My niece just moved into a house that has a 4-wire wall recept. for the clothes dryer. 2 hot, ground, & neutral. Her dryer has only a
3-wire cord & plug on it. 2-hot and a ground. She went to the local ACE today and they sold her a new cord with the proper plug and told her to replace the old one with it. The cord has 4 wires in it and the man at ACE told her to tie the ground & neutral together at the dryer. Is this OK ??thanx .. .. ..
No, it's not ok. When you open the wiring panel on the dryer you should find four terminals, 2 hot, a neutral and a ground. There should be a jumper strap between the neutral and ground terminals along with a notice to remove it for a four wire cordset.
Pete C.
That's what I thought .. .. the whole point is to separate the ground from the neutral, not combine them, correct ??
Correct. Combining them was an old thing only allowed for clothes dryers. Any even remotely new dryer should have the four seperate terminals along with the jumper strap to allow connection in an older home with a three wire outlet. With a four wire outlet available you wire to current code with a four wire cordset. If your niece is likely to move again, cable tie the three wire cordset and jumper strap to the back of the dryer so they're on hand should the next place have a three wire outlet.
Pete C.
thanx for the speedy replies .. .. yes, she will be moving again so I will attach the old cors to the dryer someplace .. .. thanx for the tip
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.