The new stove requires at least 40 amps, our breaker is 40 amp. The outlet says 30 amps on it, and the holes are shaped a little different then the plug, but the plug still fits into the outlet and the stove comes on.
A man looked at it and told us it was a universal plug. Do they make those? Sears said it was a dryer outlet and they would not plug it in. Our last stove we had brand new. It lasted 3 years and it was plugged in there, then it went poof and stopped working. I don't want this to happen again, so I wondered if it was the 30 amp outlet.
Best Answer
Using the 30 A receptacle is a dangerous idea. The internals of the receptacle are designed for a maximum of 30 A, and putting 40 A through it could cause a fire. The receptacle needs to be replaced with a 50 A model (since they don't make 40 A receptacles).
It's fine to have a 40 A breaker feeding a 50 A receptacle. You need to also match the wire size to the breaker rating. A 40 A circuit requires at minimum 8 AWG copper wire, or perhaps thicker for longer runs. 6 AWG might be a good idea. Since you are replacing the receptacle, you should make sure that there is a dedicated safety ground (so four wires are run from the circuit breaker to the receptacle.
Also, I doubt that the old oven died because of the wrong receptacle (assuming that the receptacle is undamaged). However, I have heard of equipment being damaged when not properly grounded (My mom's gas range died prematurely after the installers failed to connect the ground). Double-check the voltages by measuring all 6 pairs of voltages using a voltmeter (Should be 240 between lines (L-L), 120 from L-G and L-N, and 0 from N-G).
Use caution when working with electricity. Don't forget to turn off the breaker (and verify that power is disconnected) before disassembling anything.