From everything I read online, it seems it would be unsafe to change the dryer cord to a 3 prong cord. What should I do?
2007-07-25 06:37:41 · 18 answers · asked by Hicktown girl66 6 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
replace your 4 wire dryer pigtail with a 3 wire pigtail.
the ground bonding jumper was remove from the neutral to become a 4 wire plug.
just bond them back together again.
save the 4 wire pigtail for the next move
2007-07-25 12:20:49 · answer #1 · answered by greg w 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is the 3 prong outlet a 110V or a 220V outlet. This makes a big difference cause with the first, the two hot leads are a hot lead and a neutral return while with the second the two hot leads are two opposite phase hot leads from adjacent breakers. A lot of people confuse the neutral return with the safety ground which would be a bare wire, true the neutral should be at ground potential but only if the load is balanced between the opposing phases. Residential systems are what are called split phase power, basically the single phase power is 220V but there is a center tap neutral return giving you two split phases of 110V each. If the three prong outlet is a 220V three prong outlet, it would have two hots and a ground but would not have the neutral return. Put a voltmeter between the two hots on the three prong outlet and see if you are getting 220V or 110V. Depending on where you are, you might get 240V or 120V or even 250V/125V. I wouldn't hook up any insulated wire regardless of colour to the frame, a frame safety ground should be a bare copper wire. True, green usually means ground but like I said, there tends to be a lot of confusion between neutral and ground. It would help if you could post what the code are for the plugs you are talking about, are these NEMA 14's and NEMA 6 or something else?
2016-05-18 01:53:10 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to install appliances for SEARS. The only difference is how your house/apartment is grounded, and the current building code. The current cord, has a red, white, black and green wire. The green is connected to the green ground screw or is connect with the white. Buy a 3-prong dryer cord(30 amp), separate the wires and attach to the 3 screws in the back of the dryer. Using a cord with claws versus a cord with eye holes, is much easier.
2007-07-25 06:50:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have seen some good answers and bad answers here but bascically you can change the cord to a 3 prong and it is not that hard remove back plate where cord enters , remove old wire, you will see 3 screws, the middle screw is the ground and the two outside screws are the hots, black and red wires go on these spots and green ground goes to the middle screw the only thing you need to make sure is that there is a jumper wire from that middle screw to a green ground screw that is attached to the shell of the washer, that grounds the shell of the dryer and is very important to have in place
2007-07-25 10:47:30 · answer #4 · answered by brndnh721 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You have an old 220 V connection 2, 110V and 1, Common hence 3 wires your 4th wire is a ground (green ground) (red,Yellow hot) Black for common, Double check me if I am wrong, I know if the wires don't line up right the dryer will run backwards, If you cannot get your maintenance person to help you then buy the adapter or change the end of you dryer plug and leave the ground out and ground it manually, By all means DO NOT operate your dryer with out the ground connected. Just think how much money a company would save if they didn't have to use an extra wire. It there for a reason, to keep you alive.
2007-07-25 06:52:50 · answer #5 · answered by mr.obvious 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to a hardware store and buy an adapter. This will have a 3 prong on one side abling you to plug it into your apartment and a 4 hole on the other abling you to plug the dryer into it.
2007-07-25 07:17:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You go to the home improvement store and buy a new dryer cord. Costs about $8. Remove the small back panel on the dryer and unscrew the old cord and attach the new ones. Takes all of 5 minutes.
2007-07-25 06:42:45 · answer #7 · answered by sortaclarksville 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You are right!! It is unsafe to do anything that these otheres are saying. Your new apartment is not wired for your dryer. What you have is a dual voltage dryer , but you only have a single voltage outlet. It needs to be rewired in order to do it correctly. Using the ground for the neutral on your 120 volt control circuit is not proper. I don't care how many adapters they make. Hardware stores will sell you anything. Do it right and live!!
2007-07-25 08:47:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From what I was told recently when purchasing a new washer/dryer, a law changed regarding the prongs. Anything constructed new has to conform to the 4 but older residences are grandfathered.
2007-07-25 06:43:19 · answer #9 · answered by dawnb 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Go to one of the H.I.S and buy the cord you need. On the back of the dryer there is a panel. You will see the current cord there. Unscrew the panel and unhook the old cord, and replace it with the new. It should all be color coded. Fairly easy to do. Good luck
2007-07-25 08:22:34 · answer #10 · answered by Rich 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We just moved into our new house, and our 3 prong dryer didn't fit into the 4 prong outlet. Hubby went and bought a new cord and replaced it with no problem, and trust me, if he can do it, ANYONE can do it!!!!
2007-07-25 06:46:21 · answer #11 · answered by ♥uuɐuuǝɾ♥ 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋