Any appliance electricians on board?

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clhyer

clhyer

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So, I needed to replace our kitchen range. An older drop in Roper model that is probably 26+ years old. I lucked out and found a Kenmore model, also made by Roper that fit into the same hole. Had I purchased new, I was faced with making the hole larger.
Anyhow, an installation manual for the Kenmore & Roper is not available; so I am a little puzzled by the wiring.
The house wiring consists of two large insulated black wires, and one large bare aluminum wire.
Both stoves have a black, white, red & bare copper wire.
The old stove was wired black to black, Cu to Al; and the white and red wires where tied together to the second black wire.

When I look at wiring instructions for newer stoves, it looks like the white and Cu wire go to ground. But, I have no instructions for this particular stove. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
C
 
Get in touch with Tom ( Dustermaniac) he installs appliances.
 
Your house feed is 220 volt, that's the voltage you should read across the two black wires. If you measured either of the black wires to the bare aluminum wire (ground) you'll find it will be 120 on either to ground. The red and black go to the black wires and the ground goes to the aluminum. Be sure to use No Alox when you make that connection. The white could be connected to the ground too but it would be better to run a new feed from the main panel. Probably a #6/4 NMC, that will handle 50 amps and you'll be good to go!!!
 
What you have there is a "change in code."

Older ranges normally did not have a white, only two hots (a black and a red) and the "safety ground" IE green or bare

What has been added is the WHITE which is NEUTRAL. Now white is actually only needed IF the range has some 120V circuits, and this just might be. It's possible that you have no choice but to run new wire back to the box (Three wire plus ground, a total of 4)

You can NOT legally use the bare/ green/ safety ground as a neutral for 120V circuits

The thing is, the "safety ground (green or bare) and the neutral (white) are the exact same thing "at the main box." This is the ONLY place in the entire system where they ARE the same--IE the three (two hots plus 1 ground) come "from the pole" and hooked to the box. The ground rod is hooked to the box. The buss in the box for the whites and grounds is all hooked together and hooked to the box. Look in your "main" box sometime. All the wiring going from the breakers into the house will have a white and a bare copper ground, HOOKED TO THE SAME BUSS, or they will be hooked to separate busses, but the white (neutral) will ALSO be bonded/ screwed to the box.

The above is not true in a "sub" panel, where the white is insulated "white" with an isolated neutral (white) buss and carried all the way back to the main box.

I'm not familiar with "present" ranges. Someone might make a "3 wire" range instead of the "4 wire" you are thinking of installing.
 
Thanks fellas for the replies. I will send a PM to Tom and ask him to weigh in for me.
Robbie, there was some type of paste on the wires, probably the No Alox of which you speak. I will pick some up.
67Dart, it does have some 120 stuff going on, the light bulb and instrument cluster at least.
I hope I am not looking at a re-wire, or running another wire...
Thanks again,
C
 
In new ranges they have a black a red a white and a bare or green wire, often the white and the bare are clipped together at the end so you can hook them up as a three wire set up, however if this is a remodel most places code says you need to run 4 wire to any 240v appliances.If this is not a remodel you can just run it 3 wire. Codes are also sticky about AL to CU connections
 
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