I asked a Lowe's emp what wire I should buy for a 3 prong plug. I was told 10-2. when I ran the wire to the old junk box there is 10-3 wire to it. How can I connect the 10-2 wire at the junk box. Or do I have to run the 10-2 to the main?

3 prong for what? What exactly are you trying to do? What appliance are you trying to hook up? 10 AWG is not used for outlets unless it is specifically designed for such.

Sorry, missed the dryer caption. Newer dryers run a 4 prong and if you have a 10/3 you need a 4 prong plug. Is the outlet 3 prong wired with 10/3?

The Lowe's employee was (not surprisingly) incorrect. You MUST run 10/3 to an electric dryer.
I would take it back and make sure they refund your money due to the employee's inaccurate advice.

Lesson here, never, never, never, take the advice of a store clerk, unless he/she can produce a license for the trade/department they are working in.

Just to be clear, a #10-3 cable will have four wires, black, red, white, and green or bare for the equipment ground.

There seems to be some confusion here but maybe its just me.

What is a junk box? Exactly what are you trying to do? It sounds like you are trying to hardwire from the outlet box to the dryer.

To be specific, 10-2 wire is really 10-2 cable and has 3 wires, a black, white and ground. That is because the "2" means 2 conductors not wires. The ground is not a conductor and is not counted. 10-3 cable would have 4 wires.

If you are trying to hardwire the dryer to the box I suggest you return the cable and purchase a dryer receptacle that matches the wiring you have between the box and circuit panel. I you have a total of 4 wires in the box buy a 4 prong receptacle. If you only have 3 wire buy a 3 prong receptacle. Then buy a dryer cord and plug to match the receptacle.

Of course you, could have bought 10-2 cable without a ground in which case you would only have 2 wires, black and white.

PS.
I just reread your post and now I am more confused. You said you ask the store employee what wire you should use for a 3 prong plug. Are you trying to wire your own plug or did you mean receptacle?

"Lesson here, never, never, never, take the advice of a store clerk" unless you are asking which coffee machine is best. Not all clerks give bad advice but if they were great at this line they wouldn't be work at HD. You can always use us or the net to get better advice. Please clear up Harold's questions

Funny stuff Bal,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

unless you are asking which coffee machine is best.

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Sure some may give proper advice, most don't.

My experience is dealing with clerks at electrical distributors. I have been at the counters when a customer, usually a DIY'er, (sometimes even an electrician), have asked for what size wire, type of cable, etc. to buy, and every counter guy tells them the same response, they are not allowed to give advice. If you want to buy something, you need to know what to buy.

Hardware stores are a different situation, of course, being wide open to the public. They really need to be careful telling someone what to use or how to install it.

I wonder how many unsuspecting customers have installed something incorrectly because of bad advice from a hardware store clerk.

You bring up a good point. I know of one store that had a licensed "electrician" working there. I know because I fired him. He could not get a job working as an electrician, so, now what? He has a license and may be giving advice, and he is not such a good source.


I suspect a "junk' box is a junction box.

Lowe's brags about having people who worked in the field that can answer questions. They have answer just not the right answers. Thanks to all who took the time to respond.. I did wire it on my own once I was told how.

The correct answer to a the question, "What kind of wire do I need to wire a 3 prong dryer plug", is 10/2.

It must be understood that 10/2 is "10/2 with ground."

The question of exactly what are you attempting to do remains. Are you attempting to hard wire your dryer to the box? Are you attempting to make your own cord and plug? Do have an existing receptacle. Do you really have 10/3 wire from the panel to the box or is it 10/2 with ground?