How do I change hook up the dryer electrical outlet?

Question

We changed the cordon our dryer to fit the outlet in the wall and found out that the outlet was not hooked up in the wall. We need to know what wires go where. Can anyone please help so I dont have to pay $100 just to hook up some wires?

Answer 1

The cord on the drier was designed to carry a certain amount of current.  Normally the outlet and circuit to supply the out would be installed to match the current load of the drier.  You could be overloading the circuit by mismatching the drier with the outlet.

Most residential circuits will have a black wire, a white wire and a green wire.  The black and white wires are "hot" and the green wire is ground, those corrospond to the wires in the cord.  The best way to tell is measure the voltage between wires. The voltage between the black and white wires should be about 220 V.  The measurement from the green wire to either the black or white wire should be about 110 V.

$100 would be a small investment compared to the cost of burning down your home.  If you don't have the right tools and knowledge this could be a costly mistake.

Answer 2

First make sure the breaker is off, then remove the old outlet noting the wiring configuration. In a 220 outlet you will have 2 hot wires (black) and a neutral (white) and a ground. Follow the instructions on the box the new outlet came in. Normally the hot will terminate on the gold s***w and the neutral on the silver one. Either hot can be terminated on either gold s***w or where the instructions tell you to put them. And be sure the ground wire is terminated as well. Before you put it back in the wall. plug the dryer in and turn the breaker on, check the dryer and make sure it works. If it does, go turn the breaker off and reinstall the outlet in the wall. If it doesn't, check the instructions again.

Answer 3

Your safety is worth $100.00 is it not?  No one on here is there at your house to see what is what.  Pay the money.

Answer 4

Don't even think about it! Unless you know what you are doing you can get into serious trouble. $100 is well worth it.

Answer 5

Is there a circuit breaker for the dryer in the breaker box?  Is it on or off?  If it is on, turn it off and remove the cover for the dryer receptacle and verify that there are wires in the box and they are connected to the receptacle.  

Answer 6

I will provide the information you want but please do consider what the other poster states if you don't know how to work around electricity then maybe you shouldn't it can kill you.  Make certain the breaker is off your best bet is just to turn them all off since you have no way to check this outlet.  Better to reset a few clocks than go to the hospital.  A standard dryer plug will have either 3 or 4 prongs on the three prong unit the bottom plug will accept the neutral (white wire), the top two plugs will accept a black and red(color can vary but NEVER WHITE OR BARE COPPER).  It doesn't matter which is which.  The slots will most likely be labeled by each s***w head as neutral or white; black, red, or line.  Just follow the labels.  On a four prong outlet you will still have the two hot leads(red and black), a neutral(white), and also a ground this s***w will likely be green it accepts a naked wire or a green insulated wire.  Maybe your best bet is to just buy a new outlet (4 prongs for four wires three prongs for three wires) as the box will have instructions on it and the outlet will still be clearly labeled.  It's worth the 8 bucks.  One other thing to consider is why isn't this outlet hooked up is something wrong with the wiring?  Please be careful remember when it comes to electricity when in doubt call the pros.  Good luck.

Answer 7

Agree with other posters. Dryers run on 220 volts.

That can get you DEAD.  (not that other voltages will not)