Hey!
I was about to order a new dryer heating element because my coil-type broke. But I thought I might twist the broken ends together extraordinarily tightly!
Will this work assuming the contact of both ends are excellent and permanent?
...30 minutes later ...I twisted them together; check out the pic:
http://www.tonytonini.com/element.jpg
I also made sure the coiling was very evenly distributed and perfectly in line.
What do you think?
-Tony
UPDATE:
Well, after a few days, I've been using the mended elemt and so far so good. Everything is working normally and the heat is good.
I have always heard that elements like these (and in toasters) were nothing but a thick wire. If that's the case, then I'll try mending it. I'm just wondering if it will last, so I have a new coil element ($20) on standby just in case.
Any qualififed person out there with any comments?
-Tony
What you have is a resistive heating element. By shortening it you have changed the properties of the element. You can expect it to get a little hotter increasing the temperature in the dryer and raising the possibility of a fire hazard.
Of course, the correct fix is to replace the element. $20 is negligible compared to an insurance deductable...
mdtaylor is absolutely correct. As well, as the element heats and cools, it will loosen the connection,,,,, more trouble than you want there.
Change the element, it isn't worth the worry.
Thanks for your reply.
I DID know that it would be a little shorter, but do you think shortening a 10 foot wire an inch would generate enough added heat to create a fire hazzard?
Also, if I made the mend PERMANENT (as I stated in my original post) would there be a chance it could work its way apart? And if it DID work its way apart, why would that be any different than the broken element I had in the first place? Isn't that just the same thing that just happened to me with the factory-installed element?
Also, if the element would seperate, that breaks the continuity which means ...no electricity. Again, I don't see a difference with that scenario and the factory element breaking on me.
Any other thoughts on those comments?
If the repair started to separate it would likely cause sparks. A single element that fails separates cleanly and completely. Your repair as it fails will likely cause a load of sparks.
If you decide to NOT change the element in favor of saving $20 please do not mention this forum as a place you received the OK to do the repair!
OK, that's a good point (about sparks), thanks!
Tags: repair, dryer, heating, element, likely cause, that just, work apart
