Separate receptacle for dryer?

Did an inspection on a new construction home and noted the utility room was set up for either gas or electric clothes dryer. I also noted the 110v receptacle for the appliance was only a single, not a duplex. There was a 220v dryer receptacle as well.
This made me wonder how you would power the dryer if it was gas since there was not a duplex outlet.
I reported it as a defect, since the buyer would not be able to plug in a gas dryer.
Since then, the electrician on the job has called me and stated that this is the current code and if the buyer wants to use a gas dryer they will have to pay to have the 220v receptacle changed to a 110v.
Just doesn’t seem right to me. Any thoughts. Here is a picture of the utility room wall.

Uh, change it to a duplex if needed.

Electrician said the washing machine receptacle has to be ‘dedicated’, meaning it could not be a duplex.
I agree with just change it out, but he said it was not allowed.

The circuit needs to be dedicated to the laundry area. It can serve both the washer and gas dryer.

Unless you have a local requirement he is wrong.

Laundry Areas. At least one receptacle outlet shall be installed for the laundry. NEC 210.52(F).

The laundry area is served by 20 amp circuit but more than one receptacle is permitted on that circuit. For a single receptacle only it would need to be a 20 amp receptacle.

One thing to note, you should use 120 and 240 volts, not 110/220 in your reports.

My house has a gas dryer, I plug both the washing machine and dryer into the same outlet on a 15 Amp dedicated circuit, most of the time I am only using one appliance at a time, but I have used both at the same time with no problems. My washing machine is rated at 10 amps, the gas dryer 6.8, so theoretically it should not be possible to use both at the same time, like bumble bees should not be able to fly :slight_smile:
The reason it works is probably that neither actually uses the max Amp draw beyond start up, if then. And if they do, the circuit breaker would trip anyway, so I can’t see the issue.
Refrigerators are also supposed to be on a dedicated circuit, when is the last time anybody has seen single fridge outlet? I would not call it a defect either way, but the obvious solution is what Mike said, put in a duplex.

NEC 210.11(C)(2) is a better cite.

(C) Dwelling Units.
(1) Small-Appliance Branch Circuits. In addition to the
number of branch circuits required by other parts of this
section, two or more 20-ampere small-appliance branch circuits
shall be provided for all receptacle outlets specified by
210.52(B).
(2) Laundry Branch Circuits. In addition to the number
of branch circuits required by other parts of this section, at
least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided
to supply the laundry receptacle outlet(s) required by
210.52(F). This circuit shall have no other outlets.

Explaining why you recommend this might be useful to a lot of Message Board readers.

Sure, in the UU there are many different voltage systems (i.e.-120/240, 240/120, 208Y/120, 480Y/277, etc.) which are standardized by ANSI. The standard fro this discussion would be 120/240 volts which would indicate that it’s a 1Ø, 3 wire system with 120 volts to ground.

Also 120/240 would align with the NEC which uses standard voltages of 120 volts to ground, 277 volts to ground, 208, 240, 480 etc. While not incorrect, the 110/220 standard is somewhat obsolete.

110 / 220 is an older term for nominal voltage when the electricity was supplied as DC. Which went out in the late 1800s. Slang dies hard.:wink:

Electrician changed it out to a duplex receptacle yesterday afternoon, late.
I guess he realized it was OK after all.

Thanks folks, for your input.
dw

A dedicated outlet for a washing machine? Uhhhhhh…NO! You can definitely change the single 120 volt NEMA 5-15R or 5-20R receptacle to a duplex outlet. One horsepower is 746 watts, and 15 amps at 120 volts is 1800 watts, and 20 amps is 2400 watts. Washing machines & gas dryers generally use fractional horsepower motors, a few solenoid valves, and some electronic timers & sensors. Someone is fishing for a hefty service call fee here. At the most, you are looking at maybe 9 amps to start an average washing machine, and 6 amps to run it. Lets claim the same amperage for the gas dryer. A modern circuit breaker can run at 125% of the amperage, of its circuit interruption rating for days, and never trip, so even a 15 amp circuit would run a washing machine, and the motor, & timer on a gas dryer. If they did happen to both start at exactly the same time, you “might” have a nuisance trip of the circuit breaker if it was a 15 amp breaker. 20 amps? No problem! I would still install a 20 amp GFCI outlet though, as the washing machine can technically be considered an open basin of water, with the lid opened up. Someone can & may unplug either appliance use that outlet for an iron or something else, and the GFCI would be a good inexpensive safety feature to have, in case someone gets into the water with some electrical household item.