RBM wrote:

"Kevin Ricks" wrote in message
...
David L. Martel wrote:
Scott,

Are you sure that the new stove is 220v? You don't say in your post
I'd read the installation manual carefully since the sales guy lead
you to believe that there is no neutral wire. I can imagine that the
neutral and ground are connected by a buss link but I can't imagine a
stove without a neutral in the US.
In the old days stoves used a neutral and 2 hot wires. with the ground
attached to the neutral.

Dave M.

I have seen plenty of stove and other 240V wiring without a neutral. 2
hots and ground with the ground wire connected and used as a neutral.
One house I lived in built in the mid '50's had just that. The ground wire
being a few haphazard strands of bare wire in the cable and connected to
the ground bus in the panel.

New 240V wiring is required to be 4 wire. I think most stoves can be
configured to use 3 wire if needed to accommodate the older wiring.
Kevin

That's pretty much true of all ranges in the U.S., old and new. I think the
issue here, is that the OP indicates that the new unit only has 3 wires. He
calls it a "stove" which is a generic term,usually referring to a range, but
from his description, I think he is getting a cooktop, which may or may not
use a neutral, depending upon make and model


RBM,

I should have clarified. It's an electric drop-in range with standard electric
burners, with the oven below. It's interesting to note that the original 1974 wiring
to this range uses heftyof a lighter grade, I suppose to keep the cost down.

Scott