Melted dryer wiring

[james_mcquade]

hi everyone,

I ran across a situation when my dryer quit over the weekend and worked on it last night.

One of the conductors connected to my dryer element broke loose fron the electrical conector. Not that odd i suppose, it has happened on other electrical equipment in the plants i work at, except the wiring looked like battery acid was poured on it and eat away at the connection point. the terminal and wire was green and some of the wire was a rusty color. Add to that the fact that 2-3 inches of wire insulation was melted and pulled away from the wire. I have inspected and cleaned all terminals, thermal sensors, and heater element during my inspection and cannot determine why the wire was
eat away. All other terminals looked good.

My question is, has anyone else run across this problem, and if i get the dryer going again,
should i keep using it or replace it since it is 13 years old?

thanks in advance,
james

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I have not come across that problem but I would have no problem keeping it running.

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

It was nothing more than a bad and over heated connection. Usually happens on high amp connections. If wire is long enough just put new end on it. If you must add wire besure it is of same type. 13 years says it owes you nothing. Keep it going till it wants a major part. I would not spent more than maybe $20 on it.

 

[haskindm]

Sounds to me like you had a loose connection that overheated and melted the wire. Is it possible that the connection also got wet leading to the visible corrosion? If so, the corrosion may also have caused to poor connection which led to overheating. In any case, repairing the connection should have eliminated the problem.

 

[K8MHZ]

hi everyone,

I ran across a situation when my dryer quit over the weekend and worked on it last night.

One of the conductors connected to my dryer element broke loose fron the electrical conector. Not that odd i suppose, it has happened on other electrical equipment in the plants i work at, except the wiring looked like battery acid was poured on it and eat away at the connection point. the terminal and wire was green and some of the wire was a rusty color. Add to that the fact that 2-3 inches of wire insulation was melted and pulled away from the wire. I have inspected and cleaned all terminals, thermal sensors, and heater element during my inspection and cannot determine why the wire was
eat away. All other terminals looked good.

My question is, has anyone else run across this problem, and if i get the dryer going again,
should i keep using it or replace it since it is 13 years old?

thanks in advance,
james

Sounds like what Chinese drywall has done to wiring.

 

[cadpoint]

50/50 chance it was the "B" side... :grin:

Frankly, it is just air circulating in the compartment and with the particles and wetness was attracted to the terminal blocks.

Particle build-up can create a conductive path.

I don't know how much "greener" a newer dryer is these days, maybe 10%, might be realistic.

Dryer servicing should be one of those to-do-yearly-things. No job jar action, just schedule it.

Now, that includes me... :grin:

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

50/50 chance it was the "B" side... :grin:

Frankly, it is just air circulating in the compartment and with the particles and wetness was attracted to the terminal blocks.

Particle build-up can create a conductive path.

I don't know how much "greener" a newer dryer is these days, maybe 10%, might be realistic.

Dryer servicing should be one of those to-do-yearly-things. No job jar action, just schedule it.

Now, that includes me... :grin:

Why would you mess with it yearly ? Most run for many years untouched. His did for 13. Don't fix what is not broke.

 

[cadpoint]

Why would you mess with it yearly ? Most run for many years untouched. His did for 13. Don't fix what is not broke.

Check everything, clean and vacuum and check the tint pipe and vent.

Pennies for the sweeper... :roll:

 

[tortuga]

Check the dryer receptacle and load test for voltage drop. I found a (leviton surface mount) dryer receptacle recently where the electrician had tightened down the hinged lug screws and landed the #10 wires under the hinges not the lug.
It caused a similar problem worked for years, then the receptacle eventually melted down and smoldered until someone noticed.
I have found another dryer with that problem and opened the receptacle to see the 10-50 non grounding receptacle had the grounded conductor connected to a green #10 pig tail to the metal box. The dryer had been using the steel conduit as a neutral for years.

 

[Jim W in Tampa]

Check everything, clean and vacuum and check the tint pipe and vent.

Pennies for the sweeper... :roll:

So tell me do you do this for everything ? Pull all your outlets out once a year to inspect ?
Yep ,might catch one before it fails. You have too much free time on your hands.
Think i will tear down my car in the morning and inspect the rods

 

[cadpoint]

No I don't pull receptacles!

I usually don't have that type equipment on a receptacle; the only other thing that I do other yearly maintenance on is the gas furnace and the dehumidifier, maybe it just because those are usually made up of various parts.

 

[james_mcquade]

Thanks everyone,

Thanks Mike for this great website!

regards,
james