Dryer Electrical Connection 3 Prong

You may find yourself with either a 3 wire or 4 wire electric dryer or a 3 wire or 4 wire outlet.

Dryer electrical connection 3 prong.

Now a 3 prong outlet is outdated from modern electrical codes but is accepted if you already have one in your home. Help with electrical wiring for a 30 amp 3 wire dryer outlet. Instructions on how to install a 3 wire power cord to your dryer. See below the difference between this diagram and the 4 prong outlet below is the addition of a neutral.

Connecting 3 wire and 4 wire dryer cords. See an electric dryer installation with a typical 240 volt electric power cord wiring system. The dryer s equipment ground case ground was connected to the neutral conductor in the dryer cord and the household circuit. Wiring a dryer wiring a 240v dryer.

If your running a new circuit i highly recommend that you bring your outlet up to code and install a 4 prong dryer outlet. Nearly all homes built before this time featured either a 3 prong outlet or range outlet slightly different than a typical 3 prong dryer outlet. The code requirement doesn t apply to houses built before 1996 though. Existing homes may still use 3 prong outlets.

The switch to a 4 prong outlet was due to a flaw in the 3 prong outlet design. A 3 prong dryer cord was the standard for dryers prior to 2000. Lets look a how the electric dryer is wired and what to do if your cord does not match the plug. Wiring a 3 wire dryer outlet.

One of the updates in the 1996 national electric code was to require grounding on 220 volt circuits such as dryer outlet wiring. The national electrical code currently requires 4 prong dryer outlets in all new home construction. An electric dryer on the other hand heats the air with electric heating elements and runs on 240 volt current which requires a much different outlet receptacle and a special heavy duty appliance cord with a unique plug. This configuration did not include a dedicated ground connection.

After this update all dryer receptacles are required to have four wires instead of three. 3 prong cord wiring for an electric dryer. A gas dryer plugs into an ordinary 120 volt electrical outlet and it has a cord fitted with an ordinary appliance plug.