Dryer current draw

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LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Also, a dryer with electronic (humidity sensor) drying will shut off when the clothes are dry saving a bit more energy over timed drying.
My dryer has an automatic cycle, and according to the schematic, advances the timer whenever the temperature sensor detects output above a certain level.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I'm with you on that. I bought a new washer and dryer a couple of years ago. That washer has an 'extra high' spin speed that spins so fast the clothes are practically dry when they come out of the washer. Even a full load of towels aren't much work for the dryer after that.
Same here, with our front-load washer. It also uses much less water.
 

KentAT

Senior Member
Location
Northeastern PA
Gas in the house is like having a basement full of dynamite.

This is an overreaction. Properly installed and maintained, there should be no problem.

Reminds me of my next door neighbor. He also adamantly refuses to have natural gas service in his house because he remembers a neighbor's house blowing up 20 years ago. However, he had no problem installing a propane fireplace in his house instead.:confused:


Every few weeks you see a news story where a house is completely leveled from a gas explosion.

Of course, we never hear of any house on fire as the result of an electrical problem, now, do we?! :cool:

Kent
 

rattus

Senior Member
Millions of gas users can"t be wrong!

Millions of gas users can"t be wrong!

This is an overreaction. Properly installed and maintained, there should be no problem.

Reminds me of my next door neighbor. He also adamantly refuses to have natural gas service in his house because he remembers a neighbor's house blowing up 20 years ago. However, he had no problem installing a propane fireplace in his house instead.:confused:

Of course, we never hear of any house on fire as the result of an electrical problem, now, do we?! :cool:

Kent

Absolutely! Besides the flex metal hoses and safety interlocks, stinkum is added to natural gas which helps in recognizing a leak. Furthermore, methane tends to rise and float away while butane and propane tend to sink--I believe.

The New London, TX school disaster in 1937 could have been avoided if the methane had an odor.

Reminds me of this old man who refused to have a bathroom in his new house because he didn't want anyone doing that in his home.
 

c2500

Senior Member
Location
South Carolina
Yes, the vent line should be checked yearly and or replaced, and should be all metal(gauge/foil). Also by building Code the vent should be within 6' or use of additional services is required. A turbo exhaust, I can't remember the exact name.

cadpoint,

M1501.3 of the 2003 IRC states a maximum length of 25 feet. With subtractions for 45's and 90's.

M1501.1 Allows transition ducts to be up to 8 feet.

Manufacturers specs may allow even longer runs.

c2500
 

rattus

Senior Member
More trouble!

More trouble!

Some folks operate their dryers without filter screens. Now that is asking for trouble. Some older dryers did not have screens for that matter.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Reminds me of my next door neighbor. He also adamantly refuses to have natural gas service in his house because he remembers a neighbor's house blowing up 20 years ago. However, he had no problem installing a propane fireplace in his house instead.:confused:
I got a call to price installing a range circuit. She was deathly afraid of the "gasoline" stove that was in the house when she "inherited" it from her parents. The 500g. tank had already been carted away. (I envisioned her calling for a HAZMAT team.)

We arrived to find a very nice, modern black LP range. The circuit required a return trip, all of about 45 minutes, about 8ft of 8/3NM, and about 3ft of Wiremold 700, along with a breaker and receptacle. I think we billed $250.

We mentioned now having to shop for a new range, and having to car this one off. Then it hit me, so I said, "How about a swap? We've always wanted a gas range." Our electric range was in great shape, so we had kept using it.

Not only did she love the idea, her dad even drove the gas one to us and picked our electric one up to take to her. I found instructions for converting it from LP to NG on the WWW, and I piped the gas myself. (Uh-oh!)

Of course, we never hear of any house on fire as the result of an electrical problem, now, do we?! :cool:
I guess anyone who has experienced an electrical fire should refuse to live in a house with electricity. :cool:
 

neutral

Senior Member
Location
Missouri
I believe 95% of fires attributed to electrical are because they don?t know what caused the fire and they need to blame something to justify their jobs. I guess I?m just a fraidy cat when it comes to gas. We have never had anything but all electric in our home. We have never had a fire place either.

Charlie:grin:
 

KentAT

Senior Member
Location
Northeastern PA
I guess I’m just a fraidy cat when it comes to gas.
Charlie:grin:

That can actually be part of the solution. Fearing natural gas is completely understandable. To have it in your home is a personal decision, and begins by having respect for the proper :
--- installation and maintenance (using qualified installers/service employees),
--- use (don't heat your house with your gas stove), and
--- response to a potential leak (don't turn on or off any electrical appliance, don't use telephone, GET OUT, maybe open a window on your way out, etc).


As you have mentioned, we all can probably remember one or more natural gas incidents in our areas that even the above items wouldn't have prevented.

Here are some of mine, with comments in italics:

1. Mid 1980s, Nanticoke, PA - natural gas leak blew up a multistory building. ...can't remember what the root cause was, but the shutoff valve for the service to that building that would have needed to be shut had been paved over for a parking lot.

2. Mid 1990s, Kingston, PA - natural gas ignited and burned down a two-story home, I think it was even on Christmas eve ...root cause was a leak at the connection to the gas main in front of the house. The gas migrated with the service lateral piping (just followed the trench) and entered the house in the basement (meter was in the basement). I'm pretty sure this is the reason that most in not all newer residential installations exit the ground first, then enter the building.

kent
 

rattus

Senior Member
That can actually be part of the solution. Fearing natural gas is completely understandable. To have it in your home is a personal decision, and begins by having respect for the proper :
--- installation and maintenance (using qualified installers/service employees),
--- use (don't heat your house with your gas stove), and
--- response to a potential leak (don't turn on or off any electrical appliance, don't use telephone, GET OUT, maybe open a window on your way out, etc).


As you have mentioned, we all can probably remember one or more natural gas incidents in our areas that even the above items wouldn't have prevented.

Here are some of mine, with comments in italics:

1. Mid 1980s, Nanticoke, PA - natural gas leak blew up a multistory building. ...can't remember what the root cause was, but the shutoff valve for the service to that building that would have needed to be shut had been paved over for a parking lot.

2. Mid 1990s, Kingston, PA - natural gas ignited and burned down a two-story home, I think it was even on Christmas eve ...root cause was a leak at the connection to the gas main in front of the house. The gas migrated with the service lateral piping (just followed the trench) and entered the house in the basement (meter was in the basement). I'm pretty sure this is the reason that most in not all newer residential installations exit the ground first, then enter the building.

kent

Residents smelled gas in a house a couple of miles from me. Son goes out on the patio for a smoke. Must have left the door open. Leveled the house and killed his elderly parents.

Some older homes still use open gas heaters connected with rubber hose. Knew a lady who set her nightgown on fire with one of these. She died.

Still, with modern, well maintained central units and a little common sense, the danger is minimal.
 
Gas Vs Elec all depends on where you live. I did the design for a production facility in Kansas City, MO and the Elec Util offered incentives to install electric heat in the package HVAC units intead of gas. I thought that was crazy being fom CA, and argued against it, but thats what they did..... In CA if nat gas is available it is almost always cheaper than elec. In fact title-24 does not allow the install of electric heat without specific exceptions.....
 

Mr. Wizard

Senior Member
Location
Texas
Residents smelled gas in a house a couple of miles from me. Son goes out on the patio for a smoke. Must have left the door open. Leveled the house and killed his elderly parents.

Some older homes still use open gas heaters connected with rubber hose. Knew a lady who set her nightgown on fire with one of these. She died.

Still, with modern, well maintained central units and a little common sense, the danger is minimal.

In first example the idiot son goes outside for a smoke AFTER the gas odor was detected. Had the problem been fixed, no one would have died.

Second example is also human error, unfortunantly for the woman, but she was slightly careless around the flame.

My central heat is gas, as is my water heater, clothes dryer, and oven/range. I like it and would never use electricity for these appliances because for one reason gas down here is cheaper than electricity. Ya'll have got me thinking of the new front-load washers, though. So they really save that much water and get the clothes "dry" enough to where the clothes dryer's job is minimal? Sounds good to me.
 
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