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Cooker isolators and the like

ebee
In my formative years electrical, I was brung up that an isolator for a cooker etc must be nearby, say within 2m and obvious as for useage (or clearly marked) as a readily available "rapid use switch" in case of say chip pan fires etc. Rather than having to locate them in cupboards or go to the CU etc to switch off and possibly plunge the whole house into darkness.



Modern folk and their kitchens, it seems some folk have an aversion to them.


Call me old fashioned but my order of preference is 1/ Safety, 2/ Functionalability and 3/ Asthetics.


Any views on this Folks?
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  • 0
    The real purpose of the cooker switch is for isolation for cleaning. Turning the cooker off with a pan fire makes no difference at all, and you should not use a fire extinguisher because you will blow burning fat everywhere, making the fire much worse. The correct procedure is to use a fire blanket over the pan and it will immediately extinguish from lack of oxygen. One can then turn off the cooker at leisure.


    Modern cookers do not have the exposed electrical connections of the past, hidden in the oven and grill, so are fairly safe to clean without isolation, unless one pours loads of water all over the place. A cooker isolator is still a good idea.


    A fire blanket is much the best extinguisher for kitchens, in a commercial size one you may find a foam extinguisher as well, but not one with any pressure because it WILL spread inflammable liquid fires. Electric fryers are much safer than the old lard pan.
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  • 0
    The real purpose of the cooker switch is for isolation for cleaning. Turning the cooker off with a pan fire makes no difference at all, and you should not use a fire extinguisher because you will blow burning fat everywhere, making the fire much worse. The correct procedure is to use a fire blanket over the pan and it will immediately extinguish from lack of oxygen. One can then turn off the cooker at leisure.


    Modern cookers do not have the exposed electrical connections of the past, hidden in the oven and grill, so are fairly safe to clean without isolation, unless one pours loads of water all over the place. A cooker isolator is still a good idea.


    A fire blanket is much the best extinguisher for kitchens, in a commercial size one you may find a foam extinguisher as well, but not one with any pressure because it WILL spread inflammable liquid fires. Electric fryers are much safer than the old lard pan.
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