Electrical Wiring Question

[Angela]

I am in the planning stages of my galley remodel. Currently, I have a traditional 30" free-standing stove that is not original equipment. Originally, the boat had the Modern Maid unit - cooktop with overhead wall oven, and dishwasher below.

On my electrical panel, specifically Ships Service No. 1 which is where my non-air conditioning 220v stuff is, Breaker No. 1 is a double pole 40 amp breaker and is labeled "STOVE" by Hatteras. There is no breaker labeled cooktop or oven, so I presume the Modern Maid unit was wired to this one 40 amp breaker.

Since I never saw the Modern Maid unit, I don't know how it was wired. Was the cooktop/oven portion of that unit wired as "one" much like the washer/dryer is?

Here's my dilemma: I now want to break apart the cooktop surface and the oven into two separate units. I'm going with a Fagor wall oven with a side-opening door, and on the other side of the galley, I will put 24" induction cooktop, preferably a 3-burner since I have a portable, free-standing induction cooktop for when I have that rare need for 4 burners at once.

How does that get wired? I am thinking I can't put both of these individual appliances on the one 40-amp breaker, although somehow the existing stove, which consists of a cooktop and an oven, presumably having the same capacity to pull the same power as an oven and a separate cooktop, is connected to that one breaker. Yes, I know the answer is, "call an electrician", but I want to have an idea where this is headed before I bring someone in if it's above my comfort level.

There are some blanks in my Ships Service No. 1 panel where I could add another double pole breaker, but I'd rather not pull all that wire if I can avoid it safely. However, I will if I must. Has anyone here removed their Modern Maid unit and then split up the cooking/baking appliances?

[Boatsb]

Will the existing breakers be able to handle the load? You haven't stated what that load is. You also have not discussed wire path and length.

What someone else has done is not always the right way and since your vessel is for charter you need to be erring on the side of caution.

[Angela]

The specs on the convection oven are: 240v, 3.6KW, and 15 amps. I've not yet selected a cooktop and it was the counting of the amps that brought this question to mind in the first place in order to help me select a cooktop....or an electrician.

The electrical panel is located in the pilothouse, next to the PH door. The galley, and specifically the oven, is located on the other side of the wall behind the PH bench. I'm galley-up. Not a long run, but it does have to run either up and over the PH door, or down and under it. I've not chased that one yet, but if I had to guess, I'd go for down and under based upon how I saw all the wires running last time I was in that panel adding an AC water pump to an empty breaker on that panel.

So, I looked up the specs on an induction cooktop, not one that I want, but it was a four-burner that required 35 amps on the specs, while the traditional cooktop (non-induction) of the same size called for 21 amps. Wow...these things pull a lot of juice; I didn't expect that, but that's why I'm in the planning stage. That will probably either answer my question, or make me come up with a Plan B.

[MikeP]

The oem dual 40A fed directly to the MM unit which then, internally sent the power via the panel controls to the cooktop and oven. There were no additional breakers or fuses within the MM unit.

[Angela]

The specs for the appliances are a bit vague, i.e. doesn't say whether that's what they actually draw, or what the circuitry needs to be. I suspect the amps quoted and as specified in the appliances’ literature is for purposes of ensuring the wires and breakers are appropriate for each appliance, just like my current stove is rated - it doesn’t pull anywhere near the amperage cited for the breaker, even when running wide open. Still, it appears the induction appliances consume more than traditional radiant elements, and that’s something I’m going to have to research some more before determining whether this is do-able, or whether I have to stuck with radiant heat. I guess induction’s claim to higher efficiency lies elsewhere, such as shorter cooking/operating times and lack of residual heat created in the galley when the cooking is done.

I’ve got 50 amps at 220 and 50 amps at 110. When I run on shore power, I generally try not to do laundry when I’m cooking with the stovetop AND oven, AND running all the air conditioning. However, when running on genny power, I can run it all.

[Angela]

I have two power cords - one brings in 220 and the other brings in 110. Shoreline 1 give me the 220v. Shoreline 2 gives me the 110. I have three Ships Service and of those three, I can put one of them (the one with the 110 stuff on it) over to Shoreline 2. Took me a long time to figure that panel out.

[bigbill]

ang. not sure if this helps, but when i replaced my modernmaid with a stove/oven combo, and overhead micro, i used the 220 line for the stove/oven, and there was a 110 line for the dishwasher that i used for the microwave.

[Angela]

ang. not sure if this helps, but when i replaced my modernmaid with a stove/oven combo, and overhead micro, i used the 220 line for the stove/oven, and there was a 110 line for the dishwasher that i used for the microwave.

That's the way it is on the boat now. I want the dishwasher back so the stove has to go and make way for a wall oven and a cooktop. This whole galley remodel is for the purpose of getting the dishwasher back - a full size dishwasher - no drawer washer. And for getting a huge refrigerator in there - something like 28 cubic feet. I need more refrigeration now that we're about to fire up the brewery again.

[davidwigler]

Shorepower 1 is 50 amps at 240 volts which is 12,000 watts. Each leg carries 50 amps at 120 volts which is 6,000 watts.

Ang, you have plenty of capacity for whatever appliances you choose. Pick them out first then address the wiring.

Do you still have the built in microwave across from the fridge? Remove the drawer below it and look at the inside back of the cabinet at the floor with a flashlight. On mine there was an extra OEM wire there that could work for your cooktop. There will also be the original dishwasher cable that would handle your 15 amp oven.

[Angela]

David, mine didn't have an OEM microwave. That was added later (in 2000) when they removed the Modern Maid unit and installed a stove with a microwave overhead, using the dishwasher circuit for the refrigerator and the refrigerator circuit for the microwave - no idea why they did that unless they just mixed up the two wires back there - both are on dedicated circuits, so no harm, but I'll untangle that when I go at the galley this time. That 110 circuit will be put back to a new dishwasher. I couldn't use that for the oven anyway - the dishwasher is 110 and the oven is 220.