Home Page link

Electric dryer - silly question or not...?

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 1 of 4       1 2 3 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Electric dryer - silly question or not...? ShutterMan 02-22-2007
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by ShutterMan on February 22, 2007, 1:59 am


Hey folks,

Recently we had an electric dryer fire - I had purchased a used unit
that was apparently missing a very important screen to protect clothes
from the heating elements. Obviously I had no idea, but have learned
since then. For those who have never had this happen - dryer fires
are pretty damn scary.

Anyway. We recently replaced that unit with a brand new one (I wont
buy used here again), and of course, I am very timid now about
electric dryers. My question is regarding this new unit. After
hooking it all up and running it, I have found that the elements get
RED hot - toaster-like. After searching around on the net, this
appears normal. It should also, after a period of time, shut off as
well, cycling back and forth.

Before I tell my family this is safe to use, Im asking the community
here - is it safe to run a dryer that you can visibily see the red hot
elements? How can you test that the elements will eventually shut off
on their own? What do we need to look for as far as safety goes?
Pardon the obvious concerns here over something that we all take for
granted, but I have to say - if you've ever had a dryer fire, it will
most certainly make you stop and think about what it is you are
plugging into your walls.

PS - Advice I would offer EVERYONE is this: never leave the house or
go to bed with an electric dryer running. You wouldn't leave your
hairdryer or toaster oven running while away, and these things appear
to operate on the same exact principle, in a much more powerful
order. We were VERY lucky.

Thanks in advance


Posted by Joseph Meehan on February 22, 2007, 8:05 am


Yes

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit


> Hey folks,
>
> Recently we had an electric dryer fire - I had purchased a used unit
> that was apparently missing a very important screen to protect clothes
> from the heating elements. Obviously I had no idea, but have learned
> since then. For those who have never had this happen - dryer fires
> are pretty damn scary.
>
> Anyway. We recently replaced that unit with a brand new one (I wont
> buy used here again), and of course, I am very timid now about
> electric dryers. My question is regarding this new unit. After
> hooking it all up and running it, I have found that the elements get
> RED hot - toaster-like. After searching around on the net, this
> appears normal. It should also, after a period of time, shut off as
> well, cycling back and forth.
>
> Before I tell my family this is safe to use, Im asking the community
> here - is it safe to run a dryer that you can visibily see the red hot
> elements? How can you test that the elements will eventually shut off
> on their own? What do we need to look for as far as safety goes?
> Pardon the obvious concerns here over something that we all take for
> granted, but I have to say - if you've ever had a dryer fire, it will
> most certainly make you stop and think about what it is you are
> plugging into your walls.
>
> PS - Advice I would offer EVERYONE is this: never leave the house or
> go to bed with an electric dryer running. You wouldn't leave your
> hairdryer or toaster oven running while away, and these things appear
> to operate on the same exact principle, in a much more powerful
> order. We were VERY lucky.
>
> Thanks in advance
>



Posted by David Bonnell on February 22, 2007, 8:19 am


> Before I tell my family this is safe to use, Im asking the community
> here - is it safe to run a dryer that you can visibily see the red hot
> elements? How can you test that the elements will eventually shut > off on
their own?

I'm not sure if it's safe or not...but you can definitely see the
glowing element in our electric dryer when first opening the door.
It's a bit scary, particularly since the unit doesn't do much in the
way of sensing moisture (in automatic mode, the dryer seems to dry
clothes far past the point of 'dry'). We never dry clothes unless
we're around to monitor progress of the load.

No fires so far, and we're about to replace the washer/dryer units
anyway. I doubt we'd leave *any* dryer unattended, regardless of
reputation or quality. Moisture + electronics smacks of potentially
deadly hazard.

> We were VERY lucky.

No doubt about it.


Posted by Steve Barker on February 22, 2007, 9:17 am


You just bought it right? Brand new right? Why wouldn't it be safe?

BTW, there's a fire in your furnace also. Do you leave it going when you
leave the house?

--
Steve Barker


> Hey folks,
>
> Recently we had an electric dryer fire - I had purchased a used unit
> that was apparently missing a very important screen to protect clothes
> from the heating elements. Obviously I had no idea, but have learned
> since then. For those who have never had this happen - dryer fires
> are pretty damn scary.
>
> Anyway. We recently replaced that unit with a brand new one (I wont
> buy used here again), and of course, I am very timid now about
> electric dryers. My question is regarding this new unit. After
> hooking it all up and running it, I have found that the elements get
> RED hot - toaster-like. After searching around on the net, this
> appears normal. It should also, after a period of time, shut off as
> well, cycling back and forth.
>
> Before I tell my family this is safe to use, Im asking the community
> here - is it safe to run a dryer that you can visibily see the red hot
> elements? How can you test that the elements will eventually shut off
> on their own? What do we need to look for as far as safety goes?
> Pardon the obvious concerns here over something that we all take for
> granted, but I have to say - if you've ever had a dryer fire, it will
> most certainly make you stop and think about what it is you are
> plugging into your walls.
>
> PS - Advice I would offer EVERYONE is this: never leave the house or
> go to bed with an electric dryer running. You wouldn't leave your
> hairdryer or toaster oven running while away, and these things appear
> to operate on the same exact principle, in a much more powerful
> order. We were VERY lucky.
>
> Thanks in advance
>



Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on February 22, 2007, 10:22 am



> You just bought it right? Brand new right? Why wouldn't it be safe?
>
> BTW, there's a fire in your furnace also. Do you leave it going when you
> leave the house?
>

Good point. Heaters do cause a lot of fires so they should be turned off
when you go out.

Dryers cause about 4% of all fires while heaters cause about 14%
http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=952&itemID=23186&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Major%20causes%20of%20fire


While probably close to 100% of homes have heating equipment, I wonder how
many have dryers? That would skew the statistics.



Page 1 of 4       1 2 3 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
electric dryer question September 15, 2007, 11:48 pm
Dryer puller assembly, Whirlpool electric, Question?? May 26, 2008, 5:16 pm
Another silly fence post question November 2, 2006, 12:10 am
Silly plumbing (or maybe physics) question January 11, 2007, 1:44 pm
Dryer- Gas vs Electric March 30, 2006, 6:50 pm
electric dryer screeching July 17, 2005, 8:06 pm
electric dryer screeching July 18, 2005, 2:11 am
Electric clothes dryer August 7, 2005, 5:42 pm
Electric dryer and a gas hook-up August 23, 2006, 10:56 pm
Electric dryer problem November 15, 2006, 10:09 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap