At first we were concerned that we would be buying a new range in the next few days. Luckily, when I tested the outlet with my multimeter, one of the 120V wires didn't have power. To be sure it wasn't the outlet itself, I pulled it out from the wall and checked the actual wire screws for confirmation. I've always wondered how 220V outlets work...kind of boring but satisfying to find out that all it consists of is 2-120V wires coming to the same socket. Genius, but obvious when you stop to think about it. How can I get DOUBLE the voltage? Hey moron, try doubling the wires. At any rate, our worries then turned to something being wrong with the wiring in our house. That would require calling someone out. After talking to some guys at work, I decided I could handle pulling the breaker panel off the box and testing the breaker.
The breaker that might be broken was pulling 50A, easily enough to kill me if I touched it while it was live. I tested the breaker and just like at the range, one 110V worked and the other didn't. Problem identified: the breaker was bad. I shut the power to the house off at the top of the box. Obviously, I checked and doubled checked that everything was off. I unscrewed the wires to the breaker and pulled it right out. Actually, it was pretty easy to do. Those who have done this before know that changing one out is pretty basic even though it's not something to rush through.
Out came a quad switch that pulled a double 50A and a double 30A. 50A was for the range and 30A, the dryer. The connection was completely blown. In short, the two appliances that pull the most power in the house had been installed together in the same "slot". I set off to find the exact same breaker, but oddly enough no one in town sells them. I got close, but no one had a double 50A and double 30A. Finally (remember, this was my first time), it dawned on me that I could just use a double 50A and a double 30A separately. Duh. I had this revelation at Lowes about 30 seconds before a Lowe's employee came around the corner and asked if I needed help. Along with the guys "in the know" at work, he was shocked that the builders put that much juice in one spot. In short, it had been done wrong and not surprisingly it had blown up and charred part of the box. My new and improved version at least spreads the load out between two locations.
Stacey says the dryer works much better now also. I already owned the multimeter to be able to check the power, so not counting that the breakers were only $20 at Lowe's. I'm learning something new all the time with this house.
