I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire (unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the ground wire to the box the outlet is in?
you should upgrade to 4 wire both plug and outlet, all new dryers are 4 wire for safety.
green ground
white neutral
red one side of line to breaker
black other side of line to breaker
Not exactly, all new dryers could be connected three wire, but the NEC requires four wire feeders for all new installations
Right. So which is it? Neutral or ground on the third terminal? I would like to tie the ground to the outlet box at the very least, but it's a bit difficult to work with the 10 gage wire. Is there an easy way to do this, or should I just cap it off?
If it is the NEUTRAL and not a GROUND, then it is the white wire. I would tend to believe that if you have a three prong outlet that it does not call for a neutral and everything in the dryer is 240V. The dryer would only need the neutral if it had a need for 120V and they did not include a transformer. It should always have a ground.
I would have to look at the wire diagram but I am pretty certain that only the heating elements in the dryer are 240V. The motor, timer and lamps are 120V. Therefore the third terminal should be a Neutral.
Maybe for the Irish, but in the US most dryers use 120 volt motors to turn the drum and also for the timer.
The neutral wire also serves as the ground in the three wire hookup as it is grounded back at the fuse/braker box.
The point is that this IS a new installation and you should be using a four wire outlet and cord set on the dryer. If it were an EXISTING feeder with only three wires originating from a main service panel, your grounded conductor would be connected at the panel to the ground/neutral bar and to the ground/neutral connection on your outlet
Very true, but I understand some of the new ones do otherwise. I have not personally seen any however. I Ireland they would not have any need for 120V everything would be 220V.
It may act that way, but it should not. There should be a four wire connection. The neutral is not a ground and a ground should never carry current unless there is a fault.
If you are staying with the 3 wire plug the white goes to the receptacle and the bare goes to the box or backstrap of the bakelite device. Leave it a bit long so you can hook up a 4 prong receptacle later if you want.
White goes to the neutral. The bare wire goes to the (usually green) connection.
Sounds like you should really have someone in to look at this for you. You could end up with a pretty dangerous situation if you miswire it and the washer/dryer end up with a voltage between them. It's a longevity issue for whoever uses them!
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Google is broken at your house? This has been addressed SO MANY times.
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