Electrical Dilemma NEMA 10-30P, NEMA 10-50R and 40A circuit breaker

[BroFratBrew]

I have an EBC II controller (http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productcart/pc/EBC-II-with-Infinite-Power-Control-306p3073.htm) with a 3 prong "dryer type" plug aka NEMA 10-30P (L shaped prong). I intended to plug it in to my dryer outlet, but of course, the outlet is a NEMA 10-50R ( | shaped prong).

I am not sure why there is a 50 amp outlet instead of a 30 amp. From what I have read, 30 is the "standard". To make matters even more confusing, the circuit breaker attached to the outlet is double pole 40 amp. I have no idea how many amps my dryer pulls, but it has a 50 amp plug and obviously isn't pulling more than 40...

Also, the more I read online, the more I see people mentioning using 4 prong plugs and ground fault interrupters. This is beginning to make me think that 3 prong is a bad idea (and that I just wasted $300 on a controller). Is there a way to safely use 3 pronged systems? Can I hook up a GFI to the plug?

To cut to the chase, I would like to know the easiest way to remedy this problem without having to rewire the outlet (I live in a rental), and save myself from getting electrocuted (I value my life).

UPDATE: I have decided that the following may be a feasible solution: switch the receptacle on the wall to NEMA 10-30R (L shaped outlet) and change to a 30 amp GFCI circuit breaker. Does this sound like a feasible solution? Will a GFCI work properly with a 3 pronged setup?

 

[Walker]

UPDATE: I have decided that the following may be a feasible solution: switch the receptacle on the wall to NEMA 10-30R (L shaped outlet) and change to a 30 amp GFCI circuit breaker. Does this sound like a feasible solution? Will a GFCI work properly with a 3 pronged setup?

A NEMA 10 receptacle has no ground, so your brewery would only have the two hots and the neutral available to it. You could run 120v and 240v items from your control panel, but you would still want some way to add a ground to your control panel.

edit: this is one of my complaints about high gravity's equipment (the other complaint is their prices). your solution to replace breaker and outlet addresses your problem, but doesn't address the fact that the high-gravity equipment uses the neutral as a ground.