The San Luis Obispo electricians are expert at upgrading wiring and outlets to match the best safety practices. ![]() The four-slot outlet is a safety feature. ![]() The new code requirement came about because it was discovered that the presence of water in laundry areas created a potential for electrical shock unless a separate and dedicated ground pathway was present. ![]() The NEC adopted during the 1990s required that the grounding wire be a separate, or fourth, wire, connecting to a dedicated fourth prong on the plug and requiring a four-slot outlet. Each of the three wires connected to one of the three prongs on the older prong. Three-prong plugs and outlets were the standard until the 1990s when the National Electric Code (NEC) and local code standards began mandating that dryer cords and outlets must be fitted with a separate grounding pathway.īefore 2000, the three-prong plug (and outlet) that powered electric dryers had two 120-volt wires and a third wire serving the functions of both a grounding and neutral pathway. What’s the difference between a three-prong and four-prong plug? An electric dryer generates the necessary heat, along with running everything else from electricity and requires 240-volt current, meaning the outlet needs to accommodate 240-volts. A gas dryer works by burning natural gas or propane to dry the clothes, so its electricity needs are satisfied by a normal 120-volt current outlet. Gas dryers and electric dryers have different electricity needs. There’s rarely a need to buy a new dryer. To be sure the dryer is going to work, some people call a certified electrician to switch out the cords. A trip to the hardware store for the right cord with the four-prong plug, remove the old cord, replace it with the new cord and all usually runs well. 120-volt connector is, if anything, a downgrade to their standard charging cord.What do you do when your dryer has a three-prong plug and your new house has four slots in the outlet? It’s actually a pretty quick fix according to the San Luis Obispo electricians at Electricraft, Inc. With the exception of Nissan, the three other makes come from countries that use standard European 230-volt current-meaning a U.S. We surveyed the carmakers that now provide charging cords that handle both voltages with their plug-in hybrids-specifically Audi, BMW, Nissan, and Volvo.Īmong the four brands, they use three different 240-volt plugs, all of them standards created by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, known as NEMA.īMW and Volvo both announced they will offer the TurboCord as original equipment, with a NEMA 6-20 plug for 240-volt charging.ĬHECK OUT: 2016 Volvo XC90 T8: First Plug-In Hybrid With 240-Volt Charging CordĪudi's dual-voltage charging cord comes with a standard NEMA 6-50 pigtail, but the option of ordering a NEMA 14-50 pigtail at additional cost.įinally, Nissan will offer the 2018 Leaf with a pigtail using a NEMA 14-50 plug. In fact, there are a few.Ģ016 Volvo XC90 T8 with AeroVironment TurboCord Level 2 charging cord That's where the problem comes in: more than one 240-volt wall socket exists in the U.S. Instead of a wire with a plug coming out of that, they offer a pair of interchangeable plugs, often on cords known as "pigtails." One has the standard three-prong grounded 120-volt plug, while the other has a different plug that fits into a 240-volt wall socket. They consist of the standard charging cable, attached to a plastic box containing the electronics. Thus the Aerovironment TurboCord, and later other similar portable EV charging cords, were born. ![]() READ THIS: BMW, Mercedes to offer wireless-charging options for plug-in hybrids next year It might also save them from the expense of installing their own Level 2 charging station. In due course, third-party companies had the idea that a charging cord that could handle not just 120-volt wall current but also 240-volt power would give electric-car drivers faster charging and extra flexibility. Dedicated Level 2 charging stations, meanwhile, used 240-volt current-effectively the same setup and wiring as an electric stove or clothes drier.
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