My wife again expressed her desire to have a matching dryer to the washer we bought last year.

I relented and agreed to just replace it. I’m sure I can find a n independent used appliance guy who could use this old one to help pay his bills. I’m happy to contribute it to such a cause and keep the wife happy. Heck, maybe the new one will be more efficient or have some cool feature.

I too think a loose connection and I wonder if dialectric grease would help with this?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
If it was caused by loose connections (*): The heat resulted from an attempt to conduct the same current through increased resistance. Were such the case: There would have been less current flow, not more.

Loose connection = higher resistance* = higher amperage* = heat*
Heat = melted insulation = corrosion = again, higher resistance* = higher amperage* = more heat*
*at said connection
If you want to take it further, the bad connection is causing lower voltage, which will also increase the amperage.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
(*) Entirely possible, but not certain. Personally, I am unwilling to bet his life on such an assumption.

Repairing this is totally safe. We're not asking him to play Russian roulette.

I want to add that the problem was not necessarily loose connections, but possibly corrosion of the terminals. Some of the damage I’m seeing may be heat related, caused at the same time as the heat melted the insulation. But it looks like the terminals could have had corrosion, which could have caused the increased resistance.

If you replace the terminals, use sandpaper or a light file to clean the opposite mating terminals, so that you have clean (as well as tight) metal to metal contact. Then follow up with some dielectric grease to prevent further corrosion. Look for signs of corrosion, ie discoloration, on other terminals as well and give the same treatment.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
It's not a big deal.

The connections were loose resulting in higher amperage.

The connections may have been loose, but the latter part is incorrect.

If it was caused by loose connections (*): The heat resulted from an attempt to conduct the same current through increased resistance. Were such the case: There would have been less current flow, not more.

I = √(W/R)

(*) Entirely possible, but not certain. Personally, I am unwilling to bet his life on such an assumption.

Glad to see somebody finally say it .

I used to explain it this way . Hold two wires a foot apart , how much current will flow ? Stick the two wires together and see how much current will flow . Which scenario had the highest resistance ?

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
It's not a big deal.

The connections were loose resulting in higher amperage.

The connections may have been loose, but the latter part is incorrect.

If it was caused by loose connections (*): The heat resulted from an attempt to conduct the same current through increased resistance. Were such the case: There would have been less current flow, not more.

I = √(W/R)

(*) Entirely possible, but not certain. Personally, I am unwilling to bet his life on such an assumption.

Glad to see somebody finally say it .

So the answer is simple.

Do the repair, turn the dryer on as hot as you can get it and stand there and watch to see if the connection gets hot again. You can tell by putting your hand on the wires a few inches away from the repair where it's insulated and safe to touch. If it doesn't, then the problem is fixed. If it does, then it's not fixed and it's time for plan B.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
It's not a big deal.

The connections were loose resulting in higher amperage.

The connections may have been loose, but the latter part is incorrect.



If it was caused by loose connections (*): The heat resulted from an attempt to conduct the same current through increased resistance. Were such the case: There would have been less current flow, not more.

I = √(W/R)

(*) Entirely possible, but not certain. Personally, I am unwilling to bet his life on such an assumption.

Glad to see somebody finally say it .

Exam is right, I don't believe either of you are applying Ohms law nor Power dissipation laws correctly.

(P)=I2 x R

With increase of resistance at a connection, you will see an increase of wattage resulting in heat. No resistance=no heat, resistance= Heat. That is why motors, lights, loads give off heat...

This is a loose connection, NOT an open connection, HUGE difference.

Regardless, glad the OP got a new dryer out of the deal;-)

I came here to tell you to make the wife happy and just get her a new dryer… which appears to be happening. Good choice.

Those push on terminals get loose over time. Primarily from vibration, but heat and the oscillating current could make the problem worse. As the became looser, resistance went up and amperage increased.

Cut back the wire a bit, slide on some heat shrink, and use quality crimpers to install new push-on terminals. The best solution would be to use an eye plus a machine screw and nut. Would probably have to carefully drill a small hole in each spade terminal.

So Whirlpool Thermal cut out. You say you have replaced it multiple times. It appears you still have the original safety thermostat in the bottom picture. If you purchased an OEM replacement, it should have come with both a new TCO and a safety thermostat. Many people don't do this because it requires putting new terminals on a couple of the wire and it will run and heat again with just the new TCO.

ETA: I looked at the picture again, that is a non OEM safety thermostat or at least appears to be)

I see that kind of heat damage from loose connections, You just cut back the wire and reterminate them.

You need to cut back the wire on the top component (the TCO) 4 to 6" and put on new terminals. On the bottom component there is a short wire in the kit with the larger terminal that goes on the element. You will need an extra one of these as you will have difficulty n locating the correct terminal size to go on the element. If you e-mail me, I can send you one

While the new dryer is in place I think I’ll go ahead and repair this one as well. Thank you all for the input, and thanks Brad for the offer. I think I have all the components I need to replace both of them, as I have bought the kit on several occasions and sometimes, as you said, only replaced the top component. I’ll email you should I find myself lacking the wire/terminal.

I kinda want to see it through to completion some ya’ll took the time to respond.

Use a professional grade crimping tool . I've seen people use Vice Grips or Channel Locks . No good ...
https://www.alliedelec.com/pro...cc27441&gclsrc=aw.ds

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Use a professional grade crimping tool . I've seen people use Vice Grips or Channel Locks . No good ...
https://www.alliedelec.com/pro...cc27441&gclsrc=aw.ds

This T&B crimper is what I have been using professionally for 30+ years.

If you truly want a professional crimp, buy a ratching crimper.
Seems like everybody and their brother has one with their companies name on it today.

Pick the company and or the color scheme you want, you can find several in the $20 range.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-T...gid=pla-816996914525

https://www.harborfreight.com/...Wv8_yDgaAolkEALw_wcB

https://www.harborfreight.com/...sa0BqJkaAge9EALw_wcB

Have been using the ratchet style for 35+ yrs, while the Klien (same as the T&B selogic linked) sits in the toolbox.

After using the ratchet style, it'll become the only one you grab.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Use a professional grade crimping tool . I've seen people use Vice Grips or Channel Locks . No good ...
https://www.alliedelec.com/pro...cc27441&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've got a couple of those style crimpers. They are much better than the multi-use crimper/stripper/cutter tools.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
If you truly want a professional crimp, buy a ratching crimper.
Seems like everybody and their brother has one with their companies name on it today.

Pick the company and or the color scheme you want, you can find several in the $20 range.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-T...gid=pla-816996914525

https://www.harborfreight.com/...Wv8_yDgaAolkEALw_wcB

https://www.harborfreight.com/...sa0BqJkaAge9EALw_wcB

Have been using the ratchet style for 35+ yrs, while the Klien (same as the T&B selogic linked) sits in the toolbox.

After using the ratchet style, it'll become the only one you grab.

The Klein one is only $27... might have to pick that up.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
If you truly want a professional crimp, buy a ratching crimper.
Seems like everybody and their brother has one with their companies name on it today.

Pick the company and or the color scheme you want, you can find several in the $20 range.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-T...gid=pla-816996914525

https://www.harborfreight.com/...Wv8_yDgaAolkEALw_wcB

https://www.harborfreight.com/...sa0BqJkaAge9EALw_wcB

Have been using the ratchet style for 35+ yrs, while the Klien (same as the T&B selogic linked) sits in the toolbox.

After using the ratchet style, it'll become the only one you grab.

Not for everybody . I had two . They stayed in the van . I would terminate control cables for hours and always used the T&B manual crimper unless I was landing larger cables . #8 and larger .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
If you truly want a professional crimp, buy a ratching crimper.
Seems like everybody and their brother has one with their companies name on it today.

Pick the company and or the color scheme you want, you can find several in the $20 range.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-T...gid=pla-816996914525

https://www.harborfreight.com/...Wv8_yDgaAolkEALw_wcB

https://www.harborfreight.com/...sa0BqJkaAge9EALw_wcB

Have been using the ratchet style for 35+ yrs, while the Klien (same as the T&B selogic linked) sits in the toolbox.

After using the ratchet style, it'll become the only one you grab.

Not for everybody . I had two . They stayed in the van . I would terminate control cables for hours and always used the T&B manual crimper unless I was landing larger cables . #8 and larger .

I prefer manual as well with the same caveat as you.

The full cycle ratchet style are usually only for insulated terminals. The manual style if so designed are for use on insulated and non insulated terminals. Appears that the appliance needs a non insulated crimper.

quote:

Originally posted by sig operator:
The full cycle ratchet style are usually only for insulated terminals. The manual style if so designed are for use on insulated and non insulated terminals. Appears that the appliance needs a non insulated crimper.

I was wondering if there was a version for non-insulated connector as I saw it specifically said that it was for insulated uses.