How repair heating element wire?

[Nehmo]

The heating element in an electric clothes dryer is a coil of "resistance heating wire" composed of a (I suppose) nickle-chrome alloy (other possible alloys) . The ends appear to be mechanically connected to steel terminals.
One way to repair a break in heating wire is to replace the full length of the wire. But is connecting two broken ends possible? In other words, how do you fix broken wire of this type?

I'm thinking about using a bolt and nut to connect a break. Will that work?

 

[NeilP]

I'd try clamping the broken ends between small nut, set screw and a pair of washers

 

[cassschr1]

Yes it works. Had a maytag with multiple broken spots , just wound the spirals together no problem. Thier ideas will work good too.

 

[Nehmo]

...Thier ideas will work good too.

What ideas do they have?

 

[dnmun]

it would be best to just junk the electric dryer and buy a gas dryer. that is much cheaper.

 

[marty]

How much to buy a new heating element? That is what I would do. Call a local appliance parts place. Is there a female who uses this dryer? If yes? Ya better fix it or replace it quick!

Hanging clothes on a rope works good inside or outside.

 

[Hillhater]

Be careful of that repair, if there is a section missing or if the repaired element is much shorter than the original, it can get much hotter.
Clothes dryers ( Tumble dryers) are a major source of home fires.

 

[bigmoose]

Those replacement elements are really cheap. I am using one in my coffee bean roaster, I think the entire thing was $20 plus shipping. You can buy just the coiled nichrome wire even cheaper.

To make a splice, overlap the wires inside of a small piece of copper tubing. Crimp the tubing. The copper will not have resistance, so it won't generate heat. It will conduct heat from the nichrome wire that is heating. As said, as the length gets shorter the wattage goes up. It is linear, and that coil is really long. One splice shouldn't matter.

 

[gogo]

it would be best to just junk the electric dryer and buy a gas dryer. that is much cheaper.

If you don't have a gas line available, electricity can be cheap enough depending on rates. Its only $.0966 here, so a bit of a toss up. Our city electric utility just ok'ed switchover to gas from coal, and we burn the garbage at the plant, too.

 

[dnmun]

gas here is $1.06/100kbtu and electricity is $.11/kWh.

btu=.000293kWh, 100kbtu=29.3kWh.

29.3kWh= $3.22 for electric heat. $1.06 for gas

depending on efficiency of the dryer, about 40kbtu to dry one load of clothes

 

[bigmoose]

Go to amazon. com and search on dryer heating element restring It will get over 10 hits. The elements are available for $15 bucks or so. Match your dryer, or match the voltage and wattage. Things should work out.

 

[dogman dan]

I agree, just buy a new one, even though a repair might work. If you can't afford a new one, dry stuff outside.

If you are in an apartment, just another good reason to make a proper repair.

 

[Lebowski]

just get the innards out of a small terminal block ...

 

[Nehmo]

Using a bolt & nut appears to have worked. (I used an unusual bolt & nut, but that's all it is.)
A new element retails for $40, but one was on eBay for $21. The "restringing kit" was also available online for $25.
The bolt & nut method was quick and cheap. Dryers get plenty of vibration, so I'm not sure how long the repair will last.

 

[dnmun]

make sure the ground is functional. when i did that to my toaster the wire eventually warped over and contacted the grill that holds the toast so i would get a shock all the time when i used it after that. my toaster had a metal case so it was fun to use then.

if you put a ceramic standoff close to it or move the nut close to the ceramic standoff it should keep it from moving very far.

but if you own your house, go gas. it will save you gazillions of buckos.

 

[deronmoped]

I have found repairing things is so much better then replacing the parts.

A lot of times the part is hard to find or not available, if you do get the replacement part, sometimes it's not even like the stock part and you end up modifying it, to get it to work. Then there is the problem with them sending you the wrong part and that happens way too often. Then there is the down time and the cost. Even if the part can be had without shipping, I have found I can fix it faster then I can track the part down and run out and get it.

Heck, most people would just throw out the whole dryer, why bother even fixing it.

The last thing I fixed was a on/off switch in a old transistor radio. That was a major challenge, impossible for 99.999% of people, but a person feels like they conquered the World when they accomplish something they even questioned if they had the fortitude to fix.

 

[biohazardman]

I repaired and elderly aunt's only source of heat by removing a short piece of broken element. It was connected to a screw by the manufacturer by sliding the wire in the slot and hammering it over. So I did the same. Repair lasted for a couple years till I replaced the complete wire the next time, complete antiquated heater, with a new old stock one, I happened across at the goodwill a couple years later. Being able to repair things is good as long as one understand well enough to stay away from any dangerous deeds while doing so.

 

[liveforphysics]

A proper crim barrel with a good cold-forging crimp tool is my weapon of choice for dealing with Nichrome wire connections.

 

[sardini]

A proper crim barrel with a good cold-forging crimp tool is my weapon of choice for dealing with Nichrome wire connections.

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