Have you ever thought about how hot your dryer gets? Thermostats and thermal fuses are put in dryers for your safety and if you don’t maintain them, you could be putting yourself, your house, and your family at risk.
Your dryer uses of a combination of heat and airflow to dry your clothes. The heat generated in your dryer is produced by a heating element controlled by a series of thermostats. If any of your dryer’s thermostats are defective, the results can be disastrous.
Safety Warning: Before performing any tests or repairs on your dryer disconnect the power source to eliminate the risk of electric shock. You can do this by unplugging the dryer, removing the related fuse from the fuse box, or flipping the appropriate switch on the breaker panel.
A dryer thermostat is usually oval shaped and about an inch and a half in length. The thermostat contains a bimetal that opens and closes a pair of contacts depending on the temperature inside the dryer.
The bimetal inside the thermostat is designed to bend at specific temperatures. When the bimetal bends, it pushes an actuator. The actuator then pushes on a contact, opening the electrical...