Fixed my dryer

[Gunny]

Dryer stopped heating (not that we use it that much).  Watched a YouTube video and did some research on the web and concluded that it was a faulty thermostat which in turn blew a breaker.  Had the problem fixed in 15 minutes for less than $40.  Service call alone would have run a $100.

[Capt j-rod]

nicely done sir... I do HVAC and I have found out that between you tube and the internet I am damn near un stoppable. Newer appliances like washers and driers are literally disposable. They are intentionally making them non repairable. Refrigerators are a great example. I bought a set of speed queen W/D off of crags list. They are commercial machines without the coin op. Literally every part is available and they have no solid state electronics. I was sold instantly. They aren't painted in designer colors with cool LCD displays though... Strangely my clothes have not seemed to notice!

[A-train]

A couple of years ago, I did something similar; it was my washer though, not the dryer.

Funny thing is, I had been sold on the extra protection plan / extended warranty for the washer and dryer back when I bought them (oops... but as you'll see below, I guess it paid off). I reported the problem and the plan had someone come out and make an estimate for what it would cost them to fix it. I guess the estimate came back too high and they thought it made more sense to buy a new machine instead of repairing my old one.

Here's where it gets good... I used the YouTubes and some other web resources to figure out how to diagnose and fix the problem. I ordered a $55 part and fixed it myself in about an hour. Meanwhile, the warranty company sent me a $576 check to buy out my extra protection plan.

[Timmm]

Congrats, gunny. I had a similar dryer issue - in my case the heating element was broken, literally. A replacement part was surprisingly expensive, but still well under $100, and youtube showed just about everything about how to fix it. Pulling out and taking apart the dryer was also an excellent opportunity to clean it (and its exhaust) thoroughly - a good idea for safety as well as efficiency.

[geekette]

Congrats, gunny. I had a similar dryer issue - in my case the heating element was broken, literally. A replacement part was surprisingly expensive, but still well under $100, and youtube showed just about everything about how to fix it. Pulling out and taking apart the dryer was also an excellent opportunity to clean it (and its exhaust) thoroughly - a good idea for safety as well as efficiency.

Our 5 year old dryer has had a broken heating element twice in its short life.  The first time we called a repairman.  $100 service call and $80 for the part, but we watched what he did.

The second time it broke (on a Friday night, of course) we ordered two heating elements from Amazon for $36 (partly to get free one day delivery, and partly because we knew it would most likely break again).  It was up and running before we could have even called a repairman, never mind gotten one out here.

[bunchbikes]

Dryer stopped heating (not that we use it that much).  Watched a YouTube video and did some research on the web and concluded that it was a faulty thermostat which in turn blew a breaker.  Had the problem fixed in 15 minutes for less than $40.  Service call alone would have run a $100.

Awesome, well done.  Dryers aren't too difficult to fix, youtube is a great resource.

Next time, get the parts from eBay and your cost will be a third of that.