What could be causing my dryer to get so hot?

Question

Earlier today, my husband replaced the blower wheel in our dryer. It seemed to work fine, but when I checked on the load we were drying, I noticed that the dryer itself was VERY, VERY hot. You couldn't even put your hand on it, so you can image what the heat inside was like. My husband checked to see if maybe the exhaust hose was kinked or blocked, but it's fine and is blowing out ridiculously hot air.

Any suggestions on what could be causing this? We've never had this problem before.

827 gazillion points to anyone who can figure this out.

Ok....he messed with it a little yesterday while I was out shopping and said that the tumble and low settings are working fine and will cycle off. It is only on the regular setting that it won't cycle off.

Answer 1

Perhaps there is unseen lint caught in the exhaust. You could always call SEARS and ask them about it, they might be able to fix it even if you didn't buy from them.

Answer 2

Your dryer will get too hot, so hot you cannot touch the top, if the air from the dryer is blocked from the dryer to the outside also. Check your vent hose behind the dryer and from there to the outside. If in doubt, pull the dryer out, remove the vent hose from the dryer and run it to see if the top is cooler. And you could also have a grounded element causing it to by-pass all of the safeties in the dryer and never shutting off till you turn the timer to the off position. If all of these check ok, see what temperature the dryer is cycling off at by putting a thermometer into the dryer vent while it is running on high heat. It should cycle off at around 150*. If it keeps climbing to say 170* you have a bad cycling thermostat or the element is grounded.

Answer 3

Dryer Too Hot

Answer 4

Sounds to me like you're having thermostat issues. Try putting the heat level on cool, and see if that does anything. If it is stuck on high even when you turn the heat down then the thermostat might be stuck.

If you can feel hot air coming out of the vent then it has nothing to do with lint plugging something up.

Changing the thermostat is usually pretty easy and if your hub can change the blower then he should be able to change the thermostat.

Good luck.

PS ... DO NOT run the dryer if it is getting that hot, it could easily start a fire.

Answer 5

well if he replaced the blower wheel then that tells me it is a maytag/crosley/admiral/amana
the plastic blower wheel will get too hot over time and begin to slip and cause the flow of air to be deminished. this causes the heater to get excessive hot and prematurely shut down the dryer.
Did he clean out the housing and blow out the dryer when replacing the defective part? Did he make sure the vent was not clogged? Of course the controlling thermostat may be whack thats the one there by the blower housing thats been abused since two years ago when some one first noticed it was taking longer and longer to dry the clothes but wuz afraid to mention it to the hubby because he might have a hissy?

Answer 6

The timer could be defective

The Temperature control and high Temperature may be defective.

There should be a wiring diagram on the back of the dryer.

Have your husband disconnect the dryer from the power source and make sure he did not move or misconnect some of the wiring.

If all fails, have a qualified Large Appliance repair Technician check it out.

This could be a fire hazzard.

Make sure smoke alarms are working properly.

Good Luck.

Answer 7

Ok, I've provided you a link that confirms my suspicions; the blower may be incorrectly installed:
http://repair2000.com/toohot.html


It's also possible that he missed some clogging of the vent system, either inside the machine or at the wall/roof exit.
It's easy to overlook.
I would double check the seals/sealing on the ends of the vent duct inside the cabinet.

If you don't have a vent brush you can substitute some crumpled nylon mesh [rags, etc.] snagged on the end of a straightened wire hanger[s].
A shop vac would be useful too.

It may be coincidental that a thermostat is also defective.

Libraries usually have appliance/dryer handbooks and manuals if you don't have something at the moment.

Here's also one of my favorite links.
Search for "too hot" and/or enter the brand with and without the model number.
http://applianceguru.com/
[if you don't get to the "forums" directly, select from the main page]
good luck

I could use 827 gazillion points; my neighbors too often take advantage. hahahha

Answer 8

RE:
What could be causing my dryer to get so hot?
Earlier today, my husband replaced the blower wheel in our dryer. It seemed to work fine, but when I checked on the load we were drying, I noticed that the dryer itself was VERY, VERY hot. You couldn't even put your hand on it, so you can image what the heat inside was like. My husband...

Answer 9

Turn it to off and if the heater is still on, then the relay is hung up and not shutting off. Most of them are on the motor and a
Whirlpool 29" dryer will have it in the control panel.
There are two and the one that has to do with this problem is the one on the left, located in the center. The thermostat located on the heater housing could also not be shutting off.

Answer 10

The heater is supposed to be shut down at temperature by a small thermostat(size and shape of a stack of 4 dimes). If that thermostat failed in the on position or has been short circuited that would cause that extremely dangerous situation. Shut it off and check that thermostat and its wiring with an Ohmmeter.

Answer 11

there are heat senors in the dryer that tell the heating elements when to heat up and when to turn off, this helps save energy plus it is what cycles your dryer, for permanent press clothing, delicate cycle, cotten....ect....when this safety switch goes out so does the heating element in your dryer...You probably need a new heat limit senor in your dryer, before it burns up your clothes and your heating element! Good Luck!