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Comment by UnbornSoul | Hacker News Reader

Not in Belgium as far as I know. Here 3-phase is only installed when people use heavy duty equipment. The only people I know with 3-phase are joiners.

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I'm in EU too. We had recently a blown fuse or something in the entire 5 story building, the result was sort of weird: lights were ok in the entire house, half of the power sockets in the flat were ok, half of the power sockets were without power. That's when I realized that each of these 230V circuits are probably connected to a different phase. (Perhaps so that the load gets distributed evenly)

I'm not sure about that. Many old electric cookers required a 3-phase hookup. Newer ones don't seem to, so perhaps it's on its way out.

That sounds very unlikely. I would love a source for that. How do you hook up a cooker then without combining two phases?

All the places I've lived in (UK) used a 32A 240V radial spur with a dedicated breaker with the appliance hardwired, or a regular wall socket on the kitchen ring main, 13A 240V, with a shared breaker (lower power portable appliance). Never seen 2-phase wiring for domestic use.

I thought, but I could be wrong, that UK cookers use a radial spur with a dedicated breaker, and that sometimes those breakers also include a standard regular wall socket, but this socket (and the cooker) are still on their own radial spur.

The cooker should never be connected to a normal kitchen ring main.

http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/electrical-professio...

> Q1.18 Appendix 15 of BS 7671: 2008 gives advice on ring final circuits and sharing/spreading the load around the circuit. Item (iii) suggests that cookers, ovens and hobs over 2 kW should be on their own dedicated circuit. Why can’t ovens of less than 3 kW be connected to a ring final circuit via a suitable connection point such as a socket-outlet or fused connection unit?

> Appendix 15 is intended to give guidance only. Such connection is not prohibited, provided that no part of the ring final circuit will be overloaded as a result.

> Regulation number(s)

> 433.1.5

So, not forbidden, but if you have new wiring the electrician is going to give the cooker its own circuit.

Just checked in my new-ish flat where I have an electric oven only (gas hob). It's a 13A square pin standard wall socket, but does have a dedicated breaker, so it is indeed not on the ring main for the other wall sockets. It has a 32A MCB in the consumer unit (same as on the two main rings). Not sure if it's ring or radial without removing the socket.

One phase is the standard in UK and Spain too. You don't get the same amount of Watts outs of a hob wired with one phase, and most hobs seem to be possible to wire either way.

I'm trying to google a diagram, but I only find a bunch of forum posts that explain. For Neff stuff (the one we have), the connectors are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

1-2-3 would be separate phases in a 3-phase home and joined together for a single phase.

https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/neff-hob-t1-k40x2-wiring-...

I know nothing about spain but the UK is the exception to all rules, particularly electricity wise. It evennused to have its own color coding and circuit design.

we have 220 volts in europe, we don't need to combine phases to get decent wattage with out having to install bus-bars

I am from Europe and here (Austria) you definitely need to hook it up with two phases and we get 230V at a 16A breaker.

Why can't you have a one (two w/ 180 deg) phase cooker?

Maybe not in existing homes, but new Dutch homes are have 3 phase 25A meters.

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