Dryer Power Cord 3 Prong 4 Wire

Most older homes are wired for the 3 wire outlet as shown below.

Dryer power cord 3 prong 4 wire.

Purchase 4 prong dryer cord. However in new construction the installation of kitchen ranges and clothes dryers requires a 4 wire cord and plug. Learn why there are two styles. The definitively correct way is to run a ground wire to the socket location which you can without needing to follow or replace the present hot hot neutral wiring since the 2014 code cycle iirc and toss that 3 wire socket in the trash and use a 4 wire cord to a 4 wire plug to a correctly wired 4 wire socket.

While they can both effectively power a traditional dryer the 4 prong model contains an extra grounding wire as a preventive measure. A 4 prong 30amp 250v dryer power cord will usually cost around 15 to 25 dollars if you buy it yourself. In the first section i will be showing you how to connect a dryer cord that matches your 3 prong or 4 prong outlet. Therefore the dryer s neutral was tied to the ground connection on the metal case of the dryer.

The more recent 4 prong dryer cords feature two hot wires a neutral wire and a ground wire. Electric dryers can use cords with 3 prong or 4 prong plugs designed to match either 3 slot or 4 slot outlets. The 3 wire connection is now outdated where current dryers are wired with a 4 wire cable. This equipment grounding conductor is the missing wire in the older 3 wire configurations.

If you will be calling an electrician to install the cord it may be cheaper for you to buy the 4 prong dryer cord beforehand. In recent years most dryer manufacturers have adopted the 4 prong electrical cord over the dates 3 prong model. I will cover both situations. This eliminates the possibility for a ground current traveling to the machine as it features a separate return path for unused power.

Purchase 3 prong dryer cord. The key difference in the wiring configuration between 3 prong and 4 prong cords is that with the older setup the 3 prong cord has only two hot wires and one neutral wire there is no separate ground wire. Kohree 1 5 ft dryer adapter 4 prong to 3 prong dryer outlet plug power cord adapter nema 14 30p male to 10 30r female receptacle for clothes dryer 30a 250v 4 8 out of 5 stars 240 34 88 34. This may save you around 40 dollars depending on what the electrician will charge for a new power cord.