Oven on 12/3

I do OK with basic wiring, but always want to check with a pro if I'm unsure.

I was asked to go to a customer's house (by a company I subcontract for) to see why her oven was tripping.
Oven was installed by another contractor, I think they don't want him back for service call.

Anyway, Old wall oven was single, 12/3 on double pole 20amp breaker.
New wall oven is double, upper convection, lower standard.

New oven will trip breaker with both ovens working (obviously).
New oven will not trip breaker with only one oven in use. It will not trip even with top oven in convection mode at high temps.

Customer fully intends to get new cable ran, per my recommendation.
(I will not be doing it, pro was referred).

She understands only one oven can be used. Should I tell her to stop using oven altogether? I am hesitant to do this for various reasons but will in the interest of safety.

 

While this should be fixed, I see no reason that she can't use just one oven for the time being until it is corrected. The breaker is the correct size to protect the wire feeding the oven, so it is safe in that aspect.

 

That's going to make her holidays. Thanks. Running a new cable in this home will not be easy. It's huge and is of an open design.

 

Be sure to document that you advised her of the problem and that you recommend she NOT use the oven until the wiring upgrade is installed. Once you leave you have no control over how long she will wait to correct this issue and if a year (or 5 years) from now that breaker gets tired of tripping and a problem occurs, your name along with a few others will be on the insurance companies list for damages. She may be a nice lady, but insurance companies will not be nice when recovering money they had to pay out.

Note, medical and financial paperwork does not hesitate to have you sign that everything was explained to you and you understood it, sign here. You should do the same.

Bud

 

Good advice Bud,
I'm sure she would sign the document. I'm insured for about 3 million, uh, the bad news is her home would make quick work of that. That's on a good day. CYA may be the word of the day.

 

What brand of panel/breakers does she have? If the breaker does not on overload an insurance company would likely be on the hook before Handyone. The wire and breaker are sized correctly, just not for the load to be served. The breaker manufacture has deeper pockets as well. CYA is always a good SOP also.

 

I just want her to be able to cook over the holidays. I seriously doubt if this will be fixed until after New Year, and not her fault, the logistics of running cable and repairs are great. I recommended that ceilings not only be patched, but entirely redone. Float, texture and paint. The house is just too nice to have patches, even the best. I will remind her and stay on top of it.