While standard appliances and gas dryers only require 120-volt circuits (one 120-volt wire), bigger appliances like water heaters, electric ranges, and your electric dryer require both 120-volt wires and the neutral wire thus creating a 240-volt circuit. The service head divides into 120-volt wires and a neutral one that brings power to your entire house. Can a Regular Outlet Be Used for a Dryer?Įlectricity is supplied through a service head by outdoor power lines or an underground system of wires. Some gas dryers may have a higher rating, so don’t just assume. However, I would recommend checking that your appliance has this voltage rating or lower. Thus, for gas dryers, you should be able to use a 120-volt outlet. The additional power required to provide the actual heating function of the dryer is supplied by burning gas. Gas dryers, which only require electricity for some operational functions, only pull about 120 volts. Do yourself a favor and connect your dryer to a suitable electrical outlet and learn more about how to prevent circuit overloads. Electrical fires can be started in a variety of ways but overloaded electrical circuits are one of the most common reasons.Įlectricity has become such a familiar resource in modern society that it’s easy to forget how dangerous it can be. It's easy to swap breakers if needed in the future.The National Fire Protection Association estimates that 47,700 residential fires are caused due to electrical failure and malfunction. If by chance your panel dont have the space for another double breaker, just remove the Range one, cap the wires and use the space for your dryer. That way the range outlet is still there for future needs and you dont have to change anything. You might even leave the range outlet entirely and just run some 10-3 + ground cable to your desired location, install the outlet, and add a 30A breaker in the main panel. Of course, you could just repalce the wire too if it's not all that long. Since you are replacing the outlet, is there any slack in the wire to move it a few feet? Drilling a new hole in the floor is not all that hard. They do sell extension cords too, but I will not recommend them for a 220 device. If you only need 10 feet, try to find a longer cord at an electrical supply house. I think they do make them in 10 or 12 foot lengths, but are probably hard to find. (You can not go the other way like change a dryer to a range, because the wire is too small).Īs for your question about a longer cord. None of that should be too costly or difficult, just be sure the power is off when you do it. Cost $12 to $30 depending on breaker type. Then go to the panel and change the 50A breaker to a 30A. This applies to dryers and ranges so make sure you get the cordset right.Īs others have said, just replace the 50A receptacle (outlet) with aģ0A type. In older work, the older 3 wire installations were all grandfathered to be OK (where the neutral served as a ground). I believe the requirement is all new installations need to be 4 wire (Ground, Neutral, hot, and hot). It was easy enough to change out though and thus I did not have any problems with the installers.Īnother issue these days is the 4 wire vs. ![]() ![]() Sure enough, I had one of those 50A sockets in the laundry room. I was surprised when I bought my dryer at Sears and the salesperson brought up the issue. The problem was apparently so widespread that Sears made an official issue of it and would not allow their dryer installers to finish an installation until the outlet had been replaced by a qualified electrician. The dryer outlet however, was wired with a 50 Amp Range Socket.Īpparently, the electricians in this part of the Pacific Northwest thought they could save money by stocking just one type of 240V plug (the 50A range socket) and 50A cordsets during that period of time. The dryer circuit was properly wired with a 30 amp dual breaker set and #10 wire. Such was the case when I moved into my house (built around 1990-91). Most electricians would not logically incure the extra expense to wire a dryer with a non-code, higher capacity circuit unless they had some really compelling reason to do so. It cost additional dollars for the higher capacity wire and a 50 A breaker. ![]() You don't say for sure, but it is possible that the dryer is on a 30A circuit but wired with a 50A plug.
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