My dryer heating element broke in two: Can I just wrap the ends together?

Question

I have a Whirlpool Estate dryer that recently quit drying. I narrowed the problem down to the heating element, then removed the element assembly and found a clean break in the coil at one end. A replacement element is 50 bucks online, which isn't a problem, but I wonder: Can I fix the element myself?

I don't have a lot of tools, but I do have a wrench and some 18 gauge aluminum wire. I thought maybe I could scrape the soot off of the element near the break, then wrap the ends together with the wire. I'm not much of a handyman and I'm certainly not an electrician. But I'd like to fix something for a change, rather than just throwing it away. Can the element be salvaged?

Edit: Thanks for the informative answers, guys. I ordered a replacement from Amazon.

Answer 1

Sorry to be the Nay Sayer here, but trying to repair a 240vac heating coil element is just plain dangerous. You mentioned using aluminum wire, WRONG! That wire will melt in a heartbeat as soon as you turn it on. The heating element is probably made of tungsten or other hardened heat producing metals and trying to use copper or aluminum is no substitute.

Don't risk burning up other parts of your dryer or even your entire house. Order the correct part or go pick one up at a local appliance repair shop and do the job properly and safely.

Answer 2

Heating elements are specially tempered metal rods that produce heat from electrical current (the metal needs certain values to make "friction" of electricity that passes) and the output is not a direct short circuit with a specific impedance.

These things happen (i mean they break) because over time electrolysis and most likely caused by small fault during forging, and over time caused the element to corrode and increase the "frictional" electrical tension on the faulty area- increasing the rate of which that area gets damaged- until it snaps and makes a nasty short circuit inside your heating chamber. Thanks to the fact that all appliances have to be grounded it is most likely it tripped some circuit breakers and would do so every time the element turned on, and in turn saving your life.

In theory people want to say- yes its OK- because you just want to bridge a gap to conduct electricity- but nobody can tell you the long and short term outcomes of doing this so it is very risky.

It is not common but this problem does happen here and there.

As an experienced home builder and electrician- I never repaired a heating element- just replaced it and made sure the earth leakage breaker and any other protection circuits are working properly.

Answer 3

Dryer elements usually fail because they don't have enough air flowing past them. You have either a restricted vent system or a lint filter full of lint. A bad drum seal will let too much air come in and parallel the air flow and you still don't have enough air over the element. I have been repairing dryers for thirty years. Personally I feel the splice would only shorten the whole so little that it would still be within a safe current level. However when I have done this, the splice failed in less then a month. The connection needs to be welded. I used to repair toasters and the supplier had a catalyst that welded the connection: when the element was re-energized it would heat the joint and weld it. They don't seem to have anything like this any more. If you note the element manufacturers spot weld the crimped connection. GE has clamped their elements ends under a brass washer using a brass bolt, washer and brass nut, that worked to replace the new element. I have tried to polish the wire and bolt them together and they still burned the connection and failed. I haven't tried stick welding yet. I definitely recommend you install a new element. I'm an a electrician and do these thing in a safe controlled manner. We don't want to burn down your house. Don't bypass any safety devices either.

Answer 4

Technically it is possible, but...

First, it will shorten the element wire and so reduce its resistance and so increase the current and so increase the dissipated power and all of this together will make the heating element under extra stress which will likely cause another breakage in no time.

Second, depending on the exact material of the wire its surface might be oxidized and then it will be problematic to achieve good contacts between parts and this will lead to lot of heat being dissipated at the joint and this again will likely cause overheating and breaking the element in no time. Cleaning the wire will not help much - it works at very high temperature and will oxidize again in no time.

The bottom line is what user chris says in his answer - it will likely only work as a short term fix and you should be really careful doing that.

Answer 5

I have done so in the past, and it is a workable fix in the short term only. I would recommend this fix only in situations where your life or marriage depends on dry clothes RIGHT NOW. Put a smoke detector nearby, and don't leave home with the dryer running. Replace properly when you can get the part.