BG Home Electrical.

[Pikarya]

We just moved into a new house and I needed some reassurance from those more savvy than I am in Home electrical (before I start a damn fire/etc.).

Our dryer operates on the old 3-prong (1 bent 90 degree) from the older generation dryers.



The dilemma is that our new house only has a 3-prong outlet (no bent 90 degree prong).



From my understanding the socket is intended only for ranges (stoves/etc). The (idiots?) at Home Depot say it would be safe to change the cable to a range one. Though I feel uneasy and disagree since I've been told in the past this can cause a fire if the gauge of the wire is too small, or the amp on the fuse is too little.





Can BG assist me in this matter? Not sure if this is the right forum to post under. But I don't want to delve into hiring an electrician by the hour if its something as simple as me changing the fuse and rewiring the outlet/cable.

[Tajin]

Its wont be an issue as long as both the outlet and the dryer operate on the same voltage.

You shouldn't need to replace the outlet wiring. Unless all the house wiring is shitty

[Pikarya]

Seriously? I thought amps on the fuse had to meet a minimum of 50A for dryers to prevent possible electrical fires. Also doesn't the gauge of the wire come into play?

[SephYuyX]

Old style or not, that outlet is for a range, and not a dryer. L shape outlets are dryers, straight outlets are ranges.
The old vs new styles are 3 prongs vs 4, but the L shape and straight shape remain the same.

Both stove and dryer are 220~250ish volts, but different amps.. 30 dryer vs 40 or 50 range.

Wire guages doesnt really matter as long as you pick the thicker wire/smaller guage. So 8 gauge wire should work for both.

The curious part is that you are looking at a 30amp breaker, and seemingly it's connected to a straight outlet (range)? It should be 40 or 50amp

How old is the house? I guess if it's old enough the range could have been 30amps. Is this outlet in a non kitchen location? Could a range never be there?


If you know for sure the outlet is connected to that breaker, that breaker is 30 amps, is 220v, and the internal wire is 10~8, you could rewire to make a dryer fit.

What are your dryer specs?

[SephYuyX]

I missread a lot of what you said.. but yeah, still applies.

So it is a range outlet then. If your dryer specs meet the wire/amp rating, then it's fine.

[Pikarya]

Old style or not, that outlet is for a range, and not a dryer. L shape outlets are dryers, straight outlets are ranges.
The old vs new styles are 3 prongs vs 4, but the L shape and straight shape remain the same.

Both stove and dryer are 220~250ish volts, but different amps.. 30 dryer vs 40 or 50 range.

Wire guages doesnt really matter as long as you pick the thicker wire/smaller guage. So 8 gauge wire should work for both.

The curious part is that you are looking at a 30amp breaker, and seemingly it's connected to a straight outlet (range)? It should be 40 or 50amp

How old is the house? I guess if it's old enough the range could have been 30amps. Is this outlet in a non kitchen location? Could a range never be there?


If you know for sure the outlet is connected to that breaker, that breaker is 30 amps, is 220v, and the internal wire is 10~8, you could rewire to make a dryer fit.

What are your dryer specs?

I missread a lot of what you said.. but yeah, still applies.

So it is a range outlet then. If your dryer specs meet the wire/amp rating, then it's fine.

House was built in the early 80's. Its been heavily upgraded and refinished though since 2003.

Spoiler: show

http://puu.sh/1hICK
http://puu.sh/1hIDI

Also image dump, not sure if it will give you more insight. Sorry for the shitty quality. I haven't got to play with the camera settings yet.

Spoiler: show

As for what rating our dryer is. I couldn't find any info on the back of it or behind the electrical shield. As for the wire rating. There aren't any imprints on the wire indicating its gauge, or amp rating.

[SephYuyX]

It just seems the person who wired the dryer outlet did it wrong, or coverted it in to a range outlet, or something. Most houses only have two 220 outlets, one for the range, and one for the dryer. Obviously your stove one is currently in use, so that would leave your dryer outlet unused, and yet it is a range outlet.

Best advice I can give you is to look online for the dryer specs (amp and voltage), then kill power to the house, pull out the outlet and see what the gauge is. You can measure by buying a 50cent wire gauge measurer thingy (circle with holes), or try with a measure tape http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge, you could also try matching it with drill bit sizes. If your lucky the insulation may have the gauge written on it.

If the gauge is atleast 10 (anywhere from 10 to 8 or so), your dryer is 220 and 30amp, it should be np.

[Pikarya]

Will do. I'm pretty confused since I haven't shut the power off completely to do some deeper searching. I'll report back if I find anything out of the obvious.

[kuronosan]

We just moved into a new house and I needed some reassurance from those more savvy than I am in Home electrical (before I start a damn fire/etc.).

Our dryer operates on the old 3-prong (1 bent 90 degree) from the older generation dryers.



The dilemma is that our new house only has a 3-prong outlet (no bent 90 degree prong).



From my understanding the socket is intended only for ranges (stoves/etc). The (idiots?) at Home Depot say it would be safe to change the cable to a range one. Though I feel uneasy and disagree since I've been told in the past this can cause a fire if the gauge of the wire is too small, or the amp on the fuse is too little.





Can BG assist me in this matter? Not sure if this is the right forum to post under. But I don't want to delve into hiring an electrician by the hour if its something as simple as me changing the fuse and rewiring the outlet/cable.

It absolutely would be okay to use a range cord, provided it meets the amperage requirement of both the dryer and the circuit.

It's a 220V socket. The only thing that matters is whether the circuit can handle the load. The plug doesn't matter at all.

[Pikarya]

Here's the dryer.

http://puu.sh/1hYhH

[Byrthnoth]

30 Amps, 240 Volts. Looks like it's got a 30 or 40 Amp fuse (you gave us a close-up on the Range for some reason, but you can see the dryer takes 2 slots below) and logic dictates that it's probably wired for 30+ Amps.

You should be fine if you can get it to plug in.

[SephYuyX]

Yarrrrr

[Pikarya]

30 Amps, 240 Volts. Looks like it's got a 30 or 40 Amp fuse (you gave us a close-up on the Range for some reason, but you can see the dryer takes 2 slots below) and logic dictates that it's probably wired for 30+ Amps.

You should be fine if you can get it to plug in.

I included the picture of the ranges just in case. I'm 99% sure they go to the kitchen though.

Outlet is showing 240v. Breaker is definitely 30A for the dryer (Which is perfect spec for the dryer shown above). Going to switch out the cable tomorrow for a range one. Going to also buy a wire gauge tool just because it would be helpful anyways in the future.

Thanks for the all the help from everyone.

[Cadsuane]

You have a 30 amp breaker on the circuit which should prevent any shenanigans even if the dryer is drawing too hard for the gauge of wire you have hooked up. Just try to get it to run, and if the breaker trips you have problems. Otherwise don't worry.

[Senji]

You have a 30 amp breaker on the circuit which should prevent any shenanigans even if the dryer is drawing too hard for the gauge of wire you have hooked up. Just try to get it to run, and if the breaker trips you have problems. Otherwise don't worry.

Opposite.

Breaker wont blow, the wire will burn off the insulation, and then your house.


OP doesn't need to wory though. Can either replace the cord to the outlet, or outlet to cord. Both are similar and the same amount of work.

[Byrthnoth]

I think he meant "If the dryer is trying to draw 40 Amps but your wires are only rated for 30, you don't have to worry because it'll blow the breaker."

[Cyn]

That style of 50a plug was used for dryers years ago. You have the correct breaker installed as well, all you need to do is swap out the cord on the dryer for the older style.

Should take you about 15 minutes with a flat head and/or phillips screwdriver. (I work with electricity for a living btw.)

[BaneTheBrawler]

flat head and/or phillips screwdriver.

any project that involves both (using the flat-head as a lever/wedge/etc doesn't count) makes me a sad galka. Pick a type and stick to it!

[Cyn]

Yeah same haha. Having to switch screwdrivers 5437892057432 times in the course of a simple project is fucking frustrating. Unfortunately there are a lot of flat head screws out there in the world of 50a plugs.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I've had some projects that mixed not only screw heads, but also nails. That was super annoying. The only project I've EVER used nails for was putting the shingles on our chicken coop. I'm not even sure they count as nails, cos they're all specialized for that specific use.