Cooker blowing fuse

[Ratty2E]

my mums cooker is tripping the fuse. It's an electric double oven with halogen hob. A couple of days ago she had the oven on and when she turned one of the rings on it blew the fuse. She turned off that ring and reset the fuse and carried on cooking then it blew again and she says she got a belt from it. It's turned off at the wall now but she uses the socket on the same switch box for the washing machine which she is too scared to use now too. I will have to call an electrician for her but does anybody have any ideas what it could be and if it sounds like an expensive job or even a new cooker. She is a pensioner and feels very vunerable to rip off trades men and frankly I'd have no real idea about these things either.

[Ellipsis]

> she uses the socket on the same switch box for the washing machine

I am not an electrician but AFAIK electric ovens need their own connection to the fusebox and operate on their own dedicated 30 amp or 45 amp circuit. The idea that she's plugging it in to a socket, and sharing that socket with a washing machine, sounds all wrong ... no wonder it's tripping!

I would imagine that the cooker and the washing machine are both fine but you're asking the circuit to do too much. I'd unplug the oven until I'd spoken to an electrician, but the washing machine should be fine to use.

[deggers316]

this is to serious a job for any suggestions on here
it can KILL
bite the bullet get a quailed electrician out to it

[ChuckFickens]

I think ellipsis has misunderstood

http://www.thlsolutio...45acooksocketneon.jpg

If it is a switch like above the washing machine can still be used, just keep the cooker switch off.

Agree with deggers too, it would be dangerous to suggest things on here with no way of checking anything.

[Ratty2E]

Thanks for the replies. The cooker isn't 'plugged in' it's permanantly wired into the on/off switch which also has an socket on it, which is where she plugs in the washing machine. the washing machine was'nt on when the cooker blew.
We are getting an electrician but I was just asking if anybody had any ideas before we do so that we don't get taken for a ride.

[Ratty2E]

Exactly Chuck, that's the one

[ChuckFickens]

I have some ideas, but they would be educated guesses and as the cooker has already given her a belt then playing about with it to check would be dangerous.

The one thing I'll say is cookers are pretty simple things with not a whole lot to go wrong on them, the main culprits are elements and switches failing or simply wires getting caught on sharp edges of the casework. get a reputable domestic appliance engineer to look at it (an electrician probably won't be interested or know about it)

[Old_Geezer]

Fusers do not blow without reason so I am unsurprised it blew a second time.

Probably a short of some kind, maybe a faulty ring ? Ah I see she got a shock, which is surprising since it should be earthed. Try to find a recommended (neighbour/friend/family ?) electrician to test it out.

If it is alway one ring that causes the problem, chances are it is the one that needs looking at/replacing/rewiring/whatever.

[scotman]

If you don't want to go to an electrician right away you could look for domestic electrical repair firms in Yellow pages. If the cooker is a reasonably well-known brand you should find someone who deals with it.
Otherwise get electrician to check it out.

[Ellipsis]

> I think ellipsis has misunderstood

Correct. I pictured a setup more like this:

http://cloud.cloudcit...ors_are_dangerous.jpg

Even so, a cooker and a washing machine on one fuse is probably asking for trouble. If it were me, I would try plugging the washing machine in somewhere else (or at least using the cooker and washing machine at different times) before paying for a tradesman to visit.

That said, that's possibly not the best advice to you rattyratgirl - paying for it to be checked out is definitely the safest option.

[chakka35]

The most worrying thing here is that "she got a belt from it". Overloading can't produce that. It must mean that those parts of the appliance which are available to be touched are not earthed. A simple check as to whether the earth wire in the plug is connected should be the first thing.

[Ratty2E]

Ok engineer has been and apparently it was the connection for one of the rings to the knob and it had burnt out. Thanks all for your replies