Spectacular 4 Wire Dryer To 3 Wire Outlet

Dryer outlets come in two different forms.

4 wire dryer to 3 wire outlet. 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. 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. Again though you are not required to convert that old three slot outlet to a new four slot outlet.

In this instance the solution is to replace the old 3 prong cord with a 4 prong cord to match the new outlet. One is to replace the old circuit by installing new four wire cable and a four slot outlet each with a dedicated ground. Under the new code requirements the old familiar 3p pole 30 amp dryer receptacle is replaced with a 4p 30 amp receptacle.

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. The other option is to replace the four prong cord with a three prong cord. It s much easier and much less expensive to replace the 4 wire whip with a 3 wire whip.

This is an allowable remedy under the electrical code which grandfathers in older installations. These outlets have four slots and will accept only 4 prong electrical cords. This is a job for an electrician and it brings the circuit up to code.

If you are faced with the problem of a dryer plug and dryer outlet that don t match there are two possible remedies. If you found my wire a dryer outlet page because you don t want to convert your dryer cord then you came to the right page otherwise if your interested in just changing over your dryer cord to mate with your given outlet then i. Since the code change new dryer outlets must be wired with separate neutral and ground wires.

Fortunately it is a very easy project.