an electrician who also has skill in rangehoods and yes he seems to think that the hardwire will need to be changed into a power point atleast and seems to think he can rewire it to behind but it will probably muck up my plaster and paint anyhow i guess the main this is, is that i will leave it in the hand of a professional, i was intending on cutting the plug and hardwiring it back in but yeah he didnt say whether that was legal but i guess i will find out - thank you all so much for your help, it ended up so much more then just chucking the new rangehood back up - for anyone looking to remodel a kitchen, ahhhh just make sure you look at everything -
pauldw,
Nov 20, 11:01am
Almost all switches around the house are just on/off switches as the break gap isn't enough to truely isolate the circuit. An isolation switch also needs some method of stopping it being switched on. Most things are isolated at the circuit breaker or unplugged. Converting the permanent connection to another socket would mean the circuit would have to have RCD protection added if it didn't have it already.
susievb,
Nov 22, 9:33am
My rangehood is plugged into the oven - but it is a free standing oven with power points on both sides.
mcarky,
Nov 22, 4:35pm
My kitchen is full of power points.
onl_148,
Nov 22, 4:49pm
I think also an isolating switch switches both the phase & neutral. just a "plain" on / off switch only switches the phase. an isolating switch is required in situations were you need the ability to totally isolate the item from the electrical supply. e.g. the outside unit of a heat pump install.
mansonprincess,
Nov 24, 9:15pm
thank you all - very interesting and i think i get it now but it just is more annoying because if i didnt update my rangehood then no one would know any different and i would have just been going along my mary way like i have been, anyhow i have emailed an electrician and although no date is set, i guess this is the only way i will know for sure what to do.
johotech,
Nov 25, 12:22pm
You should probably just leave electrical work to the electricians.
bill1451,
Nov 26, 8:37pm
I,ve wired heaps of Aircon units and they were all single phase and switched only the phase, As Johotech says stick to what you know,
loopy3,
Feb 6, 9:11pm
Short answer is yes the plug can be cut off and the range hood hard wired to the old connection point, no it does not have to be changed to a plug. If the lead is coming out through a metal housing it will need protection around it.
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