Electricians/electrical type guys-why would my dryer outlet drop from 240V to 120V?

The volatage across the recepticle was fine? (per the first elect lying?)

 

Brett.. may I ask what the dryer is doing for it not to be working?

I'm an HVAC tech and the components between a gas dryer and a furnace are virtually the same.. assuming your dryer is gas of course.

Never been anything I couldn't fix.

Albeit.. it's a lot easier when I'm in the same zipcode.

 

First appliance tech said my "on" button fuse on my dryer AND voltage across recepticle were bad.

The electrician today tested both of those things in front of me and they were both good.

 

Mike, it is an electric Admiral SuperCapacity Dryer. It just will not start. It shows no signs of life. It is only 12-18 months old. Baffling.

 

Sorry to hear of the misfortune.

Because it's a electric dryer there's not much I can talk you through that the other electricians shouldn't have already done.. it would be different if it was a gas dryer.. they are much simpler machines.

Wish I lived closer.. I'd come take a look.

 

One question though.. because I find most technicians not thorough...

-Did your electrician check the thermal fuse on your dryer?

I'm guessing he did.. but I have to ask.

 

It appears you are not on anymore and I'm about to step off.. but I'll leave you with this.. in lamens terms.

Dryers are equipped with a series of safety features that work like individual checkpoints to make sure no dangers are present.. their job is to protect you and the dryer.

These check points account for like 99% of all service calls.. when a checkpoint no longer allows electricity to flow through it automatically shuts down the dryer completely. Thus.. rendering it useless.

It's a lot easier to solve on a gas dryer because a gas dryer follows a distinct series of steps that you can actually hear.. or at least view in many cases.. with electric it can be much more difficult.

Anyway.. the thermal fuse is the most common safety switch to go... it typically brakes because the dryer temp often overheats.

Hope this helps.

 

I was under the impression that it was an electrical problem, not dryer.

Maybe try a google search of your make/model dryer. Sometimes you'll get lucky if its a common problem.

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Perhaps I can gain by this, I have a gas dryer that doesn't heat. Works perfectly other than, it doesn't heat up.

 

Donnie, my problem has flip flopped from a dryer prob-electric-now back to a dryer problem.

Mike, the first day my dryer broke down I checked the thermal fuse and both thermostats....they all checked out. I also took out the door lock fuse (or whatever you call it that alolws the dryer to work only when the door shuts)--it was fine. I checked and also took it down to a family owned appliance and they volt meter tested all the component--all good.

I paid a good amount of money for this darn thing and I am not happy. I called the original appliace tech tonight and firmly told him that I knew he screwed me over and that he needed to make it right. He called me back tonight and said he would be back before noon tomorrow and that he did not charge me anything yet on my debit card. Hopefully this all works out tomorrow, or else Brett gets to pay for something else that I don't have the money for these days. I need to win a small lottery or maybe I will just set off into the Alaskan frontier to hunt for about 20,000 lbs of food before returning home.

 

ahhh is this a gas dryer Mr obvious.. sorry just being funny. carry on here nothing to look at:p

 

It's got to be a safety switch. Could be something as simple as a door closed switch telling the dryer the door is open. Call a real appliance guy. Does nothing work???? For example does the timer count down or is it just dead? Could be difficult or maybe just a ground not grounded.

 

This helps.

The firs step would be to look at the front of your dryer Rob.. usually on the lower left hand side there is a small odd piece of plastic that looks like it doesn't belong.. remove it. This is a door that lets you view the gas valve.. which is why it is so much easier to talk some one through a gas dryer problem vrs. an electric dryer problem.

Turn your dryer on like you normally would and look through the peep hole.. watch what the dryer is doing.

Tell me what the dryer is doing.. is there a flame (blue).. no flame? Is there an orange glow?

Once you tell me this.. I can go further.

For a gas dryer the most common problem is a clogged dryer vent.. just remove the lint.

A faulty thermal sensor would be next.. if you have a voltometer.. check its continuity in ohms.. set the voltometer at the lowest in ohms setting and the reading should be 0... anything higher would be a faulty thermal sensor.

If those check out.. remove the front door of the dryer.. the flame sensor.. flame rod and the gas valves are the next to test.. but can be tricky to discuss over the internet... but account for most problems with no heat (no flame = no heat).

 

Duke...since we're on the subject of dryers. How often should one "take the dryer apart" to clean out the lint? The lint screen is cleaned regularly, of course, but I've never taken it a step further. We've had the dryer for almost 4 years now. The dryer vent hose is short with only a slight bend and looks clear. You think I have a lot of lint buildup inside the dryer?

 

Honestly.. not as often as they say. Modern dryers like yours appears to be seldom let lint inside the dryer itself. Once every 5 years is more than adequate. Unless.. you have a ton of buildup inside your dryer vent.. then you should absolutely clean inside the dryer.

The dryer vent should absolutely be cleaned once a year. Cleaning it is simple.. you can by the little dryer brush at most hardware stores.. it typically comes with about 10' of extension... if your vent is longer (which most homes are).. electrical tape it to an electrical fish tape and send it down the tube.. you will have to disconnect the dryer from the vent.. make sure to clean it from the outside in too.

Once most of the lint has been removed.. attach everything and turn your dryer back on.. most the excess loose lint you couldn't remove will be blown to the outside dryer vent.. remove and your all good.

Excess buildup of dryer lint does three things.. kill the efficiency of your machine.. kill the life expectancy.. can cause a fire. The fire part is more common than people think.

 

Thanks...i'm going to pick up one of those brushes. Might just go ahead and pull the back off to see how much has built up in four years time.

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One thing that I've found is that sometimes people go a little over board with the fabric softener. This can coat the inside of the dryer vent with a sticky film. Dryer lint loves a sticky film! It starts the process of lint collection.

My dryer used to vent out of my basement window well with one of those flexible hose kits. Those are the worst for collecting lint. I cut a 4" hole through the side of my brick house directly behind my dryer and vented it outside with a straight shot of non-flexible smooth wall tubing. Haven't had a lint jam in years.

 

Motor is dead. With parts/labor it would cost me nearly 80% of the original price. I am going to buy a new dryer and NOT an Admiral Dryer ever again. I will get a Kenmore or Whirlpool. I used gas dryers for years and they never had a problem. Then I go to an electric dryer and it goes bad within 18 months.....just another thing to deal with.

 

I on the other hand have had electric dryers all my life. I NEVER had to replace one. The biggest thing I had to change out were high or low temp controls. All my dryers stayed behind with the houses when I sold them. I buy no frills, just a couple settings dryers. None of these super duper expensive things. Kenmore basic plus a level or two. In my cleaning businesses I always used steam heated dryers that never failed until they just got really old.

 

I hear you David. I just purchased and installed a new Kenmore electric dryer. I hope it lasts a long time. I salvaged all the parts I could from my old dryer just in case I need them in the future.