Anyone know about fuses? Dryer wont heat!

[Va-bear]

We just got a new dryer yesterday, and while the tub spins - so there is power - there is no heat. The instruction book says that dryers run on 2 fuses so to check them. WELL, our 60's era house has a VERY strange fuse box....some are what I call "normal" old fuses (the type that screws in , and you can easily see if they are blown) and another type that has printed on them the brand "Bullet." They look like long brass cannisters, with an indent at one end. I can not, for the life of me, tell how I am supposed to know if they are functional or not?

There is the added problem that I am not sure which one, if any, goes to the dryer. I guess I will have to go buy a new one and try it in the different slots? Ack!!

If anyone has ANY ideas about this I would be SO thrilled to hear what you think! Thanks in advance.

 

[ndelaware]

If it is the dryer's manual that said it runs on two fuses, I would think the fuses would be in the dryer not in your house.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

We just got a new dryer yesterday, and while the tub spins - so there is power - there is no heat. The instruction book says that dryers run on 2 fuses so to check them. WELL, our 60's era house has a VERY strange fuse box....some are what I call "normal" old fuses (the type that screws in , and you can easily see if they are blown) and another type that has printed on them the brand "Bullet." They look like long brass cannisters, with an indent at one end. I can not, for the life of me, tell how I am supposed to know if they are functional or not?

There is the added problem that I am not sure which one, if any, goes to the dryer. I guess I will have to go buy a new one and try it in the different slots? Ack!!

If anyone has ANY ideas about this I would be SO thrilled to hear what you think! Thanks in advance.

Va-bear, with all due respect, your situation is not something that can be diagnosed by someone on the disboards. Your electrical box should be analyzed by a competent electrician. The tub spins because it has 120 volt power to turn it. If the dryer is functioning properly, and you don't know that it is only because it is a new purchase, the heat comes from 220 volt power.
It is possible that one of the long brass fuses is the 30 amp circuit that supplies power for the heat cycle.
Having said this, the only safe thing for you to do is to have a competent electrician look at your fuse box and advise you. I know this is not cheap but having a fire in your house caused by a faulty electrical box would be much more expensive. Please don't fool around with this, because it can cost you much more than the price of a service call from a competent electrician.
Good luck. But, please do yourself a favor and hire someone competent.

 

[Va-bear]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the time and and information. I will certainly have an electrician come out if thats what called for. I did, however, consider that many fuses can be taken care of by the home owner, so was hoping someone had dealt with this specific type of fuse before. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Galahad]

If it is the dryer's manual that said it runs on two fuses, I would think the fuses would be in the dryer not in your house.

Even a 60's era house would probably not have fuses any longer but circuit breakers. It is refering to something in your dryer I'd bet.

 

[Va-bear]

Even a 60's era house would probably not have fuses any longer but circuit breakers. It is refering to something in your dryer I'd bet.

They are definately fuses - I am quite familiar with them (sadly .) I have lived in 20's era houses twice before. (And a house w/ a circuit breaker...)
Thanks though.

 

[Galahad]

They are definately fuses - I am quite familiar with them (sadly .) I have lived in 20's era houses twice before. (And a house w/ a circuit breaker...)
Thanks though.

OK, but the manufacturer of your dryer will not assume you have fuses in your house - I'd still bet the reference is to your dryer. If there is power to your dryer but no heat, the problem can't be at your fuse box/breaker box unless you have two outlets you plug the dryer.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

OK, but the manufacturer of your dryer will not assume you have fuses in your house - I'd still bet the reference is to your dryer. If there is power to your dryer but no heat, the problem can't be at your fuse box/breaker box unless you have two outlets you plug the dryer.

Galahad, you may be right but it is not necessarily the case that if there is power to the dryer to turn the tub that the problem can't be at the fuse box.
An electric dryer uses a 220 volt circuit for heat and 120 volts to the motor to turn the tub and for other parts of the dryer.
The problem here most likely is in one of the long cylindrical brass-ended fuses that is used in the 220 volt circuit. There is only one plug from the dryer and it has a 220 volt male end.
I have worked on electric dryers in houses that have the old fuse boxes. This poster says that an electrical fuse box is what the house has.
Having said that, the only safe thing to do is to have a certified electrician and/or electrical appliance service person to look at this specific hookup. If that person checks the voltage at the house outlet, I would guess that one leg having 120 volts is hot and the other leg does not have 120 volts. But, this is a pure guess.
You are probably correct that the reference in the manual is to internal fuses inside the dryer.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

They look like long brass cannisters, with an indent at one end. I can not, for the life of me, tell how I am supposed to know if they are functional or not?

There's no way to visually check a canister fuse to see if it's blown or not. You need to either check it with a meter or replace it with a known-good fuse to see if it fixes the problem.

 

[KERdad06]

Va-bear,

We had this problem once and the appliance repair guy game and replaced a part within the dryer and it fixed the problem. I think he was only here maybe 15 minutes or so.

Good luck!

 

[grlpwrd]

You might want to check out www.repairclinic.com , theapplianceguru.com , or fixitnow.com.

GL!

 

[Va-bear]

There's no way to visually check a canister fuse to see if it's blown or not. You need to either check it with a meter or replace it with a known-good fuse to see if it fixes the problem.

Thanks so much, I appreciate it. I just returned from HD, where I was told the same thing. I got some new ones and it seems like that's not the problem (ie, the new one doesn't make it heat up.) I have to find my voltage tester - it does seem the problem is in the 220 aspect of the power - now the "fun" will be in finding at what point (I found a really nice "test point" chart on one of the electrical threads I have visited before.) Thanks again.

 

[Va-bear]

You are probably correct that the reference in the manual is to internal fuses inside the dryer.

The Whirlpool manual says, verbatim, "Electric dryers use 2 household fuses or breakers." I did originally think it meant an internal fuse also. I my work I have had to replace many of that type so, originally, was happy to think it might be that. No luck.

 

[JR6ooo4]

be super careful! The 220 is serious stuff! I have been shoecked many times by frayed extension cords on 110 volts, and lived. Probably because of a dirty ground (not a clean, high amp capable circuit). But with the canister type fuse it is very easy to touch both sides of the contacts. THere should be a large box you can pull to cut power to the entire house before even thinking of touching the high amp fuses.

Now for the drier problem. It only has one plug correct. OUr elec drier would get coins faling down into the electric heating element all the time, and then it would short out and blow the fuse. The 800 number should be able to tell you if the fuses they are referring to are in the drier or your home.

Have someone check the fuse box. You may, if finances allow, want to consider upgrading/replacing the fuse box with a circuit breaker panel. It is a good invesment in your house and safety. and a writeoff on taxes (usually).

We had four fuses for our entire townhouse! THey replaced the fuse box, all outside wiring frim the elec service to the box, fit 9 new circuits of good copper wire (we had the cloth insulation type) into the existing conduit. also istalled new fixtures and outlets. All for about $1500.
Just redoing the box should be much much cheaper.
MIkeeee

 

[Va-bear]

be super careful! The 220 is serious stuff! I have been shoecked many times by frayed extension cords on 110 volts, and lived. Probably because of a dirty ground (not a clean, high amp capable circuit). But with the canister type fuse it is very easy to touch both sides of the contacts. THere should be a large box you can pull to cut power to the entire house before even thinking of touching the high amp fuses.

Now for the drier problem. It only has one plug correct. OUr elec drier would get coins faling down into the electric heating element all the time, and then it would short out and blow the fuse. The 800 number should be able to tell you if the fuses they are referring to are in the drier or your home.

Have someone check the fuse box. You may, if finances allow, want to consider upgrading/replacing the fuse box with a circuit breaker panel. It is a good invesment in your house and safety. and a writeoff on taxes (usually).

We had four fuses for our entire townhouse! THey replaced the fuse box, all outside wiring frim the elec service to the box, fit 9 new circuits of good copper wire (we had the cloth insulation type) into the existing conduit. also istalled new fixtures and outlets. All for about $1500.
Just redoing the box should be much much cheaper.
MIkeeee

Thanks for that info - I would very much like to upgrade to a circuit box and have wondered about the cost. Hopefully, I can get some estimates done soon. (I'll be very careful - I have been finding more on the cannister types on the interenet. Ours are housed in a pull-out sub-box - so they are fully away from the power, before they are touched. Good safety feature. )

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions.

 

[golfgal]

We have had this happen with a dryer and there are two fuses in the dryer and one worked and the other didn't. We have also had the heating sensor go out in our dryer, just a couple months ago as a matter of fact. It was a $45/repair so not a big deal.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Thanks for that info - I would very much like to upgrade to a circuit box and have wondered about the cost. Hopefully, I can get some estimates done soon. (I'll be very careful - I have been finding more on the cannister types on the interenet. Ours are housed in a pull-out sub-box - so they are fully away from the power, before they are touched. Good safety feature. )

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions.

One final word. "Trying to squeeze a few years out of an old fuse box could be a poor attempt at saving money. Nationwide, approximately forty thousand house fires are caused by electrical problems each year. The purpose of fuses is to prevent fires and electrocutions by interrupting the flow of electricity to circuits that are drawing more current than they can handle safely. When a fuse blows or a circuit breaker trips, what you want is to get the juice flowing again. What you need is to know why it stopped and to correct the problem."
Having said this, there are two types of fuses; plug and cylinder. The plug types, which are the most visible and common, are used to protect the electrical wiring in the house. The cylindrical type are used normally to protect electrical equipment and appliances. Your dryer, from what you have said, is probably a circuit protected by a separate pull-out fuse box that would likely have two cylindrical fuses in it. The cylindrical fuses come in various combinations of voltage and amperage. Yours likely are ECNR 25 which is 250 volts/25 amps or ECNR 30 which is 250 volts/30 amp. They cost less than $2.00 each. If it were me, I would replace both of them without the use of a meter to check. The heat in your dryer may then come on. If it doesn't, you have done about all that you can do.

Having said this, as the previous poster said, I would investigate the replacement of the fuse panel at the earliest opportunity. A 200 amp service panel installation would be possibly in the neighborhood of $2,000. Please consider a call to Dominion Virginia Power in the morning after 7am and they can give you information that can help you to find a local electrical contractor. Good luck.

P.S. The "Bullet" means Edison/Bullet which is the cylindrical type of fuse. The plugs are Edison plugs, which are screw-in types of plugs. Also, you can buy a circuit breaker plug, which is an Edison plug that can be reset.

 

[JR6ooo4]

When we moved into our townhouse the previous owner had over-fused the fuse panel from four 15 amp fuses to four 30 amp fuses. WHen we smelled that electrical burning smell while running the window A/C and a halogen lamp.... time for new wires and panel!

Mikeeee