How to Install a 30-Amp Plug

A 30-amp plug or outlet is used with a high-voltage appliance, such as a clothes dryer, that requires 240 volts and 30 amps of current. This type of outlet requires a minimum 10-gauge electrical wire, which is a three-wire cable. Three-wire cable does not include a bare copper ground wire. The wiring for a 30-amp outlet needs to be attached to a 30-amp breaker inside your circuit panel.

10-gauge electrical wire
Fish wire
Utility knife
Wire strippers
Screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Run an electrical wire from the circuit panel to the electrical box in the wall for the 30-amp outlet. Use a fish wire to run the 10-gauge wire from the circuit panel to the electrical box.
- 2
  Remove 3 to 4 inches of external casing from the wire with the utility knife. Strip at least 1 inch of insulation from each electrical wire, using the wire strippers
- 3
  Attach the black and red wires to the gold screws with the screwdriver. Attach the white wire to the silver screw. Attach the bare copper wire to the green ground screw, if there is one.
- 4
  Insert the outlet into the electrical box and attach with screws.
- 5
  Turn off the main breaker on your circuit panel. Insert the 30-amp breaker into an available breaker slot in the panel.
- 6
  Insert the black and red wires into the screw terminals on the 30-amp breaker. Secure the wires to the terminals with the screwdriver.
- 7
  Run the white wire to the neutral bus bar and secure with the screwdriver. Run the bare copper wire to the ground bus bar and secure with the screwdriver.
- 8
  Turn on the main breaker to begin using the new 30-amp plug with a clothes dryer or another 240-volt appliance.

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