In article , Minnie Bannister wrote:
OK, here's one for you:

Our previous house had a 4-pin outlet for the dryer, but our present one
had only a 3-pin outlet, so I replaced the dryer cord by a 3-pin one
(and moved the green wire at the connection block, according to
instructions).

Upgrading the circuit would have been a better idea than downgrading the
appliance.

But we have subsequently stacked the dryer and the washer, so everything
now has a "real" ground through the washer's power cord, right?

No, not unless you also installed a bonding jumper from the frame of the dryer
to the frame of the washer. Simple contact between the two cases is not enough
to ensure a solid electrical ground.

(And
doesn't that mean that the neutral and ground are now connected at a
place other than the main panel?)

Might be, depending on exactly what you did at the connection block in the
dryer -- and if so, there's a potential for the dryer case to become
energized. That's why it would have been better to upgrade the circuit to
4-wire.

Would there be any advantage in replacing the 3-pin dryer outlet by a
4-pin and replacing the 4-pin cord?

Yes, there would: you ensure that no matter what happens, the case of the
dryer will *always* be at zero potential with respect to earth ground, and
thus incapable of delivering a shock. That's what the safety ground system is
for.

MB


On 04/20/04 08:09 pm Doug Miller put fingers to keyboard and launched
the following message into cyberspace:

No. Your main panel is just fine. The NEC *requires* the ground and neutral
bars to be bonded at the main panel, and *prohibits* *any* connection between

ground and neutral anywhere else.