Circuit Breaker

• The electrical connection from the dryer plug receptacle should lead to a circuit breaker in your home's power box. The circuit breaker is a dual breaker, rated at 30 amps and 220 volts. It takes up two slots in your breaker box since there are two phases of incoming power. The breaker is also bridged so that both breakers shut down simultaneously. The circuit breaker should also have a ground wire, which attaches to where all the other ground wires are at behind the panel.
  
  

Dryer receptacle

• If you have a gas dryer, the power receptacle is a standard 110 volt receptacle. Electric dryers require a 240-volt receptacle, which is either three or four-pronged. Three-prong receptacles exist in older homes, as four-prong receptacles are now the standard for dryers. Three-prong receptacles have a rectangular-shaped hole for the left (black wire) and right (red wire) post respectively to receive the voltage. The L-shaped hole is for the neutral prong (green). There is also a grounding wire behind the receptacle connected to the neutral prong receptor. The neutral prong in the three-prong cord is designed to handle both neutral voltage return and grounding the electricity. The four-prong design separates those duties into a white wire for ground and keeping the green wire for voltage return.
  
  

Power Cord

• The power cord connects from the receptacle to the dryer. The connection is made via the terminal block in the dryer. The dryer typically comes with a wiring diagram describing the location. The connection is made by unscrewing the nuts on the terminal blocks, placing the wires to their correct poles, and then putting the nuts back onto the poles. If the power cord is three-pronged, the grounding strap must also be attached to a pole separate from the terminal block. Otherwise a four-pronged cord doesn't have a grounding strap.
  
  

Wiring Safety

• Prior to installation, ensure that the circuit breaker is shut off. Remember, there are 110 volts passing through each pole. Ensure there is no visible damage on the receptacle, terminal block or the cord itself. It is also recommended that if you have a three-prong power set up you convert it to a four-prong one. There are three to four-prong converters at most home supply stores.