[cyrax037]

Ok so I have an issue and I have no idea. I just got a new stove. (Not NEW new, a refurbished one from a local repair guy) and it has this 4 wire plug. Where as my old one has a 3 wire plug. And you can see that my house outlet is 3 plug. The grey cable in the photo is one I got from the guy to switch out, but I don’t know what to do with this. Basic home outlets I understand, but this is all completely new to me. What are my options here?

 

[joed]

The two outside wires are equal to the red and black. The center is the white wire.
There is no ground so there should be some sort of jumper on the stove to connect the white to the point where the green is connected.

 

[u2slow]

Find the owner's manual online to see if it is rated/intended to be used with a 3-prong cord.

The better/safer route is to add a ground wire to the outlet, and update the receptacle to the 4-prong style.

 

[seharper]

Get a #10 ground wire. Run it from your socket location to the service panel, or anywhere with metal conduit going back to the service panel, or any of those braided copper wires exiting the service panel, or a grounded water heater or grounded dryer that has #10 or larger wire.

Then change the socket on the wall from #10-50 to #14-50. Now your existing plug will plug right in!

Why do it this way? Because the 3- wire hookup doesn't have a ground, bootlegs ground off neutral, and if the neutral wire breaks, it will electrify the chassis of the range, and kill someone. Electrical connections shouldn't be that fail-deadly!

 

[cyrax037]

Yikes! Ok so thats gonna be a pain in the behind. So, short of taking it back for a different one or a refund and bringing my old one back. Is it possible to run a ground wire through the floor and down onto a ground spike under the house? My house has a block foundation so under the house is just dirt.

 

[joed]

All stoves are designed to operate on a three or four wire plugs. Change the cord as you originally planned. The operating manual for the stove will have direction for attaching a three cord.

 

[cyrax037]

All stoves are designed to operate on a three or four wire plugs. Change the cord as you originally planned. The operating manual for the stove will have direction for attaching a three cord.

I’ve looked over the manual and it does not mention anything of the sort. They only thing it says is “Be sure your appliance is properly installed and grounded by a qualified technician.”

 

[Jim Port]

You do not ground the stove to a ground rod. You also would not ground it to a grounded dryer or water heater like suggested above.

Change the cord as joed posted.

 

[joed]

Post a closer photo of the cord connection terminal block on the stove.
Make and model of the stove?

 

[cyrax037]

Here is a close up of the panel and the make/model info

 

[cyrax037]

What do I need to do to put the new cord on?

 

[Jim Port]

Remove the old cord and insert the new cord in the clamp. Make the appropriate connections to the terminal block, including the ground wire change.

 

[u2slow]

IMO, run the #10 ground wire and update the receptacle.

All (most?) codes disallow neutrals and grounds being tied together in branch circuits - for safety. For some reason, stove/dryer is an archaic NEC exception.

I think that sums up what you need to do... either way.

 

[chetwisner]

OP/ Please follow the advice of Jim Port and Joed. In summary, you can use a 3-wire cord in place of the 4-wire, but you will need to find a way to bond the green ground to the white neutral inside the dryer. Most come with a strap to do just that. Not sure what's up with this dryer.

Guys, can he just terminate the ground wire with the neutral?

 

[Jim Port]

Chet, typically you just move the ground to the middle terminal from the ground screw.

 

[cyrax037]

Ok so if I understand correctly, I need some sort of strap or wire to jump from the ground screw to the neutral before putting on the 3 wire cable? Since this is a used refurbished stove, it doesn't look like it has one already available, am I correct? I dont see one but perhaps Im not sure what to look for?

 

[joed]

I would find or make something like this and connect the neutral terminal to the green ground point.

 

[Jim Port]

You may be able to stretch the green up to the center terminal.

 

[joed]

The green is part of the four wire cord. It will go away when the four wire cord is removed.

 

[Jim Port]

Thanks joed. I mistook it for internal wiring.