Divine Changing Dryer From 3 Prong To 4

If you ve wondered how to convert a 3 wire dryer electrical outlet to 4 wire dryer outlet then wonder no more.

Changing dryer from 3 prong to 4. The national electrical code began requiring 4 prong receptacles for 220 volt residential circuits in 2000 but it doesn t prohibit you from using. It is much more common to go the other direction to update by changing your dryer cord from 3 prongs to 4 prongs in order to meet the current code requirements. Old house has a 3 prong dryer cord outlet but my dryer has a 4 prong cord.

If you have the related but opposite situation an older dryer with a three prong cord but a newer house with a four slot outlet it is equally easy to replace an old cord with a new four prong cord that will fit a four slot outlet. Tools you will need buy milwaukee driver kit https amzn to 2o4qduxbuy phillips power bit https amzn to 2paletmbuy milwaukee screwdriver https amz. These outlets have four slots and will accept only 4 prong electrical cords.

If you want to replace your three prong dryer outlet with a four prong one you have to run a ground wire back to the panel and connect it to the panel s ground bus. Homeowners owning older dryers with 3 prong cords are sometimes perplexed when they move into a home that has a newer 4 slot outlet. The neutral terminal and ground screw will not have a jumper between them and each will be connected to its own cord wire.

It is therefore somewhat rare that you would want to change a 4 prong cord on an electric dryer to a 3 prong cord. Fortunately it is a very easy project. Most of the steps described above will be the same with one important difference.

However if you have moved into a new house or apartment that has a 3 slot dryer outlet then you might want to change out your 4 prong cord with a 4 prong in order to make use of that existing outlet. Since the code change new dryer outlets must be wired with separate neutral and ground wires. In this instance the solution is to replace the old 3 prong cord with a 4 prong cord to match the new outlet.

You can simply replace the cord on your new dryer with one that s compatible. It is entirely. An alternative would be to ground the outlet separately to a metal stake driven into the ground or possibly to a suitable metal water pipe.