Have basic electric dryers electrical changed much in 18 years? Volts/Amps?

[decocritter]

Most new basic ones use 30 amps and 240/208 volts.


Seems to be a lot of talk about dryers blowing fuses and breakers

I have a three prong dryer and have never blown anything.

[OWC Jamie]

decocritter wrote:


I have a three prong dryer and have never blown anything.

Oh, really.

[JoeH]

Depends where you live and the dryer you buy. Code may specify a larger breaker in some locations. And the dryer I got about 20 years ago recommended a 40 A breaker. I also need to use a 4-prong plug to connect the dryer to meet code here.

[decocritter]

How can I tell what I have now as far as breaker/power? I have a large capacity 18 year old GE with 3 prong plug and dedicated outlet?

Lowes said dryer could take a 3 prong or 4 prong cord.

[cbelt3]

As noetd above, YMMV. My area requires 40 Amps, which wasn't a big deal when I put it in.

[H1N1]

decocritter wrote:
I have a three prong dryer and have never blown anything.

TMI!

[lafinfil]

decocritter wrote:
How can I tell what I have now as far as breaker/power? I have a large capacity 18 year old GE with 3 prong plug and dedicated outlet?

Lowes said dryer could take a 3 prong or 4 prong cord.

Look at the breaker in the box - amperage will be marked on the breaker (I'll bet 30 amp)

A 3 wire is an older system and uses the common wire as the ground.
A 4 wire is newer design that uses a separate ground instead of sharing the common.

Newer dryers are sold with a 4 wire set up that is easily switched to 3 - $10 part and 10 minute job.

[OWC Jamie]

The circuit breaker in the circuit breaker panel should be marked with an amp rating and if you're lucky labeled 'dryer'.
It should also be one of the few dual toggle breakers.
You might also have a 220 well pump and/or A/C n Georgia.


If your current dryer/house has a three prong outlet then you need them to put on a three prong cord and plug on the new dryer to match what you have.

Code for new construction and/or repairs can require the newer 4 wire plugs, wires and outlets that seperate ground from neutral.

[Mike Sellers]

I recently bought a new washer/dryer combo through Home Depot. The sales lady tried to upsell me on a larger combo and I said no. Then she tried to sell me a hookup package and I again said no. After she realized she was getting nowhere with me, she told me I could just switch the power cord from the old dryer to the new one which is easy to do. When the guys showed up, they said that wasn't necessary since it came with the proper power cord AND new hoses for the washer. Can't blame her for trying but don't let anyone try to sell you that stuff.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

lafinfil wrote: Newer dryers are sold with a 4 wire set up that is easily switched to 3 - $10 part and 10 minute job.

I wish. The Samsung dryer I purchased last month came with no power cord at all. I wouldn't have minded so much if I'd been informed of this ahead of time, but I didn't learn about it until I was smack dab in the middle of my installation. I had to dig deep into the owner's manual to find the single line of text confirming that the lack of a power cord was not an inadvertent omission at the factory - apparently Samsung doesn't ship power cords with any of their U.S. models. Hard to believe this little nugget of information failed to turn up anywhere during the months of research I did prior to this purchase.

I had to make a late night, last minute Home Depot run to finish my installation. The nice thing is I was able to match my cord to my available power.