Range install in "old" house

dhb1959

I am nearing the end of a kitchen remodel and have removed the old drop in range. It was hard wired into a 3 wire cable. The cable consists of 2 black multi-strand aluminum wires, surrounded by bare alluminum strands (ground). They are encased in a gray plastic .

Do I have to have new 220 cable run from the main box or can I wire this into a 3 or 4 wire outlet? How do you determine which wire is nuetral?

Thank,
dhb1959

ElectricianJeff

There is no neutral only ground. I would run new copper 4 wire for this.

Speedy Petey

Jeff, it is the exact opposite. This is SE cable and the bare wire in question is a NEUTRAL.

This comes up quite frequently. Here is what I wrote in a recent post:

"Older "3-wire" 120/240v circuits were acceptable, IF they had a NEUTRAL!
The ONLY acceptable cables were ones with THREE INSULATED wires, OR Type SE cable. That's IT.
A solid bare wire IS NOT and WAS NEVER allowed to carry current or act as a neutral."


What the OP has IS type SE cable and is acceptable. Although I do agree, running a new 4-wire circuit IS the best bet.

__________________
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.

HouseHelper

What you have is SE type cable, the two insulated wires are the hots and the outer unsulated wire is the neutral. There is no ground, but the older code allowed the frame of the range to be grounded to the neutral at the appliance. While upgrading to a 4-wire setup (8/3 or 6/3) would be ideal, if this cable originates from the main service (not a subpanel) and you are not relocating the cable, you can use it for your new appliance. You will need to use a three wire receptacle and plug.

__________________
"Life is hard. Life is harder when you're stupid." John Wayne

ElectricianJeff

Thanks Speedy....I stand corrected. Guess I had a brain fort. Uninsulated made me think ground for some reason.

I always replace alum. feeders when its at all feasable.

Thanks for clearing this up.

Jeff

J. V.

I love refresher courses......Thanks Speedy

dhb1959

Thanks Guys for your help...although I wanted to save the money of running new wiring.

jrclen

We see this a lot. Someone will spend lots of money on cabinets, fancy sinks and faucets, a nice dishwasher and flooring, and then try to save money on the electrical, which could burn the whole thing down. Or hurt or kill someone.

analogmusicman

I'm putting in a range aand running a new 220V circuit to it. it'll be run outside the house in conduit. what size wire do I need, 8-3,6-3? what size conduit? any building codes concerning length of such a run? (it'll be quite a long run,maybe 100')

tnx,