My mother just purchased a new clothes washer and dryer for my family upon the death of our old top loader which coincided w/the birth of our fourth child (so, this is an emergency! I have diapers to wash!) The cord that came with the dryer is only 5 ft long, and since I need to stack the dryer on top of the washer (they won't fit next to each other) and my outlet is on the floor about three feet to the left of the bottom left of the washer, it is too short. The longest UL listed cord I can find is 6 ft long, which is also too short. The delivery guy said I need 10 ft so that the cord has a little slack in case the unit needs to be moved to clean behind it, etc, without having to unplug it. I found a ten ft cord with the specs I need, but it's not UL listed and I want to know:
Why there is no such thing as a UL listed cord longer than 6 ft? Is it because at this voltage/amperage a too long cord is a fire hazard?
Is it safe to use the 10ft cord despite the lack of a safety rating? What is the risk? Can the risks be mitigated somehow? (Such as frequent inspection/replacement)
If it's not safe, besides moving the outlet which will be difficult and expensive, how can I safely connect the dryer? Can I make (or have made by an electrician) a long cord, say, by increasing the gauge of the wires, to make it safe at the longer length?
The idiot at Sears that Mom bought the dryer from informed me that "most people have an outlet 3 ft up, in the middle of the wall, for their dryer, hence the lack of availability of a long cord" when I asked why they don't carry long cords for dryers that will be stacked so that the terminal block for the appliance is 78" off the ground. Apparently I am the only person on earth who has an older home retro fitted w/electricity so that outlets are not "where they belong." They will not come back and finish the install (they delivered it, but left it uninstalled bc of the cord issue) unless I have a new, unopened cord with a receipt showing a purchase date w/in the last 30 days. If prefer to have Sears do the install I paid for, which is one of the reasons Id like a UL listed cord or to use the one I found on Amazon.
Another idiot at Home Depot tried to sell me an extension cord for a generator, which had the wrong configuration at its female end and an "adapter" to make it work. I rejected this set up, but perhaps there is such an extension cord, with the correct male and female ends and rating?
I'd really love to use my new dryer, and am willing to get creative and spend a moderate amount of money on a solution other than rewiring my laundry room as long as it's SAFE.
Here is the info from the dryer's manual and the type of cord I have (4 prong)
Best Answer
You can make a cord using listed components. A 10awg 3 with ground SO cord (4 wires) and the correct cord cap you can make the length you need and it would be legal. a link to the wire and the plug (normally called a cord cap). I would use crimp connectors on the end that attaches to the dryer because the SO is fine braided wire like this. Here is a link to a cord cap not sure if it is the same as you have but it will give you an idea if you were not sure what I described cord cap link.