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After a fire in our oven, I pulled it away from our wall to find this

Hardwired to wall

More images

I've never heard of an oven being hard-wired to the wall like this, but multiple sources (such as this or this) claim it's okay.

Is this really acceptable? Shouldn't this splice, at the very least, be in a junction box? Most importantly, with a new oven on its way, should I replace this with an outlet?

(also, side-question: if you look closely you can see the neutral was cut(!!!). Shouldn't that have broken the electronics on the oven? Isn't 120V required for those?)

BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
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    *"should I replace this with an outlet?"* depends on what the *"new oven on it's way"* comes with - a plug to go into a receptacle, or a cord to be hardwired? – Ecnerwal Jun 25 '21 at 21:40
  • @Ecnerwal: The [user manual](https://gscs-b2c.lge.com/downloadFile?fileId=zwHkR8P1V6mc11yCI3W1jg) has instructions for both _(assuming "3-wire conduit connection" is the same as "hard-wired")_ – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Jun 25 '21 at 21:46
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    240 volt stoves should have minimum two hots and ground, usually also neutral. You seem to have only two hots. Splice should be in junction box. New stove is calling for two hots, a neutral and ground(3-wire conduit). Would be checking other circuits in the house/apartment for other odd surprises. – crip659 Jun 25 '21 at 22:02
  • @crip659: Yes, it's not the first unwelcome surprise from the previous owners we've gotten. Our non-electric fence electrocuted me at full 120V one day. Sigh. – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Jun 25 '21 at 22:13
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    Can you post a better shot of what's present in the wall? I can't even tell if there's a *box* there... – ThreePhaseEel Jun 25 '21 at 22:39
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    Code doesn’t require upgrading but the absolute minimum is 3 wire and has been for ~75 years – Ed Beal Jun 26 '21 at 00:42
  • @ThreePhaseEel [Here are some closeups](https://imgur.com/a/eHqP7vc). Given that the electronics worked, I'm guessing they connected the neutral terminal to the ground wire :\ – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Jun 26 '21 at 01:26
  • Wow. I don't know much about US electrical code,but I somehow doubt a piece of garden hose passes as an approved way of insulating a splice. Or is that a flame retardant garden hose? – TooTea Jun 26 '21 at 08:16
  • I am glad to see the ground was connected I could not see that in the original photos. @tootea it looks like the conductors have insulation under the garden hose, in industrial sites where there is heavy vibration we do sometimes wrap conveyor belting around the conductors to prevent chafing of the insulation although not code they may have done for extra protection from abrasion and we all know this is not a proper install. – Ed Beal Jun 27 '21 at 18:27

2 Answers2

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Yes it should be in a junction box. It can be hard wired but that takes a cover plate and a strain relief. This is uncommon at least in my code area. The common method is at minimum 3 wires 2 hot and a ground (I don’t see a ground) .

I see the neutral wire cut off on the cord side.

The modern method is to provide all 4 wires 2 hot 1 neutral and a grounded receptacle.

This appears to be an accident in waiting.

Ed Beal
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This is obviously a very old original install with the house. You definitely need an outlet in a junction box rated for the correct amperage of your range. Please make sure the wiring size is also rated for the correct amperage as the outlet and stove as well. 30 amp ranges need 10 gauge wire and a 30 amp outlet and double pole breaker.

50 amp ranges need 6 gauge wire and a 50 amp outlet and double pole breaker.

Devin
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    Most ovens can be installed hard-wired. Wire size and breaker size still matter, but they do *not* necessarily need a receptacle. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Mar 08 '23 at 20:07
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    It's very doubtful if that wiring is "original", and maybe not even very old. Such hillbilly wiring gets done each and every day. More than likely that box used to have a range receptacle - something went wrong with it - someone didn't feel like spending the big bucks to replace it - just cut the plug off the cord and splice-'er-up with whatever happens to laying around . . . – kreemoweet Mar 09 '23 at 02:10
  • There’s a “199x” date code on the SE cable on the house side. – nobody Mar 09 '23 at 13:37