Electric dryer not heating

10 years ago

I have a 6000watt electric dryer, it will tumble, but not heat. I have checked thermostat and heat element...both good.

I have 200 amp bridged circuit for my main box. spots 11 + 13 are for the dryer...So 240V going out right? both spots fitted with 30amp. bout 10ft away form the main box I have a sub box with two 30amp buss fuses just for the dryer....then this runs to a 3 peg,3wire recepticel for the dryer..

First question..Why do I have two 30amp in the main box for the dryer, and another 2 for the dryer in the sub box.....if 6000watts/120v=50amps...when why do I need this sub box?

second, my multi meter is reding 240V across the two buss fuses in the sub box...but one of them(left) is blown....why is reading 240 with a blown buss fuse. also I only have 120 coming out of the receptacle.......

any idea why im blowing buss fuses in the sub box? why I have 120amps of protection if I only need 50.

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Comments (3)

User
10 years ago
#1 how old is the house? Some breakers did not provide the same type of protection as a fuse. The breaker would protect from large over currents and short circuits, while the fuse would protect against small over currents and excessive heating of the wire at a current close to the rating of the fuse, and much quicker than a breaker would. That setup is not used that much anymore unless it is for motors in an industrial type situation..... 6000Watts/240V=25amps

#2 the fuse box could be wired backwards so that the screw shell is on the line side of the circuit instead of the load side.

You only have 120 at the receptacle because one of the fuses is blown, or some other less likely scenario like you are measuring from one hot leg to ground/neutral.

"why I have 120amps of protection if I only need 50." ???

You have 30 amp protective devices 120 is the volts to ground.
nygrd83
Original Author
10 years ago
thanks for the reply! im still a little confused on why theres a sub fuse box for the dryer.....but not one for the washer, fridge or oven??? I know amp fuses in both legs are not additive.....im just curious why if I have 30amp breaker (per leg) I need another 30amp set in a sub panel....in theory...I could just remove the sub panel if its giving me issues right?

I read in another forum that the tumbler will still spin on 120, but for tumble + heat you need 240. since one buss fuse is out..this explains why I have no heat.

here's my proposed resolution... since the sub-box is whats giving me a problem, I intend on running new 10/3 from the main box directly to a new 4 prong 120/240 receptacle. keeping the 30amp breakers the same in the main box?? does this sound like a good plan?
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User
10 years ago
"im just curious why if I have 30amp breaker (per leg) I need another 30amp set in a sub panel."

What type of breaker is it?, and I don't mean brand name.

.

"I could just remove the sub panel if its giving me issues right?"

"In theory", that sounds like a good plan, but if the fuse is blowing, then you may (probably do) have other problems. Since the fuse is blowing before the breaker trips, it would stand to reason that the fuse is protecting the equipment better than the breaker.

.

"since one buss fuse is out..this explains why I have no heat."

Yes

.

"since the sub-box is whats giving me a problem"

Probably something else that is causing the problem. The fuse blowing is usually just the symptom of the actual problem. The heating element is probably going bad and heating up the wiring just enough to blow the fuse. If you remove the fuses from the circuit, it may mean that you will heat the wiring enough to damage the insulation on the wires, and then need to rewire the whole dryer.