Running a dryer WITHOUT a drum..... is it....DANGEROUS? will my house suddenly catch fire? will I break the motor?

[WarDemon666]

I found the centrifugal switch and cleaned it up and it didnt work any better.....

Would it be a BAD idea to start it with everything open (including the elements, and removing the drum cable?

The motor will be spinning without forcing the drum itself,,,, is this bad?

Thanks!

edit: I mean, completely removing the drum and its cables so that the motor spins freely.... (keep in mind that this is for testing purposes only,,, just to see if the centrifugal switch is working)

 

[Injury]

You mean just having the heating element going while the clothes sit idly?

Your clothes stand a chance of getting destroyed as the metal heats up and sits in the same place. It will leave marks that look like the surface they are on. Not only that, but you'd have to manually move them around every so often to enjoy items in the center wouldn't just be absorbing the same humid air over and over, which might actually make them smell like crap.


As far as electrically... if you had any chance of salvaging the drying you will probably screw up the motor. It will overheat and wear down as it moves faster because it won't have the resitance the manufacturers of the dryer expected.

 

[WarDemon666]

I mean, completely removing the drum and its cables so that the motor spins freely.... (keep in mind that this is for testing purposes only,,, just to see if the centrifugal switch is working)

"As far as electrically... if you had any chance of salvaging the drying you will probably screw up the motor. It will overheat and wear down as it moves faster because it won't have the resitance the manufacturers of the dryer expected."

what if I only do it for a few seconds?

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: WarDemon666
I mean, completely removing the drum and its cables so that the motor spins freely.... (keep in mind that this is for testing purposes only,,, just to see if the centrifugal switch is working)

"As far as electrically... if you had any chance of salvaging the drying you will probably screw up the motor. It will overheat and wear down as it moves faster because it won't have the resitance the manufacturers of the dryer expected."

what if I only do it for a few seconds?

probably will be fine as long as you dont introduce anything flammable into the equation.

 

[Number1]

Why don't you start at the begining and tell us what is not working properly with the dryer?

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: Number1
Why don't you start at the begining and tell us what is not working properly with the dryer?

Text

I don't think it'll hurt anything for only a few seconds...

 

[WarDemon666]

Originally posted by: Number1
Why don't you start at the begining and tell us what is not working properly with the dryer?

original post:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...?catid=38&threadid=1944774&STARTPAGE=1

 

[Injury]

Yeah, you should be alright.

As long as all wires are going where they are supposed to, that is.

 

[WarDemon666]

I took the motor apart and was able to loosen the microswitch, i found out that the part number is 1pl67-br, and its just a regular push switch "SWITCH 15 AMP 125VAC",,,, i dont know what its supposed to do maybe reset something??,,, ideas anyone??

 

[Paperdoc]

I'm assuming you mean you would leave the dryer completely disassembled as in your picures with no drum, drive belt, clothes, etc. Then you propose to turn it on and test some things.

As far as the motor is concerned, no problem, It will come to no harm at all starting and running with no load. But as before, don't keep the "Start" push-button held in for more than a couple seconds. And stay clear of the turning drive shaft.

BIG problem, though, is the heating element. With no normal air flow over it, it will over-heat quite rapidly. Besides being dangerously hot for anything near, it may just burn out. So you could do this for a few seconds just to verify that the heater does work, but you'll need a very safe way to shut it off quickly! After that, disconnect the wires to the heating element and tape them up for safety. Then you can proceed with other tests of the motor with no heater running.

 

[WarDemon666]

I FIXED IT!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYY


it was the ****** microswitch!!! the metal pin for the dryer strap wasnt placed properly and the switch wasnt depressed..god!

a whole day of messing around, 4 full reassemblies, just to find a loose wire, and a piece of metal that wasnt placed properly!!

Thanks for everyones help!!!!

GO ANANDTECH!!!

 

[0roo0roo]

does a dryer have a separate fan or is it all driven on a single spindle or something?

 

[Paperdoc]

The ones I've seen have a single motor with two ends of the output shaft. The front end goes into the fan casing and has the fan drum on it. The rear end has the pulley on it that drives the drive belt for the clothes drum. One motor to do two jobs - makes sense.

 

[Paperdoc]

Very neat. Looks like the microswitch's function was to check that there is a drive belt in place to turn the drum. If the belt breaks, it shuts off the dryer as a safety feature. VERY glad you found the problem and fixed it!