[littlehoov87]

Hey folks. Just got a new dryer, and it has a 4 prong cord. My current outlet is only 3 prong.

YES I know I can change the cord on the dryer but bear with me.


I will be needing to move the location of the outlet slightly to start with, so I will have everything disconnected, and be right in the thick of things.

My question is can I just install a 4 prong 220 outlet? Im assuming it might also be slightly cheaper than a new cord.


My current 3 prong outlet has four (4) wires going to it: red, black, white, and bare copper.

The red is on one side, black on the other, with white and bare attached to the same terminal in the middle.

So far I cant see any reason not to switch the outlet. I thought it only had 3 wires at first so my initial guess was "no" but now that I see 4....

Thoughts?

 

[Stubbie]

Hey folks. Just got a new dryer, and it has a 4 prong cord. My current outlet is only 3 prong.

YES I know I can change the cord on the dryer but bear with me.


I will be needing to move the location of the outlet slightly to start with, so I will have everything disconnected, and be right in the thick of things.

My question is can I just install a 4 prong 220 outlet? Im assuming it might also be slightly cheaper than a new cord.


My current 3 prong outlet has four (4) wires going to it: red, black, white, and bare copper.

The red is on one side, black on the other, with white and bare attached to the same terminal in the middle.

So far I cant see any reason not to switch the outlet. I thought it only had 3 wires at first so my initial guess was "no" but now that I see 4....

Thoughts?

Assuming the dryer wire branch circuit is the correct size (usually 10 awg copper) and you have 3 insulated wires and a bare ground on a correctly sized circuit breaker you should be able to do as you say without problems.

If this is a used dryer be sure to inspect the dryer terminal block for correct connections and bonding wire/strap removed.

FWIW ... the old 3 prong receptacle was installed incorrectly on a 4 wire supply and was a code violation.

 

[littlehoov87]

A code violation you say? Interesting...this is in a mobile home, manufactured in the mid 80s....hard to say if that was the original wiring or not. I would assume so. Cant imagine why they would use that wiring? Planning for the future maybe? haha

Thanks for the confirmation. Yes as best as I can see it has 3 insulated wires and one bare. So I will hopefully be tackling this in the next few days.

Thanks again, it will be nice to do laundry in my own place once more.

 

[rrolleston]

Too many windows opened responded to the wrong one

 

[rrolleston]

A code violation you say? Interesting...this is in a mobile home, manufactured in the mid 80s....hard to say if that was the original wiring or not. I would assume so. Cant imagine why they would use that wiring? Planning for the future maybe? haha

Thanks for the confirmation. Yes as best as I can see it has 3 insulated wires and one bare. So I will hopefully be tackling this in the next few days.

Thanks again, it will be nice to do laundry in my own place once more.

You will also want to double check and make sure the neutral wire is connected inside the breaker panel. Some appliances require the neutral for controls.

 

[frenchelectrican]

I will post the photo what the typical 4 conductor for the dryer is.

This verison will work either flush ( as photo posted ) and surface but little differnt just watch the screw colour format that will useally a giveaway.

Merci,
Marc