Do it Yourself: Re: [DIY] Re: Dryer Outlet (Update)

05 April 2015

Re: [DIY] Re: Dryer Outlet (Update)

Looks bad. Corrosion will cause resistance and overheat as well as cause the dryer to pull more amps than intended.
You can replace the connector on the wire, but not sure how to do so on the element connection. Most dryers do need 30 amps (typically 5600 watts rating), but if you only have #12 wire, that is only able to carry 20 amps. Your dryer may be a reduced size and 20 amp was adequate (check nameplate rating). If you buy a new full size dryer, you will need #10/30 amp.

On 4/4/2015 2:07 PM, subprong subprong@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] wrote:

The dryer didn't work because the breaker was tripped. The breaker was as you (Ron) and Pumps suggested. It just unseated slightly and wasn't noticeable to the eye that it had moved. I did as you suggested and moved it to "On" first and it did indeed moved just a smidge. Turned it to Off and then back to On. The dryer then started working again.

The breaker was a double breaker but was a "20" and not a "30". Should it be a "30"?

My question now would be what caused it to trip? I do no believe the dryer has ever tripped before. Was this a fluke. Or could it be the corroded wires and leads? I've uploaded 3 photos in the photos section and will attach here as well.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DoIt_Yourself/photos/albums/939674741

One photo ("Dryer Wire Lead") shows a wire/lead that gets inserted into the adapter that connects into the coils. This wire is the more degraded of the two wires. I can buy 2 small wires and 2 wire nuts via Searsparts for about $15 and patch both wires. I feel this would be safer than leaving the wires as-is. Am I mistaken in thinking this way?

Another photo ("Dryer Heating Element Coil Leads") shows the coil leads being rusted. The leads are attached to the metal coil. And you can see in the far left of the picture the "Dryer Wire Lead" (mentioned above) and how that connects onto the other side of the adapter. My question here is whether the rusted coil leads are dangerous or not? To replace the entire heating coil system would cost $60 in parts. This would be a grand total of about $75 which would include patching the wires as stated above. Basically I'd prefer to buy a new and modern dryer instead of investing in parts. Therefore I'm curious if there is a safety issue or not.

The 3rd photo is the dryer breaker.

Thanks for any advice or experiences.

On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 6:17 PM, Ron Johnson l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Some breakers don't go to the middle and it's a little difficult to see it as tripped. That's why I like the ones with the red "flag". When checking for tripped breaker, I always try to move it to the "ON" position. If it moves, that's the one that's been tripped; it won't turn on till you move it to the off position first, but at least you found the right one.

As far as the dryer itself, check to see if the coil is broken. If touching the frame, it will continue to heat (120 on one side and ground on the other) till the thermal limit switch does it's thing. I had a coil break on me and I didn't find it till I went through the whole thing. If I had thought about it, I would have saved time. Lots of time.

To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
From: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2015 13:28:48 -0400
Subject: [DIY] Re: Dryer Outlet

Reminder: If the problem is in the dryer, resetting the breaker will fix nothing

Terry
thenne1713@aol.com