Range plug not in wall

[MrsP]

I'm looking at updating our kitchen to our new (to us) house. I'd been thinking about switching out electric for gas and posted about using an adapter earlier. However, I felt this needed its own thread b/c it wasn't on my radar. The house was built in 2000 and our understanding was that all the appliances except the fridge were original.

We were assuming (doh!) that it had a normal plug. This weekend, my husband thought we should double check that if was a four prong, not a three prong plug. What we found was cord coming out of the wall with a four prong box attached. Ack! Is this safe? (even for an electric range) I'm not even sure what to do with this thing!

[uniwelder]

I’m not an electrician. If it were my house, I’d not worry much. It should be secured to the wall so it doesn’t get torn out next time the stove is moved. Shut off breaker for stove, open plastic casing of plug, put two screws through metal backing of plug into wall along the bottom 1 1/2” to hit wood, and reassemble. It looks like you should be able to lay the plug horizontally to either the left or right of where the wire comes out of the wall, so choose whichever direction lets you plug the stove back in easiest.

[jpdx]

The receptacle should be definitely be secured as described above.

Still, I wonder if the exposed NM cable is allowed in the NEC. Even though it's only a few inches, I would think it needs to be either inside the wall or protected from physical damage. If you are renovating and decide to keep the electric stove, that would be a good time to correct this.

[Paper Chaser]

Not the way that it should be done, but also not an imminent risk of fire, death and destruction. I delivered appliances for a few years in college and this situation is not entirely uncommon. It can even be beneficial by giving more flexibility of placement.

I'd wait to secure it until you've got the new range right in front of you. A lot of ranges have differing amount of space on the backside and the location and orientation of the outlet can cause interference issues that prevent the range from sliding all the way back against the wall. Once you know how things will fit with the new range, the outlet can be properly secured in a way that is both safe and doesn't interfere with the range in any way.

[MrsP]

Thanks. I've never seen that before. We are planning more cosmetic things (paint cabinets, deep clean/reseal grout, etc). The only thing we were thinking of doing that would involve drilling is getting a gas line put in. My understanding is that the stove is original to the house (built 2000) so I think it was actually built that way. If we end up going gas, I'll probably get an actual electrician to change it out and make sure it is up to current code.

[affordablehousing]

Yeah, totally not to code, but then again, many things in the code are dumb. I would leave it, and make a note to be careful when you plug and unplug the stove that you don't pull the wire further out of the wall.

[JoePublic3.14]

Thanks. I've never seen that before. We are planning more cosmetic things (paint cabinets, deep clean/reseal grout, etc). The only thing we were thinking of doing that would involve drilling is getting a gas line put in. My understanding is that the stove is original to the house (built 2000) so I think it was actually built that way. If we end up going gas, I'll probably get an actual electrician to change it out and make sure it is up to current code.

I guess a caution here may be to be careful with engaging an electrician. What if you are informed not only is it not to code, but when the tech digs around and finds a lot of things not to code? Now you may have a conflict to resolve. You likely would be required to disclose this ‘knowledge' should you sell in the future, etc. etc.

This does not apply to something that is an actual hazard…

Not saying it is not a good idea, but I’d poke around myself quite a bit first.