While putting in a dryer vent I partially cut one of the wires in the line that supplies dryer. I cut the black insulated copper wire about 1/3 of the way through. The uninsulated ground and the white insulated wire are fine. I wrapped the black wire with electriacal tape and then wrapped the entire wire group (surrounded by orange insulation) but was told I should cut out the damaged section and splice the ends together in a junction box. Is this necessary? Is there an easier way to do this, like maybe with some type of butt splicers? Thanks.

How come no shock on cutting live wire.
If its 1/3 of the way through then it needs repaired.
The site below will explain why a cut in the actual wire is bad and what can happen later

Electrical code guide for homeowners (http://www.inspect-ny.com/electric/Electrical_Splices.htm#reviewers)

Signed 21 Boat

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If the copper itself was even touched, it MUST Be repaired/replaced.


Boat, that InspectNY site is great for some information, but there is some BAD stuff there too. Like showing how to extend K&T wiring.

Thanks for the help.

21boat: there was no shock since I had turned off the breaker to the dryer (thankfully).

Is there any way to splice just ONE wire? The ground and white wire are intact, with no cuts. Only the copper in the black wire is nicked.

Are you saying there is only black, white and ground to your dryer?? I hope this is a gas dryer and not a 120/240v electric.:eek:

Hi stanfortyman,

The orange cable running to the dryer does have only 3 wires inside: black, uninsulated ground, and white. On its orange sheath is written:

Simpull AWG 10 CU 2 CDR with AWG ground type NMR 600V E 18679 UL Romex.

The dryer has this inside the door:

120/240V 60 Hz 5600W 24A 3 wire
120/208V 60 Hz 4400W 22A 3 wire

The orange cable was installed last week when we relocated our dryer, and the work was done by an electrician.

Does all of the above look OK? I really appreciate your help.

Tim

You need to call the electrician back and ask him to explain how he got 120/240 using 2 conductor w/ground. His answer is probably going to be that he used the bare grounding conductor as a neutral wire. He should have used 3 conductor w/ground to keep the grounding and neutral separate. If he moved or extended the circuit he should have brought it up to current code.

With the wire being cut 1/3 of the way through you are going to need to cut the wire behind the damaged area and re-attach the plug.

Hi stanfortyman,

The orange cable running to the dryer does have only 3 wires inside: black, uninsulated ground, and white. On its orange sheath is written:

Simpull AWG 10 CU 2 CDR with AWG ground type NMR 600V E 18679 UL Romex.

The dryer has this inside the door:

120/240V 60 Hz 5600W 24A 3 wire
120/208V 60 Hz 4400W 22A 3 wire

The orange cable was installed last week when we relocated our dryer, and the work was done by an electrician.

Does all of the above look OK? I really appreciate your help.

TimNO! It certainly does NOT look OK.
That was NO electrician. If it was he should be reported!
As Tev said, 10/2 was NEVER allowed to be used to wire a 120/240v dryer circuit.

Anyone installing it today is borderline criminal, in that he stole money from you for a highly non-compliant installation. :mad:

Hi stanfortyman,

Thanks for the great info.

I've been doing some reading on this situation. From what I understand it's OK to replace a 4 prong dryer plug with a 3 prong plug if your existing receptacle is a 3 prong.

It apparently is NOT acceptable though to move a 3 prong receptacle to another location in a room, you must replace the receptacle with a 4 prong if you relocate the receptacle. Is this correct?

If so, isn't it something of a technicality that you are required to replace the receptacle but don't have to replace the plug with a 4 prong, especially if you're only moving the receptacle a couple feet in the same room?

I'm not doubting you in any way but to do this correctly it looks like I'm supposed to run a new line all the way back to the breaker box and I'm trying to avoid the cost of that.:(

Thanks again for your help.

Tim

You are basically right in all these points. You technically are really not supposed to alter or change a "3-wire" circuit. If it is existing you absolutely can replace the cord on the applaince to match it.
Shortening the circuit would be sort of a work around to this. Lengthening it would be expressly prohibited.

The fact remains that 10/2 is not, and has never been, safe or legal for a 120/240v electric dryer.

Just one more question and I'll stop bugging you (I hope).

Exactly what is meant by the "10/2" to which you're referring?

Thanks again.

Tim

10/2 is 10AWG (American wire gauge), 2 conductor.

10/3, which is what should have been used, is 10AWG, 3 conductor.

Note that the equipment grounding wire is not counted so 10/2 has two conductors for carrying current plus a wire for equipment grounding use only.

Thanks Tev.

So it sounds like the 10/2 never should have been used to wire the dryer, even if the wiring was done years ago? Is that correct?

Can't give you the date that code changed the requirements, but IIRC, at one time you could use SE cable for a range or dryer. That has 3 conductors, the 'neutral conductor' did double duty as neutral and ground. That was before I ever got involved with electrical work. Now you must have 3 conductor w/ground. It definitely is safer.

EPM

Can't give you the date that code changed the requirements, but IIRC, at one time you could use SE cable for a range or dryer. That has 3 conductors, the 'neutral conductor' did double duty as neutral and ground. That was before I ever got involved with electrical work. Now you must have 3 conductor w/ground. It definitely is safer.
Yes, SE Type U cable, or SEU, was allowed and that was the only time an uninsulated wire could be used as a neutral. The bare wire in SEU is a neutral, not a ground.