In article , "DanG" wrote:
You folks are sure scaring me. There is no neutral for 220
service. I don't care what the colors of the wire are.

The size of the wire is important. The shape of the plug is
important. The colors of the wire mean nothing, although green
and bare have become universally accepted for ground.

"Universally accepted"? Hardly.

In the United States and Canada, those colors are more than just
"accepted". They're mandated by Code. Ground conductors may be insulated green
or green with a yellow tracer, or uninsulated, and nothing else.

Outside North America, it may be very, very different.

Here may be
some of the confusion:
Current code and modern usage may require 110V for something on
the dryer/range/etc (no dryers of which I am aware need 110V).

Then you need to become more aware. Much more aware.

Gas dryers for residential use are always 120V.
"Apartment size" electric dryers are usually 120V.
Standard electric dryers have 120V motors and timers; only the heating
elements are 240V.

The 110V requires a neutral. 220 still does not use a neutral.

Only halfway right. A *pure* 240V load doesn't need a neutral, but an electric
dryer isn't a pure 240V load -- it's a 240V/120V load, due to the
above-mentioned motor and control circuits, and it *does* use a neutral.

This configuration wants four wires, four prongs on the plug - two
hots, a neutral, and a ground. The only reason for the neutral is
if (rarely) there is something on the appliance that uses 110V.

"Rarely"?? Now who's scaring whom? Electric dryers almost *always* have 120V
motors and timers, even when they have 240V heating elements.

These colors will often be red (hot), black (hot), white
(neutral), and green or bare (ground).

Older wiring will usually have a 3 wire connection. Two hots and
a ground.

Wrong. That's two hots and an "uninsulated neutral" which was permitted by
Code until quite recently.

If there is not 110V usage, you do not have or need a
neutral.

Tell me what electric dryers do not use 120V.

It may well have the ground and "neutral" lug bonded
together where you attach the appliance cord. The odd shaped
prong will be the ground. There is no neutral.

Wrong again.

Sometimes the
colors may be Black (hot), Red (hot), Green or bare (ground).
Very often the colors will be Black (hot), White (hot), Green or
bare (ground). Kinda depends on what wire was available at the
supply house that day.

Wrong again. Cable with only three wires in it is nearly always
black-white-green or black-white-bare. It doesn't depend on what was available
at the supply house that day. It depends on electrical codes -- which, among
other things, permit marking a white wire red or black to indicate that it's
used as a hot conductor instead of a neutral, but *prohibit* doing the
reverse. Which is why you won't see multiconductor cable that doesn't have a
white wire in it.

I hope this helps some.

It would help a lot more if it was right.


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.