This video is top shelf, seriously the first one I came across, trying to answer my question and you did such an excellent job, describing the problem and how to remedy it. Thank you!
This video is awesome! We hit my dryer wire on accident when ripping up the old floor during renovation. I am now swapping to four prong with a proper ground!
@@toollookchannelmy home is using 10 2 wire for the dryer the stove and water each on their separate breakers. Am I ok to lave it like that or is it something that needs changing right away
I really like how you enhanced the talking points with graphics. I also liked how you ghost wired the plug. I think you did a great job explaining the information.
I’m relocating a range and was going to buy a new box and outlet. But I found an outlet Im and box in my garage (abandoned shop 220v) that matched up with my range… now I understand how to ground that box 👍🏼
It's sometimes lost in the translation that these old 10-30 plugs were designed for buildings that had no ground wire. They used the neutral to perform double duty, to give a neutral leg for circuits that required only 120 V inside the appliance and they used that leg for grounding the chassis frame. The problem with that was the way the cabinet of the appliance could become charged with voltage applied to the neutral wire, even from another appliance sharing that same neutral. When modern homes began including a ground wire, the intent was to make these obsolete so there would be no chance a neutral bond at the old appliance. Along came the 6-30 receptacles, which used two hots and a ground (no neutral). This worked great for welders and other devices that didn't require that half voltage neutral leg, it avoided any chance of inadvertent bonding of the neutral wire, and it provided a legitimate equipment ground that never had normal voltage or current applied. To prevent the two styles from being inadvertently mixed, they made the plug designs incompatible with each other.
The same deal with the nema 6-15r and 6-20r for 240v air conditioners. They ran on knobs at first and now they have digital displays sooo…they must be borrowing from the ground wire for neutral purposes on these air conditioners. It explains why they all use plastic faces.
Thank you so kindly. This video is amazing! I finally get it now. Was trying to figure out what to do. Moved in a older home that has a 3-prong outlet. Switching it to 4-prong tomorrow. Thank you.
Excellent content and excellent presentation. I have been saying the same thing to appliance installers and licensed electricians and finally an EXCELLENT explanation. I never understood why they (UL) ( NEC) allowed/permitted the NEMA 10-30R three contact/prong on a consumer 240 VAC electrical appliance circuit. I speculate it is one more appliance marketing idea to sell more at lower cost? Remember the old decorative metal chain swag lamps (110VAC) designed with the two pin AC plug ( no ground) for a non polarized receptacle? You could have a 50-50 chance of a hot chain.
Nema 10 is something frowned upon. They might’ve given it a pass, because of its own dedicated circuit, preventing neutral from leaking into other grounded branched circuits. It would be more serious if you were to “bootleg ground” a common 15 amp branched receptacle causing the ground wires to now have a current flow that could increase to unpredictable potential. The neutral on a Nema 10 operating a dryer is about as harmless as a 9v battery, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to touch it. The military created a shortage in copper, thus nema 10 became customary. Giving it some thought, both Nema 6-15 and Nema 6-20 are 220v with a ground (typically used for large air conditioners), but it makes you wonder how a new 220v A/C would power up an lcd display. They could be borrowing the ground and since these should be on dedicated circuits, then we’re back at the Nema 10 dryer outlet argument. The difference is that the Nema 10 outlet has no ground intended for the box that it is housed in, even though it’s bonded to the dryer’s steel acting as a ground. Other examples of this are the motion activated switches that advertise “no neutral required”. They borrow the ground wire for neutral. I didn’t like this so I ran a new line which would include a neutral. Conclusion: I’m a firm believer that ground should be left uninterrupted in branched circuits. If you make a neutral connection using a ground wire, now you’ve made it possible for the neutral to fail, maybe because of heat, poor connection, equipment failure. So now if neutral fails you destroy your ground in junction. But if motion activated switches, and big Air Conditioners can borrow from ground to make use of a small delivery in neutral, then the infamous Nema 10 receptacles are here to stay, (hopefully for repair only)
@@toollookchannel I loved the growing Romex wire animation at 7:39; This was a spot-on presentation. I have been searching for obvious answers the last few days, and Wala, the light, came on. Excellent content.
@@mackellyman5642 glad you found some answers. The practical effects of the wires took about 12 takes, 5 minutes of footage that was cropped down to 20 seconds. The light up effects were drawn, timed, rewatched time and again. A comment like this confirms that it was worth the time. Thanks
Through the 1993 NEC (prohibited 1996) 3 wire dryer and range receptacles were permitted only when fed by service entrance cable - SEU, and only when originating at serviceequipment. , 2 wire with ground NM cable with the ground acting as the "bare neutral " like in SEU cable was technically never permitted by the NEC, although I have seen it in renovations and old gray haired electrician I've talked to who were in the trade when 3 wire hookups were permitted, have told me they've worked in some jurisdictions where the Authority Having Jurisdiction permitted 2 wire with ground NM for a 3 wire dryer or range even though it was prohibited by the NEC. And "service equipment " brings up another point. Article 230.85 beginning with the 2020 NEC requires an emergency disconnect located in a readily accessible location outdoors on or within sight of the building, for one or two family dwellings and that when service equipment is replaced for any reason, the new equipment meets this requirement - this allows firefighters and emergency first responders to quickly cut power to the home before entering in case of an emergency. Which leads to the next problem. Assuming the home was built prior to the 1996 NEC and the existing 3 wire setup is allowed to remain under the grandfather clause, doing a service change will magically make your dryer and range illegal, and the inspector assuming a permit was pulled, can red tag the electrical system until the 3 wire setup is changed to a 4 wire even if that means cutting access holes in the drywall to fish a new cable through. And the power company requires a passing inspection before they will re-connect power after a service change. The NEC later realized this and had to activate an "oh shit, we screwed up" protocol for 2023, which gave an additional exception that allows for the bare neutral for a 3 wire setup to be insulated for the exposed length with insulating tape, heat shrink tubing or other approved means, for existing installations, when service equipment is replaced. Ahhh....... the NEC can be so stupid and frustrating to deal with at times. 😟
Great info, and to add; in Britain, they sleeve the ground (earth) wire all day long. Looks like we’re applying what they’ve been doing for a long time.
@@toollookchannel in Britain, do you know if they ever permitted dryers or ranges to be grounded with the "insulated " neutral, or was that pretty much a USA thing that frankly should have never been permitted. If I'm not mistaken Canada never permitted grounding with the neutral bare or insulated and has always required a true dedicated ground since the early 60s when equipment grounding conductors became a requirement similar to the States. I've always been intrigued on how other countries have different voltages, frequencies and plug/receptacle configurations hence the need to buy travel adapters when traveling to other countries
Thanks for the instruction. Question: I need to replace a 240v/30amp 4 prong outlet to a 120v/30amp RV plug. Can I simply cap the extra hot wire and attach the other 3 (hot/ground/neutral) and call it good? Would there be any issue with the currently installed 2 pole breaker
If my electric dryer comes with a green wire screwed too the case do i just add the ground comming from a 4 wire updated cord? Nice video. Looking for this answer for hours .
Sometimes the jumper wire is green instead of white. The process doesn’t change for the 4 prong installation; that “green jumper” would still go in the center of the terminal block with the “white neutral wire” of the 4 prong power cord. For 3 prong power cords, DO NOT remove the “green jumper” or “white jumper” from the dryer’s metal frame.
Good video. An issue I'm dealing with is that I have an old style box with a red, black, and white wire, but no ground at all in the cable. It has worked fine for years, but now I'm remodeling my bathroom and am wondering if I need to both update that cable and my drier plug for the new style. It would mean I need to go into my panel and probably hire an electrician. It is my understanding that once anything in the panel is changed in the panel, it needs inspected by a certified electrician.
Do not make any changes to your panel, consult with a licensed electrician. With a new line of 4 wires, you can have a GFCI breaker installed on your panel, followed by a new 4 prong power cord, and a nema 14-30 receptacle will keep you up to code with the safety standards. Your town has records of your electrical panel when you purchased your property, so the may notice and question the comparable differences.
@@toollookchannel Thanks for the suggestion. How much do you feel is a reasonable fee to call one and just have them install the new breaker and around 17 foot 4 wire line, then make the required modification to my old dryer? I can do the rest of the wiring, but I do not feel comfortable doing anything in the panel.
@@My-Say Before you start, talk to your local licensed electrician first…some won’t put their name on some of the work you’ve done. They may want to channel it differently than what’s already existing. Let them have a look at it first, suggest sending a video, or pictures as feedback. Depending on the obstacles, there might be not be much benefit in what you think you’ll be saving if you do some of the work yourself. Good luck.
Hello again. Soon after I viewed this report, I visited a local big box hardware store to select a NEMA 14-30 with 4 prong cord. While selecting items another customer, a licensed electrician, advised me to stick with the old three prong plug and use the old design three prong receptacle! Sorry its my house and my life. I am convinced by this excellent video that the best choice is to upgrade to the latest NEC code. I am a retired elevator mechanic and it was a simple ( to me) upgrade. My branch circuit uses an 8-3 stranded with solid ground wire. @@toollookchannel
My dryer Manual says I can do external ground, where you disconnect the ground wire from your dryer and connect it to the center terminal( neutral) and connect a ground separate wire to the dryer ground screw. Have you heard of this?
Yes, it’s the horrid contraption adapter with an external green pigtail wire, that is supposed to turn your 3 prong into a 4 prong. Where the green pigtail should be connected the 15/20 Amp washer receptacle on the grounding hole. A few problems I have with these adapters is that there might be a habit forming bad idea of removing the green ground pigtal off that washing machine receptacle…to lets say, charge your cellphone. The green pigtail wire sizing might be the proper 10 AWG, but the wires from the washer outlet that go back to the panel are smaller. If you started with 10 AWG, now you’re grounding with the smaller 12 AWG or worse 14 AWG. Ground it to a water pipe would make it worse. Stay away.
Does a 4 prong dryer outlet with the ground that has the clip that attaches to the steal mean you don’t have to pigtail a ground to the metal box and you can just directly attach the neutral, two hot and ground straight to the receptacle?
All steel boxes and receptacles need a ground wire, so a grounding pigtail will be adequate. The idea is that the steel box should be grounded at all times if the receptacle needs to be replaced. The ground wire is the last wire to be removed and the first to be installed.
@@toollookchannel can I use a smaller gauge ground wire for the pigtail. I ran 8 gauge wire, so would a 10 gauge wire be ok for the pigtail, or could I wrap braided ground wire around mounting screw and then go to the outlet? Thanks
3 wire dryer and range receptacles should have never been permitted in the first place, but my understanding is it had something to do with rationing and metal shortages during WWII, Korean and Vietnam Wars, which sort of explains the use of aluminum wiring for all circuits including the 15 and 20 ampere general lighting and outlets in home beginning in the early 1960s until about the mid 70s. In my 3 wire dryer/range receptacles were more or less a "code approved " bootleg ground receptacle.
Another of the reasons why I think this held up so long, is because it’s on a dedicated circuit and there isn’t much of a reading from the neutral/ground end.
Moved into a house that was built in 2006. The previous owner swapped a 4-pin dryer outlet with a 3-pin! I took the cover off and the ground wire is just hanging there not connected to anything...
I rent and have only the 10-30r for my dryer,i told them the receptacle is very old they just replaced it with the same 3 prong but new receptacle, is this something i can do?
It keeps the returning voltage (neutral) from leaking all over the dryer’s metal frame. It’s a one way ticket back to the panel; where with the 3 prong (despite the neutral voltage being very low), the returning voltage is spread all over the dryer before it makes it’s way back to the panel.
technically speaking the neutral and ground are tide together in the breaker panel so they would both measure the same. You should not however use a neutral as a ground and vice versa as it's not to code. If you measured the voltage of the hot wire and neutral or hot wire and ground you will get the same voltage.
@@dws2313. You got an extremely bad answer to your question. You asked what the neutral does. In a dryer or stove, the heating elements are 240 volts, line to line. The electric blower motor, the controls, and the lights are 120 volts. So, the neutral is for 120 volts. Line to neutral. The equipment ground is in case a line comes in contact with the appliance metal parts, to trip the breaker therefore preventing a shock when touched.
The short answer is that the “bare” should’ve been a white wire. This method that you have works, but it is done incorrectly. The “bare” wire in this case should not have been used as current carrying conductor (neutral).
I have a 4 wire 220 volt wire with 3 black wires and an exposed wire. 1 ribbed black wire, 1 solid black, 1 solid black with a faint red line, and 1 bare. Is the ribbed wire my Neutral? Mahalo in advance.
New dryer has 4 prong. Old outlet only has 3. Bought the new 4 prong outlet. Ok, but I have no ground wire. Box and conduits are metal, though. They do pass electric if connected. I did that mistake lol. Can I assume that is grounded? So I just get a small piece of thick wire and connect the ground on the new 4 prong outlet to the metal box?
Might as well have a ground wire ran as a new feed through the conduit. The big box stores sell them by the foot. The easiest way, but not the best thing do is to change the power cord to a 3 prong.
@@toollookchannel Considering the conduit is connected to a rod that goes to the ground and is actually also connected to the copper pipes I have no idea why. And yes, if I allow the positive to connect to the metal in the conduit, it will close the circuit.. I'm guessing the conduit is properly grounded. So I connected the 4th prong to the metal box. Added a piece of thick copper wire and a screw for that. Hope that is enough. thanks
@@wilsonline90 you want your ground to go back to the distribution panel (main), if not, your breaker won’t trip in case of a ground fault. A ground rod alone won’t cut it. Running a ground wire back to the source is the best way and/or having a gfci breaker installed for protection against a ground fault.
@@toollookchannel thanks. I will see how I can do that next. It's a small metal probably copper conduit pipe. Not sure if the wire guide thing will work. But if not, I run the wire outside the conduit. thanks again.
Yes of course, right away. It looks like someone is proposing that we abandon the methods of grounding our primitive light switches…to perhaps convert to the much newer and sophisticated foreign norms, so that we can keep up with the times of our superiors in lighting technologies and rid ourselves of the peasantry.
The U.S. electrical code is such a joke. 10-30R should've never been code, but appliance makers cried and bitched about it so this abortion of a receptacle stayed in play. 240v will kill you--it won't just give you a tingle like 120v. My house was built in 1976 and it had a 10-30R installed, but upon removing the receptacle I discovered 10-3 wiring in the wall, so I bought a $10 14-30R and replaced it. Now, the dryer won't potentially become electrified if we lose neutral. Anyone else with a 10-30R should kill power to the circuit, remove the outlet, and check their wiring. $10 and 20 minutes of your time is about as easy as it gets. The shit homebuilders do to save a buck astounds me.
A few of your comments in the video are incorrect. The NEC started requiring 4 prong receptacles in the late 80’s early 90’s. If there are are (4)conductors (2H,1N,1G) installed regardless of whether the box is metal or plastic, are required to be 4 prong receptacles. This applies to ranges and dryers. Never change the receptacle from 4 prong to 3 prong. Illegal. If you have a house or apartment newer than the early 90’s and there is a 3 prong, check for a ground, if present, change it back to 4 prong. The only time the 3 prong are allowed as an exception in NEC is when built prior to the early 90’s and has 3 conductors. That is the only time it is allowed. Because of the exception allowing old 3 prong, manufacturers are required to accommodate both.
Yikes…for Nema 10-30 and 10-50 THE ISSUE IS OLDER THAN YOU THINK and it was meant to be hung dry by the 1970s. Because of war shortages and lobbying over the years, exceptions were made. 1996 was the last nail in the coffin. First off…”huh?” I never encouraged, nor mentioned that a 4 prong could, or should be changed to 3 prong (so far, you’re making this up). -In response to your “if there are 4 conductors installed, regardless of whether it’s metal or plastic”, 4 prong is required. So here I go, At 5:24 I covered this by saying “with 4 wires in place” that the 4 prong system would be better executed on -METAL boxes. At 6:10 you can also hear me clearly encouraging to have the 3 prong changed to a 4 prong system with 4 wires in place for -PLASTIC boxes Also in the end of the video, the message couldn’t be clearer. If there’s 4 wires present, “why bother…just go 4 prong” And last…at 6:55 I cover the exceptions for replacing a 3 prong dryer receptacle with the same, but encourage to have it replaced with 10-3 + ground (4wire) and get a 4 prong dryer receptacle. However, you reiterate it as if I said something different, or contradicting. ‘None of what you’re saying about what I covered in this video is incorrect, I think you may have missed the mark’ I hinted everywhere in this video that 3 prong is allowed as a replacement if there’s 3 wires in place by showing a 10-2 + ground cable (or 10-2 NM-B) and that it was prohibited in homes after 96 (which is the mid 90’s). But wait just a second….going off of what you’re saying, it seems that you may truly believe that there are no exceptions for these houses built in the early 90’s, -because if you remember-, you began by saying that the NEC started requiring 4 prong in the mid 80’s. So which one is it?
This video is top shelf, seriously the first one I came across, trying to answer my question and you did such an excellent job, describing the problem and how to remedy it. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback and glad to know that you got an answer from this content
This video is awesome! We hit my dryer wire on accident when ripping up the old floor during renovation. I am now swapping to four prong with a proper ground!
Good move
@@toollookchannelmy home is using 10 2 wire for the dryer the stove and water each on their separate breakers. Am I ok to lave it like that or is it something that needs changing right away
Great video! Very informative and easy to understand! It was the first one I watched, and I don’t need to watch any others!
Thanks so much; glad to know it
Your video helped me to figure out to install a new circuit for a dryer with 3 prongs plug in the dryer machine. thanks man
You’re welcome; good to know it.
I really like how you enhanced the talking points with graphics. I also liked how you ghost wired the plug. I think you did a great job explaining the information.
Thanks, I still look back at this video. Much appreciated
Installing a dryer for the first time. Very helpful.
Thank you, much appreciated, good luck, and always ask if you’re unsure.
A really great video! Thanks for sharing with explanations we all can understand.
You’re absolutely welcome and thanks to you for watching till the end.
thank you, almost went back in safety standards. My house has a 14-30 plug for the dryer and the one i picked up had a 10-30 plug.
Thanks
I’m relocating a range and was going to buy a new box and outlet. But I found an outlet Im and box in my garage (abandoned shop 220v) that matched up with my range… now I understand how to ground that box 👍🏼
That is awesome! If you get stuck, always ask the licensed professionals
This was the BEST video on the subject....and I think I have watched all of them ...I finally get it!!! Thanks so much
Awesome and thank you. I’m glad this one helped capture it.
You are a master at making instructional videos brother.
Love the feedback. Thanks so much.
Great video! Amazing edition! Very informative!
Much appreciated, thanks
It's sometimes lost in the translation that these old 10-30 plugs were designed for buildings that had no ground wire. They used the neutral to perform double duty, to give a neutral leg for circuits that required only 120 V inside the appliance and they used that leg for grounding the chassis frame. The problem with that was the way the cabinet of the appliance could become charged with voltage applied to the neutral wire, even from another appliance sharing that same neutral. When modern homes began including a ground wire, the intent was to make these obsolete so there would be no chance a neutral bond at the old appliance. Along came the 6-30 receptacles, which used two hots and a ground (no neutral). This worked great for welders and other devices that didn't require that half voltage neutral leg, it avoided any chance of inadvertent bonding of the neutral wire, and it provided a legitimate equipment ground that never had normal voltage or current applied. To prevent the two styles from being inadvertently mixed, they made the plug designs incompatible with each other.
The same deal with the nema 6-15r and 6-20r for 240v air conditioners. They ran on knobs at first and now they have digital displays sooo…they must be borrowing from the ground wire for neutral purposes on these air conditioners. It explains why they all use plastic faces.
Thank you so kindly. This video is amazing! I finally get it now. Was trying to figure out what to do. Moved in a older home that has a 3-prong outlet. Switching it to 4-prong tomorrow. Thank you.
I’m glad it helped and thank you.
Was there a ground conductor in the box?
Bravo, I did the same today! Better safe than sorry that some day in the future for some unsuspecting owner, tenant or guest.
@@toollookchannel my 30 amp,125/250 volt, 14-30R, 3-pole, 4-wire , my 4 prong plug 30 amp electric dryer is wired to 30 amp outlet is not working why?
Great video great explanation great information I like the way you highlighted everything too
Thank you
Excellent content and excellent presentation. I have been saying the same thing to appliance installers and licensed electricians and finally an EXCELLENT explanation. I never understood why they (UL) ( NEC) allowed/permitted the NEMA 10-30R three contact/prong on a consumer 240 VAC electrical appliance circuit. I speculate it is one more appliance marketing idea to sell more at lower cost? Remember the old decorative metal chain swag lamps (110VAC) designed with the two pin AC plug ( no ground) for a non polarized receptacle? You could have a 50-50 chance of a hot chain.
Nema 10 is something frowned upon. They might’ve given it a pass, because of its own dedicated circuit, preventing neutral from
leaking into other grounded branched circuits. It would be more serious if you were to “bootleg ground” a common 15 amp branched receptacle causing the ground wires to now have a current flow that could increase to unpredictable potential.
The neutral on a Nema 10 operating a dryer is about as harmless as a 9v battery, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to touch it. The military created a shortage in copper, thus nema 10 became customary.
Giving it some thought, both Nema 6-15 and Nema 6-20 are 220v with a ground (typically used for large air conditioners), but it makes you wonder how a new 220v A/C would power up an lcd display. They could be borrowing the ground and since these should be on dedicated circuits, then we’re back at the Nema 10 dryer outlet argument. The difference is that the Nema 10 outlet has no ground intended for the box that it is housed in, even though it’s bonded to the dryer’s steel acting as a ground.
Other examples of this are the motion activated switches that advertise “no neutral required”. They borrow the ground wire for neutral. I didn’t like this so I ran a new line which would include a neutral.
Conclusion: I’m a firm believer that ground should be left uninterrupted in branched circuits.
If you make a neutral connection using a ground wire, now you’ve made it possible for the neutral to fail, maybe because of heat, poor connection, equipment failure. So now if neutral fails you destroy your ground in junction. But if motion activated switches, and big Air Conditioners can borrow from ground to make use of a small delivery in neutral, then the infamous Nema 10 receptacles are here to stay, (hopefully for repair only)
Thanks for your reply. I agree with you.@@toollookchannel
@@toollookchannel my 30 amp,125/250 volt, 14-30R, 3-pole, 4-wire , my 4 prong plug 30 amp electric dryer is wired to 30 amp outlet is not working why?
Thank you, man. Your video was super useful.
Good to know it and thanks for the feedback
A Master at Work, very precise and safe, Great Vid!
It’s appreciated. Thank you very much
Very informative, thanks.
You’ve got it
Great infromation , well produced video .
The history and the implementations of how it’s all connected was complex.
Much appreciated; thank you
@@toollookchannel I loved the growing Romex wire animation at 7:39; This was a spot-on presentation. I have been searching for obvious answers the last few days, and Wala, the light, came on. Excellent content.
@@mackellyman5642 glad you found some answers. The practical effects of the wires took about 12 takes, 5 minutes of footage that was cropped down to 20 seconds. The light up effects were drawn, timed, rewatched time and again. A comment like this confirms that it was worth the time. Thanks
Through the 1993 NEC (prohibited 1996) 3 wire dryer and range receptacles were permitted only when fed by service entrance cable - SEU, and only when originating at serviceequipment. , 2 wire with ground NM cable with the ground acting as the "bare neutral " like in SEU cable was technically never permitted by the NEC, although I have seen it in renovations and old gray haired electrician I've talked to who were in the trade when 3 wire hookups were permitted, have told me they've worked in some jurisdictions where the Authority Having Jurisdiction permitted 2 wire with ground NM for a 3 wire dryer or range even though it was prohibited by the NEC.
And "service equipment " brings up another point. Article 230.85 beginning with the 2020 NEC requires an emergency disconnect located in a readily accessible location outdoors on or within sight of the building, for one or two family dwellings and that when service equipment is replaced for any reason, the new equipment meets this requirement - this allows firefighters and emergency first responders to quickly cut power to the home before entering in case of an emergency. Which leads to the next problem. Assuming the home was built prior to the 1996 NEC and the existing 3 wire setup is allowed to remain under the grandfather clause, doing a service change will magically make your dryer and range illegal, and the inspector assuming a permit was pulled, can red tag the electrical system until the 3 wire setup is changed to a 4 wire even if that means cutting access holes in the drywall to fish a new cable through. And the power company requires a passing inspection before they will re-connect power after a service change.
The NEC later realized this and had to activate an "oh shit, we screwed up" protocol for 2023, which gave an additional exception that allows for the bare neutral for a 3 wire setup to be insulated for the exposed length with insulating tape, heat shrink tubing or other approved means, for existing installations, when service equipment is replaced.
Ahhh....... the NEC can be so stupid and frustrating to deal with at times. 😟
Great info, and to add; in Britain, they sleeve the ground (earth) wire all day long. Looks like we’re applying what they’ve been doing for a long time.
@@toollookchannel in Britain, do you know if they ever permitted dryers or ranges to be grounded with the "insulated " neutral, or was that pretty much a USA thing that frankly should have never been permitted. If I'm not mistaken Canada never permitted grounding with the neutral bare or insulated and has always required a true dedicated ground since the early 60s when equipment grounding conductors became a requirement similar to the States. I've always been intrigued on how other countries have different voltages, frequencies and plug/receptacle configurations hence the need to buy travel adapters when traveling to other countries
@@Sparky-ww5re Britain uses 3 prong with 240v coming from one conductor, so there isn’t a need to bootleg jump the ground from a neutral.
Very nicely done!
Thanks so much
Great video, I loved the editing
Thanks so much! It’s appreciated
Thanks for the instruction. Question: I need to replace a 240v/30amp 4 prong outlet to a 120v/30amp RV plug. Can I simply cap the extra hot wire and attach the other 3 (hot/ground/neutral) and call it good? Would there be any issue with the currently installed 2 pole breaker
It’s a bit messy, because now you’ll have a 2 pole breaker instead of a 1 pole….it’ll work. They also sell plug n play adapters
What do I do if I have the 10/2? 2 hot and a ground, no neutral white? Leviton 3 prong surface mount receptacle
Great question. I would consult with a licensed electrician if you’d like to have it serviced, or make any changes.
If my electric dryer comes with a green wire screwed too the case do i just add the ground comming from a 4 wire updated cord? Nice video. Looking for this answer for hours .
Sometimes the jumper wire is green instead of white. The process doesn’t change for the 4 prong installation; that “green jumper” would still go in the center of the terminal block with the “white neutral wire” of the 4 prong power cord.
For 3 prong power cords, DO NOT remove the “green jumper” or “white jumper” from the dryer’s metal frame.
@@toollookchannel thank you very much im so glad i came across your channel. Smoking hot lol
Thanks, look up RUclips channel “Lorraine furniture and appliance”, the video is called “How to install a 4 prong power cord on an electric dryer”.
Awesome video! Much Mahalos 🤙
Thanks
Good video. An issue I'm dealing with is that I have an old style box with a red, black, and white wire, but no ground at all in the cable. It has worked fine for years, but now I'm remodeling my bathroom and am wondering if I need to both update that cable and my drier plug for the new style. It would mean I need to go into my panel and probably hire an electrician. It is my understanding that once anything in the panel is changed in the panel, it needs inspected by a certified electrician.
Do not make any changes to your panel, consult with a licensed electrician. With a new line of 4 wires, you can have a GFCI breaker installed on your panel, followed by a new 4 prong power cord, and a nema 14-30 receptacle will keep you up to code with the safety standards. Your town has records of your electrical panel when you purchased your property, so the may notice and question the comparable differences.
@@toollookchannel Thanks for the suggestion. How much do you feel is a reasonable fee to call one and just have them install the new breaker and around 17 foot 4 wire line, then make the required modification to my old dryer? I can do the rest of the wiring, but I do not feel comfortable doing anything in the panel.
@@My-Say Before you start, talk to your local licensed electrician first…some won’t put their name on some of the work you’ve done. They may want to channel it differently than what’s already existing. Let them have a look at it first, suggest sending a video, or pictures as feedback. Depending on the obstacles, there might be not be much benefit in what you think you’ll be saving if you do some of the work yourself. Good luck.
Hello again. Soon after I viewed this report, I visited a local big box hardware store to select a NEMA 14-30 with 4 prong cord. While selecting items another customer, a licensed electrician, advised me to stick with the old three prong plug and use the old design three prong receptacle! Sorry its my house and my life. I am convinced by this excellent video that the best choice is to upgrade to the latest NEC code. I am a retired elevator mechanic and it was a simple ( to me) upgrade. My branch circuit uses an 8-3 stranded with solid ground wire. @@toollookchannel
Never in my life have i seen a torque wrench, no... torque driver? Idk?😂 but that's bad ass
I love Wera tools.
They put that little extra effort into their designs.
My dryer Manual says I can do external ground, where you disconnect the ground wire from your dryer and connect it to the center terminal( neutral) and connect a ground separate wire to the dryer ground screw. Have you heard of this?
Yes, it’s the horrid contraption adapter with an external green pigtail wire, that is supposed to turn your 3 prong into a 4 prong. Where the green pigtail should be connected the 15/20 Amp washer receptacle on the grounding hole. A few problems I have with these adapters is that there might be a habit forming bad idea of removing the green ground pigtal off that washing machine receptacle…to lets say, charge your cellphone.
The green pigtail wire sizing might be the proper 10 AWG, but the wires from the washer outlet that go back to the panel are smaller. If you started with 10 AWG, now you’re grounding with the smaller 12 AWG or worse 14 AWG. Ground it to a water pipe would make it worse. Stay away.
Does a 4 prong dryer outlet with the ground that has the clip that attaches to the steal mean you don’t have to pigtail a ground to the metal box and you can just directly attach the neutral, two hot and ground straight to the receptacle?
All steel boxes and receptacles need a ground wire, so a grounding pigtail will be adequate. The idea is that the steel box should be grounded at all times if the receptacle needs to be replaced. The ground wire is the last wire to be removed and the first to be installed.
@@toollookchannel can I use a smaller gauge ground wire for the pigtail. I ran 8 gauge wire, so would a 10 gauge wire be ok for the pigtail, or could I wrap braided ground wire around mounting screw and then go to the outlet? Thanks
A 10 gauge ground for 8 gauge wire could be used. When using stranded wire, crimp a spade or a ring terminal and fastened to the ground screw.
Cool video subbed
It’s appreciated. Thanks for the support
I appreciate this video. It actually helped me quite a bit
It was hard putting together the ideas and the look for this video. I’m so relieved to see this comment. Thank you and I’m glad it helped
3 wire dryer and range receptacles should have never been permitted in the first place, but my understanding is it had something to do with rationing and metal shortages during WWII, Korean and Vietnam Wars, which sort of explains the use of aluminum wiring for all circuits including the 15 and 20 ampere general lighting and outlets in home beginning in the early 1960s until about the mid 70s. In my 3 wire dryer/range receptacles were more or less a "code approved " bootleg ground receptacle.
Another of the reasons why I think this held up so long, is because it’s on a dedicated circuit and there isn’t much of a reading from the neutral/ground end.
Great video. Thanks.
Thank you and thanks for watching
Moved into a house that was built in 2006. The previous owner swapped a 4-pin dryer outlet with a 3-pin! I took the cover off and the ground wire is just hanging there not connected to anything...
Hah, I called it
@@toollookchannelbut it’s fixed now. Installed the proper 4 pin outlet. I feel much better now lol
@@HostileMAV Much better for sure. Any plans on the gfci breaker?
@@toollookchannel yes, just haven’t done it yet.
I rent and have only the 10-30r for my dryer,i told them the receptacle is very old they just replaced it with the same 3 prong but new receptacle, is this something i can do?
A licensed electrician would be the best choice for liability purposes.
So what does the neutral wire do on a four prong outlet (with a dedicated ground)?
It keeps the returning voltage (neutral) from leaking all over the dryer’s metal frame. It’s a one way ticket back to the panel; where with the 3 prong (despite the neutral voltage being very low), the returning voltage is spread all over the dryer before it makes it’s way back to the panel.
@@toollookchannel Yes, thank you.
technically speaking the neutral and ground are tide together in the breaker panel so they would both measure the same. You should not however use a neutral as a ground and vice versa as it's not to code. If you measured the voltage of the hot wire and neutral or hot wire and ground you will get the same voltage.
@@dws2313. You got an extremely bad answer to your question. You asked what the neutral does. In a dryer or stove, the heating elements are 240 volts, line to line. The electric blower motor, the controls, and the lights are 120 volts. So, the neutral is for 120 volts. Line to neutral. The equipment ground is in case a line comes in contact with the appliance metal parts, to trip the breaker therefore preventing a shock when touched.
@@KevinCoop1 Your answer to dws2313 led to nothing different that a 3 prong dryer isn’t already doing. I’m afraid we got nowhere with your answer.
Excellent video
Thank you, it’s very much appreciated
My wire only has 3 strands, bare, white and black 🤔
The short answer is that the “bare” should’ve been a white wire. This method that you have works, but it is done incorrectly. The “bare” wire in this case should not have been used as current carrying conductor (neutral).
I have a 4 wire 220 volt wire with 3 black wires and an exposed wire. 1 ribbed black wire, 1 solid black, 1 solid black with a faint red line, and 1 bare. Is the ribbed wire my Neutral? Mahalo in advance.
The best way to know is to use a test instrument, or to look for the sources at the panel
New dryer has 4 prong. Old outlet only has 3. Bought the new 4 prong outlet. Ok, but I have no ground wire. Box and conduits are metal, though. They do pass electric if connected. I did that mistake lol. Can I assume that is grounded? So I just get a small piece of thick wire and connect the ground on the new 4 prong outlet to the metal box?
Might as well have a ground wire ran as a new feed through the conduit. The big box stores sell them by the foot. The easiest way, but not the best thing do is to change the power cord to a 3 prong.
@@toollookchannel Considering the conduit is connected to a rod that goes to the ground and is actually also connected to the copper pipes I have no idea why. And yes, if I allow the positive to connect to the metal in the conduit, it will close the circuit.. I'm guessing the conduit is properly grounded. So I connected the 4th prong to the metal box. Added a piece of thick copper wire and a screw for that. Hope that is enough. thanks
@@wilsonline90 you want your ground to go back to the distribution panel (main), if not, your breaker won’t trip in case of a ground fault. A ground rod alone won’t cut it. Running a ground wire back to the source is the best way and/or having a gfci breaker installed for protection against a ground fault.
@@toollookchannel thanks. I will see how I can do that next. It's a small metal probably copper conduit pipe. Not sure if the wire guide thing will work. But if not, I run the wire outside the conduit. thanks again.
Super very nice video!!!
Glad it left an impression. Thanks so much
my 4 prong plug 30 amp electric dryer is wired to 30 amp outlet is not working why? any helpful why tips?
Definitely call a licensed electrician.
How primitive, grounding switches. Why not make them d9 that they do not need grounding?
Yes of course, right away. It looks like someone is proposing that we abandon the methods of grounding our primitive light switches…to perhaps convert to the much newer and sophisticated foreign norms, so that we can keep up with the times of our superiors in lighting technologies and rid ourselves of the peasantry.
my 30 amp,125/250 volt, 14-30R, 3-pole, 4-wire , my 4 prong plug 30 amp electric dryer is wired to 30 amp outlet is not working why?
The U.S. electrical code is such a joke. 10-30R should've never been code, but appliance makers cried and bitched about it so this abortion of a receptacle stayed in play. 240v will kill you--it won't just give you a tingle like 120v. My house was built in 1976 and it had a 10-30R installed, but upon removing the receptacle I discovered 10-3 wiring in the wall, so I bought a $10 14-30R and replaced it.
Now, the dryer won't potentially become electrified if we lose neutral. Anyone else with a 10-30R should kill power to the circuit, remove the outlet, and check their wiring. $10 and 20 minutes of your time is about as easy as it gets. The shit homebuilders do to save a buck astounds me.
Haha, nema 10 is like you know it’s wrong, but you do it anyways.
1:08😆
It would have to be a 4 prong
you have the hairiest knuckles i have ever seen. BTW great video
Thanks
A few of your comments in the video are incorrect. The NEC started requiring 4 prong receptacles in the late 80’s early 90’s. If there are are (4)conductors (2H,1N,1G) installed regardless of whether the box is metal or plastic, are required to be 4 prong receptacles. This applies to ranges and dryers. Never change the receptacle from 4 prong to 3 prong. Illegal. If you have a house or apartment newer than the early 90’s and there is a 3 prong, check for a ground, if present, change it back to 4 prong. The only time the 3 prong are allowed as an exception in NEC is when built prior to the early 90’s and has 3 conductors. That is the only time it is allowed. Because of the exception allowing old 3 prong, manufacturers are required to accommodate both.
Yikes…for Nema 10-30 and 10-50 THE ISSUE IS OLDER THAN YOU THINK and it was meant to be hung dry by the 1970s. Because of war shortages and lobbying over the years, exceptions were made. 1996 was the last nail in the coffin.
First off…”huh?”
I never encouraged, nor mentioned that a 4 prong could, or should be changed to 3 prong (so far, you’re making this up).
-In response to your “if there are 4 conductors installed, regardless of whether it’s metal or plastic”, 4 prong is required. So here I go,
At 5:24 I covered this by saying “with 4 wires in place” that the 4 prong system would be better executed on -METAL boxes.
At 6:10 you can also hear me clearly encouraging to have the 3 prong changed to a 4 prong system with 4 wires in place for -PLASTIC boxes
Also in the end of the video, the message couldn’t be clearer. If there’s 4 wires present, “why bother…just go 4 prong”
And last…at 6:55 I cover the exceptions for replacing a 3 prong dryer receptacle with the same, but encourage to have it replaced with 10-3 + ground (4wire) and get a 4 prong dryer receptacle. However, you reiterate it as if I said something different, or contradicting.
‘None of what you’re saying about what I covered in this video is incorrect, I think you may have missed the mark’
I hinted everywhere in this video that 3 prong is allowed as a replacement if there’s 3 wires in place by showing a 10-2 + ground cable (or 10-2 NM-B) and that it was prohibited in homes after 96 (which is the mid 90’s).
But wait just a second….going off of what you’re saying, it seems that you may truly believe that there are no exceptions for these houses built in the early 90’s, -because if you remember-, you began by saying that the NEC started requiring 4 prong in the mid 80’s.
So which one is it?
Bro… flatline ---
Not an outlet, its a plug
Toollook, Stay with the tool videos. Electrical are not your best work!
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