Any tumble dryer experts on here? No heat!

[Mottie]

Hi
We have an AEG Protex Lavatherm tumble dryer. Only a couple of years old but hardly used. Everything works as it should but no heat being produced. No faults or warning lights on now although my wife thinks she saw all three lights on last time she emptied it - filter, water tray and condenser. Could it be the heating element? Worth fixing or should I just cut my losses and buy a new one? Tried unplugging it and leaving for a while as I read online this is how to reset it. Anything to test inside? Any and all suggestions welcome.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Have you seen below?

https://www.support.emea.aeg.com/en-za/Laundry/03_Dryer/Tumble_dryer_does_not_heat_up

Element :

https://shop.aeg.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/heaters/c/105

Andy

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

In general - The heater elements are fitted with an over-heat trip, which are designed to be none- resettable. They are a small, metal and plastic circular object, with two push on terminal tags. It will be mounted somewhere in the air heating path, probably at the top of the machine. It may have tripped due the the air path being choked with fluff reducing the flow. The resettable version of the trip has a small hole and a tiny button which allows it to be manually reset....

However, if a 1/16" hole is carefully drilled in the plastic, top, in the centre, a small watch maker's screwdriver can be gently pushed in - you should hear it click, as it resets. Make certain it is unplugged before starting any work on it..

 

[Mottie]

Have you seen below?

https://www.support.emea.aeg.com/en-za/Laundry/03_Dryer/Tumble_dryer_does_not_heat_up

Element :

https://shop.aeg.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/heaters/c/105

Andy

Yeah thanks Andy. I’ve tried the obvious ones in the top link.

 

[Mottie]

In general - The heater elements are fitted with an over-heat trip, which are designed to be none- resettable. They are a small, metal and plastic circular object, with two push on terminal tags. It will be mounted somewhere in the air heating path, probably at the top of the machine. It may have tripped due the the air path being choked with fluff reducing the flow. The resettable version of the trip has a small hole and a tiny button which allows it to be manually reset....

However, if a 1/16" hole is carefully drilled in the plastic, top, in the centre, a small watch maker's screwdriver can be gently pushed in - you should hear it click, as it resets. Make certain it is unplugged before starting any work on it..

Harry, I’ll have a look at that tomorrow night. I’m assuming it’s just a on/off switch so if I check it with a multimeter, should I see no continuity? Pressing a button/drilling a hole should see continuity I assume?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Harry, I’ll have a look at that tomorrow night. I’m assuming it’s just a on/off switch so if I check it with a multimeter, should I see no continuity? Pressing a button/drilling a hole should see continuity I assume?

With a meter, yes..

It would look like this..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160-C-32...a=0&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

The difference is that in your machine, it would not auto- reset to on, once it had tripped it would stay tripped. Inside, is has a bi-metal cupped disk, if the temperature becomes to hot, the differential expansion cause the disk to flip inside out and contact be lost/ heater stops working.

 

[assuhors]

No heating element in that one, it has a heat pump or basically a refrigeration unit inside. Quantity of refigerant on the label would indicate that.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

No heating element in that one, it has a heat pump or basically a refrigeration unit inside. Quantity of refigerant on the label would indicate that.

In that case, the compressor is not working, or it has lost its gas...

 

[Mottie]

No heating element in that one, it has a heat pump or basically a refrigeration unit inside. Quantity of refigerant on the label would indicate that.

Ah, right. So there will be no cut-outs on it anywhere? I’ve watched a couple of tutorials online so I might have a poke around tomorrow night and test whatever I can, up to the limits of my limited capabilities! If no luck, I’ll replace it. Reading up on them, those with a heat pump are more economical but take much longer to dry clothes which is fine if you use it frequently. I've just asked the wife and according to her, it’s only used for drying clothes 'in an emergency' (so in our case, never!) but mainly it’s used just a couple of times a month, if that, to 'fluff up' the towels. It’s in an outside shed so I might just change it for a vented type as I’ve just read that you shouldn’t have a condenser or heat pump dryer in an unheated outside building. I suppose that’s because any water/condensation inside could freeze and damage something?

 

[Mottie]

Update. I couldn’t get my lazy arse in gear so to get the wife off my back, I ordered a basic vented tumble dryer last night from Appliances online and it came at 8.00 this morning! After reading up, heat pump and/or condenser dryers shouldn’t be used in outbuildings where temperatures can fall below 5°C so even if I could get it fixed, it’s pointless. Bloody thing took ages to dry stuff anyway. Just gotta finish my coffee and get off the internet and go out and fit it in the shed........

 

[Mottie]

2nd update: Indoors, it works! I cleaned the filter properly (wife said she had but it needs thorough cleaning after every use apparently), put a damp towel in it, switched on and off it went, working perfect. Oh well, I’ll offer it to family and friends and if no takers it will go to a local charity.

 

[mattylad]

OR you can offer it on your local Freegle group.
Many charities will not accept electricals.

 

[Mottie]

The Daughter-in-Law to be has nabbed it so she gets the all singing, all dancing, 20-programme, Costa fortune, heat-pump, condensing dryer and we have a basic vented full heat, half heat model. The wife’s happier with that too. She says I should never have bought it in the first place.

Moral of this is that expensive things are not always the best!

 

[HERTS P&D]

Moral of this is that expensive things are not always the best!

What's the most expensive metal?










A wedding ring!!




Andy

 

[Mottie]

Haha
Engagement ring > Wedding ring > Suffer ring!