Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Gunslinger on August 07, 2007, 07:48:55 PM
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OK gents, I'm in uncharted waters here. My dryer quit working, it's electric. The problem is it won't produce any heat......where do I start?
PS it's a roper brand
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I'd start in the yellow pages under "Appliances, Repair".
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What make and model.
1st check breaker; completely reset...........even though looks good sometimes 1 leg is tripped & ya can't tell.
Does tumbler rotate? If not check door switch.
How confortable are you with 220 vac?
You can test live or cold (easier live IMO)
If everything works "Except" for the heat, you'll need to test out thermostats, High Limit thermostat (s), check connections at elements.............etc etc etc lol
If you could send me make model info I can access wiring diagram.
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I recently laid our dryer of 22 years to rest after it kept popping the circuit breaker. I know it was just the timer that needed replacing, but the wiring was just too corroded to try to resurrect it one more time.
I'm going to assume that the drum spins and the timer does its thing, as you left those out. The first thing to check is the heating element. Unplug the dryer, take off the back (if it comes off) and you should be able to find it. There should be two wires connected to it. Unplug one of them, then check the resistance between the terminals on the element. If it is open, you found the problem.
If any of that is confusing, or you don't understand it, it is time to call the appliance repair man. It it makes sense, but the heating element is not the problem, read on.
There are a couple of thermostats that control the temperature. If the element is OK, one of the thermostats may be bad. They are a bit tougher to test as they need heat to open or close. This is also where things get dangerous, as you will have to power on the dryer to see where the current is getting blocked. If you can see the thermostats, and they aren't obviously bad (they tend to physically break when they fail), you'll have to turn the dryer on and trace voltages. If you have done this before, you can take it from here. If you haven't, it is time to call the repair man, as it is a bit more involved than can be addressed here.
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is it worth it now a days to call a repair man? What I mean is the thing wasn't all that expensive to begin with, is it going to cost me an arm and a leg to fix the thing were as I can get a comprable new unit for the same price? Just checking you know. I'll get the model number tomorrow and yank off the back panel......If it's something as simple as a thermostat I can probably fix that. I used to work on ATC radars....not the same but ohms law doesn't change. Thanks for the advice so far.
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Very first thing to check is lint. See if the dryer exhaust is clean and empty from inside the dryer all the way out to the end of the vent line. It won't dry if it is plugged.
Other than that, dryers are pretty simple.
You can run the checklists here:
http://www.partselect.com/dryer+dryer-wont-heat+repair.htm
Most of my dryer repairs have been the timer. Usually u can get the entire time for the cost of the service call alone.. or less depending on where u live. Around here timers are $35-$50 items at the wholesale houses.
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Heating elements go out on those things. Items such as bobby pins usually short mine out. Heating element is around $35 to replace. Very easy to change. If you have an appropriate multimeter and know how to use one you can check to see if it's getting voltage. If it's getting voltage but not heating then it's the element.
Don't do it though unless you are comfortable with working around 220.
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Originally posted by rogwar
...Don't do it though unless you are comfortable with working around 220.
extremely important words here.
the other sentiments listed of "is it worth it" are valid too.
a simple dryer can be had for what oh $250... actually $179 at bestbuy.com LOL
depending on what brand, age, and model, you may be off just getting a new cheap one.
it all depends on your mechanical ability, amount of time spent "fixing" and $$$ on parts.
weigh those and see what is "worth it"
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I helped my brother work on a dryer once...I unplugged it and took the timer apart, somewhere along the line my brother plugged the thing back in and I got a jolt that felt like I was hit with a baseball bat...
All I said to him was wtf were you thinking...
Belts and heating elements are pretty easy to replace.
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Cowboy up Guns! Changing a heating element is quick and easy. Google a repair guide and go for it. A pair of pliars and a screwdriver are usually all you need to do the job. A visual inspection will tell you if the element is bad. It's just like a light bulb filament. If it's broken, it no work.
Or you could go open a wine cooler and call the repairman.;)
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if the drum is turning, it is either the timer, lint like Toad stated, a bad heating element or a blown thermostat
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If the tumbler and timer are working, I would suggest that you set the timer to it`s highest setting, insert your soon to be X inside, go have a few beers , forget about the dryer.