What Causes Dryer Heating Elements To Fail?

[whirlcool]

I have known others who have had heating elements replaced, but in all of our own dryers we have never had this happen.
I'll tell Karen to tell the owner of the shop have whoever services the machine to check the voltage going in. I never knew that about dryers. You always learn something new.

 

[laundromat]

I never had to replace an element in any of my electric dryers,ever.I always use the automatic dry cycle (if I'm not hanging the wash out due to the weather)because it's fool proof.If I was to turn the dryer on empty,within 4 minutes,it shuts off all by itself.The clothes never over dry and I usually set it for either wash and wear (permanent press)or delicate.That way,the aroma of the detergent (Gain original scent)and/or softener keeps it's strength and isn't burned out by the extreme heat.I never go and open the door to get anything while it's still cycling.I may through in a lost sock or towel,but never open the dryer to see how dry the loads are.

 

[laundromat]

and another thing---

Some folks use the three prong 220 volt cord that is made for ELECTRIC RANGES to connect their electric dryer. They put in the wrong outlet(the one made for electric ranges)so,the cord made for 40 amp service as well as the outlet are incorrect and can cause issues because they're 40 amps and the electric dryers only needs 30 amps.Too much power can cause an overdrive and burn out different components like diodes , timers, heating elements and motors.

 

[dj-gabriele]

...put in the wrong outlet... ...overdrive... ?!

Honestly even if you could connect the dryer to the outlet with a 200 A capable cable, nothing would happen to the machine, actually with such an oversize cable the wiring would run much cooler! Especially at the wimpy American voltages!

Also if the outlet allows a current of 200 A, the dryer would only use its rated amperage, nothing more, nothing less! So, if the dryer is rated at 30 A, that would be, not 29,9 nor 30,1.

The only difference would be that in case of a short circuit or some other damage, the circuit breaker or overcurrent device would trip only after the 200 A current draw is reached, unless there is a RCD or GFI that trips if a ground fault develops!

That would be like having a table lamp rated 60W (100% resistive load at 110V) the current would be around 0,56 A even if the outlet is generally capable of delivering 16-20A. It doesn't mean that the lamp actually draws all the capacity!

 

[macboy91si]

Automatic Dry Cycle

I was under the impression that there are thermostats to protect the element (cycling) for any cycle. We had a timed dry old BOL Kenmore for years and never had issue with the element. I could see that running the dryer on timed mode can in a sense use the element more, but not overheat it or anything. These have a long service life. I also take a slight regard to the statement about opening the dryer to check the clothes. If one has a timed machine as many of mine are, there is not much else in the way of gauging the dampness of the clothes. While my main full size dryer has an automatic cycle and I utilize it mostly, the 3 portable dryers I have are all timed. I check around the 30-40 min mark for dampness. It loses much more heat in the cool-down cycle than opening the door with no air flowing.

-Tim

 

[tolivac]

I am with the other person posting on this-the amperage rating of the cord connector or even the circuit WILL NOT affect the life of the device connected to it.The higher amperage circuit connectors will pass the other device current safely-but the circuit breaker will not trip unless its a 30A circuit-remember the breaker in the line is to protect the WIRING-not devices running off it.Keep in mind your dryer-and other appliances for that matter are connected to a 120V-240V distribution circuit that can deliver 100s or even thousands of amps of current.the dryer has its own INTERNAL thermostats and overload devices to protect the element and motor in case of overloads.You could if you wanted to run the dryer from a 50-60A range connection.you just don't need to since any home has a 30A 240V dryer connection in the laundry room.A 5Hp single ph 240v radial arm or table saw will run from that 30A connector just fine.a 60A range outlet can run up to a 10hp single ph 240V motor.Like for a planer.Know of someone that has both a 30A and 60A 240V outlets in his garage to run his table saw and planer.and that circuit could be usable in the future to charge an electric car.

 

[whirlcool]

Update

This morning Karen got a phone call from Eva, the owner of the grooming salon. She was bitching that since I haven't yet repaired her dryer she is losing business as the dogs take longer to dry using wet towels! She now claims that she can't do as many dogs in one day. (duh!)

Whoa there, I got on the phone and told the bitch that last time I heard she wasn't going to repair the dryers to "teach them a lesson" and she was going to buy a dryer on CL because that would be cheaper than fixing the ones she has. She claimed I promised to fix them for her free of charge! Where in the hell did THAT come from?

Well, she bought a dryer off of CL. But it doesn't work. Why? Well, it's a gas dryer and she doesn't have any gas in the building and the seller won't take the dryer back!

I told her she is a crazy bitch and not to bother us ever again. I explained that I tried to be nice to her and help her out and this is what I get for trying to be nice.

 

[toggleswitch]

Call a professional to fix it dumb@$$ lady

One thing I learned a long time ago: one can not teach others how to think.

Grandpa always said. "Without yeast, bread you can not make."
Tranlation: You have to spend money to make money.

When I sold appliances for Sears, I can't tell you how many customers came in to buy a dryer or a stove (yes mostly female) and had NO CLUE as to the energy source/fuel. OK maybe the dryer I can see, but the STOVE?

Then they figure out that electric dryer models are $50 cheaper TO BUY than the gas ones and they want it.... uh but if you don't have a dedicated heavy-duty electrical line for an electric dryer, installing one will cost you hundreds of dollars. (Oh you can't just plug it in?) SHOOT ME NOW!

Then you have to explain that a GAS dryer costs 1/3 of what it costs to run an ELECTRIC dryer in this market, which is why someone went through all the trouble and expense to install a gas line in the first place.

I shouldn't judge others. My sister went to lite the top-burner of the stove at our grandmother's new apartment and, like a good and smart girl, she turned the knob to "high" for it to lite. She bent over to check for a flame and waited and waited, and waited........... I finally said "That may take a while to lite". "WHY?" "uh......IT'S ELECTRIC!" OK electric stoves are EXTREMELY rare in NYC and this place only had one in that it was built when one could not get new hookups to natural gas lines during the 1970's energy crisis. But seriously, no clue?

[this post was last edited: 11/18/2010-21:18]

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Allen:
Now that's funny! You can't help people like that. Let her drown in her own mess!

 

[whirlcool]

Another thing Karen told me about Eva. She's having a dispute with a web designer about a website she is trying to put up. According to Eva, the guy doing the website "isn't doing his job". She said he has been working 6 months on the site, and to this date, has nothing.
It seems the web designer is asking a lot of questions about her shop. Things like what services are offered, does she want to offer a coupon, the store hours, etc. She doesn't understand WHY the guy needs this information.
Karen told her that the guy needs the info to put on the website. Eva's response was that ANYONE can put a website up.
"All you need to do is put some pictures in your computer and it's done!"

IMHO, this woman is so stupid that she doesn't have enough intelligence to realize how stupid she is. We are both done and will not be hearing from her.