Need help wiring range

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phrozen87

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I am in need of some advice with hooking up my wire from my circuit breaker to my electric range power outlet. My range is a 3 prong, the outlet i picked up is also a 3 prong, but the wire they gave me at home depot has 4 different wires in the rubber sheath, its a 6/3. Their is a black, a red, a white, and a bare copper. I know the black and red is HOT, the white is NEUTRAL, and the bare copper is GROUND. Its 50 amp. Im just not sure which wires i need to plug into the breaker box and the outlet for my range. Im not new to wiring, i have hooked up ceiling fans and what not (small things) so i pretty much know the do's and dont's. Any hep would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the site. I think and will be corrected of I am wrong but I think you have to install a four prong outlet. If a house is old enough to have a three prong, you can use it but anything being wired new has to be 4. Then you also would need a new cord for the range.
 
thanks for the quick reply. not quite sure how old the house is, so i would need a new outlet and a new cord for the range? would the romex 6/3 wire that i have hook up to a 4 prong? I never hooked up anything with 4 prongs and thats what got me confused. would i also need a new circuit breaker as well? one that is capable of 3 wires plus the copper on the side of the box?
 
The black and red each go to one side of a double breaker, white to neutral bus and bare to ground bus.
 
You need to use a 4 prong receptacle and a new four prong cord for your range.

50amp_receptacle.gif
 
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[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJwcCMGm00c[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv3CyE54OeM[/ame]
 
If the range is an older style (3 prong) then you need a 3 prong cord and outlet to match.
With the newly purchased cord, you will only be using the red, black and bare wire.
The white wire will not be used.
I do not agree with the video on changing the wall plug and the second video clearly states this is for newer appliance.
 
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If the range is an older style (3 prong) then you need a 3 prong cord and outlet to match.
With the newly purchased cord, you will only be using the red, black and bare wire.
The white wire will not be used.
I do not agree with the video on changing the wall plug and the second video clearly states this is for newer appliance.

He is installing new wire and breakers, it's my understanding that it has to be a 4 prong plug since 1999. And he does have a wire with a ground so that part of the video is mute.
 
So if your appliance is pre 1999 then use the neutral and have an ungrounded appliance. No thank you.
 
The appliance can be rewired with a 4 prong cord. There is no need to continue to use a three prong cord.
 
So if your appliance is pre 1999 then use the neutral and have an ungrounded appliance. No thank you.

No one suggested leaving the appliance ungrounded.:rolleyes: Prior to the elimination of the code exception that permitted using the neutral conductor to ground the frame most ranges were supplied from three wire service entry cable to save on material costs. A range that has a three wire cord has a bonding strap between the neutral terminal and the frame. Any time; even before the 99 edition of the NEC; such a range was installed in a manufactured home that bonding strap was removed and the three wire cord was replaced with a four wire cord. Since the change in the NEC all range circuits that are installed must use a separate Equipment Grounding Conductor (EGC) and all new range installations must be done with a separate EGC and a four wire cord unless the circuit was installed under the exception. Nearly all of the ranges built for the United States market are easily changed over to a four wire cord by simply removing the bonding strap between the Neutral terminal and the frame and then landing the EGC on the frame were the bonding strap was attached to the frame.

One thing that is absolutely true is that the NEC now forbids the installation of a three wire circuit to supply a 240/120 volt range. Since the vast majority of ranges sold in the United States are 240/120 no responsible electrician will wire a range outlet without a separate Equipment Grounding Conductor. The only place were a three wire range circuit can be used is in an installation that was installed under the old exception. ALL new installations must be four wire.

--
Tom
 
You need a 2 pole 50 AMP breaker suitable for your panel for a 240 volt electric range calling for 50 AMP overcurrent protection. The black and red from the 6/3 romex gets terminated there. White goes to the neutral bus, along with the ground. This is only if this is a main panel that you are terminating at. If it is a subpanel,then the ground and neutral get terminated on separate busses, since by code they cannot be bonded in a subpanel.

Your outlet needs to be the 4 pronged type. Generally your black and red get terminated on brass terminals, white on silver, ground on green.

If you need to hook up the appliance cord, it needs to be a 4 wire. I would read the manufacturers instructions on proper installation.
 
If your range is new and it is 3 prong, then it is not a 240 volt range. No manufacturer makes 240 volt electric ranges with 3 prongs anymore.
 
Correction, the manufacturer will tell you how to hook it up with a 3 wire (black, white, ground), if that coincides with your existing wiring. But for a new install with 6/3 romex, you have to use a 4 wire connection. The manufacturer should list both connections in the owners manual. Sorry if there was a confusion.
 
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