Electric clothes dryer question.. cycling time

[researcher]

I have a GE electric clothes dryer, just replaced the front and rear bearings (was squeaking/squealing), the front door felt (lower part of bearing) and the drive belt. It's running quiet now but I wanted to see if the heating elements were turning on. I opened the door, held the door switch and started the dryer. Looking towards the back of the drum, the elements were glowing orange but about 20-30 seconds they turned off. Took about 2-3 minutes for them to come back on.

I know there's a cycling thermostat in there and it's job is to do just that, turn it on and off..

Now my question is.. Is that a normal cycling time (20-30 seconds) for the heating elements to turn on? I had it on medium heat. I know I can take it apart and test the thermostat with a multimeter, just wanted to know what a "normal" on time for the elements would be..

 

[hrv]

I have a GE electric clothes dryer, just replaced the front and rear bearings (was squeaking/squealing), the front door felt (lower part of bearing) and the drive belt. It's running quiet now but I wanted to see if the heating elements were turning on. I opened the door, held the door switch and started the dryer. Looking towards the back of the drum, the elements were glowing orange but about 20-30 seconds they turned off. Took about 2-3 minutes for them to come back on.

I know there's a cycling thermostat in there and it's job is to do just that, turn it on and off..

Now my question is.. Is that a normal cycling time (20-30 seconds) for the heating elements to turn on? I had it on medium heat. I know I can take it apart and test the thermostat with a multimeter, just wanted to know what a "normal" on time for the elements would be..

When you do it that way no air is circulating in the dryer so the element will heat up fast and kick off... On the other hand did you look at the pan in the back when you had the drum out. You should have 2 draped coils for the heat.. Were they OK like no breaks or burn marks??? If they do you might have to restring the heating elements...not that hard of a job..

 

[doitmyself]

Maybe give your dryer a test with a load of damp clothes:

"Wet clothing will cause the temperature to drop rapidly requiring the dryer's heat source to cycle at a faster rate than a drum filled with less moist clothing." https://applianceassistant.com/Dryer-Repair/How-Dryers-Work.php

 

[tmorris1]

That sounds about right

 

[mk378]

Most designs have the fan pulling air out of the drum. The heater heats the air coming in the other end of the drum to replace it. In your test with the door open, there's no air flow through the heater. It will overheat and trip the limit thermostat to cycle off. It is not what happens in normal operation.

Typically in normal operation if the clothes are still wet and the controls set for maximum heat, the heater will operate 100% of the time or nearly so. Normal cycling is controlled by the temperature of air leaving the drum.

 

[researcher]

When you do it that way no air is circulating in the dryer so the element will heat up fast and kick off... On the other hand did you look at the pan in the back when you had the drum out. You should have 2 draped coils for the heat.. Were they OK like no breaks or burn marks??? If they do you might have to restring the heating elements...not that hard of a job..

oh duh.. totally forgot about the convection currents! Just like a PC tower, case fan can't move the air if the cover is off. Thanks! Yes I did look at the heater coil pan, no burn marks, no breaks, looked brand new after 8.5 years. That makes sense that it's not going to heat forever if there is no air movement.

Most designs have the fan pulling air out of the drum. The heater heats the air coming in the other end of the drum to replace it. In your test with the door open, there's no air flow through the heater. It will overheat and trip the limit thermostat to cycle off. It is not what happens in normal operation.

Typically in normal operation if the clothes are still wet and the controls set for maximum heat, the heater will operate 100% of the time or nearly so. Normal cycling is controlled by the temperature of air leaving the drum.

thanks for the explanation that I was causing it to cut off by having the door open.

Maybe give your dryer a test with a load of damp clothes:

"Wet clothing will cause the temperature to drop rapidly requiring the dryer's heat source to cycle at a faster rate than a drum filled with less moist clothing." https://applianceassistant.com/Dryer-Repair/How-Dryers-Work.php

I did test it with a damp/wet comforter, it was dry on medium heat within about 35 minutes.. I think it's working ok now.

That sounds about right

Thanks! I needed to know before I went to the trouble of taking it all apart again to test out the cycling thermostat.. Sounds like it's working well, and a lot quieter now too! It's amazing after 8.5 years that drivebelt was toast! Curled up on the sides, dried out.. Guess spending $70 or so for all the wear parts saved me from buying a new dryer at $5-600!

 

[Thermo1223]

What should do is clean out the vent and verify with the dryer on high & empty you are getting hot air with good flow outside the house to make sure no blockage exists.

 

[doitmyself]

Guess spending $70 or so for all the wear parts saved me from buying a new dryer at $5-600!

Yes! DIY saves so much money and nearly everything is on the interweb to assist. I recharged my refrigerator a few years ago for under $25 following online advice. Between labor and parts mark up, it's almost impossible to be cost effective to have a service technician come out.

 

[oil pan 4]

When my clothes dryer was in an unheated garage the heater would come on for nearly 20 minutes at first.

 

[Thermo1223]

Yes! DIY saves so much money and nearly everything is on the interweb to assist. I recharged my refrigerator a few years ago for under $25 following online advice. Between labor and parts mark up, it's almost impossible to be cost effective to have a service technician come out.

If I had the time & gumption I would have replaced both rear bearings & seals on our LG but I just didn't have 4 hours to devote to it. Obviously way cheaper than a new GE washer!

 

[researcher]

What should do is clean out the vent and verify with the dryer on high & empty you are getting hot air with good flow outside the house to make sure no blockage exists.

Thanks for that tip.. I did clean all the vent piping while it was apart, not much was in there but it's clean now. I have verified the vent pipe (inside the house to outside) is clear.. Ran a power lint cleaner all the way to the exit. Now that doesn't mean the blower motor is perfect but the vent route is clear. We'll see in the future if this dryer is working well, it wasn't drying when the drum was not rolling well, it's why I replaced the guides/bearings. But drying a comforter in 35 min is a big improvement!

If I had the time & gumption I would have replaced both rear bearings & seals on our LG but I just didn't have 4 hours to devote to it. Obviously way cheaper than a new GE washer!

And yep it took me about 2-3 hours to do both front/rear bearings/guides, felt lower bearing, and drive belt. Was going slow to make sure everything was aligned, including sticking my inspection camera back on the drivebelt motor pulley (mostly everything was by feel, had to see!) to make sure the belt was on correctly..

Speaking of the drivebelt.. what is cool is GE made it a 4 rib drivebelt like it should be. The factory was only 3 ribs! The pulley is actually 4 groove/ribs.. Cost cutting 8.5 years ago? Maybe..

But it's working well now, it was a bit noisy at first, the "whooshing" of the drum against the new guides/felt, but that's breaking in now and getting a little more quiet like it was when new. So we'll see how many more years I can get out of this..

 

[researcher]

Yes! DIY saves so much money and nearly everything is on the interweb to assist. I recharged my refrigerator a few years ago for under $25 following online advice. Between labor and parts mark up, it's almost impossible to be cost effective to have a service technician come out.

Fixing this dryer is the same DIY feeling I get anytime I work on either of my cars.. When the job is done I realize how much I saved instead of paying a shop, etc. I'm blessed with a skill set that I can DIY, always feels good! That's awesome you fixed your fridge for under $25! I've walked through Home Depot and they are NOT cheap to buy a new one!

 

[Fitter30]

Might also want to clean the vent pipe leading to the outside. A yard blower works wonders for that.

 

[John105]

We just got a new GE gas on Friday.

Have only done 4 loads and cannot verify sensor. The only time it stopped on own was still wet but set to less dry, as opposed to optimal dry where it’s still spinning and heating and clothes are done. Trying to find the sweet spot—it has knobs.

Not gonna lie I never in 21 years cleaned the duct and it had plenty of material in it.

The new one exhausts forcefully in a way I’ve never seen. On the grass is what the installer punched out from the basement.

 

[John105]

Fixing this dryer is the same DIY feeling I get anytime I work on either of my cars.. When the job is done I realize how much I saved instead of paying a shop, etc. I'm blessed with a skill set that I can DIY, always feels good! That's awesome you fixed your fridge for under $25! I've walked through Home Depot and they are NOT cheap to buy a new one!

Oh man 2002 fridge, have replaced defrost thermostat 3x and have a spare defrost timer. It’s $1,900 to replace and only because it’s small, 18.5 cu ft. I monitor temps and take a pic daily to see it defrosted ($18 Amazon setup). It should say 13-19F for max. Then I reset it, and it will go -6F to +3F, and once again go much higher indicating a defrost cycle happened. 21 years and still going

 

[researcher]

We just got a new GE gas on Friday.

Have only done 4 loads and cannot verify sensor. The only time it stopped on own was still wet but set to less dry, as opposed to optimal dry where it’s still spinning and heating and clothes are done. Trying to find the sweet spot—it has knobs.

Not gonna lie I never in 21 years cleaned the duct and it had plenty of material in it.

The new one exhausts forcefully in a way I’ve never seen. On the grass is what the installer punched out from the basement.

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View attachment 194653

that's not too bad after 2 decades of drying. And ya since GE was bought out by Haier their new dryers say they have more powerful blower fans, for longer venting runs. I'm thinking it's also to make sure the lint blows out more, the stuff that gets by the screen. Sounds like you have that kind of model, which I think is awesome! sounds like a good one!

have to keep us updated on how it goes, see how Haier's influence on GE products is going..

 

[andyd]

I ran our old electric dryer until it sounded more like a 1 bag cement mixer but still did the job. The GE model my wife bought was the largest capacity dryer with the simplest timer. and controls. 99% of its run time is set on cotton/ high. And quiet too. Now that Marina is gone, I mostly use the folding wooden rack.