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My power shuts off when I run my dryer

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?

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I'm having the same probkem

da

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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?

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Hi,

So it's not tripping the breaker (or blowing the fuse) on the feed that it's connected too then, but it trips the main breaker, Is this correct?

I'd check the breaker (or fuse)that feeds the dryer as to why it's not tripping (blowing) before the main breaker for a start.

After that I agree with @mayer regarding the possibility of an intermittent s/c in the dryer.

Just wondering though, is the dryer "hard wired" to the power or plugged into a power outlet?

If it is plugged in it may also be that there is a problem with the power outlet "breaking down". Try connecting the dryer to another power outlet and trying it there.

As was stated, be very careful as you are dealing with lethal voltages.

It may be better to leave it to the experts if you're not totally sure of what you're doing

da

@mayer @jayeff it doesn't trip anything in the panel, I lose all power in the house but when I come downstairs none if the breakers were tripped, I have to flip the main off and then back on (sometimes 2 or 3 times) before it turns back on. The dryer is plugged into outlet. I pulled it apart and nothing seems loose and there are no burn marks inside. The main cord thst plugs into the wall is connected at 3 points inside. Voltage reader says there's power to the 2 outside wires and nothing on the middle. I assume it's a ground wire, but I'm probably wrong. Is it worth replacing the outlet? I don't have anywhere else to plug it in down here, it's one of those 30amp outlets

da

Hi,

The main breaker may not look tripped but the fact that you have to "reset" it by switching it off and then on again to restore power to the premises indicates that there is a problem with it.

Is the dryer disconnected before you try to reset the main breaker? it may be that it is still creating a fault condition and the breaker won't reset the first time you try.

You may have a "double headed" fault, i.e. the main breaker and the dryer.

Once you have fixed the main breaker problem, the dryer breaker should be the one to trip if there is still a problem with the dryer.

If the dryer operates OK after the main breaker has been replaced then it may be that the main breaker was just "sensitive" to the continuous amount of power that is required to run the dryer. It shouldn't have been too much for it if it was OK but it may have been if it is faulty.

Is the main breaker a multi input supply phase breaker? Don't know how it works where you are but if your dryer requires 2 x 120VAC supplies for 240VAC perhaps this is why it "trips" on the dryer and not on the 2 x AC etc if they are single phase supply. (here we have single phase, 2 phase or 3 phase 240VAC supplied - 2 & 3 depending on requirements)

da

The dryer just acts like an inductor when connected in parallel to a light bulb. That's all. No need to worry. And such a problem is only common with some types of bulbs, not all.

da

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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

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