Chosen Solution
Hi all, I’ll start by saying that I thought maybe it was the breaker, so I replaced it. But the issue predicts Whenever I run my dryer, I “trip” the main breaker. But not really. Everything shuts off in the house and I have to manually flip the main off and then back on. I can run 2 A/Cs, 2 box fans, 2 ceiling fans, the oven and the stove with lights on wherever in the house with no issues at all. But as soon as the dryer is turned on, boom. Power is out. We’ve tried it with EVERYTHING off in the house with the exception of the kitchen light and still, no power. Sometimes it happens within minutes, sometimes it runs for 20+. A couple weeks ago it stopped happening for a few days… I honestly don’t know what it could be. It’s not hooked up to a brand new 30amp 2-pole breaker, the dryer itself is only a couple of years old, and the issue didn’t start until a few months ago. I don’t know where to even begin troubleshooting… Any ideas?
Well it has an electrical short. This may be just a matter of a loose wire. It is dangerous as can give you a shock so be very careful. Take the back off and look for a burned spot. Jiggle the wires to see if you can spot the loose one. Do not try to use this appliance until you have found the short. It can start a fire. UPDATE A dryer generally uses 220 volts. In the USA this is provided by two 110 volt lines (two hot lines and a ground line). So most of the time, the breaker for the dryer will be a jointed switch that throws both at the same time. The rating for those breaker should be printed on the end of the throw tab. If you will give us the model # of your machine, we can research how many AMPS your dryer generally pulls. But I suspect a breaker failure right now and would look at replacing it but lets first see what you have and then examine what you may need. Where do you live?
You don’t indicate the incoming amperage of the main breaker. Do you have 60A, 100A or 200A service? I would suspect that you have 60A. If the main breaker is tripping I would change that and not the breaker for the dryer. The dryer takes a 30A double breaker (240V) right? Here’s what happens over time… When a breaker runs at or near capacity (capacity here means approx 80% of load), over time, the internal mechanism can begin to change. When this happens one of two things happen, either the breaker gets real sensitive and trips before it should (like in your case I suspect) or the breaker will not trip even when the power through it exceeds its rating. Based upon your reported symptoms, I would suspect that the main breaker is faulty. Have an electrician check and/or replace it. Dan
