Outstanding Dryer 4 Wire To 3 Wire

In an existing installation such as an older home built in the 1950s it is considered code compliant for the kitchen range or the clothes dryer to be installed using a 3 wire cord and plug.

Dryer 4 wire to 3 wire. In this instance the solution is to replace the old 3 prong cord with a 4 prong cord to match the new outlet. This equipment grounding conductor is the missing wire in the older 3 wire configurations. Learn how you can remedy the problem.

The 4th wire in that cord and plug configuration is an equipment grounding conductor. Homeowners owning older dryers with 3 prong cords are sometimes perplexed when they move into a home that has a newer 4 slot outlet. In the event of a short to ground the electrical current is intended to travel on the neutral wire back to the breaker box.

Under the new code requirements the old familiar 3p pole 30 amp dryer receptacle is replaced with a 4p 30 amp receptacle. One common electrical problem is when a 4 prong clothes dryer cord won t fit a 3 slot outlet. These outlets have four slots and will accept only 4 prong electrical cords.

Again though you are not required to convert that old three slot outlet to a new four slot outlet. This is the requirement for new construction or when a new clothes dryer circuit is installed but older installations are allowed to retain their 3 prong 3 slot dryer cord and outlet configurations. You are no longer allowed to install a three slot dryer outlet and if you move into a home with the newer four slot outlet your old three prong dryer will need to be refitted with a four prong cord.

Lg makes it easy to properly install your home appliances. However in new construction the installation of kitchen ranges and clothes dryers requires a 4 wire cord and plug. It s much easier and much less expensive to replace the 4 wire whip with a 3 wire whip.

Three prong cords and 3 slot outlets were once the norm but since 2008 article 550 16 a 2 of the national electrical code nec has stipulated that connections for electric clothes dryers must be made with a 4 conductor cord and 3 pole 4 wire grounding type plugs or by type ac cable. The metal case of the appliance has a ground screw and this is connected to the neutral wiring terminal of the dryer. The older 3p 3 wire dryer circuits are still legal and safe to use so there s no need to rewire your dryer branch circuit to install a new dryer that came equipped with a 4 wire appliance whip wire.