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Circuit amperage question for Frigidaire Cooktop FFEC3005LB

Circuit amperage question for Frigidaire Cooktop FFEC3005LB


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Old 07-16-14, 03:20 AM
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Circuit amperage question for Frigidaire Cooktop FFEC3005LB

I am located in Alberta, Canada. I purchased a new Frigidaire coil cooktop FFEC3005LB to replace an old one on a 30 amp 240 volt circuit (double pole 30 amp breaker and #10 wiring). This circuit only supplies the cooktop and no other appliance. The specs for this unit call for a minimum 30 amp circuit, but it shows Connected Load (kW Rating) @ 240V: 6.7 (6700 watts), which would ordinarily work out to 27.9 amps (6700/240=27.9). The web page does in fact show 27.9 amps, but the downloaded specs show 22.3 amps (that is 80% of 27.9). The installation instructions that came with the unit don't say anything about amps and neither does the sticker on the unit.

From what I have learned, the US NEC allows an 80% demand factor to be used, but I can't find any similar provision in Canada. The explanation for the US approach was described on one website as follows: Because household ranges are rarely used at full potential, the load added to the service or feeder can be less than the nameplate rating of the appliance. On occasions such as Thanksgiving, the oven and all four top elements could be on at the same time. But even then, everything may not be energized at the same time because of the thermostats.

In Canada I was told that you have to assume the maximum load on a breaker to be 80% of 30 amps or 24 amps. At 22.3 amps I am safe, but at 27.9 I am not. I talked to a client of mine who is an electrical engineer (former electrician) and wasn't told that this would violate code or that I'd have to install a 40 amp breaker on a new #8 wire, but it was suggested to me that the breaker may trip from time to time if we are using all four elements at the max setting, which is unlikely.

I was wondering what the opinion would be of Canadian electricians on this issue. Is this a Canadian code violation that I need to worry about? Is it a fire hazard? I am going to hire an electrician to do the work, but I wanted to do my homework on this issue first.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.
 
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Old 07-16-14, 04:59 AM
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Not a Canadian code expert, but I'd just follow the instructions and not worry about it. My thought is that you'll likely never have all the burners on the highest setting during any cooking event.
 
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Old 07-17-14, 04:25 AM
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Thank you very much, CasualJoe. I appreciate your response.
 
 

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