I've just moved house and my clothes dryer has a four prong plug but on the wall there's a three prong socket. Do adapters exist for this? Or do I need to get a new cord for my dryer? Or is there another solution?
Electrical – How to connect a dryer with a four prong plug to a three prong socket
dryerelectrical
Related Solutions
What you are doing is done all the time, and there is no problem with it, if done properly. The fact is these 3 prong receptacles still exists in many older homes, and there is no requirement to upgrade an entire circuit simply to plug in a device. If you go out and purchase a new electric dryer, the seller will ask if you have a 3 or 4 prong receptacle. They will then sell you the appropriate cord, based on your answer (if you don't know, they'll probably sell you both and tell you to return the one you don't need, or offer their instillation services).
RTFM
If you check the manufacturers installation instructions, there should be a procedure for connecting the dryer to a 3 prong receptacle. The procedure can very from manufacturer to manufacturer, so make sure you check the documentation for your specific dryer.
From a random whirlpool manual:
This dryer is manufactured ready to install with a 3-wire electrical supply connection. The neutral ground conductor is permanently connected to the neutral conductor (white wire) within the dryer. If the dryer is installed with a 4-wire electrical supply connection, the neutral ground conductor must be removed from the external ground connector (green screw), and secured under the neutral terminal (center or white wire) of the terminal block. When the neutral ground conductor is secured under the neutral terminal (center or white wire) of the terminal block, the dryer cabinet is isolated from the neutral conductor.
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You'll simply have to purchase a 4 prong dryer cord, which can be found at any local hardware store or big box store.
Then follow the dryer manufacturers installation instructions for connecting a 4 prong plug.
Most dryers will be wired similarly to the one described in this answer, though it could vary a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer.
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Best Answer
You could replace the cord on the dryer, but you'd have to bond the chassis of the dryer to make that acceptable to current NEC codes (Article 250.140). This can be a safety hazard if done incorrectly, and it may or may not void the warranty on the dryer.
Since your dryer is set up to use a 4 prong receptacle, the optimal solution would be to update the receptacle to a 4 prong (NEMA 14-30R if I remember correctly). However, this will require you to run new cable to the receptacle, since you'll need a cable with a ground. Depending on the draw of the dryer and the length of the run, you'll either have to pull new 10-3 /w ground or 8-3 /w ground cable.
EDIT:
As @TheEvilGreebo pointed out, you may be able to simply swap out the cord on the dryer for a 3 prong version. Check the manufacturers documentation to verify the procedure, and to make sure your model supports this.
EDIT:
This schematic for an electric dryer might help you understand how the dryer could be wired (depending on make/model/manufacture date).