How to Wire a 3 Prong Dryer Outlet

Although most states call for a four pronged dryer outlet, some states do allow the use of a 3 prong dryer outlet. Wiring these three pin electrical dryer outlets up is easy. Running a cable from your distribution panel to the dryer is actually fairly easy. What's more, once you get the cable to the dryer connecting it up is surprisingly easy too.

Step 1 - Checking the Outlet

You must first take a look at the outlet to ensure that you have chosen the correct one. The receptacle should have two straight slots for pins and an oval hole at the top. There will also be an L shaped slot somewhere towards the bottom. Before you do any electrical projects on your home it is essential that you switch the power off first.

Step 2 - Wiring the Box

Pull electrical cable inside the box and strip off the insulation. You need to remove around 6 inches of plastic from the cables. Ensure that the terminals make good contact with the individual wires.

Step 3 - Connecting the Outlet

Connect the red and black cables to the terminals that are either side of the socket, it is not important which way round these go. Always use screw terminals rather than push in terminals because the screw will hold the wires solidly for much longer.

Step 4 - Connecting Neutral

The neutral wire is the white wire which can be connected to the bottom terminal. The ground wire is either green or bare copper, this needs to be connected to the terminal right at the top.

Step 5 - Fixing the Box

Carefully push the wire back inside of the box so that the box will fit against the wall. Use a drill and chisel to remove the plaster from the wall so that the metal electrical box will fit into the hole snugly. This will be easier if you mark the position of the box on the wall in pencil and then use a drill to remove the plaster. 

Step 6 - Wiring Circuit Breaker

Once you have finished wiring the outlet you then need to connect the outlet to the circuit breaker. Do this in a similar way to the outlet, it's simply a matter of unscrewing the circuit breaker and wiring onto that.

Strip 6 inches of insulation off the wires so that you have enough to work with. Then feed the individual wires into the terminals of the circuit breaker and tighten them up. It's important that this wiring is neat and tidy because it will prevent the likelihood of short circuits.

Switch the power back on and use a multi meter to check that the right voltages are being received from the correct outlets. Remember a dryer outlet should be able to provide two different voltages, 120V and 240V depending on the pins you are testing. If this is not correct then you might want to get an electrician to help you.