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When buying new equipment, few people look at the power requirements, but in vain. In old houses, when installing powerful equipment, there are problems: it may be necessary to pull a separate line. So connecting the hob to maintain the warranty requires compliance with all the requirements of the PUE. This means that you need a dedicated line with the appropriate wire section, with a circuit breaker installed on the line. This line can end with a special socket or maybe with a terminal box. If a socket is installed, then the cable from the hob must end with a power plug; when installing the terminal box, the ends of the wires are terminated with clamps, they can be tinned and rolled into a ring.
Hob connection diagrams
Almost all new models of European-made hobs can be connected to networks with a different number of phases. In our country, there are two standards: a single-phase 220 V network and a three-phase 380 V. In some houses, 220 V comes with two phases. If we talk about the number and colors of wires, then this is what can be:
- Single-phase network 220 V.
- Two conductors. Found in old houses. In this case, the wires are usually the same color. You can find the phase using a probe (screwdriver with LED) or a tester. It is easier to work with a probe: if the LED lights up when the probe touches the current-carrying part, this is a phase, if not, neutral (zero).
- Three wires. Most often the wires are colored. Red or brown is phase, blue or blue is zero (neutral), yellow-green is earth. If the wires are the same, the phase is located with a probe, and to determine the neutral, you will have to look for a multimeter or tester.
- Network 220 V with two phases. This is already exclusively in new buildings, but occurs infrequently. The phase wires in this case are black and brown, the neutral, as usual, is blue and the earth is yellow-green.
- Three-phase connection 380 V. If the colors are observed, the neutral and earth have the usual color, and the phases are yellow-red-green or, according to another standard, white-black-brown.
Connection options for one of the models
In order not to be mistaken, even if you see all the named colors, it is better to check everything (ring it out): builders often confuse during installation. To avoid trouble, check and sign (hang tags).
The peculiarity of hobs is that they often come without a power cord. This is not from the greed of manufacturers, but because they can be connected according to several schemes that use from three (we have from two) to six wires. Therefore, in addition to the wire for connecting to the electric meter, you also need to buy a network cable. You take it of the same section as in the supply one, it is only more convenient to use stranded ones – they bend well.
How to connect the wires in the junction box, read here.
Single-phase network connection
Most questions arise if you need to connect an electric hob to a 220 V network. Most often, the panel has 6 outputs: three phase – L1, L2, L3, two neutrals (zero) N1 and N2 and PE ground, and there are only three in the apartment or even two wires (in old houses). This is not scary – you need to install jumpers, but first we look for where the terminals are located on the hob.
To get to the wires, on the back we find a small cover. It can be metal or plastic, fastened to the body with screws or snapped into place. We take it off. Inside there is a terminal block with six contacts. If there are three wires in the apartment, the contacts are combined on the hob:
- three phase wires together (L1, L2, L3);
- two neutrals N1 and N2;
- the ground (green) wire is connected to ground.
If the equipment was bought in a store, it should come with jumpers installed, which unite all the specified wires. In this case, the wires of the power cord are connected to each group of contacts: one to the phase, one to the neutral, and yellow-green to the ground.
If the jumpers are lost somewhere, you can make them from a copper wire with a cross section of 6 mm2. To make it more convenient to connect, use tips – fork or ring, whichever is more convenient for you. It is more convenient to clamp stranded wires in them, and it is easier to bend rings from one core.
With three wires in a 220 V network, the hob connection will look like in the photo below. Please note: the “earth” wire is connected to the upper contact of the outlet, the phase can be on the right or left – it’s not so important, but the wires in the outlet must also be wired in the same way. You can’t go wrong.
If there are only two wires from the meter, there are two ways to do it:
- make a separate ground loop
- Do not use the “earth” output at all.
The installation of a ground loop is necessary if you want to keep the warranty: when connected without grounding, it is invalid and if the hob is damaged in any way (even an obvious factory defect), you will be denied warranty repair or replacement of equipment with a working one.
How to connect the hob 4 wires
Many Electrolux (Electrolux) and Zanussi (Zanussi) models come with a cord installed. It seems to be good, but it has four wires: zero, ground and two phase (black and brown). If there are three of them in the apartment, it is not clear which ones and where to put them: connecting a four-wire wire from the hob has its own nuances.
In this case, you also get to the location of the terminals on the back of the case. The cover in such models is plastic, and not on bolts, but on clips. Just pry it off with a screwdriver.
After opening the box, look for the “ground” exit (yellow-green). Near it lies a jumper for two entrances. Take it and combine two phase outputs – L1 and L2 (black and brown conductors are connected). Just slightly loosening the contacts (by turning the screws with a screwdriver), slip the jumper in, then tighten the contacts. Everything else is unchanged. In the future, when connecting the plug, use only the brown wire, and insulate the black one well (preferably with heat shrink tubing).
How to connect an RJ-45 Internet socket and crimp the connector, read here.
Connecting the hob to a three-phase 380 V network
To connect the hob to a 3-phase network, a cable of five copper conductors with a cross section of 2,5 mm is required2. Single core or stranded – optional.
In this case, a jumper is needed only on two neutral wires – N1 and N2 (in some models there is only a digital designation, they combine outputs 4 and 5). Nothing needs to be changed on the phase wires: one of the phase wires is connected to each phase.
The cable may have the same color as in the photo, or maybe a different one. According to the second standard, the phases have colors: red, yellow, green. It’s not that important. It is much more important to correctly connect all the wires to the plug, and also not to confuse them at the outlet.
Please note that in this case, the neutral is connected at the top, the earth is at the bottom, and the phase wires are in the middle. The same procedure should be repeated on the outlet.
If a 4-conductor cord comes from the equipment, one of the phases on the plug is simply not used. It doesn’t matter which one, just don’t use the same output in the socket.
220 V with two phases
If four wires come from the apartment and from the panel, everything is simple. Connect the corresponding colors. There are usually no discrepancies: phases are black and brown, zero is blue, earth is yellow-green. Difficulties arise if there are six outputs or the cord comes with five wires.
As you probably guessed, two phases are combined. The union of two neutrals (if any) remains in force. Everything else is connected to the corresponding pins of the plug.
The location is similar: neutral at the top, ground at the bottom, in the middle of the phase. Do not forget which of the phase outputs you have is empty, so as not to redo it.
Choice of cable and machines
As you already understood, a separate line will have to be laid from the shield to the hob. Most likely you will lay it covertly, in a box, corrugated hose or strobe. In this case, only copper cable is allowed:
- for a single-phase network with a power of electrical equipment from 5,5 kW to 7,7 kW cable with a core cross section of 6 mm2 (VVG 3*6 or PVA 3*6);
- for three-phase up to a power of 16,4 kW, 5 * 2,5 mm is enough2 (KuVV 5*2,5 or KuGVV 5*2,5);
After exiting the meter, you must install the machine. This requirement is mandatory. There are more recommendations – to protect the equipment and ensure proper safety, install an RCD (residual current device). Such a bundle allows you to turn off the power not only in case of overload (the machine is triggered), but also in case of problems with insulation (the RCD is triggered). RCD is not the cheapest thing, but the hob is incomparably more expensive, so it’s better not to save.
About the parameters of this equipment:
- for a single-phase network, we take an automatic machine for 32 A, an RCD for 40 A with a differential shutdown current of 30 mA.
- for three-phase – automatic 16 A and RCD for 25 A with a differential tripping current of 30 mA.
They are connected to each other by segments of wires of the same section (diagram in the photo above): in the network 220 V 6 mm2, in the network 380 V 2,5 mm2.
Read about assembling an electrical panel with your own hands here.
Socket and plug
The hob must be connected using power sockets and plugs or a terminal box. Power sockets and plugs are designed for currents greater than 10 A, made of special plastic, and may have a cover. The selection rule is simple: their rated current should not be less than the current of the machine. That is, to connect an electrical appliance up to 7,7 kW to a single-phase network, we take 32 A, for a three-phase network – 16 A.
There is no single standard, so the shape and location of the pins can be different, it is important that there is a required number of contacts and electrical characteristics are consistent. It’s clear: it’s better to trust trusted brands, not Chinese products.
You can connect the cable from the device and the power supply in the terminal box. This method is also called a plug-in connection, “direct” or “direct”. It is more reliable, but to turn off the stove you will have to go to the electrical panel and turn it off with a knife switch on the RCD or machine.
For a three-phase connection, it is better to use a Schneider Electric 102x100x37 IP44 40A box (KLK-5S). It is not cheap, but reliable and looks decent: you can not hide it. It can also be used for a 220 V network – a wire with a cross section of 6 mm2 the terminals will become and the extra phases will simply be empty. For connection, wires are inserted into the holes on the side, and they are tightened with bolts, the caps of which are visible in the photo.
As you can see, at the top there are three pairs of contacts for connecting phases (1,2,3). Below – for ground and neutral. On the one hand, a power cable is started, on the other – from an electrical appliance.
If you wish, you can save money and buy a simple block, but with good quality contacts and a separate mounting box with a cover.
The wires in such terminal blocks are connected simply: rings are formed from the stripped end of the copper wire (as in the photo above), into which small screws with plates put on them are inserted. The wire is inserted into the socket, the contact is tightened with a screwdriver.
If the wire is stranded, it is problematic to make a ring out of it. Then you can use tips (photo at the beginning of the article). They are crimped with tongs (can be replaced with pliers).
These are all the highlights. Now independent connection of the hob will not be a problem. The same rules apply when connecting other equipment of the same power. For less powerful ones, it will only be necessary to take a smaller cross-section of conductors and a smaller nominal value of automata.