Laundry Closet NEC Compliance

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JH11372

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Hi all!

There is an apt unit for sale in a 1940 bldg that has been 100% fully renovated with all electrical updated. It has a laundry closet but without the washer and dryers units hooked up. We, the purchaser, will be responsible to purchase the W/D machines. The laundry closet only has two dual 120V outlets. In this age, most compact dryers (meant for apts) on sale are rated for 240V. We wanted to know if the current setup is compliant (or not) to the NEC. Is it in the most recent NEC to provide a one 240V outlet and one 120V outlet in a laundry closet?

Thank you all for your feedback.

JH
 
The NEC only requires one dedicated 20A/120V receptacle for the laundry. I like to provide two, one for the washer and one for the dryer if it's gas. Do you have a gas range? Maybe you need to blame the plumber instead of the electrician.

-Hal
 
I agree it's code complaint without anything beyond a single 20 amp, 120 volt circuit and a receptacle. If you had a 240 volt circuit for the combo unit you would still be required to have the 120 volt circuit as well.
 
If there isn't a gas hookup then IMO, they did a sub par job. That being said there are some units, usually European , that will work on 240v at 20 amps. The 120 outlet usually can be easily converted to 240V--
 
Very helpful and informative feedback. Thank you all.

There is no gas line in the closet which limits the option to electric dryers. I suppose having one of the outlets converted to 240V would be cheaper than running a gas line to the laundry closet.

Once again, thank you all for the information. Much appreciated.
 
10 year ago or so I wired around 30- 120volt 20amp receptacles for LG washer/ dryer combo units.
They went this route because of the size of the sub panel space available in each of the condo's for a laundry.
It was a good solution for the obstacles we had.
 
JH11372 said:
... I suppose having one of the outlets converted to 240V would be cheaper than running a gas line to the laundry closet.
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Shop for the dryers available at the same time that you shop for the electrician. It may not be feasible to get a 30A circuit that most American dryers use. It's relatively easy to get a higher voltage, but not a higher amperage capacity (physical size of the wire). Then again, if the panel is next to the laundry, it might be easy to do either.

Is the electric the same as your neighbors? What do they do?

If looking at available 120V units, pay attention to reviews and things. I've seen several that do the job. They also take a very long time to do it.
 
JH11372 said:
We, the purchaser, will be responsible to purchase the W/D machines. The laundry closet only has two dual 120V outlets. In this age, most compact dryers (meant for apts) on sale are rated for 240V.
Click to expand...

Yes, but they do make 120V dryers.

An apartment renovation can be the closest thing to ""code minimum" that anyone will ever see.
 
JH11372 said:
There is no gas line in the closet which limits the option to electric dryers. I suppose having one of the outlets converted to 240V would be cheaper than running a gas line to the laundry closet.
Click to expand...

Simply converting one of the circuits to 240V isn't going to do it. Because of the wire size you are limited to 20A. If you can find a dryer that only needs 240@20A you are good. But as you found out, most dryers require a 240/30A circuit. Now, maybe the electrician ran wiring suitable for 30A (#10) and just installed a regular receptacle and put it on a 20A breaker so if this situation did come up it could be converted. But I seriously doubt it. This is going to mean running a new cable from a new receptacle behind the machine back to the panel where a new 2 pole 30A breaker will have to be installed. Or install a gas line.

Somebody screwed up here and you shouldn't be stuck with paying to fix it.

-Hal
 
hbiss said:
Now, maybe the electrician ran wiring suitable for 30A (#10) and just installed a regular receptacle and put it on a 20A breaker so if this situation did come up it could be converted.
Click to expand...
Definitely worth checking out. :thumbsup:
 
JH11372 said:
..I suppose having one of the outlets converted to 240V would be cheaper than running a gas line to the laundry closet.
Click to expand...

The cost of plumbing an extra pipe, from an existing gas service, pays for itself in operating-cost savings.

Natural-gas appliances cost far less to operate than similar electric appliances.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
If there isn't a gas hookup then IMO, they did a sub par job. That being said there are some units, usually European , that will work on 240v at 20 amps. The 120 outlet usually can be easily converted to 240V--
Click to expand...


If you convert the existing 20 amp laundry circuit to a 240 volt circuit you would still need to add another 120 volt circuit for the laundry.
 
Thank you all for all the suggestions! Much appreciated.

Is the electric the same as your neighbors? What do they do?
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...Thank you MAC702! Not all the units in the 6-building complex have laundry hookup. This one unit is the only one in the building that has a hookup. The realtor did initially mention that others have 240V and 120V outlets so it is possible to get one. It is my opinion as well that they did the bare minimum and a sub-par design. Unfortunately, the only 120V dryer option that would fit in that closet is a Miele which costs $1700 and the matching washer is $1400. The W/D unit we were thinking of using is only $1700 for the pair.

Simply converting one of the circuits to 240V isn't going to do it. Because of the wire size you are limited to 20A. If you can find a dryer that only needs 240@20A you are good. But as you found out, most dryers require a 240/30A circuit. Now, maybe the electrician ran wiring suitable for 30A (#10) and just installed a regular receptacle and put it on a 20A breaker so if this situation did come up it could be converted. But I seriously doubt it. This is going to mean running a new cable from a new receptacle behind the machine back to the panel where a new 2 pole 30A breaker will have to be installed. Or install a gas line.
Click to expand...
...Thank you HBISS and LARRYFINE! Luckily the breaker box is only about 3-4 feet away from the laundry closet so I'm hoping that getting one of the 120V outlets changed to 240V won't cost too much. We're pushing the seller to get this done as part of the punch list. This started my search on codes and laundry closets to see if we can leverage the NEC so they can cover this.

The cost of plumbing an extra pipe, from an existing gas service, pays for itself in operating-cost savings.
Natural-gas appliances cost far less to operate than similar electric appliances.
Click to expand...
...Thank you RAMSY! We will certainly look into the option of running a gas line as well since the back of the laundry closet is literally behind the stove! So we would need to weigh the costs

If you convert the existing 20 amp laundry circuit to a 240 volt circuit you would still need to add another 120 volt circuit for the laundry.
Click to expand...
...Thank you INFINITY! There are two duplex 120V outlets in the laundry closet so we can choose to get one converted to 240V and still have a 120V outlet available.
 
JH11372 said:
...Thank you INFINITY! There are two duplex 120V outlets in the laundry closet so we can choose to get one converted to 240V and still have a 120V outlet available.
Click to expand...

That's only if they're on two circuits. Since the panel is close by I would just add the new 240 volt circuit that your equipment needs.
 
growler said:
It needs to be a 4 wire 240V circuit anyway so may as well run it new.
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infinity said:
I thought that Dennis was mentioning a straight 240 volt (no neutral) 20 amp unit.
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I think Dennis was talking about a straight 240 V circuit with no neutral but most appliances sold in America will require the 4 wire with a neutral on a new installation.

If they are going to do it they may as well do it right since it's only a few feet from the panel. Even if they don't need it right now I would still run 10/3 with a ground just for the flexibility.
 
JH11372 said:
...Thanks GROWLER! We will make sure it's a 4-wire 240V circuit.
Click to expand...

I don't think you should even concern yourself with that. Any COMPETENT electrician will know what to do if you tell him you need a dryer receptacle in the closet.

We're pushing the seller to get this done as part of the punch list.
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If I were you I would be the one to have the work done because you can hire a reputable EC. Then deduct it from the selling price. You DON'T want the building handy man doing it, as happens all too often because you know the seller isn't going to spend any money on it.

-Hal
 
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