Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Dryer dryer, light on fire

I really don't want it to light on fire but I really want it to work.  Last Wednesday, just before I left for a three day work stint in Rock Springs my dryer decided not to heat.  I spent three days looking at used dryers, refurbished dryers and new dryers.  I just really don't want to spend any money on that right now.  I've made huge headway into my debt crisis and even though I have money in savings I really didn't want to invest in a new washer/dryer or even just a dryer right now.  

I decided to look at my best friend You Tube and see if maybe I could at least find out how much it would cost to get fixed.  After I was done I decided that this would be a cinch to fix!

After watching many videos about Kenmore dryers that don't heat I saw this one.

So I decided to clean it out, because how much could that hurt?


  
Clean!  You can see the vacuum attachment marks.


This little gem was the key to getting things cleaned up.


Kinda gross.  Not as gross as I thought it would be but that dirt pile was pretty solid.  That's a lot of pocket sand.

I also unplugged the dryer first and reset the breakers.

After I cleaned it, I plugged it in to see if that fixed the heat problem.  No go.

I wanted to test all the thermostat stuff plus the heating element so I knew exactly what part I was working on.  I had to go buy an ohm tester, or a multimeter.  

Home depot run!


Commercial Electric Analogue Multimeter
10 dollars!
With the smallest instruction booklet ever...



I watched this You Tube.


I liked her the best.  She reminds me of me when I had young kids.  She actually leaves the video to get one of her kidlets out of the road.  You can't beat that kind of smart.

I tested everything and it is the heating element.  I am just waiting for the morning to go get the part and see how it works.  If successful I will have not only fixed the dryer for the price of the part (approx. 65 dollars) but I cleaned it up good to give it a few more years....hopefully.  Getting the lint out also decreases the odds of a dryer fire.  It happens, my Aunt and Uncle lost their house to one. 


************

I couldn't post this without an ending.
Of course you can't buy dryer parts on a Sunday.  So Monday I got up at around 10 (it's been a busy week) and picked up the part. I took in the old heating element to make sure I didn't have to make 2 trips.  

Spot for the heating element and the new heating element in the box.

Goes HERE.

Really easy to slide in.  I had to make sure I placed the thermostat on the new part correctly and hooked it up. (Red wires on the bottom)
After that..........


BOOM CHAKA!
We have heat!  We have heat!

I did it.  I can hardly believe it myself.  It was the same feeling I had when I fixed the Honda and it actually started.  I have no idea how much I saved but the dryer runs like a dream.  She's clean and ready party.  It dries a lot faster then it use to.  I'm thinking that cleaning it out every year may be the ticket to a longer life.  Of course now the washer is jealous and the dishwasher has heard the rumors.  I don't have a lot of time, but I have more time then money so maybe between the two jobs and trying to finish my office I can do a deep clean/service on the washer and dishwasher.

Shut up Furnace and get back in the basement!!!

This blog post is dedicated to my dad.  In his wise words, "If you can't fix it with duct tape it ain't worth fixin".

My dad has always fixed things around the house.  
Still does.
Last Christmas

When I was little I followed my dad around to see what he was up to.  Guess that genetic ability to watch YouTube and figure out how to fix the dryer came straight from my dad.  My thrifty nature...my mom. 

Other updates.

Work.
Yes and lots.
A couple of scene calls that makes it all worth doing!

Running.
Awesome 12 miler with my buddy Tera (no pics!  GASP) last week. I felt amazing at one point.  I am signed up to run the Park City Trail half on Saturday.  I also tried putting together a better running plan because lets face it, the last few months I have sucked at it.  At a lot of things, but especially the running.  Which I LOVE!

Fix your own stuff?  

Your favorite basic running schedule when your not training?

Blog on...............

4 comments:

  1. Wow. Just...wow. I am so impressed that you fixed the dryer yourself! I enjoy fixing and building things, but I'm rarely able to actually do either. I did change a fuel filter on my old Nissan Sentra years ago, and I'm still (obviously) bragging about it. Good job on the 12 mile run, too!

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  2. Congrats on a good fix! I think I would have just bought a new dryer, depending on the age of mine.
    Next time you are out and about, get one of these: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40244831/

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    Replies
    1. I swear, I did not type my comment to look like that. I just typed it all normal-like.

      Delete
  3. Wow, you are superwoman!! Awesome job!!!

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