Why Grounding Your Dryer is Important

Posted by Stephanie Junek on

Did you know some dryer plugs are 3-prong and others are 4-prong?  Have you wondered why this is or have you had trouble connecting your dryer to your home electrical dryer outlet because they don’t match?

NEMA 10-30R outlet

The old style of 3-prong dryer cords did not include a ground wire.  Changes in the National Electrical Code now require dryers to be wired with a ground wire.  This means the cords now have 4-prong plugs.  There are some cases where you cannot plug your dryer into your receptacle.  This is because you may have an old dryer and a new construction home or a new dryer and an old home. 

NEMA 14-30R outlet

AC WORKS® brand residential collection contains a few options for you to adapt to the current outlet you have in your home, meaning you won’t have to hire an electrician to re-wire your outlets. 

When using an old 3-prong cord, the neutral wire had to be tied to the ground connection on the case of your dryer, which is metal.  When converting with a 4-prong adapter it is important to make sure the neutral terminal is not connected to the ground case. 

Make sure you are correctly connected before you plug your dryer in.  There are many things that can go wrong with a dryer that has been incorrectly ground.  For example, your hot wire could cause your dryer to become live, causing electrocution or shock to anyone who touches it. 

The 4-prong cords contain two hot wires, a neutral, and a ground wire.  This provides a safe path for any current traveling to the machine to be re-routed and avoid danger. 

We have a variety of dryer adapter types to find solutions allowing you to convert a 3-prong to a 4-prong or vice versa. 

AD14301030

AD14301030 Dryer Adapter by AC WORKS™

S10301430-018

S10301430-018 Dryer Adapter by AC WORKS™

S14301030-018

S14301030-018 Dryer Adapter by AC WORKS™

If you have any questions about how to convert or properly hook your dryer up to your current outlet contact our sales engineers for solutions.  info@acconnectors.com We are happy to help find the solution to work best with your existing hookups and teach you how to install them properly and safely. 


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34 comments

  • Is it possible to get just the ground wire from one of your adapter kits?

    Nicholas on
  • Hello Kelly. Is your dryer gas operated? I would contact the manufacturer to see why the cable is like that.

    Christopher on
  • Hi .
    My electric cable for my dryer have 3 prong and I have 3 cables black white and green the instructions do not say anything about green wire only 2 hot cables and 1 neutro?

    Kelley on
  • Hello Jay. I’m not sure I entirely understand your question. Can you please send me an email with images of what you are working with? This will help me to better understand your situation.
    ac-creative@acconnectors.com

    Christopher on
  • Missing my link for the ground wire connect can I still change my 3 prong into 4. However now the green wire won’t reach

    Jay on

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