I need an electrician to settle this discussion

[Ripster42]

Dryer should have its own dedicated double fuse box, not shared with anything else, across two 110/120V taps at different phases, providing 220/240V @ 20-30 Amps. 30 is typical for dryer outlets, but if it had 20A fuses before the wire gauge is probably insufficient for 30A. Do NOT get 30A fuses if it had 20A fuses originally without first verifying that the wire gauge to the outlet is sufficient (see post above).

If the fuse(s) is tripping when it turns on its more than likely the fuse or fuses need to be replaced as they're no longer able to provide enough amps to the heating coil/motor etc. Ergo, they're tripping under normal load. Not unusual if they're quite old, fuse fatigue on high amperage fuses can be common enough depending on the material used to build it, as current runs through it or pulses the thermal damage done slowly deteriorates fuses. Replace them with the exact same amperage fuses that you take out of the box.

Lint trap or duct blockage is unlikely to be causing this, long ass dry cycles and fire would be the first indication of those being a problem. What would go first in this case (clogged vents) is the thermal fuse inside of the dryer, which would cut off power to the heating element. The motor would still run, just tumbling wet clothes forever, but it should not trip the fuse or breaker for the circuit.

This is what I experienced. When I was in college I had a job blowing in insulation. We'd specifically use the circuit the dryer was on because of this for our machine. This was before my friend bought a generator (he'd graduated already and started the business right after college) and we just hooked the machine up to that because sometimes they'd have shitty wiring like the OP seems to have and we'd constantly trip the circuit making the job take longer, even though we'd be hooking in to the dryer circuit.

[Jinpachi]

Hey fellas,

I need someone to help me settle a discussion in regards to their drier.

Every so often, it'll blow the panel fuse in their box either while the machine is running or as it's turned on. Their reasoning is is that it's because there's a lint build up which is impeding airflow but the amount of heat the unit produces on high has no bearing on how much power the unit draws, right?

From my understanding, most (if not all) newer Dryer models have an internal thermostat and once it reaches a certain heat threshold it'll either turn itself off or blow an internal heat fuse to prevent fire if the lint trap is impeding airflow. Therefor the way I see it is if it's blowing the fuse in their box it's due to a fault in the wiring or from an outdated setup in general since it was put in like 40 years ago and uses those screw-in fuses. Also, the amount of heat the unit produces on high has no bearing on how much power the unit draws, right?

There's another spot which is prone to blowing fuses too which further cements my concern that it's their power setup.

There's a case of beer at stake.

what brand is it? sounds like you need to toss it before you burn your house down

[Bushtuckrman]

Hey fellas,

I need someone to help me settle a discussion in regards to their drier.

Every so often, it'll blow the panel fuse in their box either while the machine is running or as it's turned on. Their reasoning is is that it's because there's a lint build up which is impeding airflow but the amount of heat the unit produces on high has no bearing on how much power the unit draws, right?

From my understanding, most (if not all) newer Dryer models have an internal thermostat and once it reaches a certain heat threshold it'll either turn itself off or blow an internal heat fuse to prevent fire if the lint trap is impeding airflow. Therefor the way I see it is if it's blowing the fuse in their box it's due to a fault in the wiring or from an outdated setup in general since it was put in like 40 years ago and uses those screw-in fuses. Also, the amount of heat the unit produces on high has no bearing on how much power the unit draws, right?

There's another spot which is prone to blowing fuses too which further cements my concern that it's their power setup.

There's a case of beer at stake.

it was put in like 40 years ago

Well there's your answer

[davistrembley]

Yes the above shared statement is an answer to this question which an experienced electrician only be able to explain.

[McFuu]

From what it sounds like the dryer and wiring are both 40 years old. If the blowing fuses is a new issue, it sounds like the dryer/motor is starting to fail. Especially if this occurs usually on start up, it sounds like motor has issues starting, which would increase power draw...

That being said,

If you replace the dryer, re-do the wiring, it's substandard.

[zenkai]

Holy Necro Batman

[LiamThomson74ttR]

I am now looking for a good electrician, maybe someone has recommendations

[Jester Joe]

Let's refrain from necro'ing a 3 year old thread please. Recommendations are already on a local/region basis, not going to find much here in an abandoned thread.