Um, what gauge wire is that? any markings on it? looks like old 12-2, what amp breaker? shame on you guys not picking up on that. also should of upgraded to 4 wire, but not required. Hot, Hot, Neutral, Ground, safer
I know breaker is a 30. No identification on wire, anywhere! From the age of this house I would guess the wire is from 1950's or 60's? It has been running the previous dryer ok....?
It's hard to tell for sure from the pics, but your wire could be #10 (which is what it should be). Yes, on a wire ID... 12/2 wg is # 12 wire, 2 conductors, with ground.
I only know "gauge" from needles in the vet hospital I worked at. Is it similar? Smaller # = thicker?
As the number gets smaller, the wire size is bigger. # 10 is the next size larger wire vs #12... #10 wire is needed for a 30 amp dryer circuit.
yes you are correct, if it is 12 wire on a 30 amp breaker it is not safe, 12 wire is rated 20 amp. Now it would take a dead short to exceed rating, the wire might burn before the breaker trips.
now, old 12 wire is probably closer to new 10 wire, as with everything, new 12 wire is thinner than old 12 wire
We went down this road with wildwest a while back, I think during my laundry room remodel. Like has been suggested a swap over to 10ga was completed when the homes electrical was upgraded - but then again the electrician may have judged the old 12ga as 10ga and left it. I've seen a bunch of old 12 that would pass as 10, they were a little less concerned with dies wearing back then when copper was cheap.
Yes you did, (woops, I am such a loudmouth here with posts I doubt I could find that thread ), I very much appreciate all of the help and experience you have shared with me. You, and so many others here have helped me so much, I don't have enough smilies to convey my appreciation. ironpony I did get advice here on changing out to a better guage wire. Unlike my past, I am not able to tackle learning how to hardwire from the fuse box, also add in that I was a bit chicken about it too. Bock bock Bock.
Hi Dave, he does not do text or email but has an incredible memory and said it was infact 12. He will swap it out next time he is out here but said it should be fine til then, something about its less than 10' long? (it is 7' to be exact). We had planned on remodeling the laundry room and he was going to do a permanent installation inside the walls with better wire. Well, the laundry room remodel is permanently on the back burner for now.
It doesn't have anything to do with distance in your case. The circuit breaker is larger(30A) than the conductor (12ga/max 20A)is rated for. If the dryer were to pull over 20A - say 28A for a period of time the 12ga could get warm enough to melt the insulation and cause an electrical fire before the circuit breaker trips. The times when physical length of the circuit matters is installing something like a well pump far away from the house or shed sub-panel. The conductor size on a 20A circuit breaker will be upgraded from 12ga to 10ga due to the voltage drop created from the resistance in the smaller wire. In the mean time I wouldn't worry about burning your house down that camp has been there for a while
