Clothes Dryer Wiring

mjay

240v Receptacle was installed by experienced licensed electrician, but he had ran it to the wrong panel [3 panels in apartment house], so landlord was paying for dryer. Easy mistake, panels aren't clearly marked and nobody supervised, landlord only discovered when he got his electric bill.
I upgraded a sub panel for dryer, confident with that.
But when I removed cover from landlords panel to remove breaker and wiring for the dryer red [10/3] was attached to the neutral bus bar: white was attached to breaker: black to other breaker [240v 30A].

Dryer was working fine, no complaints from users.
If I wire it as normal [red to breaker - white to neutral] do I have to change the wiring in receptalce.

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There's some top class people on this forum,........and then there's me...Touching cloth.

Speedy Petey

Absolutely NOT normal. I am surprised a real electrician would do such a thing.

You really should fix this. Swap the red and white at both ends.

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jbfan

Also check the repct. to make sure it is wired correctly.

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mjay

Thanks, for the info.
Yep, I'm real surprised, I know the electrician and certainly wouldn't have expected this. Sure, the dryer works, but what about the poor bugger that assumes the white is neutral.
I know from now on I'll never assume color of a wire = no charge.

Any stories of similiar situations.

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RobertF

Just did a job recently with 3phase. Two of the legs were green...

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mjay

Long time ago, a large Victorian house was being converted to a store. Old wall lights everywhere, electrician was supposed to have disconnected all wall lights: My job was to remove fixtures, clip wires, and spackle holes. So around I go with the linemans and an 5 gallon bucket to stand on:clip, clip. I was working alone, radio blasting, not a care in the world.
BANG! I fall of the bucket.
One of the wall lights was live. Mo.Fo electrician.
Shook up and pissed, I packed it in for the night. Job was close to home, walking home stopped in the Chinese to get my supper, got some odd looks, stopped in the store to get milk, odd look from the cashier. At home went to bathroom to wash up and did I double take in the mirror.
My face was black with soot, looked like a old coal-miner.

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There's some top class people on this forum,........and then there's me...Touching cloth.

Speedy Petey

#1 Rule - Always treat wires as live.

#2 Rule - NEVER trust anyone who tells you wires are dead!

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firemike

I can't agree with Petey enough - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER assume that someone else has disconnected something, even if they tell you they did. Especially in older buildings/houses that have undergone years of mutations and cobbeling. I even double check myself, as I have created a few pairs of combination linemen pliers/wire strippers by turning off a mislabeled breaker and not double checking. Safety first!

C&B

if this is a new dryer make sure the recptical is a 4 prong and do the same with the cord you can also do this with a old one also.
if it has 10-3 wg why not use it correctly?

Browny

ANOTHER TOTAL AGREE ON NEVER LET SOMEONE TELL YOU ITS NOT LIVE!!!!


WHen I was younger I was working on a kitchen install with the guy who got me into this stuff. Anyhow he told me the 220 line was not live so i grabbed a pair of linesman pliers POW! Lucky for me the rubber on the handles saved me. Scared the SHIAT out of me!

SO YES DEFINITE RULE NEVER LET SOMEONE ELSE TELL YOU THAT ITS NOT LIVE!

CE1

One tine I was working on a 30 amp 3 phase diconnect that needed to be moved. the disconnect was properly marked as to where it was feed from. Iturned off the breaker and checked the LINE SIDE of the disconnect(TOP) and the meter read 0 volts. I next took a pair of cable cutters to cut the SO cord on the load side and BAM, knocked me on my A__ and tripped the building main. Somebody had back feed the SO cord from some where else.

Moral of the story "Somebody has come before you and they just might have done it wrong"

49FRANKS

Love Those Switched Neutrals
TELL EVERYONE 4WIRE TO 3WIRE CHANGEOUTS CAN KILL
PEOPLE (HOMEOWNERS) DON'T KNOW TO JUMP THE GROUND
IT'S BESIDE THE GROUNDED WASHER
KIDS HAVE DIED TOUCHING BOTH
I LEAVE THE BONDING STRAP IN FOR FUTURE DUMB ARSES

possum

Thanksgiving Day 1976 , my grandfather was the superintendent for a large EC here in Michigan. His foreman on the job assured him that everything in the sub station at an auto plant was de-energized, 13,800 volts primary, 45 days in the burn unit. NEVER TRUST ANYONE , IT'S YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!!

RobertWilber

I got a call from a deli in West Philly once.
Said some machine wasn't working.
I get there.
It is a BRAND NEW STORE!
No power to the machine, so I open the panel.
Pretty work, but ...
Every white was on a breaker.
Every black was on the neutral bar.
I closed it up, told the guy what problems he had and walked away.
I wasn't touching THAT mess with a ten foot pole!