I am trying to replace a heating element

[SlowwHand]

Good deal. Glad it helped. I'm assuming it helped. When Oerdin mentioned the first step, I had high hopes.

[Lancer]

[Theben]

I didn't think I could remove the chimney w/o a lot of work or damaging the unit (not yet ruling out the latter). Turns out it was pretty easy.

Unfortunately now that I have the element out I don't see anything wrong with it. There are no breaks in the coil and no obvious spots of corrosion, but it is pretty old, and had a lot of dust caking the coil. The wires seem fine and themostat and cut -offs look fine. I haven't pulled out the fuse but it looks okay too.

In case you were wondering the only problem with the unit is no heat when it tumbles.

[Dinner]

It sounds dumb but check your breaker box. Flip them all off and on. Sometimes breakers break but the switch doesn't flip over.

[Theben]

The unit gets plenty of power.

I tested the element and fuse and themostat with an ohm/voltage tester and they're all fine. Someone at the appliance store suggested the themostat might be stuck in the 'closed' position.

[N35t0r]

Hit it with a hammer!


Or use WD 40 or something like that.

I'm guessing you can't open the thermostat?

[Theben]

I think using WD-40 on a thermostat, set inside a clothes dryer, would fit under the definition of BAD.

'Open' and 'closed' in this case refers to the flow of electricity.

[Dinner]

When I was in college our drier would turn on but not heat anything. It turns out driers use a weird plug and the heating element uses a different voltage then the motor which moves the clothes around. After several days of not drying anything flipping the breakers off and on fixed the problem.

[Winston]

Leave it be. Don't you have clothes lines in the U.S.?

[BeBMan]

This belongs into the tech forum

[Theben]

Well after taking everything off and re-installing it it works now. I wish I knew what I did.

[N35t0r]

Originally posted by Theben
I think using WD-40 on a thermostat, set inside a clothes dryer, would fit under the definition of BAD.

'Open' and 'closed' in this case refers to the flow of electricity.

Read the label, but WD 40 is supposed to be non-conductive, or at least fast-drying, for such occasions.

Originally posted by Theben
Well after taking everything off and re-installing it it works now. I wish I knew what I did.

It happens all the time

Most probably having cleaned it up helped.

[Berzerker]

Well after taking everything off and re-installing it it works now. I wish I knew what I did.

you fixed it, be happy Might have just been a connection you re-did or jostled (is that a word). I had a '66 Chevelle with an Olds 350 Rocket welded in and the timing was really advanced (just so it could run) and I ended up taking the heads off and putting it back together and it was fine after that. Who knows...

[Theben]

Oh I am. It was certainly the cheapest way to get it resolved. Plus I have more knowledge on how dryers work w/o destroying anything. I give credit to Sloww since he gave me a link and I haven't been nice to him lately. If something happens to go wrong I'll blame Lancer because he probably deserve it.

[Lancer]

Reverse the polarity of the tachyon inverter. Also, the element doesn't have to look burned out to be. Got a continuity tester?

(Don;t let this thread die, its you best evar)