My electric dryer crapped out.

[xboxist]

It's a GE stackable for my little tiny condo. I bought it new three years ago.

Symptoms:

--About 3-4 weeks ago I noticed that loads weren't fully dry after one cycle; slowly worsened until this past weekend when a load took two full cycles to dry completely

--Then just this past Sunday, when I went to remove the dried load I noticed that it absolutely reeked. Completely caught me offguard. It's certainly not mold, but I can't pinpoint it. Maybe like a weird burn smell? The load smelled nice and fresh out of the washer.

--I checked the lint vent/duct thing and it's perfectly clear all the way to the exterior of the building.

--Lint screen is clean.

--I asked my cat if she peed in the dryer and she said no.


I guess it's just something mechanical/electrical in the guts of the machine?



UPDATE***

Ok, I had GE come out and take a look at things. Unfortunately, this story has a sad ending.

The dryer itself checked out just fine. The problem was that the air vent passage to the exterior of the building was clogged.

A bird built a nest just inside of the duct (presumably a few weeks ago when my dryer started to work more slowly). And then last week sometime, the condo association had a guy go around and put these critter-proof grills on the outside wall over those ducts. I guess the dumbfvck didn't notice the birds already living there.

So yeah, they died a horrible death and I was smelling their aftermath. Lovely. :disgust:

Anyway, thanks for the responses.

 

[Rubycon]

Make sure the blower is working and nothing crawled in there (this time of the year mice seem to pop out of AC units - perhaps when they pop out they're running to driers.) Ask the cat if she's seen Jerry around the drier!

If a resistance heater does not get sufficient airflow either due to a faulty blower or a restriction the coils will heat up. Some housings may be protected by a snap disk limit switch which is like a circuit breaker - when it cools, it snaps back and resumes normal operation. Other designs employ a fuse like element what's known as a microtemp - Text. If that tests open with an ohmmeter it needs to be replaced. NEVER jump it out - the ohm meter can test elements and relays too so even for the sake of "testing purposes" the microtemp should NEVER be jumped. 240VAC residential driers are ~5.5 kW and a malfunction will start a fire fast! When the nichrome gets too hot and breaks it will fall to the chassis with a much shorter path and the cycle runs quite fast - arc welder style (until the CB, typically 30A double pole in the US) opens but with the lint and heaven knows what else is nearby, a fire is certain.

If this intimidates you, call a qualified repairman/woman ASAP.

 

[xboxist]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
If a resistance heater does not get sufficient airflow either due to a faulty blower or a restriction the coils will heat up. Some housings may be protected by a snap disk limit switch which is like a circuit breaker - when it cools, it snaps back and resumes normal operation. Other designs employ a fuse like element what's known as a microtemp - Text. If that tests open with an ohmmeter it needs to be replaced. NEVER jump it out - the ohm meter can test elements and relays too so even for the sake of "testing purposes" the microtemp should NEVER be jumped. 240VAC residential driers are ~5.5 kW and a malfunction will start a fire fast! When the nichrome gets too hot and breaks it will fall to the chassis with a much shorter path and the cycle runs quite fast - arc welder style (until the CB, typically 30A double pole in the US) opens but with the lint and heaven knows what else is nearby, a fire is certain.

If this intimidates you, call a qualified repairman/woman ASAP.

:Q *calls GE*

(hehe, thanks -- I'm in over my head here)

 

[markgm]

--I asked my cat if she peed in the dryer and she said no.


10/10

 

[Aimster]

yes I had the same problem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160097216591

fixed the problem

 

[xboxist]

Just a final bump -- edited original post with outcome. Thanks again!