clothes dryer

[Meredith lady]

Hey all-my clothes dryer has stopped producing heat. It still spins-but no heat. Excuse my ignorance..but it seems to be hooked up to a bronze pipe leading to my propane so I assume it is not an electric dryer-Who do I call? The propane company? An electrician? I am a single mom and don't want to pay everyone and anyone to tell me what is wrong-and then have to replace the whole thing. For the past month I have made do with a clothesline (much to the dismay of my college kids) but winter is coming and I guess I need to decide what to do...Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

[BernerGuy]

1st: check the dryer vent. If that, and they often do, gets clogged, it can affect the heat.

2nd: Check the lint trap. An easy thing to overlook and often a culprit

3rd: Call someone to check it out. I wish I had a recommendation.

[wifi]

Another thing you might want to check is the pilot light, if its an older unit (newer units are electronic).

Then, you can always call someone like Crown Appliance (http://www.crownappliance.net/) for a service call.

[brk-lnt]

Sounds like a gas dryer. You DO have propane, right (ie: you're not out)? Do you have other gas appliances in the house?

Is there a control valve somewhere in the gas line that may have inadvertently got shut off? (They are usually 1/4 turn valves where the lever would be in-line with the gas pipe for ON and perpendicular to it for OFF).

[hazmatmedic]

Just FYI, The "bronze" pipe is copper and the few things it could be from my perspective:

1) out of propane- check cookstove or hot water heater or heater for operation. Your tank should have a gauge which reads in percentage of the total capacity. But just because the tank reads a percentage doesn't mean that it is correct. Could stick. Real way is to try other appliance.
2)shut off valve was inadvertantly closed. I wouldn't tell you to turn back on because maybe it was turned off for reason, but that would stop the flow of propane.
3)pilot or ignitor problem. the pilot needs to be lit (only on old models) anything new would have an ignitor which needs to be replaced by licensed professional.
4)if it was a blocked vent you would hear the dryer "fire" (like a rumbling sound) and then shut off due to overheating in less than a minute, but that is possible.
5)if other appliances are not working or if its a single appliance, it still could be a supply problem which for the most part is your supplier. Tank could just be off or regulator removed.
Call supplier and ask about your account. They will look at your account and see if it could be on their end (service interruption).
good luck.

I know it costs money but your family is certainly worth having it done right. This is why NH has a propane license.

[hazmatmedic]

For the most cases, I wouldn't call an electrician or an appliance store.
The reason is a propane technician can diagnose and repair the appliance problem or a supply problem where others can not correct a supply problem.

But that depends on your propane supplier. Do they have trained experienced technicians to work on dryers?

[Dr. Green]

http://www.sustainabilitynh.com/products.php?product=outdoors-rotary-clotheslines

http://www.sustainabilitynh.com/products.php?product=indoor-or-outdoor-drying-racks-retractable

http://www.sustainabilitynh.com/products.php?product=spin-x-clothes-spinners

http://www.sustainabilitynh.com/products.php?product=wooden-drying-racks

All the above will save you a bunch of money over a propane dryer - after all, a dryer is a device designed to heat the outside air, which we harness to dry our clothes while wasting ENORMOUS amounts of heat and energy - the average (electric) dryer uses 4kW to 5kW of electricity an hour to dry clothes ($0.60-$0.80 a load). A propane dryer is slightly less wasteful. Most people (especially with family and lots of loads of laundry) would save substantially switching to clotheslines or clothes spinner and drying racks.

Note: I own the aforementioned store Sustain Ability, in Laconia. The focus of my store is saving energy costs and reducing environmental impact.

[Acres per Second]

"...For the past month I have made do with a clothesline (much to the dismay of my college kids) but winter is coming..."
1) In winter, the drying outdoors of clothing is fine: the clothes will freeze, but still be drying. (It isn't only our Grandparents who know this). Plus, the bed linens—in particular—will have that nice smell of the outdoors). :coolsm:
I have a "solar dryer" for that reason. :cool: :)

2) Just yesterday, I repaired my folk's telephone connections in their basement.

Why?

(They called with no dial-tone on one phone). :confused:

Their clothes-dryer vents into the basement, and all five telephone wires had condensed the heated dryer-moisture inside the cooler insulation of the phone wires. That moisture ran down and corroded the connections at the junction box. Where the connections should have been coppery-bright, they had turned a greenish-black! :eek2:

"Solar dryers" prevent obscure, unanticipated problems like that one from costing even more money. :coolsm:

[Meredith lady]

dryer vent-check
lint trap-check
pilot-check
on/off valve-check
plenty of propane-check
Guess I will call Crown Appliance-thanks for your help all!

[Meredith lady]

...and I am going to check out Sustain in Laconia...

[Meredith lady]

thank you to all for your advice and help-It's appreciated!

[dpg]

Totally no heat at all wouldn't be a clog...That would have to be a REAL nasty clog. Most likely the ignighter (sp)