Change a Hardwired Oven into a Plug-In Oven | How?

Most appliances come with a cord designed to be hardwired into the home, rather than plug into an outlet from the store. If the appliance cord does not match the electrical configuration of the house, this situation is prevalent for ovens. If your home has an electrical outlet for an oven, but the oven is hardwired, it helps to know how to plug in a hardwired oven.

Change a Hardwired Oven into a Plug-In Oven

For the safety of your home and everyone in it, consult a licensed electrician before making any changes to your electrical system. Changing the appliance's wiring, if done incorrectly, can cause electric shock or fire, so electrical work should only be done by people with experience and knowledge. Read the step-by-step guide to convert hardwired oven to plug in now.

Assess the Plug & Wiring Setup

Before starting any work, check the metal identification tag on the furnace and compare the information on the tag with the number on your 240v circuit breaker. If the numbers do not match, stop the work and call an electrician. If the numbers match, look at the outlet to which the oven is connected. Assess whether it is a 4-prong or 3-prong outlet style and make sure you have the equipment to fit the power cord accordingly.

Strip the Oven Wires

Cut the oven cable and disconnect each of the internal cables. Disconnect each wire and note which wire should be hot, ground, and neutral. For a 4 prong plug, there will be 2 hot wires, 1 ground, and one neutral. A 3-prong plug will not have a neutral wire.

Connect the New Plug

Open up the new plug to expose the wire receptacles. Insert each of the individual wires from the hardwired oven cord into the corresponding wire receptacles. Ensure none of the cables have any copper showing where they connect to their sockets. If so, pull the wires loose, cut them, and reconnect them.

Wrap the Plug

Using electrical tape, wrap the wires together at the base of the plug so that they are no longer exposed. Cover the plug housing over the cord and, if necessary, wrap more electrical tape around the junction of the plug and cord. Before wiring, a modified furnace, use a test kit to make sure the new setup works correctly.