Replacing Dryer Cord 3 Prong To 4 Prong

Most of the homes today are relatively safe as far as the electrical wiring goes and you shouldn t have a problem with it malfunctioning or sending out bursts of energy.

Replacing dryer cord 3 prong to 4 prong.

This may save you around 40 dollars depending on what the electrician will charge for a new power cord. A 4 prong 30amp 250v dryer power cord will usually cost around 15 to 25 dollars if you buy it yourself. Unfortunately few people understand the difference between 3 prong and 4 prong dryer cords. 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.

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. A cheaper alternative is to simply replace 4 prong dryer cable with a 3 prong. It isn t easy to convert an ungrounded 3 prong outlet to a grounded 4 prong one the solution is typically to replace the dryer cord. Therefore the dryer s neutral was tied to the ground connection on the metal case of the dryer.

A 3 prong dryer cord was the standard for dryers prior to 2000. The switch to a 4 prong outlet was due to a flaw in the 3 prong outlet design. Up until the mid 1990s 3 prong outlets were the standard used in american homes. 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.

Installing a four prong cord to fit a four slot outlet. Existing homes may still use 3 prong outlets. Most of the steps described above will be the same. In an effort to shed some light on this subject we re going to discuss the purpose of these cords and why there s a growing popularity for 4 prong cables.

Purchase a 3 prong dryer cord.