The dryer worked, and then it didn’t. It worked for exactly one load, then it refused to heat up.
My wife made a comment about this receptacle when we were moving in. Specifically, that it looked like a fire hazard. I agreed to get rid of it, but mostly because I prefer something that mounts flush and doesn’t have exposed wire on my side of the drywall. I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to medium voltage inside the living space with only it’s own plastic sheath as protection…
The dryer spun, the lights and buttons worked, the fan pushed air, but it didn’t get warm. I ran diagnostic mode (when I read the manual for the 2nd time in my life) and it confirmed my suspicion. “Check power source.”
A multimeter confirmed that L1-N=120 VAC, L2-N=open, L1-L2= open. Let’s pop the breaker and open this thing up…
So it has melted in the past. I guess when the previous owner unplugged the dryer the prong on that line stopped keeping everything aligned. When I plugged in our dryer it tipped over and made contact on the charred side only. You can also see how the aluminum wire (to be replaced entirely when we start pulling drywall) has half of the strands melted through.
I’m fixing it for now. Good enough to get by and not be a fire hazard. I’ll do it properly when I replace the wire and measure a new box height.
Remove the old box entirely. Cut the melted wire off and strip some more sheathing off. Put the NM cable clamp over the wire before you forget, and knock out a hole in the box. Clamp the wire, thread through the knockout, and screw the clamp tight. The screws are behind the box, the ring is inside. Then screw the box into a stud with construction screws (never use drywall screws for anything other than drywall or hanging pictures).
Place the exposed wires into the receptacle. This one is a NEMA 14-30R. Make sure to use copious amounts of anti oxidizing dielectric grease. From what I can tell NEC doesn’t explicitly require the grease. Al wire shouldn’t need grease if it’s 8000 series. But this house was built in the ’70s, so I don’t trust the alloy to be good enough to pass on the grease. Better be safe.
Then screw the receptacle into the box, and the cover plate into the receptacle. Turn the breaker back on, check for smoke or sparks… good. Verify with the multimeter, and then plug the dryer back in.
I didn’t think this would be the first thing I fixed. But we needed laundry badly and had been in the house less than 24 hours when I realized that the wet pile in the dryer wasn’t getting any better after running additional cycles.
I’m handling a few small things to prep for winter. The first actual project will be to level the sinking foundation, which requires actual engineering and permitting. So that will take a month or two to get into fully.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for concrete push piers, more window replacement, and replacing Al wiring.
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