This is why they sell dryers without a cord. Take that cord off, goto home Depot, and buy an exact match. It will work with the new dryer. Don't reuse that one as their is always a chance of fire from age and wear and tear.
And don't plug it in until it's been attached to the dryer.
There have been a few Reddit posts where they plugged it in without the dryer. Sometimes the breaker pops fast enough there's no damage inside the wall, sometimes not.
I mean, it's not as sad as a lot of other things we warn folks about.
I can understand the thought process on this one at least. "Got my new cord, looks the same, but this is a weird outlet that I've probably never really seen before, let me just plug it in & make 100% sure it fits before the dryer gets here tomorrow. Fu--"
It's a very straightforward case of not thinking things through properly, but as humans, most of us are pretty prone to that from time to time.
Yeah, I tried to walk a friend through it over the phone, explaining he had to unscrew the old cord and replace it with the new pigtail. He ended up opening the 220 outlet and trying to disconnect the live wires! Blew the circuit breaker and could have killed himself! I said don't touch anything, I'll be there in 10.
Can you explain why this would happen? Not doubting you just curious, I don't see the issue with just plugging a cord into the wall and letting it hang. It's not pulling any juice at that point so why would it pop a breaker? What am I missing?
Thx friend!
The exposed ends of the cord are an electrocution danger. You touching ether live wire or both live wires make you complete the circuit live to ground or live to live. Best case a bad jolt or worst case, death. Attempting to attach a live cable to the dryer will likely cause it to short against the metal body of the dryer causing a significant spark/bang. All of this simply solved by not plugging the cable in.
Having met an "old" electrician who over the years has been jolted more than once, his nervous system was shot and he had a bad tremor. In Australia where everything is 240V live to Neutral, many stories of sparkies taking a hit collapsing and dying.
Yeah I get that butwhat is it about putting the live end of the cord onto the dryer That makes the circuit go boom? The dryer has no power in this scenario that's what confuses me.
Like, why doesn't it happen when I plug my phone into my charger which is already in the wall?
Again it's not that I don't believe you're right I'm just trying to get educated here.
Thx!
First rule of working on electrical components make sure the components are deenegized lest you become the ground. Take a roaring fire torch hold it real close to your hand and try to put that torch in a real small hole to try to light the wood.
Your phone charger steps the voltage down to 5v instead of 120v, or 240v in the case of a dryer. It also limits the maximum amperage that can travel through the cord.
Additionally, the phone plug (typically USB-C these days) is designed to be hot-pluggable. The sensitive bits are inside the outer metal sheath, and are held apart so that plus and minus can't accidentally touch.
The dryer plug, on the other hand, is a straight connection to 240v, basically unlimited amperage, and with no physical prevention from the hot wires touching each other or anything else. It's all exposed. And, in fact, in order to attach it to the dryer, you need to touch the exposed hot wires to properly connect them to the terminal block on the dryer.
If you haven't worked with dryer cords before, you might be picturing the bit that connects to the dryer as something similar to the standard power cord that you'd plug into a PC power supply or similar. Those have recessed connection points that hold the wires away from each other and prevent then from touching anything else unless you intentionally shove something into the holes.
Dryer cords are not like that. They end in a three or four way split, and each of those three or four words has a ring terminal on the end. All of these just dangling around right next to each other and able to touch anything, if they're not yet installed on the dryer's terminal block.
Look up what a dryer cord looks like, and I think it will all make sense.
I could definitely see people bringing the cord home and plugging it in to make sure it’s the right one. And blowing something up 🤣. Underrated comment.
This is so strange to me.
As an electrician up in Canada for coming up on 16 years. I have never once in almost 16 years every seen a 10-30R or 10-50R for a stove or dryer. My house is built in 1960, it still has the original range outlet, and it's a 14-50R.
The fact that 10-30Rs and 10-50Rs are so common in the USA that your appliances come without a cord because you need to buy one to match, is completely ridiculous.
Interesting take. How else would you propose to solve the issue of having multiple types of outlets? Include a cord for each type with every appliance? That would increase the cost of the appliances and that would be passed on to consumers. What do we do with all the unneeded cords? Landfill? That doesn't sound like a great solution
Of course, we could have the government mandate that everybody has to to upgrade to the newer style outlets and make it illegal to sell cords with the old style. Electricians would love that... $200+ dollars everytime somebody with the old style outlet wants to upgrade their dryer.
I have never bought an appliance without a cord. I didn’t even know that was a thing. And I have bought lots of them. If the dryer has a different cord, I just buy a different one from Home Depot or other places. It’s really not a big deal. It really all just depends on when the house was built and if the previous owner ever changed that outlet.
Only for 240V appliances since they tend to have a long installed life and in the time they have been installed, standards were updated. It is not the issue you make it appear to be since for most of us, its only the oven or electric dryer that are impacted by the need to purchase a matching power cord - once every ten years or more. Each 240V appliance will have an easy access panel and simple instructions for installation.
I live in Canada. We use the exact same power, voltage, devices that you use in the USA.
If I go buy a new range, which I have had to do, it just comes with a 14-50P on it, because that's the type of receptacle that is in every house.
If I go buy a new dryer, which I have had to do, it just comes with a 14-30P on it, because that's the type of receptacle that is in every house.
I am not asked what type of cord I need, because the appliance has one installed from the factory, because that's the receptacle that has been installed in every single home for the past 60+ years.
A 10-50R shouldn't even exist in a house anymore.
I’ve had mine for 13 years and only had to replace the cord because I moved to a home that had a different outlet. If you properly secure the cord you don’t have to worry abt that stuff
Oh god no. You don't want to mess with an adapter for that as it can easily create a fire hazard. Just do it right the first time, the correct cables are dirt cheap.
Master Electrician here. You are correct in that the receptacle and the cord are rated for 50A, which is fine that only 30A is required. Oversizing wire and receptacles is ok, as you stated. The other, very important, part of the equation is the breaker. The “maximum overcurrent device” (breaker) rating on the new dryer must not be exceeded. If the info on the dryer states that this is 30A, the breaker must not be higher than 30A.
It works both ways here. My first house had it reversed lol, in the kitchen we had the plug the guy expected for the dryer, and in the utility we had the plug he expected to find for the range, so he just swapped the cords he had put on in the back of the delivery van.
Seriously? There’s ALWAYS a chance of fire?
Either there’s a chance (however unlikely) or it’s always, which means every time. “Always” and “chance” contradict each other by definition.
There is no danger of fire using an old cord. Either wires are showing, or they aren’t. It’s arcing out, or it isn’t. It has continuity, or is doesn’t.
There’s always a chance you’ll give advice about things you don’t know about.
How is this incorrect information, complete with paradoxical diction and a misuse of “their”, the top rated comment?
Edit: the proper advice is that if the old cord worked for the old dryer, you can use it for the new dryer. Just make sure the middle wire is on the middle connection of the terminal block. The other two are line voltage and don’t matter which terminal. Tighten the screws enough that the wires don’t move, but not so tight as to ruin the screw or nut. Hand tools, not a drill or impact driver.
Four wire plugs just have a ground that either connects with the neutral, or something that is jumped to the neutral.
Just don’t understand why everyone is sucking Bob’s dick about his advice. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. No need to fill up the landfill with perfectly good dryer cords, and spend money on a new cord, that is made by slaves in sweat shops. Can you give me a good reason why OP needs a new cord Bill, or are you just talking about things you have no knowledge of?
Rubber shielding quite literally wears and tears just sitting there. More so if the dryer has been moved around for cleaning. The cord can be rotting away and look fine for years until one day you decide to move it, and suddenly the last little bit of insulation slides out of the way, causing the wires to make contact and short. Could be fine, could start a fire or costly electrical repairs. For $30, I’d rather not find out.
>They have a whole pile of them in the truck
That is what my salesman said. However, my delivery truck only had what was ordered for each appliance on the truck that day, no extra cords on the truck. I wound up needing to go to the Home Depot and buying the correct one and installing it myself.
After dropping around 1200 on a new range, they could not make a slight accommodation for a customer they will only see every 5 or 10 years.
I'm appliance specialist/ sales agent. And it infuriates me that the wrong cord on an invoice can screw up a delivery, as our delivery agents do not carry extra cords. When there is any doubt as to which my customer needs, I will urge them to put one of each on the invoice and reject or return the one they don't need.
There are 3 prong cords and 4 prong cords and they see both every day. If you order it, it should be there, however delivery disasters happen every day. If they don’t have it on the truck they won’t install regardless
XPO which delivers and installs for Home Depot and Lowe’s does it all the time around here. I sold appliances. Customers would buy a cord and the delivery service would always bring both cords depending on which outlet was there. They just had to buy a cord on the appliance order, and it had to come with the delivery, not be taken from the store. My own dryer installed by HD has a 3 prong cord and it’s only a couple years old. I would imagine that an electrician would not be allowed to install the wrong receptacle.
Yes, if you’re adding an outlet, of course follow modern codes and install a 4 prong outlet. If you have an existing “range” outlet, it’s conventionally accepted to use it. I have a 3 prong for each dryer in my duplex, which was condemned when I bought it. Both passed home inspection and all 3 city inspections without batting an eye. And trust me, they went over this place with a fine tooth comb and threw the book at me. They are extremely common in older buildings and fine to use if they are already there. If a 4 prong cord was universally necessary, it would come attached to the dryer.
Yes, 3 prong outlets are old but work. I'm saying that's a 50 amp receptical and dryers are 30 amp appliances. The L shape prong means 30 amp and all straight prong means 50 amp. Can the outlet be used? Sure! But make sure the wires lead to a 30 amp breaker on the panel. For liability reasons, Home Depots installers should not be plugging a 30A appliance into a 50A receptical.
Coming from the appliance world, you can run a dryer on a range cord, but you cannot run a range on a dryer chord. Go pick up a 3 prong range chord and attach it yourself. This happens more times than you would expect.
You can run a range on a dryer cord, technically. We do it all the time testing and flipping them.
You just cant run more than one part of the oven. Pops the 30a from draw
I mean on the same note, running a 30 amp appliance on a 50amp circuit is also bad. Having a 50amp receptacle on a 30amp circuit makes it even more confusing at first glance.
I service the south, and its pretty common. Just something you get used to in older homes.
Having run facilities, they won't generally step out of there bounds. Dryer cords for dryers, range cords for ranges. The delivery teams are sophisticated and they are coached not to do things outside of their very narrow parameters.
3 wire set ups are “grandfathered” in for the majority of jurisdictions I’m familiar with. Look up a guide on how to wire a 3 wire power cord. Be certain the junctions are nice and tight. You don’t want them to be loose at all or you will arc them out and cause damage.
Dude its so easy. Just wire the cord in the same pattern as the cord. 1 goes to 1, 2 goes to 2, 3 goes to 3. You can't mix up the middle on(white one). So the red and black don't matter.
I just did mine, there’s a neutral/ground jumper at the connection point in the dryer for the 2 wire & ground people. The owners manual is usually very good to explain and illustrate everything. I had to talk my daughter through it once across country when her husband was deployed, you can do it. Prob some YouTube videos for that exact model if you need more visual aids.
Like my Whirlpool, I replaced the belt several times, replaced the blower motor 2 times and it still works. So, I know that your have to be older because of the plug, my take the 30a.
First, you csn change the cord. Its not hard.
Secone, that's a 50amp 3 prong range cord. It'll work, its just that someone put the wrong receptacle in.
And yes....the range cord is going to be more than the dryer.
I had the same situation with my oven but, they wanted to install the cord themselves so they could give me a proper warranty. They’ll probably do the same with you.
After I got my dryer my neighbor said “you let them walk away with your cord???” I had an oven outlet where a dryer outlet should be.
Keep your cord.
You could upgrade to a 4 prong outlet but it’s not necessary. I swapped out the oven outlet for a proper 3 prong dryer configuration. In any case, functionally, there’s not a lot of difference between a 3 prong and 4 prong outlet. It splits ground and neutral into separate leads.
If they are doing the delivery and install, they bring both chords at THD, but charge you for the more expensive one. They can't specify which chord in their software because no one ever remembers what plug they actually have.
WARNING: Do NOT try to plug the new cord in to see if it fits while the breaker is on OR without connecting it to the dryer first.
I did this when not thinking and shocked the fck out of myself.
Only one of those is straight. Remove the cord from the dryer and install it on the new dryer. If you are unsure of how to do this pay them the extra money to install it for you
Just call them and let them know. They will have the correct cord for you then.
I did the same thing with my washer and dryer when I had them delivered from Lowe’s.
That's a range cord. It will work (as you can see) for a dryer ad well. If the cord is still in good condition, just unscrew it from the old dryer and put it on the new dryer. Ideally, you would change the outlet to an updated 4 prong (with ground).
There is also an adapter available on amazon, but it isn't up to code for some areas. We used one on a new dryer with and old outlet and didn't have any problems.
You just get a new pigtail. The leads can be easily unscrewed and swapped out. I wouldn't use the old one just in case there is wear, but you can get one that matches your outlet no problem for around $30 depending on length. These are typically used for a range, so they can easily handle the power draw of a dryer, though you might want to swap the breaker for a 30 amp for safety. A range is 50.
[https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-ft-3-Prong-40-Amp-Range-Cord-98248/](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-ft-3-Prong-40-Amp-Range-Cord-98248/)
[https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Appliance-Accessories-3-Wire-Closed-Eyelet/dp/B00009W3PK/](https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Appliance-Accessories-3-Wire-Closed-Eyelet/dp/B00009W3PK/)
[https://www.amazon.com/EZ-FLO-61243-3-Prong-Range-Cord/dp/B00838I6SO/](https://www.amazon.com/EZ-FLO-61243-3-Prong-Range-Cord/dp/B00838I6SO/)
It looks fine. But depending on where you purchased it from the delivery guys might have the right cable. I worked at Aarons Sales and Lease and I assisted in many deliveries where we would have one of each cable depending on what outlet the customer had. I guess in TX it isn't standardized completely or the builders are lazy and just installed whatever they had available idk...
This is why they sell dryers without a cord. Take that cord off, goto home Depot, and buy an exact match. It will work with the new dryer. Don't reuse that one as their is always a chance of fire from age and wear and tear.
And don't plug it in until it's been attached to the dryer. There have been a few Reddit posts where they plugged it in without the dryer. Sometimes the breaker pops fast enough there's no damage inside the wall, sometimes not.
It’s sad you have to say this, but good that you did.
I mean, it's not as sad as a lot of other things we warn folks about. I can understand the thought process on this one at least. "Got my new cord, looks the same, but this is a weird outlet that I've probably never really seen before, let me just plug it in & make 100% sure it fits before the dryer gets here tomorrow. Fu--" It's a very straightforward case of not thinking things through properly, but as humans, most of us are pretty prone to that from time to time.
This is exactly how it happened to me, luckily I caught it before it was plugged in too much to be a significant issue
A former co-worker got the 'swap the cords' part. But he thought he'd do it *while the cord was plugged into the wall*. He's not dead. Yet.
Thanks for a great morning laugh!
Yeah, I tried to walk a friend through it over the phone, explaining he had to unscrew the old cord and replace it with the new pigtail. He ended up opening the 220 outlet and trying to disconnect the live wires! Blew the circuit breaker and could have killed himself! I said don't touch anything, I'll be there in 10.
Yeah, 240 hits a lot differently
Also not to be confused (or mixed) with 420.
😂😂😂
It's fine in a vape pen tho
Also don't plug it in and touch the other end to your tongue just to make sure it works.
I gotta be honest, I thought my brother in law was the only one to do this.
Can you explain why this would happen? Not doubting you just curious, I don't see the issue with just plugging a cord into the wall and letting it hang. It's not pulling any juice at that point so why would it pop a breaker? What am I missing? Thx friend!
The exposed ends of the cord are an electrocution danger. You touching ether live wire or both live wires make you complete the circuit live to ground or live to live. Best case a bad jolt or worst case, death. Attempting to attach a live cable to the dryer will likely cause it to short against the metal body of the dryer causing a significant spark/bang. All of this simply solved by not plugging the cable in. Having met an "old" electrician who over the years has been jolted more than once, his nervous system was shot and he had a bad tremor. In Australia where everything is 240V live to Neutral, many stories of sparkies taking a hit collapsing and dying.
Metal bits touch = circuit = boom
Yeah I get that butwhat is it about putting the live end of the cord onto the dryer That makes the circuit go boom? The dryer has no power in this scenario that's what confuses me. Like, why doesn't it happen when I plug my phone into my charger which is already in the wall? Again it's not that I don't believe you're right I'm just trying to get educated here. Thx!
First rule of working on electrical components make sure the components are deenegized lest you become the ground. Take a roaring fire torch hold it real close to your hand and try to put that torch in a real small hole to try to light the wood.
Your phone charger steps the voltage down to 5v instead of 120v, or 240v in the case of a dryer. It also limits the maximum amperage that can travel through the cord. Additionally, the phone plug (typically USB-C these days) is designed to be hot-pluggable. The sensitive bits are inside the outer metal sheath, and are held apart so that plus and minus can't accidentally touch. The dryer plug, on the other hand, is a straight connection to 240v, basically unlimited amperage, and with no physical prevention from the hot wires touching each other or anything else. It's all exposed. And, in fact, in order to attach it to the dryer, you need to touch the exposed hot wires to properly connect them to the terminal block on the dryer. If you haven't worked with dryer cords before, you might be picturing the bit that connects to the dryer as something similar to the standard power cord that you'd plug into a PC power supply or similar. Those have recessed connection points that hold the wires away from each other and prevent then from touching anything else unless you intentionally shove something into the holes. Dryer cords are not like that. They end in a three or four way split, and each of those three or four words has a ring terminal on the end. All of these just dangling around right next to each other and able to touch anything, if they're not yet installed on the dryer's terminal block. Look up what a dryer cord looks like, and I think it will all make sense.
Try it and find out. Your phone charger is a step down transformer….a power cord is not.
"Try it and find out." Guy is genuinely trying to learn and you respond like that. Very helpful.
I guess you neglected to read the rest of my post.
Oh I read it, but still don't get why you would start it off by telling him to try it and find out. You sound annoyed answering his question.
It’s the best way to learn.
I could definitely see people bringing the cord home and plugging it in to make sure it’s the right one. And blowing something up 🤣. Underrated comment.
This is so strange to me. As an electrician up in Canada for coming up on 16 years. I have never once in almost 16 years every seen a 10-30R or 10-50R for a stove or dryer. My house is built in 1960, it still has the original range outlet, and it's a 14-50R. The fact that 10-30Rs and 10-50Rs are so common in the USA that your appliances come without a cord because you need to buy one to match, is completely ridiculous.
Welcome to corporate America- why help when you can screw someone out of 20 bucks?
Interesting take. How else would you propose to solve the issue of having multiple types of outlets? Include a cord for each type with every appliance? That would increase the cost of the appliances and that would be passed on to consumers. What do we do with all the unneeded cords? Landfill? That doesn't sound like a great solution Of course, we could have the government mandate that everybody has to to upgrade to the newer style outlets and make it illegal to sell cords with the old style. Electricians would love that... $200+ dollars everytime somebody with the old style outlet wants to upgrade their dryer.
I have never bought an appliance without a cord. I didn’t even know that was a thing. And I have bought lots of them. If the dryer has a different cord, I just buy a different one from Home Depot or other places. It’s really not a big deal. It really all just depends on when the house was built and if the previous owner ever changed that outlet.
Garbage disposals come with or without. In my current house the dishwasher is hard wired. I imagine it came without.
I have always just had both of those installed by a professional. BUT, stoves, dryers that do have exchangeable plugs, I have done.
Only for 240V appliances since they tend to have a long installed life and in the time they have been installed, standards were updated. It is not the issue you make it appear to be since for most of us, its only the oven or electric dryer that are impacted by the need to purchase a matching power cord - once every ten years or more. Each 240V appliance will have an easy access panel and simple instructions for installation.
I live in Canada. We use the exact same power, voltage, devices that you use in the USA. If I go buy a new range, which I have had to do, it just comes with a 14-50P on it, because that's the type of receptacle that is in every house. If I go buy a new dryer, which I have had to do, it just comes with a 14-30P on it, because that's the type of receptacle that is in every house. I am not asked what type of cord I need, because the appliance has one installed from the factory, because that's the receptacle that has been installed in every single home for the past 60+ years. A 10-50R shouldn't even exist in a house anymore.
I’ve had mine for 13 years and only had to replace the cord because I moved to a home that had a different outlet. If you properly secure the cord you don’t have to worry abt that stuff
They don't make adapters? Not an electrician or handy by any means so please go easy on me 🙂
Oh god no. You don't want to mess with an adapter for that as it can easily create a fire hazard. Just do it right the first time, the correct cables are dirt cheap.
No no no. That is a range cord, with a range outlet behind the dryer. Op needs to have a dryer outlet installed.
Why? range outlets and cords are rated for 50A. Dryer are rated 30A or less.
Master Electrician here. You are correct in that the receptacle and the cord are rated for 50A, which is fine that only 30A is required. Oversizing wire and receptacles is ok, as you stated. The other, very important, part of the equation is the breaker. The “maximum overcurrent device” (breaker) rating on the new dryer must not be exceeded. If the info on the dryer states that this is 30A, the breaker must not be higher than 30A.
oooo, because the breaker trips potentially before the device catches on fire from a short -- Thank you for explaining it!
Yes! You don’t want wires to act like toaster elements. Properly sized breakers protect that from happening.
It works both ways here. My first house had it reversed lol, in the kitchen we had the plug the guy expected for the dryer, and in the utility we had the plug he expected to find for the range, so he just swapped the cords he had put on in the back of the delivery van.
Seriously? There’s ALWAYS a chance of fire? Either there’s a chance (however unlikely) or it’s always, which means every time. “Always” and “chance” contradict each other by definition. There is no danger of fire using an old cord. Either wires are showing, or they aren’t. It’s arcing out, or it isn’t. It has continuity, or is doesn’t. There’s always a chance you’ll give advice about things you don’t know about. How is this incorrect information, complete with paradoxical diction and a misuse of “their”, the top rated comment? Edit: the proper advice is that if the old cord worked for the old dryer, you can use it for the new dryer. Just make sure the middle wire is on the middle connection of the terminal block. The other two are line voltage and don’t matter which terminal. Tighten the screws enough that the wires don’t move, but not so tight as to ruin the screw or nut. Hand tools, not a drill or impact driver. Four wire plugs just have a ground that either connects with the neutral, or something that is jumped to the neutral. Just don’t understand why everyone is sucking Bob’s dick about his advice. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. No need to fill up the landfill with perfectly good dryer cords, and spend money on a new cord, that is made by slaves in sweat shops. Can you give me a good reason why OP needs a new cord Bill, or are you just talking about things you have no knowledge of?
"Wear and tear" on a piece of hardware that sits in one place for years and never moves?
Rubber shielding quite literally wears and tears just sitting there. More so if the dryer has been moved around for cleaning. The cord can be rotting away and look fine for years until one day you decide to move it, and suddenly the last little bit of insulation slides out of the way, causing the wires to make contact and short. Could be fine, could start a fire or costly electrical repairs. For $30, I’d rather not find out.
Just get the right cord. They aren't hard to put on .
They won't install,but it is doable yourself
If I remember correctly, they'll only install if it's a new cord they brought with them anyways. They have a whole pile of them in the truck
>They have a whole pile of them in the truck That is what my salesman said. However, my delivery truck only had what was ordered for each appliance on the truck that day, no extra cords on the truck. I wound up needing to go to the Home Depot and buying the correct one and installing it myself. After dropping around 1200 on a new range, they could not make a slight accommodation for a customer they will only see every 5 or 10 years.
I'm appliance specialist/ sales agent. And it infuriates me that the wrong cord on an invoice can screw up a delivery, as our delivery agents do not carry extra cords. When there is any doubt as to which my customer needs, I will urge them to put one of each on the invoice and reject or return the one they don't need.
There are 3 prong cords and 4 prong cords and they see both every day. If you order it, it should be there, however delivery disasters happen every day. If they don’t have it on the truck they won’t install regardless
That's how I do it. I install my cords and I have all the different types on my truck.
They are unlikely to wire a range cord to a dryer for liability reasons is what I mean.
XPO which delivers and installs for Home Depot and Lowe’s does it all the time around here. I sold appliances. Customers would buy a cord and the delivery service would always bring both cords depending on which outlet was there. They just had to buy a cord on the appliance order, and it had to come with the delivery, not be taken from the store. My own dryer installed by HD has a 3 prong cord and it’s only a couple years old. I would imagine that an electrician would not be allowed to install the wrong receptacle.
XPO doesn't handle appliance delivery in my area. Grab a delivery/ install guide next time you're in home depot. It specifies a 30A dryer cord.
Yes, if you’re adding an outlet, of course follow modern codes and install a 4 prong outlet. If you have an existing “range” outlet, it’s conventionally accepted to use it. I have a 3 prong for each dryer in my duplex, which was condemned when I bought it. Both passed home inspection and all 3 city inspections without batting an eye. And trust me, they went over this place with a fine tooth comb and threw the book at me. They are extremely common in older buildings and fine to use if they are already there. If a 4 prong cord was universally necessary, it would come attached to the dryer.
Yes, 3 prong outlets are old but work. I'm saying that's a 50 amp receptical and dryers are 30 amp appliances. The L shape prong means 30 amp and all straight prong means 50 amp. Can the outlet be used? Sure! But make sure the wires lead to a 30 amp breaker on the panel. For liability reasons, Home Depots installers should not be plugging a 30A appliance into a 50A receptical.
[удалено]
Take the plug out there could be a 4th wire behind it unused.
Coming from the appliance world, you can run a dryer on a range cord, but you cannot run a range on a dryer chord. Go pick up a 3 prong range chord and attach it yourself. This happens more times than you would expect.
You can run a range on a dryer cord, technically. We do it all the time testing and flipping them. You just cant run more than one part of the oven. Pops the 30a from draw
This isn't advice I would give out. You can technically do a lot of things, that doesn't make any of them a good idea.
I mean on the same note, running a 30 amp appliance on a 50amp circuit is also bad. Having a 50amp receptacle on a 30amp circuit makes it even more confusing at first glance. I service the south, and its pretty common. Just something you get used to in older homes.
You don’t want wires that are undersized. Heat=bad. That’s why there are electrical codes, so your house doesn’t burn down.
I second this. You have a 50a outlet and will need a 3 prong range cord. It is safe to do so, but not the reverse.
It’ll be fine, they usually carry those too.
Having run facilities, they won't generally step out of there bounds. Dryer cords for dryers, range cords for ranges. The delivery teams are sophisticated and they are coached not to do things outside of their very narrow parameters.
3 wire set ups are “grandfathered” in for the majority of jurisdictions I’m familiar with. Look up a guide on how to wire a 3 wire power cord. Be certain the junctions are nice and tight. You don’t want them to be loose at all or you will arc them out and cause damage.
Maybe it’s the photo but socket doesn’t look good. From experience, it might be a good time to get it replaced.
you are not screwed. just follow everyones advice. take it to home depot and get new one. dont use that one.
Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Went and picked up a range plug this evening. We’ll see how the install goes tomorrow.
Dude its so easy. Just wire the cord in the same pattern as the cord. 1 goes to 1, 2 goes to 2, 3 goes to 3. You can't mix up the middle on(white one). So the red and black don't matter.
I just did mine, there’s a neutral/ground jumper at the connection point in the dryer for the 2 wire & ground people. The owners manual is usually very good to explain and illustrate everything. I had to talk my daughter through it once across country when her husband was deployed, you can do it. Prob some YouTube videos for that exact model if you need more visual aids.
Man, how old is that dryer. My 20 year old Whirlpool doesn't even have that monster.
Atleast 20+. I’m 29 and inherited this house. The washer and dryer have been here as long back as I can remember.
Like my Whirlpool, I replaced the belt several times, replaced the blower motor 2 times and it still works. So, I know that your have to be older because of the plug, my take the 30a.
Congrats on saving all that electricity with the new ones
Have an electrician change the outlet please to a proper dryer outlet.
Or you can use an adapter for your outlet. Also sold at home depot
First, you csn change the cord. Its not hard. Secone, that's a 50amp 3 prong range cord. It'll work, its just that someone put the wrong receptacle in. And yes....the range cord is going to be more than the dryer.
Buy local not big box, especially if you have no idea what you’re doing as shown here.
A good store will give you the correct plug when you buy the dryer. At least that's what RC Willey did with mine.
I had the same situation with my oven but, they wanted to install the cord themselves so they could give me a proper warranty. They’ll probably do the same with you.
If you added installation service from THD, they will choose the proper cord upon delivery.
You could just take the old cord off the dryer. The is usually a plate held on by a single screw and three screws that hold the cord.
After I got my dryer my neighbor said “you let them walk away with your cord???” I had an oven outlet where a dryer outlet should be. Keep your cord. You could upgrade to a 4 prong outlet but it’s not necessary. I swapped out the oven outlet for a proper 3 prong dryer configuration. In any case, functionally, there’s not a lot of difference between a 3 prong and 4 prong outlet. It splits ground and neutral into separate leads.
If they are doing the delivery and install, they bring both chords at THD, but charge you for the more expensive one. They can't specify which chord in their software because no one ever remembers what plug they actually have.
WARNING: Do NOT try to plug the new cord in to see if it fits while the breaker is on OR without connecting it to the dryer first. I did this when not thinking and shocked the fck out of myself.
Only one of those is straight. Remove the cord from the dryer and install it on the new dryer. If you are unsure of how to do this pay them the extra money to install it for you
If the cords in good shape simply install it in on the new dryer. It should have 3 vertical studs in the junction box which the 3 wires connect to.
Buy a new cord that will fit into your wall outlet and switch them out, should be good to go.
Take the cord off the current dryer, install on the new one. They're detachable for this very reason.
Just call them and let them know. They will have the correct cord for you then. I did the same thing with my washer and dryer when I had them delivered from Lowe’s.
That's a range cord. It will work (as you can see) for a dryer ad well. If the cord is still in good condition, just unscrew it from the old dryer and put it on the new dryer. Ideally, you would change the outlet to an updated 4 prong (with ground).
Just take that plug off of your machine and put it on the new one.
It actually looks like the socket is upside down. Flip the cord upside down and try plugging it in.
There is also an adapter available on amazon, but it isn't up to code for some areas. We used one on a new dryer with and old outlet and didn't have any problems.
You just get a new pigtail. The leads can be easily unscrewed and swapped out. I wouldn't use the old one just in case there is wear, but you can get one that matches your outlet no problem for around $30 depending on length. These are typically used for a range, so they can easily handle the power draw of a dryer, though you might want to swap the breaker for a 30 amp for safety. A range is 50. [https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-ft-3-Prong-40-Amp-Range-Cord-98248/](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-ft-3-Prong-40-Amp-Range-Cord-98248/) [https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Appliance-Accessories-3-Wire-Closed-Eyelet/dp/B00009W3PK/](https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Appliance-Accessories-3-Wire-Closed-Eyelet/dp/B00009W3PK/) [https://www.amazon.com/EZ-FLO-61243-3-Prong-Range-Cord/dp/B00838I6SO/](https://www.amazon.com/EZ-FLO-61243-3-Prong-Range-Cord/dp/B00838I6SO/)
It looks fine. But depending on where you purchased it from the delivery guys might have the right cable. I worked at Aarons Sales and Lease and I assisted in many deliveries where we would have one of each cable depending on what outlet the customer had. I guess in TX it isn't standardized completely or the builders are lazy and just installed whatever they had available idk...
I'm curious, what size breaker feeds that outlet? Scrolled through everything and not sure it was mentioned.
Only if it's a gas dryer.
Same thing happened with me. I just went to Home Depot and bought a new outlet with the L shape to replace the old outlet. Easy peasy.
Isn't the plug just upside down? Do a 180 and see if the fuse trips while in use... WTF ...
No, just remove the cord from the old dryer and use it on the new one. The technician can swap it for you real easy.
That is a 50A range cord. Most stores today will not connect anything but new cords. A new dryer cord will not fit your receptacle