220V Washer 3-pronged to 220V dryer-outlet

Primergy

Hi,
I have a not too common Bosch washer with 220V (new older stock).
The washer runs on 220V and has a 3 pronged cable!

We are moving, our new apartment has two 220V 4-pronged dryer-outlets!
I want to do the job on the washer and NOT fiddle with the apartments wiring!

The washer does NOT have a small outlet-box on the back that would allow easy mounting of a 4 pronged pigtail to connect to the dryer-outlet.

To make things "worse" - I do know my way around electronics etc., but I am new to the US and the local standards (I am firm with all German standards ).
In Germany you normally run into questions like this once you want to connect something with more then 24A at 220V or have 380V apps.

Yes, I could call an electrician and some of you would probably recommend that, but I want to know what to do personally.

Bosch Axxis WFR2460UC
PDF file with all specs: http://www.boschappliances.com/axxisPDFs/WFR2460UC.pdf

plug on the washer
http://h8h.org/jan/moeb/DSC00761_resize.JPG

specs. on the washer itself
http://h8h.org/jan/moeb/DSC00763_resize.JPG

Since I got all kids of answers from "representatives", helpdesks and other online finds... please help me out with loud & clear facts.
The best was some Lowes guy who tried to convince me that he never saw a 220V washer before which let him to the irrevocable conclusion that I either got the wrong specs. or brought it over from Germany and would not admit it (btw. we have 220V 50Hz in Germany, not 60Hz)

Thanks in advance for all comments, info, help, etc. !

Speedy Petey

So you got your first experience with a highly trained employee at a home center.
Consider yourself initiated.

Well, I really do think changing the receptacle and breaker would be a LOT easier, but as you say, you don't want to mess with that and you are CORRECT not to as this is a rental.

One problem is the cord and strain relief for the dryer cord willl be MUCH larger than the existing. A dryer cord uses a 3/4" knockout hole, which is 1-1/8" in diameter.
You will have to enlarge the hole in the back of the unit and use a 4-prong dryer cord and just cap off the white wire as it will not be used with your straight 240v appliance.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.

Primergy

Thanks for the info!
Well, my thoughts went into that direction but after all the blah I received, I needed some reassurance I guess.

Bloody non-metric hell , yes I can look at the drill-bit but only get rough approximations in my head about the sizes I hear & see in feet, inches, acres, etc....
My metrics are of the few things (add beer) I really miss here in the US!

InPhase277

Well, the metric system is a french invention, let's not be too attached to it. But seriously, like you said all you have to do is look at the bit package, but 1 1/8" is about 29 mm.

Here we measure fuel usage in units of hogsheads per fortnight. So get used to it.

InPhase277

micromind

The plug on that cord looks alot like a 15 amp 250 volt. Also known as a NEMA 6-15. Pretty common, available at any big-box store. Too bad you can't just change the recptacle and breaker. I wouldn't though, as it's a rental. An adapter could be made for it, but it wouldn't be exactly legal.

Rob

Primergy

1 hogsheads per fortnight = 1.97156864 × 10-7 m3 / s
That has to be one of the most horrid conversions I have ever seen!

Seriously, it was just a some rambling from my side.
I will not attempt to change US measurements to some French invention, no matter how great & handy it is to me - promised!

InPhase277

Well, we either have to use french or english units. Lesser of two evils? We also have a modified English system, called the American System. And you think that was horrid? We also have density in units of grains per cubic hectometer. The American unit of force, called the "numbskull", has the dimensions of pennyweight-angstroms per byr squared. You might measure electric field strength in volts per meter. Here we use abvolts per barleycorn. Go figure!

InPhase277

Speedy Petey

French or not (I personally don't care), the metric system is one of the smartest things ever invented.
To think of it as "some French invention" is seriously downplaying it's significance.

Too bad we are/were too thick headed to adopt it.

And no, to some of you who are thinking it, I don't want to move there.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.

frenchelectrican

Primergy.,,

The wire colour standard is not the same as in the Germany standard is

most common North American colour is

red = phase [line or hot conductor ]
black = phase
white = netural
green = ground

but i can't put my colour standard due you are my formaer next door [ i used to live in France before ] but however most cords is pretty much the same

Brown = live [ black wire]
Blue = Netural
Green/yellow stripe [ earth ] = ground either green wire or bare depending on set up

Merci, Marc

NateHanson

Why not ask the landlord if you can hire an electrician to swap the breaker and the receptacle? It'll probably cost you a hundred bucks, plus parts, right? Looks like a better option to me than hacking up the back of your washer, and having inadequate circuit protection for the appliance. If you change the cord/plug, or make an adapter, you'll still have your 15A appliance on a 30A circuit breaker.

handyman78

Agreed! I remember when this was talked about back in the 70's & 80's. As a science student at the time, I knew the metric system was so easy to understand and what could possibly be the reason we hadn't used it? A simple structure of measure (in tenfold increments) that was re-used for mass, length, volume. It was much easier than the English system once you got the lingo down.
I like when I work on my car using mostly metric nuts and bolts- if it's not 17mm it's 18 or 19 or 20- not the multitude of fractions in the current system.

Apparently the cost of conversion was not something anyone wanted to deal with.

__________________
Did you ever stop to think, then forget to start again?

InPhase277

Oh, loosen your girdle Petey! It's just a way to take a shot at anything French. The SI system is great. Thomas Jefferson even tried to adopt a decimal measuring system, but our old English ways prevailed.

I do have one quibble however. I believe that until America has a full blown hot conversion to the SI, that we don't need it printed as the primary system in our Code books. It's fine to have it, but the English units should be first, then the SI. We all overlook it anyway. Does anyone (other than Marc) actually use it? Do you order conduit in "Metric Designator 16" or do you say "1/2 inch"?

InPhase277

Speedy Petey

THIS I do agree with.
I could never understand why this was done.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.

Stubbie

I hate the fact I have to have two complete sets of tools to work on my trucks...... I have grown to accept the fact that I need a 10mm wrench with me where ever I go.

As far as the metric system is concerned I would say we actually have adopted it, it just came through the back door and we didn't notice unless we worked for NASA or the medical industry.

Git

I don't mean to thread jack, but I have a similar problem.

I have a 3 prong, 240v, 30a outlet for my welder, and I also need a 15a, 240v outlet from my wood planer. I can easily add another outlet, but I wanted to take advantage of the heavy duty extension cord I had made up for the welder.

I was playing around, and was wondering if this would work - I bought a new 30a plug and an exterior box, which is connected with a short piece of 1/2" pvc. I thought I could then install the correct 15a receptacle in the box for the planer to plug into? (I had some 12 THHN laying around for the wire)

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