Looking for Safest Solution: Connecting 10/3 AWG to 4-Prong Dryer Receptacle

[ThickHead]

I am looking for a bit of advice from the community related to using the 4-prong dryer receptacle to power my 240V 30A control panel. My control panel is wired using 240V 30A 10/3 AWG (3/C 10 AWG) wire with NEMA L6-30P (Male) and NEMA L6-30R (Female) twist-lock connectors. The wall receptacle that I would like to use to power the control panel (and ultimately my 5500W ULWD burner) requires a NEMA 14-30P (four-prong)connector.

Two questions, in order of importance:

1. Should I even be considering this? (i.e. is it safe and/or is it a code violation?)
2. If it is safe (and not a code violation), what would be an acceptable solution?

 

[Rbeckett]

Not to be rude, but the safest way is to hire an electrician. He won't do it wrong and may save your house and family a lot of greif in the future. If ya dont know, get a pro.
Wheelchair Bob

 

[ThickHead]

Not to be rude, but the safest way is to hire an electrician. He won't do it wrong and may save your house and family a lot of greif in the future. If ya dont know, get a pro.
Wheelchair Bob

Thanks for your input. There are EEs (pros) that participate in this forum who's advice I respect, which is the reason for this post. If I feel I am in over my head, I will not hesitate to seek additional professional advice.

 

[jeffmeh]

So are you saying that your control panel is wired completely with H-H-G (no neutral), and the wall outlet has H-H-N-G? What do you use for a GFCI? Do you run any 120V circuits in the control panel, and if so, how do you derive them?

 

[ThickHead]

So are you saying that your control panel is wired completely with H-H-G (no neutral), and the wall outlet has H-H-N-G?

Correct.

What do you use for a GFCI?

In-line 240v 30amp GFCI cord.

Do you run any 120V circuits in the control panel, and if so, how do you derive them?

None. Everything runs off the 240v.

I was initially considering hooking it up like a 3-wire welder where the neutral is not used, since nothing runs off 120v.

 

[jeffmeh]

OK. I am no electrician, so you may want to wait for someone else to chime in. That said, I would think it would work, without creating any hazard, if you removed your NEMA L6-30P plug, replaced with a NEMA 14-30P plug, where you only wire H-H-G to your new plug. In effect, you are just not tapping into the neutral in the NEMA 14-30R receptacle, which should not be a problem since you are not using a neutral downstream.

I don't know whether it would violate any code provision, but I cannot think of any safety issues.

 

[ThickHead]

OK. I am no electrician, so you may want to wait for someone else to chime in. That said, I would think it would work, without creating any hazard, if you removed your NEMA L6-30P plug, replaced with a NEMA 14-30P plug, where you only wire H-H-G to your new plug. In effect, you are just not tapping into the neutral in the NEMA 14-30R receptacle, which should not be a problem since you are not using a neutral downstream.

I don't know whether it would violate any code provision, but I cannot think of any safety issues.

Thanks for the input. This is my thinking as well. However, I needed a sanity check prior to proceeding. So I will continue to research while I wait for someone with some expertise in the subject matter to pitch in.