Converting 220v dryer to 110v

dbielinski

How do I go about rewiring a 110v cord to a 3 prong 220v dryer? I do not have room in my electric panel to add 220v, so converting is a must.
Thanks

chris75

Highly doubt it is possible unless for some reason I wired your house and ran a 10-3 homerun knowing in the future you would convert from gas to electric..

jbfan

Are you wanting to rewire the dryer itself to work on 120?
Ifso, can't be done!

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chris75

Sounds to me like they are converting from gas to electric.

LawnGuyLandSparky

It was the upgrading of older residential sevices from 30 amp, 120v, or 40-60 amp 120v, to 100 amp 240v that made the use of such modern conveniences as electric clothes dryers and electric stoves and ovens possible.

If you'd like to use a 220v appliance and have no room for breakers, you'll need to upgrade either your panel, or your entire service.

NateHanson

You can't simply replace the 4 prong plug on a 220V dryer and plug it into a normal 110V outlet.

Bondo

Ayuh,......

As Noted,.....
A 220V dryer will Not operate at 110Vs.........

LawnGuyLandSparky

I want my car to fly, but that ain't happenin' either!

gregzoll

Time to bid out a Service panel, or upgrade to a larger Breaker Panel.

NateHanson

Or see if you can use tandem breakers to free up the room for a double-pole breaker.

kiwi54

Uhmmm....you don't......neither does your sparky. If you don't have enough room on your panel then add a sub-box for your 220....
My sparky did the job for one of our customers for $200. Can't tell you if the charge would be the same or close cos not sure of your situation. Just don't try to re-wire anything and if you do, send photos please...

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Lorain Furniture

I have rewired many electric dryers to 110v. Any whirlpool made dryer (which is most of them). Older GE's can be done as well.

There are some drawbacks.

1. It takes almost 130 minutes to dry one load.
2. Dryer must be on dedicated circuit.

If your house has knob and tube wiring, dont even think about it

Wildie

How about a 120 volt RV dryer!

KHouse75

Sell the 220V dryer and Buy a 120V dryer.

micromind

Most dryers have a 5000 watt 240 volt heating element, a 120 volt motor, and 120 volt controls. They usually have a 3 position terminal block in the back.

If you're going to re-connect the dryer for 120 volts, be aware of a few things.

1) If there's a warranty, you'll void it.

2) You'll also violate the UL listing.

3) Most dryers have a 5000 watt 240 volt heating element. If this element is operated on 120 volts, it'll draw 10.4 amps, and produce 1250 watts. This means that it'll take basically 4 times as long to dry a load of clothes.

4) The motor and controls are already 120 volts, this change will have no effect on them.

The procedure is very simple; One of the outside poles of the terminal block will have two wires on it, the other will have one. The black wire of the cord goes to the terminal that has two wires on it. Use a #12/3 cord. The white wire of the cord goes on the center terminal. Install a jumper from the center terminal to the outside terminal that has one wire on it. If there's a jumper from the center terminal to the frame, remove it. The green wire of the cord goes on the ground (usually green) screw on the frame.

There, now you have a 120 volt dryer that'll take a much longer time to dry a load of clothes. No need to worry about fire here, the element will never get hot enough to ignite anything.

Rob