Our ceramic hob has just failed(!)…it is quite old. So, we look to install an Induction hob instead.
However, it looks like most of the come with a standard plug, while we have a dedicated hob/oven socket built into the wall.
Would it be ok to just cut the existing wire and fit a heavy duty plug to receive the induction plug I would add that electrics are 3-phase…does that make any difference?
You have a 30A prise for the old hob?
Is it a single or triphasé prise?
Yes, if you are looking at a low power induction hob replacement which has a standard 16A plug on the end you should just be able to remove the existing plug and wire on a 20A one.
More powerful induction hobs require a dedicated 32A circuit and will normally not have a plug attached when you buy them - they usually have internal connections to allow connection to multiple phases.
If in doubt ask an electrician.
Ones I am looking at range between 3500w and 6600w. There is no existing plug…the wire from (failed) hob goes straight into the wall socket. Yes it is 3 phase system.
Out of interest we had a new oven installed under the hob last November (by electrician). Just had a look and they seem to have done the same thing…ie a wire coming out of the wall socket goes into a female Legrand plug…marked 16a - 230v-3680w …and the oven plug just goes into that. The wire to the bob seems a bit thicker than the one going to the oven though.
6600W shouldn’t have a standard 16A plug.
When you say “wall socket” do you mean something that looks like this
Or like this
Your house will be, yes, but the existing hob probably only single phase.
How much current per phase is your supply agreement?
Might be telling you what you know, but check all your cooking pots will work on an induction hob - including the Bialetti although can buy an adaptor for that.
Oh, OK - you have a sortie de cable into which is wired the hob and someone has wired in a 16A trailing prise for the oven. The hob itself allows for connection to two phases (the L1 and L2 wires)
If you remove the cover on the sortie de cable you’ll find some terminal block or similar into which the cable from the hob is terminated.
It’s not clear how many phases are in the wall at that point - it might be just one in which case you’ll find the L1 and L2 wires taken to a single connection.
6kW (well, strictly 6kVA) per phase or 26A - if you install that 6600W hob you will be better spreading the load over two phases because it’s theoretically capable of pulling more power than each of the phases chez vous can supply.
You need to see how the existing hob is wired and how many phases are in the wall. To be safe I think you are in electrician territory @badger is the resident SF sparky and will be able to give more reliable info on French electrics than I can.
Edit: if the L1 and L2 wires are connected to separate phases you have 400V in the cable (as shown on the label), and you are definitely in electrician territory.
yes…they are all S/s with straight sides…only Frying pans to change.
So…no chance of just cutting the existing cable to the hob and connecting a female plug for the new hob? It’s a nightmare trying to get an electrician (or plumber) here…
To do so safely you would need to be certain that only one phase is available in the wall and/or connected to the cable - which means taking the cover off at which point you might as well just wire it into the terminal block which will be there.
Seriously though, 400V can really spoil your lunch.
…re the label…the other side displays 230v with just the Live/Neutral/Earth wires…
What’s the old hob model - do you know?
But it looks like it is wired for two phase connection so, as you have a triphasé supply that raises the possibility it is wired into two phases. Which means you can’t safely chop off the cable and stick a trailing prise on there.
It is a very old…like 24 years De Dietrich…Model 9953 8512
Believe it or not I still have the manual…which says:
32 amps for hobs with 3 or 4 cooking zones…it then goes on to show wiring for:
230V monophase and 400 N 2N three-phase…
I’ve decided I am going to try and get an electrician on this one…mainly because I have no idea whether it is single or 3 phase in the wiring…
thanks all
There are no female plugs, only sockets. Plugs are male and we are not talking french language 
OK,quite a beefy one and not at all impossible that it is wired for two phases (since - as with the potential replacement, it can pull more current if all zones active than one of your phases can supply).
I think that is the right decision.
I wondered how long it would take for sense to prevail
Sense does seem to be prevailing. However, I will repeat the advice that you should engage a competent person to deal with matters electrical & that is regardless of the number of phases that you might be dealing with; 230V will easily kill you, 400V might just do it quicker.
Questions like this are very hard to answer accurately as none of us watching remotely are party to all the facts, even if the poster has provided copious photos (which would involve them opening up things that they may not be comfortable with).
If they can describe things in enough detail they probably don’t need to ask in the first place!
With this particular issue there are some things that jump out…
Connecting a trailing socket in parallel with the existing oven supply is a bodge. Trailing sockets must not form part of an installation, & if the sortie de câble is single phase then it would have a 32A disjoncteur protecting it, which the added 16A socket & associated cabling would not support i.e. there’s the potential for overload, & then fire.
If the outlet covers a triphasé cooker supply the use of the trailing socket is still a bodge, but theoretically it’s now protected via a 20A (or lower) disjoncteur, which is better.
A simple way for the OP to know f they have a triphasé supply to the cooker is to look in the distribution board; if the disjoncteur for the cooker is at least three modules wide (it should be four wide in a modern installation) then it probably has triphasé wiring, unless someone has fiddled.
As your installation is triphasé then you should use a triphasé plaque/hob to keep things in balance & avoid nuisance tripping due to overload on one phase. Most decent ones will be adaptable to mono or tri. If the installation wiring is for tri then it probably won’t be big enough for the 32A supply mono required by a full hob.
Thanks for the detailed response!
Interesting about the disjoncteur …there is just the ONE switch on the fuseboard - controlling just the oven and hob…so that means it is not 3-phase?
A thought last night…there would seem to be five wires in the cable from hob to wall outlet. If that cable was just cut, and the NEW hob cable wires joined colour to colour, would that not alleviate any need to ‘fiddle’ with th socket wiring itself?
The cables been that way for the past 24 years.
Maybe, but how wide is the “one switch”? Is its wider than, say, those for lighting circuits? A photo would speak a thousand words.
No, do NOT do that. There are many possibilities for dangerous error as wiring colours have changed. The new cable must be wired into the wall out (the sortie de câble) - you don’t want to introduce any more connections to any circuit, especially one that draws high current.
Oh, & lose that trailing socket.
I repeat the need to have a competent person involved.
I am quite happy to get a professional IF I CAN(!). The problem here is full employment
and not enough electricians…especially for a small job like this. In the meantime, no
hob and two young children…
As for the fuse box switch…same as all others, including lights.
tahnks for help and advice.
