electric dryer wiring

Hi I am not sure this is the correct group, I will appreciate referral to the right one. I ran ~35" wire from the electric dryer outlet to the circuit breaker box. I asked in Home Depot which wire to use, I was told that 12AWG is adequate. I finished the wiring, and AFTER that noticed that the dryer label says that 10AWG is required. I noticed few places on WWW saying that

12AWG is for 20A circuits.

The wire is connected to the 30A breaker, it is not buried (just stapled to the basement wall). I estimated that there will be no more than 10-15 degrees C wire temperature rise (very conservative estimate, 30A current). It seems safe in basement (New England area, ambient temperature never exceeds 40 deg C), the cable insulation has

80 deg C rating (I think). What does Electrical Code say? Do I really need to rewire the darn thing? Thanks
Reply to
Michael
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#10 is the minimum for a 30 amp circuit, per the NEC. You also need 4 wires,

2 hots, a neutral and a ground. Most dryers I have seen recently require a 4 wire plug. Change the wiring, peace of mind is well with the few bucks this is going to cost you.
Reply to
SQLit

Yes. You need #10. Whenever there are differences in the information, the NEC supersedes Home Depot, and the manufacturers nameplate supersedes the NEC. In this case, the NEC and nameplate agree, so there is no question about it.

Ben Miller

Reply to
Ben Miller

the

I have always wondered what credentials HD, Lowe's or any home improv. place have that enable them to influence a customer to make the wrong choice. I would think that they would have some liability if his house burned down from an installation that they said was OK.

Reply to
User 1.nospam

Don't forget about derating, especially if the wires are goinf somewhere where it is warm...It's typically better to lean larger in power transfer. Price, area and compatability back-pressure size.

Reply to
Amos B. Moses

I'd think you would have to *prove* to a court that they actually told you to use that wire size - and if you didn't have it in writing, that could be a bit difficult. After all, they could always claim that you didn't tell them what it was for - and they haven't inspected the installation either, so how could they *possibly* suggest anything? ;-)

The flip side is that, over here anyways, if you do your own house wiring (even if it is correct and to the rules) and get caught, you'll get busted, fined *and* dragged over hot coals. Last I checked, the maximum fine was something like $10k and/or 6 months jail.

I know of one installation where Joe Homeowner got busted because (and I quote) "the wiring was too neat - no electrician would ever do it like that!" :-)

Cameron:-)

Reply to
Cameron Dorrough

I tend to agree. The 'guy' at HD or Lowe's probably isn't a journeyman, much less a 'master'. Seems like giving out advice on electrical design is leaving them open to all sorts of liability (especially when the advice is

*not* up to NEC even).

But then, proving it in a court of law is another matter. A case of your word against theirs.

daestrom

Reply to
daestrom

Reply to
dummy

Thank you guys!! I wonder if Home Depot pays enough to hire licensed (knowledgeable) people...

Reply to
Michael

Not here in Florida. They do have a board up in the electrical department with different wire sizes and ampacity that seems pretty accurate. The problem is finding a clerk who understands it. When I see people buying 200a panels and meter bases, then asking extremely basic questions (getting wrong answers), I do get a little shiver down deep in my soul.

Reply to
Greg

I'd think you would have to *prove* to a court that they actually told you to use that wire size - and if you didn't have it in writing, that could be a bit difficult. After all, they could always claim that you didn't tell them what it was for - and they haven't inspected the installation either, so how could they *possibly* suggest anything? ;-)

The flip side is that, over here anyways, if you do your own house wiring (even if it is correct and to the rules) and get caught, you'll get busted, fined *and* dragged over hot coals. Last I checked, the maximum fine was something like $10k and/or 6 months jail.

I know of one installation where Joe Homeowner got busted because (and I quote) "the wiring was too neat - no electrician would ever do it like that!" :-)

Cameron:-)

Reply to
Cameron Dorrough

supersedes the

choice. I

Don't suggest this. For those of us who can read, it's very convenient to be able to buy wiring supplies at our friendly local big-box home renovation shop. If stupid people start litigating every time they burn themselves out of a house, pretty soon it will be impossible for anyone not a 33rd degree master electrician to buy a cap for a cord set.

Though I did have one occasion in which I grumbled at this tiny town where there's no place to buy a 30 amp 3-phase twist-lock plug on a Sunday afternoon. Probably a bit out of the usual for a Rona or Canadian Tire anyway...

Bill

Reply to
Bill Shymanski

#10 is definitely required for 30A dryer circuits by the NEC. Don't skimp on this point. However, there are grandfather provisions if your old house circuit only has the old style 2 hots and a neutral. In such case you could use an existing 3 wire 30A receptacle instead of a 4 wire 30A receptacle. The neutral in this case is also the ground for the dryer.

Without this exception people would be forced to rip out the wiring from the walls and be forced to install new 4 wire stuff. Expensive and messy.

Your dryer should have instructions for attaching a 3 wire cord or a 4 wire cord (suggestion - maybe take the cord off the old dryer if you are replacing it.)

Does anyone know what prompted the code to change to the 4 wire requirement for new construction? Did somebody, somewhere get electrocuted touching the frame of their dryer? I'd be grateful to hear the specific facts.

I had a weird experience when I moved into my 1992 house and bought a dryer in 2001. Apparently the electricians in this entire area all used 50A 3 wire range receptacles to wire all of the dryers instead of

30A receptacles. The circuit was a 30A circuit with a 50A receptacle, thus a code violation. (Maybe they didn't want to stock two different types of receptacles for dryers and ranges - I have no idea!) I fixed it. Apparently Sears knew about it and wouldn't let their installers plug their dryers in unless the receptacles were properly sized at 30A. The average Joe had to call an electrician to fix it. I wonder about this though - Must have been a lax or paid off electrical inspector in this area to let that go by...

Beachcomber

Reply to
Beachcomber

To quote the proposal in the ROP "the war is over". This was an exception made during WWII to save copper and violated requirements in other places in artice 250. They were just trying to be consistant. This came as part of a total rewrite of article 250 where they fixed hundreds of inconsistancies and "exceptions to exceptions".

Reply to
Greg

Please tell me that it is an urban legend! I am one of those "Joe Homeowners"...

Reply to
Michael

It is an urban legend if you live in the US. YMMV "down under". US homeowners are allowed to work on their own homes. What they can't do is hire out, work on rental properties or properties up for sale without a license. The strictness of those latter rules varies by state but that is the basic objective. Basically you can burn your own house down but you can't endanger others without a license.

Reply to
Greg

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