Are there dryer plug adapters

Can you post a picture of the plug and receptacle so we can answer this question without guessing? Show 3 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Community Bot 1. Tester Tester k 74 74 gold badges silver badges bronze badges. Actually, Tester, many modern electric dryers are built to be convertible between 3 prong and 4 prong As to your edit: To give advice to the OP to wire the dryer in this this way is irresponsible and dangerous!

The only correct answer is to replace the receptacle with the correct four prong outlet! SteveR It's only dangerous if the dryer does not have the ability to use a 3 prong cord, if it can use either there is no problem. I'm giving you the NEC article number Guy The three-prong dryer plug is not grounded. That is not safe. You should update it to a 4-prong outlet instead. Show 5 more comments. Not the down voter; but you took a year old question and made an answer that adds nothing of value not already in an existing answer.

See this suggested edit for some more commentary. Sorry, I disagree. I believe amphibient had the correct answer here. Never alter the appliance. You'll not only void the warranty, if new, you could seriously mess up the machine or kill someone using the machine.

I don't care that the answer was a year old. Someone will come along and think that fiddling with the appliance is a-ok. Be safe. Run a new wire and hook up the appliance as it was designed to be used. Add a comment. Welcome to DIY. This may be more appropriate as a comment to Tester or amphibient's answers, since it is essentially the same advice to rewire the outlet — mmathis. There are two options.

OR 2 You install a 3-prong plug on your dryer. EDITED for clarification: The three prong plug has two hot legs for the two bus voltages to add up to volts, plus a neutral wire. EDIT: Wiki tells it like it is. SteveR SteveR 3, 1 1 gold badge 13 13 silver badges 16 16 bronze badges. The third pin is neutral, not ground. Old dryers use NEMA receptacles, which is hot, hot, neutral. The chassis of the machine would be bonded to neutral, which basically means the neutral is also a ground, however, the wire would be insulated.

What Tester said. Third pins on plugs are never ground. TheEvilGreebo That is not entirely true. Are there adapters for dryer plugs?

Category: home and garden home appliances. Now, it would be convenient if there was a dryer plug adapter that you could plug into that three-pronged receptacle so that you could plug your dryer into that—but there isn't. You will have to change the dryer cord to make it fit. Does a 3 prong outlet have to be grounded? Are 3 prong dryer cords safe? How do you install a 3 prong dryer cord? Install the 3 - Prong Cord. Do you need a special plug for an electric dryer? What happens if you hook a dryer cord up backwards?

How many amps is a dryer plug? How many different dryer plugs are there? How do you test a dryer plug? How to Test a V Dryer Outlet. Locate the circuit breaker for the volt dryer outlet in the main circuit panel, which is typically located in the garage or utility room. What does a plug look like? What outlet do I need for a dryer?

What is the difference between a dryer plug and a stove plug? Why is my dryer plug upside down? Can you use an extension cord for a clothes dryer? Are 2 prong outlets legal? How do you wire a 3 prong plug with 2 wires? How do I change the end of a plug? How to Change Appliance Cords and Plugs. Cut off the cord about 2 inches above the plug. What does a 3 prong outlet look like? Similar Asks. I just changed out a range cord the problems are the same with ranges with 3 and 4 wire cords , for the same reason you are changing your dryer cord.

And I used the range cord from the range I was taking out. I'm removing an old dryer and replacing it with a new one. Would it be ok to salvage the 3 prong cord from the old dryer and use it for the new dryers plug the only reason I'm switching dryers is simply because I was given a newer better model so there shouldnt be any issues with the 3 prong cord being damaged or anything like that.

So would it be ok to do so? The apartment outlet either has no neutral or no ground which has been illegal for years. There should never be an unused terminal in an outlet. But you're on the right track; if you connect the ground wire in your cord to both ground AND the center terminal it should work. That IS how a three wire cord works anyway - the neutral and ground are connected inside the dryer.

Any wires coming from the dryer mechanism should be left just as they are; simply connect the cord "ground" or neutral if that's what it actually is to the center terminal with a jumper to the framework of the dryer. This is described in the article, and it won't make any difference whether that "ground" wire is an actual ground in the improperly wired outlet or actually a neutral.

A side note - your landlord is correct in that the outlet will supply volts to the dryer. What he is ignoring is that a dryer also requires volts, and that the wire providing that the neutral is missing. I just purchased a new dryer and live in an apartment.

There is a four prong outlet but only has 3 wires to it. It has a red and black hot wire to the two straight blades and a ground wire to the round blade. When dryer was delivered they hooked up a four prong cord with the white wire to the center and black and red to the two outside and the ground to the frame the dryer does not power on.

The apartment maintenance says that the plug is not the problem and will deliver to the dryer. I have noticed in operation manual that I can attach the ground wire to the center terminal. But there is also another white wire from the dryer attached to the center. What can I do if anything to get the dryer to power on? The vent hose could definitely be a problem. It is unlikely, but possible, that you have put the center wire on an outside terminal; be sure that the center, or white, wire is on the center terminal.

We recently replaced the cord from 4 to 3, but now it seems the heat is not working properly. It is taking rounds to dry a batch of t-shirts on high! Would it be a missing step in the cord? Could the vent hose be a problem as well? First, it is no longer legal to install an outlet without a ground, which is what the 3 prong setup is. If you try to go the other way, from a 3 to a 4 prong, the wiring in the wall is missing a ground so the 4 prong outlet, requiring a ground, will not have one.

Out of curiosity, why are you not able to change out the wall receptacle instead of changing out the wire? Yes, you can purchase a replacement, 3 prong, cord. If you are asking if there is an adapter of some sort; none that I would recommend; I actually recommend that any such adapter NOT be used.

I have a regular three prong outlet and a four prong dryer cord is there a replacement cord for that. If the outlet on the wall has three prongs yet the bottom is the L-shaped can I use a 3 pound with the bottom from being flat will it still work.

Yes, there are adapters that come and go on Amazon. This one is typical: an advertisement from China, in broken English, claiming to have a UL approval but failing to stamp it on their product as required by UL. They're willing to make a single cord to your specification, but it costs a great deal to get a UL listing and they will lose hundreds of dollars trying to do so for each product produced. But beyond that, consider just where you're going to put that ground wire, and what will be used for a neutral wire.

There IS no neutral in the wall, so any "neutral" in the adapter is not one at all. The ad says to ground that green wire to a 15 amp outlet it doesn't say where to attach it or where to find another outlet that the wire will reach - electrical code in the US requires a 10 ground wire to the panel and a 15 amp outlet only has a 14 wire.

It will not carry fault current safely. Hi, a little bit off topic but you said that there is no adapter. I'm looking at this adapter from Amazon. Is this okay to buy instead of a dryer cord and rewiring as you described? One end of the ground jumper goes to the center terminal, along with the center wire on the new cord. Thanks, Dan. But your explanation of how the ground wire is installed needs to be clearer.

Tell me how to connect to the middle wire and the frame. I'm dealing with a conversion from a 4-prong stove cord to a 3-prong cord.

I am not familiar with wiring requirements in Costa Rica. In the US, the neutral white wire is grounded to the ground bus in the panel, but everywhere else in the building it is forbidden to connect the white to the ground.

In the past US dryers then used the neutral wire as a ground; after all, it is connected to the ground in the panel. This is not the best possible arrangement, but it did provide grounding safety to the frame of the dryer via a ground jumper from the center wire of the dryer cable that's the neutral to the frame of the dryer.

It's good enough that when the electrical code changed it was allowed to remain in millions of homes. So if Costa Rica grounds that neutral wire in the panel box it will work fine as far as safety goes. I have no way of knowing if it is legal to do, though, and you MUST install a jumper as described above between the center terminal and the frame of the dryer.

Again, assuming you are using a dryer intended for the US market. This isn't the first time I've heard that manufacturers are not including that jumper in their instructions. I don't know if there is already one there there really should not be for a 4 wire cord or if they are just assuming that current codes apply to all houses. But even if it is already there it cannot hurt to put another one in - be sure to install that jumper!

In my new house we had a 4-prong Nema receptable for the dryer, like the ones you use for your Kitchen. I checked the circuit and has a 30 amp breaker. So, I filed a claim to the construction company to change it. They install it. Regardless of that, will this connection work? If not, considering I already have the 3 prong receptacle and the cable, is there a way to solve it? INteresting they skip this. Thanks for the help.

I had switched cords and then read your site and learned that I did not have a proper ground. I used the ground strap from the old dryer that i put the 3 prong on.

Thanks for saving me from a shock. Hi dan, i have a dryer i got from my inlaws next door, at yheir house its on a 4 prong and works great, i followed your steps and when put in my home on a 3 prong it runs for a minute and shuts off, i took it back to their house and it works just fine there, but still shuts off at my house Leave all wires alone that are not a part of the new cord.

If you are change from a 3 wire cord to a 4 wire cord, you have the wrong article. I'm changing a 3 prong cord to a 4 prong cord on my samsung dryer. What do i do about the small green wire below the wire panel cover.

Samsung shows a picture of my dryer but doesn't show how to change it. Nor does my manual. Should I leave it alone since it is on the white panel outside the cover. It does come from the dryer. Could that also be a ground wire? Lisa: There are few adapters out there, but the biggest problem is that they are not UL listed as they do not follow current National Electric Code.

I do not recommend them; instead I strongly recommend replacing your 3 prong cord with a 4 prong. It is much cheaper, easy to do and provides the safest method of using the new dryer. I just got a new dryer used it is 4 prong and my old dryer was 3 prong.

I was told I could buy and use an adapter and use that, is this true? Absolutely it is safe if done correctly. That is why the article was written; to explain how to do it safely. If it is at least 10 gauge wire, Mark, you could. Very few speakers use that large a wire, though - most systems are using 18 gauge or smaller bigger numbers mean smaller wire.

If you follow the directions here, no, you will not need a ground. When the directions are followed, the neutral wire serves as a ground so the wall outlet does not need one. I bought a drier with a 4 prone cord an had a 3 prone receptical do u need a ground to hook up for the drier to work. You MUST have either a wire preferably green or a ground strap to go from the center terminal to the grounding point - the "green nail". Do not operate the dryer without it - if necessary cut a piece off your old 4 wire cord but do NOT leave that ground jumper off.

Home repair shops sell both ground straps and wire. I just changed from 4 prong to 3 prong but I have no green wire to put on the green nail. Is that a problem? Very easy to convert. Mine had a green wire screwed down along with the white center wire. I simply created my own double ended green wire, attached the one end along with the white center wire and the other end jumpered over to the frame where the dryer control white ground wire was screwed to.

In a 3 prong cord you have it right; the center wire is the neutral and the outer two are the black and red. There is no ground wire at all in the cord, unlike the 4 prong cord that was on the dryer to start with.

Instead, the neutral is doing "double duty" after making the changes described in the article. I'm attempting to change a 4 prong cord to a 3 prong cord on a Kenmore elite dryer.

My cords are not color coded. So the middle cord is the white wire and the other 2 are black and red I'm speaking of the cords that aren't labeled? Which cord will be the grounding cord? The center wire of that flat, 3 wire, cord corresponds to the white wire of a 4 wire cord. The outer two correspond to the black and red in the 4 wire cord it doesn't matter if they are swapped.

There is no green ground in the 3 wire cord. Hi Kay. I'm assuming the green dryer is attached to the framework of the dryer somewhere - not to one of the terminals the other wires use.

If it is, leave it where it is and add a jumper wire or ground strap between the center terminal and the screw where that green wire attaches to the frame. If it is hanging free, use a screw to attach it to the frame somewhere and add that jumper wire. My dryer had 4 plug and the green wire was with the green from plug my 3 plug as 3 wires all gray so I put middle wire in middle and other2 either side what do I do with this green wire from dryer. It's supposed to be a 10 but, yes, a short piece of 12 will work.

Or perhaps a nearby home improvement carries ground straps? Amazon does, I know. Many most dryers have a white wire on the center post that is not from the cord, but rather goes deep into the dryer.

You did right in just leaving it there. There will also be the ground wire that goes both there and to the frame of the dryer, plus the center wire of the new cord. Two, probably 3 and maybe even more wires on that center terminal. We have a 4 prong dryer and need to put on a 3 prong cord. We put on the 3 prong but aren't sure if we did the ground correctly.

There was a white wire that we put on middle prong with middle wire. I read your article but am still not sure. Most likely one of the two outside wires is not connected properly. Loose, or left off entirely.

Once you have changed the wire and the dryer runs, is there a reason it will not now heat now when it did before changing the wires? As long as there is a wire from the frame to the center terminal, where the white wire was, it is sufficient.

I just went to change my 4 prong plug to a 3 prong and discovered the fourth, green grounding wire was connected in the same spot as the white wire, as opposed to being connected to the dryer frame. There is another green wire connected to the frame, separate from the plug. Will that be sufficient along with the new 3 prong plug? Dan - many thanks! If I can't get to it for a few days and the dryer is used I'm out of town does it pose a major "code red" situation? I think I just answered this, but Neither the ground strap is to go to the center terminal; it is illegal to ground the neutral wire there, and that's what you have done.

Instead, remove the ground strap from that terminal, remove the green wire from there, and put the green wire to where the other end of the ground strap attaches to the frame of the dryer. I left the grounding strap assembled and just doubled up the green and white wires on the middle terminal block position. The grounding strap remains in place and remains connected to the middle position.

Unit works great - but would like to know if this is going to be a concern. I thought it might be that the terminal ring I used was too low a voltage or something so I tried without it and still nothing. I'll check with a voltmeter tomorrow and let you know the results.

Thank you. Check that the other two connections are snug. If you have a voltmeter, each of the outside two terminals should show V to ground or neutral, or V between the two. I switched the cord to the 3 prong cord and cut a piece of the ground wire off the 4 prong then added an amp ring terminal to the cut end then attached one end to the ground screw and the other to the neutral but its not working. I get the lights but nothing when I push the button. Any ideas?

While it is not really possible to troubleshoot with such limited information, my guess would be a temperature limiting switch. Somewhere in the dryer is a temperature sensor that will shut it off if the temperature goes too high. I don't see it getting that hot in only a few seconds, which would seem to indicate that that sensor or the switch is bad. It's only a guess, though, and could be something else.

Have you checked that the discharge tube is clear and not plugged with lint? I hoped this would solve my problem , but it didn't when I turn my Roper dryer on , it runs for about 10 seconds , then shuts off any ideas?

It may be redundant Unless you traced that white wire on the chassis, you can't know for sure it is connected to the neutral. You did right by running another wire - a hundred wouldn't hurt. Won't help, either, but won't hurt. Dryer has white ground wire to chassis. Is it still necessary to connect ground strap or jumper to neutral post? I did run a jumper wire from neutral to chassis ground. May be redundant,but is it ok? TIA, Don. My apologies. That is a photo of a range outlet, not a dryer outlet.

At least it inspired you to ask, though, so maybe it's not all bad. Purchase a range cord and you should be fine. The wall outlet in your photo has three strait slots and so does mine. But the recommended three prong cord has an L-shaped ground prong. How is that supposed to fit? No problem with the cord; anything 30 amp or greater will do fine as long as it matches or exceeds the breaker. Thanks for the info. Is a 50amp range cord okay to use? It's a 40a circuit on a pushamatic panel.

New to us house. Actually, now that you mentioned that I took a second look. I was only looking at the ones that were clearly marked I am happy that my socket is ok I was a bit concerned! Thanks for the reply about the dryer though I am pretty excited that I did this on my own!! Thank you so much! You have it correct on the ground strap - you need another wire from the location of the 4 wire ground removed now to the center terminal.

I wouldn't worry about the 3 prong range plug. They were once very common and you're right in that it was probably originally a 3 prong. Surprised to hear that all your breakers are 30 amp, though, if that means for lights, regular outlets and all. That's pretty unusual. Dan, at the risk of being repetitive, for which I apologise , I am also rplacing a four pin with a three pin plug I am just a little bit fuzzy on the ground strap thing. Also, my mobile home originally had a gas dryer and when I asked about putting in an electric one, the manager put in a three pin socket Everything in my breaker box is 30 AMP.

I wondered if it originally had a three pin and the previous owners just chose to use gas? My washer plug is three pin.