My Hand Dryer Didn't Come With a Plug

Why didn't my hand dryer come with a plug?  I had to go to a hardware store to buy a plug for my hand dryer.

-No Air in Noank
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Dear Nan,

Like wall mounted light fixtures almost all hand dryers do not come with a cord and plug for plugging into the wall.  Hand dryer are intended to be hard-wired.  They are designed that way for safety reasons. They also look better hard-wired and there is less opportunity to be vandalized.  

Many people do, in fact, add plugs to hand dryers, and they tend to work just fine.  (The hand dryers, that is.  I don't know most of the people.)    However, this is best with hand dryers that are less than 1500 watts and 15 AMPS.  Make sure you purchase a plug that is the appropriate gauge for your hand dryer.  (And, while this is not difficult to do, yes, you should have a qualified technician do this sort of work.)  

In the US, there are two hand dryers that we know of that come pre-installed with a cord and plug.  They are both manufactured by World Dryer Corporation.  The Nova 1 model 0833 and the World Dryer VMax.  (Although I heard rumors that the VMax will also be hard-wired in the future, so double check.)  

You can also find distributors who will add a cord and plug for you.  But note that adding a cord and plug to a product that isn't intended to have one could void the warranty and more importantly the safety certification that comes with the product.

Final note:  Hand dryers with cord and plug are much more common in Australia and some parts of Asia and Europe.  Often they come with a switch so they can be turned off on the spot.  This makes it easier to service, rather than having to turn the breaker off.  

-HDE