30A dryer connection

[kirk280980]

Hi all,

A friend of mine recently purchased a heavy duty American style dryer, not realising until after delivery that it requires a 240 volt, 30 amp connection. He does not have such a connection available, and seeing as he intends to move house within the next six months, doesn't really want to go to the hassle and expense of having one installed if there is any practical way of avoiding it.

One idea he thought up is to use industrial plug/socket connectors, after spotting some online which were rated at 240V/30A. The plan is to wire a short length of cord into his cooker point, which is protected by a 32A breaker in his consumer unit, and fit one of these sockets to the end of this cord. The cooker and dryer power cords would then be fitted with the matching plug connectors. As you may have guessed, the idea is to connect EITHER the dryer or cooker up to the one power point while the other is not in use.

This plan sounds beautifully simple to us, which can only mean there's more to it than we thought. Hence why I'm here asking the question, as we'd like opinions on whether this is safe (and legal) to do. If it is, he can go about finding an electrician to do the job - he has NO intention of attempting this himself. However, if it isn't possible, he'll scrap the idea and have a completely separate circuit installed for the dryer.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice or info on this one

 

[breezer]

novel idea, but are you sure that the dryer is rated as high as you say, (30 A) that cant be right do us all a favor, you are going by what your friend said, will you go and see if it really is 30A

 

[kirk280980]

Thanks for the quick response!

Funny enough, that's what my friend said when he unboxed the dryer and started reading the installation instructions! I have a copy of them in front of me as I type, and they clearly state that the appliance does indeed require a 240V/30A connection. The heater rating is 4600 watts, and the machine draws 22 amps of current while in operation. Doesn't come supplied with a power cord either, as this is intended to be supplied by the electrician who carries out the installation.

I have checked with Whirlpool already, and they too have confirmed that this information is correct. It is NOT a conventional dryer, but an American style model which is designed to dry a hefty 22 pound load in around 45 minutes, hence why it draws such a whopping amount of power.

Hope that info is of use . If anyone can advise either way whether this appliance MUST be hard wired, or if we really can connect it up using my friend's industrial plug/socket idea, I'll in turn pass on the info and make sure he gets the work done properly.

 

[oilman]

So that's why they won't sign the Kyoto agreement

 

[breezer]

so long as it is done by an electrician (which you said he was going to do any way) and the "plug and socket" is big enough it will be ok, different but ok

your friend will want this

and two of these

they are 32A rated

 

[kirk280980]

Thanks for adding the pics, those connectors are exactly what I was trying to describe. Good to know it's OK to go with this plan, as it will make things much easier in this situation. Will give my pal the go-ahead and tell him to get a sparky to rig it all up for him .

Just as a final check, seeing as this dryer draws 22A and needs a 30A connection, what amperage breaker should there be in the consumer unit? I've seen cooker points on either 32A or 45A breakers, would either of these be OK or are they too high? Yet another thing we'll get the electrician to check out and sort for him, but just something I'm curious about in the meantime.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It depends on the size of cable. My guess is that the existing 32A cooker circuit will have been wired with 6mm, so he should stick to the 32A breaker he currently has.

Neither the cooker nor the dryer need more than that, so there is no advantage to changing, unless, depending on the cooker load, your friend decides he wants to have both appliances running at once, and upgrades the circuit to 10mm and a 50A breaker.

If he might, get him to discuss it with the electrician - they love the opportunity to work with 10mm cable....

 

[kirk280980]

Cheers for all the helpful responses, I've passed on this info and my mate intends to call someone tomorrow to make arrangements for having the work done.

He doesn't intend to run the cooker and dryer at the same time, so it sounds as though the existing circuit will be adequate for his needs - of course, I'll suggest that he gets the electrician to confirm this upon seeing it.

God knows what his electricity bill will be like once it's all up and running, though...

 

[il78]

Does it have to be on a commando plug.....could your friend not have it hard wired with a 45A isolation switch...wont look as industrial then, just another option..

 

[breezer]

trouble with a switch is you could switch both on at the same time, which the friend already knows you can't have

 

[il78]

Oh right....one supply to control them both....but independant.....thats that then.......

 

[kirk280980]

Quick update...

Spoke to my mate today, and he tells me that his electrician has completed the job (only took half an hour) and that everything is running smoothly. Both the dryer and cooker work as intended, and switching between the two is simply a matter of turning off the power and swapping plugs.

All the advice and info given has been a big help, so thanks again to all who responded .