Fixing Electric Clothes Dryer -- no heat

[DoomsDave]

Howdyall:

I have an electric dryer on what I believe is a 240 volt circuit (note the picture of the plug below).

Until recently, the old dryer worked fine, then, suddenly, no heat. The tumbling mechanism works, but no heat.

I obtained two other dryers that worked when plugged in elsewhere and plugged them in, turned them on and still no heat.

I replaced two circuit breakers, one of which appears to operate the main motor mechanism. Since the heat didn't work for whatever reason, I have no way to tell which breaker, if any, affects the heat.

Anyone have any thoughts on what the problem is? Though I'm not an electrician, experience has shown that things like this should be pretty simple. It's apparent that the dryers are not the problem, but something else, but what?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[DoomsDave]

Same plug, different angle.

[osideterry]

Dave - I have that same dryer. I wonder if the moisture sensor is goofed... it thinks it's everything's dry already. Try setting it "timed dry" instead of any of the auto settings.

[DoomsDave]

Dave - I have that same dryer. I wonder if the moisture sensor is goofed... it thinks it's everything's dry already. Try setting it "timed dry" instead of any of the auto settings.

Thanks for your rapid response!

I tested it on the timed dry setting, and no heat.

[_Keith]

Dave - I have that same dryer. I wonder if the moisture sensor is goofed... it thinks it's everything's dry already. Try setting it "timed dry" instead of any of the auto settings.

Thanks for your rapid response!

I tested it on the timed dry setting, and no heat.

On the power side, the only thing it could be is if you lost one side of the 220v. The dryer and motor likely run on only one side of the 220. The heating element likely needs both sides. A simple voltage tester will tell you if both sides are hot. But if you don't know what you are doing, please hire a professional. I like you way to much to read your obituary.

[edbrown_III]

Test the resistance across the element. It should be pretty high( divide watts/volts to get teh ohms) if its infinity you have likely burned up the element. Real cheap fix

Best regardsw

Ed

[DoomsDave]

Dave - I have that same dryer. I wonder if the moisture sensor is goofed... it thinks it's everything's dry already. Try setting it "timed dry" instead of any of the auto settings.

Thanks for your rapid response!

I tested it on the timed dry setting, and no heat.

On the power side, the only thing it could be is if you lost one side of the 220v. The dryer and motor likely run on only one side of the 220. The heating element likely needs both sides. A simple voltage tester will tell you if both sides are hot. But if you don't know what you are doing, please hire a professional. I like you way to much to read your obituary.

Thanks! Both for the goodwill, the advice, and advice shot with goodwill!

I'm not an electrician, but I have installed electrical outlets in my place. The comedians who did them botched some of them, which made them useless for power strips, so I had to correct the problem, which I did, and no one got hurt. I've done other electrical work, too.

And, I've done a little comedy in my time.

And. . . .

Palmazon provided some sage input . . .

He suggested removing the plug in the wall and looking at it (after shutting the power off, it went without saying!) and seeing if any wires were fried or broken.

And, it turned out that the wire that went into that "L" at the top was broken!

Stay tuned . . . .

[BS Man about Palms]

Glad you got it Dave, I can help if that didn't fix it. Since you said the dryers worked "elsewhere", I new your power source had to be suspect.

[DoomsDave]

Glad you got it Dave, I can help if that didn't fix it. Since you said the dryers worked "elsewhere", I new your power source had to be suspect.

Bill!

Everything, except you, is suspect . ..

Keep posted . . .

[Kris]

Glad you got it Dave, I can help if that didn't fix it. Since you said the dryers worked "elsewhere", I new your power source had to be suspect.

Bill!

Everything, except you, is suspect . ..

Keep posted . . .

Dear Dave,

is that dryer working now,since i feel it has an internal short,i suspect the heating element acting murky...And try to switch off that appliance then touch the clothes inside it.and while working check the metal parts for any induction current with a tester.And Do you have ELCP instrument in your mains ? Since if their is some serious electrical problem in that unit,it will begin to trip provided you have a good earthing/Ground system in place..

Waiting for your update on this..

Love,

Kris

[DoomsDave]

Still no heat.

I think the wire that was broken broke when I pulled the recepticle out of its box to inspect it. Whoever installed that thing left not a millimeter of wiggle room in there.

Anyway, I rewired the outlet, and checked it as Keith suggested, and it's live where it's supposed to be, i.e., in both of the two "flat" prongs.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the other dryers were all faulty. I didn't see them working at the "other place" so I can't be 100% sure.

I had gotten the Kenmore dryer from an appliance dealer, who was nice enough to let me fiddle with things overnight, without insisting I pay first. I gave it back to him and he took it back today. When he gets in another dryer I like, we'll try it. He's a good guy -- I've bought other stuff from him, as have other people I've recommended him to, and it's all worked great. This is the first time I've had any trouble. He clearly knows his appliances well, though, apparently, house wiring not so well.

In the meantime, I'll use the old dryer. It still dries, though it takes forever without heat. It also lacks a variable temperature control, which I'd like to have. Most of my clothes I dry on the line outside anyway. I use the dryer to dry my lawyer shirts and pants (not suits!) to avoid the need to have them professionally laundered.

[Walter John]

Dave, man you know how to thread a thread, now a few bars from that old favorite, "that old dryer of mine"

Mmmm mmm mmm mmm mm

in that old dryer of mine.............

[BS Man about Palms]

Just to be sure Dave, have you made sure the dryer vent is not plugged full of lint? If that is full, I'm pretty sure there are various temp limit switches that will stop the heat because there is not enough airflow. (Our company also cleans dryer vents, thats why I know. ) Trying running it with the vent off the back and see if it improves.

Bill

[DoomsDave]

Just to be sure Dave, have you made sure the dryer vent is not plugged full of lint? If that is full, I'm pretty sure there are various temp limit switches that will stop the heat because there is not enough airflow. (Our company also cleans dryer vents, thats why I know. ) Trying running it with the vent off the back and see if it improves.

Bill

Good point, but, no.

The hose was off, so the "air" went into the garage unimpeded.

Wish it all were so simple . . .

Alas . . . .

[Dypsisdean]

Dave,

You jinxed me. I went to dry my clothes in my electric dryer, and it runs but no heat. What are the chances of that?

I was going to answer your initial question before I knew that, but someone beat me to my initial suggestion. But this is what I will do first thing in the morning to trouble shoot the problem.

First, check both legs off the double (220v) breaker to assure I have 220v. I am pretty sure (as already mentioned) that the dryer will still run with only 110v, but with no heat. Then I will check the outlet as you did. But you didn't mention if it checked out with a full 220v. I believe you should get 110v from each side to ground, but 220v if tested across the two "hot" sides.

If you are assured you have 220v to the outlet, then the problem has to be internal. And as someone else has mentioned there are several "switches" that must all be closed in the heating circuit for the heat to come on. You need to check continuity across the thermostat, and any 'High Limit" switches that will switch off if the heat gets too high for any reason. They could be faulty and usually a common culprit in the pool heaters I have worked on. And then as mentioned the element must be sound.

So if you have 220v, it has to be a bad thermostat (or sensor), a bad high limit switch, a bad element, or a loose wire somewhere. And it's probably not a wire unless corrosion is evident. However, because the other dryers also did not work, I would still suspect you don't have a true 220v from the outlet. Did you get a 220v reading or just two 110v???

[edbrown_III]

see post 6 check element resistence --- this is the first thing that usually goes, infinity reading means it isnt functioning

Ed