Why Grounding Your Dryer is Important
Posted by Stephanie Junek on
Did you know some dryer plugs are 3-prong and others are 4-prong? Have you wondered why this is or have you had trouble connecting your dryer to your home electrical dryer outlet because they don’t match?
The old style of 3-prong dryer cords did not include a ground wire. Changes in the National Electrical Code now require dryers to be wired with a ground wire. This means the cords now have 4-prong plugs. There are some cases where you cannot plug your dryer into your receptacle. This is because you may have an old dryer and a new construction home or a new dryer and an old home.
AC WORKS® brand residential collection contains a few options for you to adapt to the current outlet you have in your home, meaning you won’t have to hire an electrician to re-wire your outlets.
When using an old 3-prong cord, the neutral wire had to be tied to the ground connection on the case of your dryer, which is metal. When converting with a 4-prong adapter it is important to make sure the neutral terminal is not connected to the ground case.
Make sure you are correctly connected before you plug your dryer in. There are many things that can go wrong with a dryer that has been incorrectly ground. For example, your hot wire could cause your dryer to become live, causing electrocution or shock to anyone who touches it.
The 4-prong cords contain two hot wires, a neutral, and a ground wire. This provides a safe path for any current traveling to the machine to be re-routed and avoid danger.
We have a variety of dryer adapter types to find solutions allowing you to convert a 3-prong to a 4-prong or vice versa.
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If you have any questions about how to convert or properly hook your dryer up to your current outlet contact our sales engineers for solutions. info@acconnectors.com We are happy to help find the solution to work best with your existing hookups and teach you how to install them properly and safely.
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My current dryer is a 3 wire line from the panel box that goes into a 4 wire receptical. I put a 4 wire plug on my new dryer. The ground isn’t hooked up. Do I have to change the 3 wire line or can I add a copper groung and a ground rod just on the other side of the wall outside. Does my ground have to go back to the panel box
Hello Anna.
That definitely sounds like it could be a wiring issue that you should have a local electrician check out. Dryer outlets are only supposed to supply between 220-240 volts, whereas yours is going at 260. Do you have a 3-prong or 4-prong dryer plug/outlet? Do you know roughly when your home was built?
We are on the third dryer in 4 months, that keep burning out. I thought there was something with the wiring, so my son checked it, and it is bringing 260 volts. I don’t know what that would do to the dryers, or if they have something that burn out, an is replaceable in them? Anyway, how do I reduce the amount of electricity as it goes into the dryer? Is there some kind of voltage regulator or something like that? I know, I am without knowledge on this.
Hello Greg.
If you have a 3-prong dryer outlet, it will not have a ground wire attached to the L-shaped terminal. That terminal is neutral/white. Are there any wires connected to the L-shaped terminal? How exactly did you test your outlet with the multimeter? A 3-prong dryer outlet is supposed to be 220V. We recommend you have a certified electrician take a look at your outlet. Also, the new standard is to have a 4-prong outlet for a dryer. A 4-prong dryer outlet has grounding.
I haven’t been able to get my dryer to turn on, in a 1970’s home we recently purchased. We thought it was the dryer, but upon trying a new dryer (and thankfully returning it), we realized it was the outlet. When taking a multimeter to the test points in the on the circuit breaker, we see 120Vac on both wires. At the outlet we see 30-50Vac between the lines and ground. However upon opening the outlet, I see there is no ground wire attached to the L shaped side of the outlet. Is this why my dryers won’t turn on?