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Why Is My Dryer Blowing Fuses? (All You Need to Know)

Who doesn’t need a drying machine these days, right? With a dryer, you can dry your clothes in a matter of minutes without any effort. However, your dryer can malfunction sometimes as it is an electrical appliance.

Your dryer can blow the fuses frequently. So, you might be wondering why your drying machine is blowing fuses. Let’s find out why the fuses of your dryer are blowing again and again.

Dryer blowing fuses

Your dryer’s thermal cutoff fuse will blow if the heating unit of the appliance overheats. This usually happens when the ventilation duct of the dryer gets clogged by lint, which stops proper airflow. To stop the fuses from blowing, you will have to ensure that the heating unit does not overheat.

The fuses of a dryer can blow due to various reasons. One of the most common reasons due to which the fuses of the dryer trips are overheating of the heating unit.

If the temperature of the eating unit goes above the normal level, the dryer will start to malfunction and will trip the fuse to prevent any accidents.

The heating unit of the dryer overheats due to various reasons. It mainly happens if the ventilation duct gets blocked by lint, which results in improper air circulation.

There are basically three types of dryers. They are a tumbler dryer, gas dryer, and electric dryer. Let’s take a look at why the fuses are blowing in these types of dryers.

Tumble dryer

Defective heating element:

The heating element is the most important part of a tumble dryer. It basically provides heat to the clothes to dry them in a very short period of time. If the heating element becomes defective in a dryer, the fuses of the unit trip.

This is basically a safety feature to save the heating element of the dryer from being damaged permanently.

Faulty mains filter:

If the mains filter of a dryer is not working properly and faulty, the fuse of the unit blows when you will start it. This safety feature, which is present in the majority of tumble dryers, is intended to prevent interference from entering the circuit.

Overheating:

If the temperature of the tumble dryer rises above the normal temperature, the fuse of the unit will trip. This safety feature is basically included in the tumble dryer to keep it safe when the unit overheats.

Gas dryer

Malfunctioning gas dryer:

The thermal fuse of the gas dryer will blow if the gas dryer malfunctions. This basically occurs to prevent the drying machine from getting permanently damaged and from catching fire.

If you change the fuse without fixing the issue, the fuse of the gas dryer will blow again.

Overload:

There is a certain load that a gas dryer can dry without any issues. If you overload the gas dryer with more clothes than its full capacity, the unit will malfunction and the fuse will trip.

Clogged lint filter:

If the lint filter of a gas dryer gets clogged, the whole unit will start to malfunction and the air circulation will be hampered. Due to the restricted air circulation, the gas dryer will start to overheat, tripping the fuse.

Electric dryer

Ground fault:

If the ground wire of the electric dryer is not properly connected, a short circuit may occur in your appliance. As a result, a faulty ground wire will trip the fuse of the gas dryer.

A short circuit can also occur due to a wiring problem in the electronic gas dryer, which can also blow the fuse.

Overloaded circuit:

If you connect too many appliances in a single circuit, the circuit will overload. If you connect your electric dryer on an overloaded circuit, the circuit breaker will trip frequently.

When the circuit breaker trips, the fuse of the electric dryer will also trip to prevent any damage.

Overheating electric dryer:

An electrical appliance gets damaged if it gets heated more than it can withstand. So, when the electric dryer overheats, the fuse of the unit blows immediately to keep the dryer intact.

Can I bypass thermal fuse on dryer?

You should not bypass a thermal fuse on your dryer. Bypassing a thermal fuse means that you will have to connect both the ends of a tripped or blown fuse.

You shouldn’t bypass the thermal fuse if you don’t want to damage your dryer permanently.

The thermal fuse of a dryer usually trips when the temperature of a drying machine goes above the maximum temperature it can withstand. To prevent the dryer from getting damaged due to overheating, the thermal fuse of a unit trips.

If you bypass the thermal fuse, the drying machine might get damaged when the unit overheats.

However, if you want to bypass the thermal even after knowing the risks, you can do it quite easily. A thin strip of white plastic with wires sticking out of each end will be the appearance of the thermal fuse.

Tape the two ends together with electrical tape to get around the thermal fuse, which will bypass it.

How to stop dryer from blowing fuse?

Stopping the dryer from blowing the fuse is not as complicated as it may seem to you at first.

You can stop the thermal fuse of the drying machine from tipping frequently quite easily and in a matter of minutes. However, you will have to do it in the right way to prevent any damage to the dryer.

Let’s take a look at how you can stop the dryer from blowing the fuse.

Unclog the dryer hose:

The fuse of a drying machine can trip. Proper air circulation is prevented by clogged dryer hose, which will eventually overheat the dryer. As a result of overheating, the thermal fuse of a dryer blows.

By unclogging the dryer hose, you can prevent the unit’s fuse from tripping again and again. You can unclog the dryer hose by cleaning the duct from the inner side of the vent and then cleaning the hose using a brush and running water.

Remove the lints from the lint filter:

One of the major reasons for drying machine’s thermal fuse to trip is clogged lint filters. The clogged lint filters will block the air flow, heating up the unit and causing the fuse to trip.

By cleaning the lint from the lint filters, you can prevent the thermal filters from tripping frequently. To clean the thermal filter effortlessly, you should remove the unit and clean it using a brush.

Prevent the dryer from overheating:

The thermal fuse of a drying machine usually trips when the temperature goes above the maximum capacity. By making sure that the dryer doesn’t overheat, you can stop the dryer from blowing the fuse.

You can prevent the dryer from overheating by making sure that you don’t overload the drying machine. You should not also run the dryer for a long period of time to prevent it from overheating.

How do you fix a blown dryer fuse?

You can fix a blown dryer fuse quite effortlessly in a matter of minutes if you follow the right process. To run the dryer seamlessly, you will have to fix a blown fuse correctly. Let’s find out how you can fix a blown dryer fuse step-by-step.

Unplug the dryer:

You should turn off the dryer and unplug it before you start fixing a blown dryer fuse. You should do it to prevent getting electrocuted while working on the unit.

Remove the dryer’s back panel:

To access the blown dryer fuse, you will have to remove the back panel of the unit. You can easily unscrew the back panel using a screwdriver.

Remove the tripped fuse:

The best way to fix a blown fuse is to replace it. So, you should remove the blown fuse from the dryer.

Install new fuse:

After removing the tripped fuse, you should install the new fuse in the dryer. While replacing the fuse, make sure that the amperage of the new fuse is the same as the old one.

Reattach the back panel:

After installing the new fuse, you should reattach the back panel. You should tighten the screws properly while reattaching the back panel.

Final Words

The fuse of the dryer mostly blows if the unit overheats. The fuse of the drying machine will also blow if the lint filter gets clogged, overloaded dryer tub, or clogged dryer hose. You can however stop the fuse from blowing frequently quite easily in a very short time.