is there any daddapter for a 3 prong dryer into a 4 prong wall shocket?

Question

We just bought a GE dyer and we went to go plug it in we have a 4 prong wall outlet instead of the normal 3 prong. Is there anything we can do?

We just bought a GE dyer and we went to go plug it in we have a 4 prong wall outlet instead of the normal 3 prong. Is there anything we can do? Our old dryer seem to take forever to dry so we bought the new one thinking it would work faster.

Answer 1

Answers:
Q. I have a four prong receptacle for a dryer in my home, but my dryer has a three prong cord. Is there an adapter?


A. There is no adapter available to adapt a three prong cord to a four prong cord. However, a four prong cord can easily be installed to your dryer. Ask our sales people for instructions.

If your home has only a 125 volt outlet, a new 230 volt outlet must be installed to accommodate most electric dryers. When the voltage is cut by half, the wattage is cut by 3/4. If you could rewire your dryer from 230 volts to 125 volts, it would take about four hours to dry a load of clothes.

Answer 2

It seems that the vast majority of "expert" responders have no clue as to what your problem is. The four prong connections are now the standard and mandated by the National Electrical Code. If you have a four prong receptacle you should put a four prong cord onto the dryer. This will not only solve your problem but would be the proper way to go. It may be a couple of dollars cheaper to change the receptacle but you would be downgrading your system and you would not have the extra safety features intended with the four prong system.

There are three terminals on the dryer. The middle connection is for the white wire of the cord. The red and black wires go onto the other two. The fourth wire(green) is the ground wire and if there is a green screw on the dryer cabinet in the general vicinity of the cord connections this is where it goes. If there is no green screw it goes under one of the screws that mount the cover plate for the cord connections.

Answer 3

Ignore all the people telling you to change the outlet... To much of a hassle and a risk. Most dryers are built to accommodate a 3 or 4 prong outlet, interchangeably. Usually when the appliance is delivered they will install the appropriate cord. Since this obviously did not happen, go up to your local Home Depot/Lowes. They should sell the dryer cable (available in 3 or 4 blade). Take it home and attach it to the dryer. Pretty simple and it's only like 12-13$

Answer 4

go to where earlon said tell them that you have a 4 prong outlet
that you need to plug into, they will happily sell you one, now go
home and turn the power off to the dryer outlet (circuit breaker),
then slide the dryer out were you can get at it. you will need a 1/4
inch nut driver, a 7/16 one and a phillips screw driver, possibly a
flash light and a pair of needle nose pliers. remove the cover and the wire strain restraint then the wires from the old 3 prong (becareful and don't drop the screws ). feed the new cord, there
should be one green, one white, one black and one red, but wait...
there are only 3 terminals to attach the wires to??? not to worry,
attach the black wire to the most right of the block, then the red to the most left of the block, that leaves the center open so attach the white to it. omg there is the green wire still hanging there, what to do??? well, attach this wire to the actual body of the machine for example when you screw the cover plate back on
just put it in line with one of those screws. make sure everything is tight, plug it in, then flip the breaker, start the dryer. should work and now you have resigned yourself as a super tech and you will never be left alone again.

Answer 5

NO, there is a difference is the voltage of the two so they cannot be ajoined as to be one. The regualr outlet is 120 Volts and the dryer is 240 Volts, you will need to have a 240 Volt line installed, and an outlet for the "Four"Prong plug. Then you need to get the newer Four Prong dryer plug. If the dryer is in operational condition then it will work properly. Fact, even if you could connect the dryer to a 120 volt line it would not work, so your efforts would be "futile."

Answer 6

No. You need to go to a place like Home Depot, pay 12 bucks or so, and get the right cord for it. It only takes a few minutes to swap cords. That fourth green wire goes to the metal frame and the other three are just like the original three that the old cord had. After the swap plug it in and you are all set.

Putting in a three hole outlet in place of the four hole outlet (if they even sell threes anymore) is a violation of the electric code and can get you in trouble with your insurance company or fire department if you try to make that backward change..

Answer 7

it is much cheaper to change the wall socket... on the 4 prong socket there is 2 hots and 2 neutrals. with the 3 prong one there is only 1 nertral. when changing to the 3 prong you just put both neutrals together. when you open the socket there should be 2 white wire, 1 red and 1 black. so when you put the 3 prong on you just put the 2 white ones together and and black on one side and red on the other

Answer 8

NO NO NO NO. What part don't you get.

Your dryer is a 240 volt unit and your trying to plug into a standard 120 volt outlet. And even if you could plug it in to your outlet your dryer wouldn't work due to the lower voltage

Answer 9

You can only use the three prongs for a dryer. I've never heard of a four prong for this. You need to contact an electrician.

Answer 10

you can buy a new wall socket to match your new dryer at any lowes, home depot. just make a diagram of which one you need. get it , turn power off to dryer at power box take old one off and put in new one follow directions on box new one came in.