Electrical for Dryer, What kind of wiring do I need?

Question

I need to run wiring for my dryer (installed dryer is gas... it must go!). It needs to go about 60 ft. from the service box and I happen to have enough 8-2 w/ground on hand. I'd like to use this if I can. What do you think, will 8-2 with ground work for this application?

Answer 1

Yes, an 8/2 with ground will work very well. The white and black will go to the 2 angled prongs (hot or line) and the bare ground will go the the ground connection. All you need is a 30 Amp breaker and plug, however the larger wire will have less resistance therefore using actually less electricity than a 10 guage wire would.

You can buy both a 30 Amp 3 conductor  Pigtail to dryer and Plug to run your dryer. What cord did you get with the dryer?

Answer 2

You really should have 2 hots a nutural and a ground.  you could use your ground as a nutural.  but its not recomended.    check your electriacl rating on the back of the dryier  your drier may not even require a nutural.

Answer 3

Get a how-to book if your not sure. This will give you directions and references on hand.

Answer 4

No. Current code requires 3 conductor and a ground wire.  Check the required ampacity of the dryer and then size your wire and the breaker accordingly.  If this is not clear, call a qualified professional electrician to do the work properly.

Answer 5

Normally, you would need a 220 volt with a 30 amp breaker.  The above poster was right, you need a 3 conductor w/ground.  Take a look at this...

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Electrical-Wi...

The scheme is for a central air unit, but the wiring is the same.

Answer 6

Yes this will work... but it's not up to code... Actually 10-3 w/ ground is what is code... Jus make sure if you use the 8-2 to use a 30 amp double pole breaker...