I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire (unsheathed)?
I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the ground
wire to the box the outlet is in?

you should upgrade to 4 wire both plug and outlet, all new dryers are 4
wire for safety.

green ground

white neutral

red one side of line to breaker

black other side of line to breaker

Not exactly, all new dryers could be connected three wire, but the NEC
requires four wire feeders for all new installations


wrote in message
ups.com...
you should upgrade to 4 wire both plug and outlet, all new dryers are 4
wire for safety.

green ground

white neutral

red one side of line to breaker

black other side of line to breaker

Right. So which is it? Neutral or ground on the third terminal? I
would like to tie the ground to the outlet box at the very least, but
it's a bit difficult to work with the 10 gage wire. Is there an easy
way to do this, or should I just cap it off?

wrote:
I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire
(unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the
ground wire to the box the outlet is in?

If it is the NEUTRAL and not a GROUND, then it is the white wire. I
would tend to believe that if you have a three prong outlet that it does not
call for a neutral and everything in the dryer is 240V. The dryer would
only need the neutral if it had a need for 120V and they did not include a
transformer. It should always have a ground.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Joseph Meehan wrote:
wrote:
I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire
(unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the
ground wire to the box the outlet is in?

If it is the NEUTRAL and not a GROUND, then it is the white wire. I
would tend to believe that if you have a three prong outlet that it does not
call for a neutral and everything in the dryer is 240V. The dryer would
only need the neutral if it had a need for 120V and they did not include a
transformer. It should always have a ground.


I would have to look at the wire diagram but I am pretty certain that
only the heating elements in the dryer are 240V. The motor, timer and
lamps are 120V. Therefore the third terminal should be a Neutral.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
wrote:
I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire
(unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the
ground wire to the box the outlet is in?

If it is the NEUTRAL and not a GROUND, then it is the white wire. I
would tend to believe that if you have a three prong outlet that it does
not call for a neutral and everything in the dryer is 240V. The dryer
would only need the neutral if it had a need for 120V and they did not
include a transformer. It should always have a ground.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit
Maybe for the Irish, but in the US most dryers use 120 volt motors to turn
the drum and also for the timer.

The neutral wire also serves as the ground in the three wire hookup as it is
grounded back at the fuse/braker box.

The point is that this IS a new installation and you should be using a four
wire outlet and cord set on the dryer. If it were an EXISTING feeder with
only three wires originating from a main service panel, your grounded
conductor would be connected at the panel to the ground/neutral bar and to
the ground/neutral connection on your outlet


wrote in message
oups.com...
Right. So which is it? Neutral or ground on the third terminal? I
would like to tie the ground to the outlet box at the very least, but
it's a bit difficult to work with the 10 gage wire. Is there an easy
way to do this, or should I just cap it off?

Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
wrote:
I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the
red and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but
which wire goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire
(unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the
ground wire to the box the outlet is in?

If it is the NEUTRAL and not a GROUND, then it is the white wire.
I would tend to believe that if you have a three prong outlet that
it does not call for a neutral and everything in the dryer is 240V. The
dryer would only need the neutral if it had a need for 120V and
they did not include a transformer. It should always have a ground.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit
Maybe for the Irish, but in the US most dryers use 120 volt motors to
turn the drum and also for the timer.

Very true, but I understand some of the new ones do otherwise. I have
not personally seen any however. I Ireland they would not have any need
for 120V everything would be 220V.


The neutral wire also serves as the ground in the three wire hookup
as it is grounded back at the fuse/braker box.

It may act that way, but it should not. There should be a four wire
connection. The neutral is not a ground and a ground should never carry
current unless there is a fault.



--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

wrote:
I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire
(unsheathed)? I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the
ground wire to the box the outlet is in?

White goes to the neutral.
The bare wire goes to the (usually green) connection.

Sounds like you should really have someone in to look at this for you. You
could end up with a pretty dangerous situation if you miswire it and the
washer/dryer end up with a voltage between them. It's a longevity issue for
whoever uses them!

Pop

posted for all of us...

I'm installing a 220 V outlet for my electric dryer. The outlet is
3-prong, and I have run 10-3 wire to the outlet. I know that the red
and black wires go to the two hot sides of the outlet, but which wire
goes to neutral? Is it the white wire or the ground wire (unsheathed)?
I have seen conflicting information online about this.

If it's the white wire i'm supposed to use, do I need to tie the ground
wire to the box the outlet is in?


Google is broken at your house? This has been addressed SO MANY times.
--
Tekkie "There's no such thing as a tool I don't need."