Thread Number: 45786
Need help locating original heating element "can" for Maytag DE308
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Post# 669721   4/1/2013 at 18:45 (4,014 days old) by EarthlyAmy (Barton, VT)        

earthlyamy's profile picture
Well my washer's behaving for now, but the dryer (a Large Cap. center dial) sh@t the bed yesterday. AGAIN. Wondering if anyone knows where to find an old heating element chamber (the "can") from a late 70s-era Maytag dryer. It has to be the version that comes apart in 2 pieces. More current versions are pop-riveted together, making re-stringing the heater coil impossible. The part numbers are 313575 for the top, 313576 for the bottom. All my Internet searches have shown 313575 as NLA, which is why I'm searching for the chamber assembled. Really wish I hadn't tossed the first heating element I replaced, now I don't know if it was the original or not. The second one - now third - (Y303404) has broken again after 8 months of use, which sucks.

I'd appreciate any help tracking down one of these so I can re-string the heater element on my own.

[rant]Why are these heating elements so frickin' delicate?! Do they have to be perfectly level (the entire dryer I mean)? Seems like one inadvertent door slam has busted it again.[/rant]





Post# 669725 , Reply# 1   4/1/2013 at 19:06 (4,014 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Your Problem May Be....

danemodsandy's profile picture
....The fact that you're restringing these, instead of replacing the assembly. Handling nichrome heating elements is fraught with a little hazard; the stuff is somewhat delicate and a little bump or bang that seems like nothing at the moment can be a problem later on.

The heating element assembly - complete with can - is usually on eBay brand new for under $30, which is a good deal if it saves you premature replacement of another heating element. I've replaced one on my late 806 dryer - easy job and no problems in the three years since I installed it.


Post# 669747 , Reply# 2   4/1/2013 at 20:34 (4,014 days old) by EarthlyAmy (Barton, VT)        
that's what I've been doing

earthlyamy's profile picture
... replacing the entire heating element as a unit - not restringing the coil because I can't get the housing apart. I'm an old hand at replacing these, and this one if I go that route will be number four in two years - way too soon to my mind. I thought if I could find an original two-parter can I'd try restringing the coil. Ten bucks for the coil works better for me than $30 whatever plus shipping only to repeat the process 8 or 10 months down the road.

Post# 669866 , Reply# 3   4/2/2013 at 09:53 (4,013 days old) by Volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH)        
Heaters.

volvoguy87's profile picture
Why are they failing so quickly? Do you have a bad vent?

In any case, you could get the new can, and then drill out the rivets later if needed, then restring it, and reassemble the can with nuts and bolts or self tapping sheet metal screws.

Dave


Post# 669882 , Reply# 4   4/2/2013 at 11:08 (4,013 days old) by EarthlyAmy (Barton, VT)        
that's what I'd like to know

earthlyamy's profile picture
"Why are they failing so quickly? Do you have a bad vent?"

Beats me, what's a bad vent and why would it cause 3 heating elements in 2 years to fail so fast? FYI the dryer vent (metalized plastic, accordion style) runs behind the dryer up to a metal 6" round duct and exhausts out the basement window - a total run of about 9-10 feet.


Post# 669949 , Reply# 5   4/2/2013 at 14:29 (4,013 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Bad Vent:

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A bad vent is one that is restricted in some way, or too long, or with too many elbows. Any of these conditions can cause restricted airflow, which will cause your heating element to retain more heat than it should, leading to premature burnout.

The accordion-style metalized vent you mention should be inspected for crushing and the entire vent system inspected for lint buildup inside.

If possible, the accordion-style vent should be replaced with hard metal ducting, with all joints sealed with metal tape (available in the section of the hardware store where the dryer vent parts are located).

If you find any buildup or obstruction, you should remove it at the very least. Your dryer's heating element would be much happier.



Post# 671243 , Reply# 6   4/7/2013 at 22:31 (4,008 days old) by EarthlyAmy (Barton, VT)        
You saved us!

earthlyamy's profile picture
to anybody who's been following this thread I owe you a big THANK YOU. Your good advice about checking the dryer vent saved us (house, family, pets) from a potentially disastrous fire. When I checked the vent it fell apart in my hands and sure enough it was caked on with at least 1/2" of dryer lint. I could also see a couple of burn/scorch marks so something must have ignited at some time.

I was able to score an original working Maytag heating assembly on eBay for only $25. When I received it yesterday I was happy to see that it comes apart, so if necessary in the future I can restring the heating element. It's installed and working fine, now I just need to replace the ducting and outside exhaust that's also breaking apart.

One final thing: the lint screen has two holes in it, which might account for the prodigious lint build up. That and never checking the ducting for ten years after I first installed it. Anyway, should I look for a replacement or do a patch job on it? If patching it is possible, what would be the recommended heat-safe material and glue?

Thanks again, you guys are the best!


Post# 671245 , Reply# 7   4/7/2013 at 23:01 (4,008 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Amy:

danemodsandy's profile picture
That lint filter screen is plentiful and cheap on eBay; replacement would be best.

Just in case you find any vintage filters, you should know that newer ones are better. Early filters had aluminum mesh, serviceable but not as fine-mesh as it could have been. New ones are nylon or polyester mesh, very fine-mesh and capable of a much better filtration job. Less lint gets blown into your dryer's air-handling system.

While you're in there, check the blower housing and the plastic duct the filter fits into; these are also lint-catching areas. It's especially important to keep these areas lint-free, because overheating in these areas can warp the duct, which is NLA.

I am SO glad this situation caused you to take a closer look at your vent setup! You're right that it could have caused a real problem.


Post# 671246 , Reply# 8   4/7/2013 at 23:07 (4,008 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
P.S.:

danemodsandy's profile picture
The best dryer duct is hard metal (aluminum) ducting, available at any DIY store like Home Depot. It comes in sections, which slip together. You then tape the joints with metal duct tape (this is special tape made of metal; it is NOT regular duct tape). There are flexible elbows for turning corners, and the duct is easy to cut with tin snips if you need to shorten a section.

A hard metal duct installation is the safest, but it still needs to be opened up at least once a year and cleaned out. There are dryer duct brushes for this purpose; all you do is remove the duct from the dryer and from the wall cap end, and run the brush through the duct till it's clean.

Happy ducting!


Post# 671266 , Reply# 9   4/8/2013 at 01:54 (4,008 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

Lint inside dryers can get everywhere within the dryer.

The areas to be checked are the ductwork before and after the blower fan. The actual fan and it's housing. I have seen these totally blocked before. Also check behind the drum. I have seen the back wall of the dryer and the drum covered in a light lint before. And of course the exhaust vent tubing on the dryer and the floor of the dryer.

Once any of the lint catches fire, it spreads quite rapidly.

In fact you can make your own fire starter logs. Just mix in some dryer lint and some wax and you are good to go!


Post# 671296 , Reply# 10   4/8/2013 at 07:18 (4,007 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Burned Out Heating Elements In Electric Dryers

combo52's profile picture

Whenever an element fails in an electric dryer where is almost a secondary reason. I have always trained techs to not just replace the bad element but to find the reason the element failed and correct it, under good conditions a heating element should almost never fail in the 30 year life of an electric dryer.

 

Common reasons that elements fail are.

 

Poor airflow over the element which leads to overheating the element, from clogged and restricted vent systems.

Poor airflow inside the dryer itself from lint build-up inside ducting in the dryer.

Clogged blower wheel, [ stripped of the motor shaft on MT and stack Frigidaire dryers ] bad drum seals and even little things like the plastic cover missing for the drum light.

 

All of these items are made worse if the house voltage is a little on the hi side which there is little you can do anything about.

For many years GE offered 250 volt elements as replacements which slightly cut the heat output of the elements, we almost always used the 250 volt elements because when a dryer burns out its elements it is always more likely to happen again.

I have even noticed that dryers installed in homes very near the circuit breaker panel have more element failures compared to dryers installed a good distance from the entrance panel, this is because when you are talking about a 6000 watt load on 10ga wire there is a measurable amount of voltage drop and this extends the elements life.

 

On some dryers we use a smaller [ lower wattage ] element as a replacement if the customer has a very long vent run that nothing can easily be done about, often you can get the smaller element from the manufactures compact or stack version of a similar dryer. In the case of the MT that started this thread we would use the element from MTs TL stack which is about 1000 watts less powerful. When this is done with a long vent it usually does not increase the drying time at all, because with the bigger element the hi-limit would just be cycling away.

 

Lint is NOT all that flammable, we have all seen dryers loaded with lint that did not come close to catching fire. remember a dry load of clothing is at least as flammable as lint and this load is being tumbled with large amounts of air blowing through it closer to the heat source than lint in the exhaust pipe.

 

That said heavy lint buildups should avoided in side duct-work around the heat source and around the motor as it differently can cause several dryer problems. 

 

Dryer lint does NOT make good fire starter unless as Allen suggested it is mixed with wax, LOL  Gasoline would work even better.

Yesterday when I cleaned the lint filter on Smitty's Duet electric dryer [ and it was packed full as he usually goes at least three loads without cleaning it ] I took the big hand full of lint and put it in the wood-stove on a pile of red hot glowing embers and it took a while to burn and not all that hot or fast., crumpled paper works 10 times better if you want to start a fire.


Post# 671470 , Reply# 11   4/8/2013 at 21:51 (4,007 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)        
Element Failures

Some of the other causes of element failures in Maytag dryers are if the machine has a drum bulb and the lens is missing also if the front or rear drumfelt seal is missing or worn.There is also a gasket that goes around the blower housing that can be missing.


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