another 'dumb" question.. 220 volt not full power..

I have both an electric stove which I have mention leaves food soggy.. and an electric dryer.. I have gone through numerous electric ” used ” dryers.. and they all seem to just stop heating.. and I am wondering could I possibly be getting less then full 220 volts to these two outlets.. just asking because ,honestly I just don’t know electric like some of you out there. .and I am willing to not only listen but learn.. and I have used all your good advise many many times.. thanks

Electric dryers have a heating element that eventually will burn out. This is an easily replaceable part.

Some dryers have elements that are such yhat only half of the element can burn out and the other half will still work. This results in very slow drying times.

Grouse

You should be able to get a volt meter and poke a prong in the socket. That will tell you if you are getting 220 volts to the outlet. I’m absolutely terrified of electricity, I would hire a electrician (or friend) to test it. I kinda girly that way.

Dutchboy wrote:

You should be able to get a volt meter and poke a prong in the socket. That will tell you if you are getting 220 volts to the outlet. I’m absolutely terrified of electricity, I would hire a electrician (or friend) to test it. I kinda girly that way.

Nothing wrong with that. I’m a trained electronics technician and have been a Licensed Ham Radio operator for 48 years….and electricity still scares me. I intend to live to a ripe old age.

SR

3rd this notion. Picking up most trades a little bit here and there through the years doing construction high voltage scares the $hit out me still. More than a few supervisors have had some gruesome stories of electrical mishaps and can say for certain none of them ended even remotely well. Had a buss bar arch to my hand years and years ago and my heart hurt for 2 weeks. F that.

While I’m not an electrician I am a Journeyman Lineman by trade, I will second the notion of getting a volt meter and testing voltage to make sure you are getting 220 at the socket. That would be a good place to start. Based on your findings there, you may or may not want to consult with an inside wireman.

That avatar fish is a tank

Clean out the lint filter and be sure the exhaust hose for the dryer is clean.

One thing that happened to me is I had an issue with one of the hot wires in my AC service. Half the AC in the house didn’t work. The power company hooked up a portable helper unit until they could fix the issue. 220 is going to use both hot wires. If you weren’t getting full 220 I think it would also impact some of your 110 circuits. They certainly would have balanced the 110 load between both hot wires.

One of the biggist things here is yes check your voltage at the outlet while the dryer or range is working. With no load it will most likely read full voltage. Load the circuit and then check it then you will get the true reading. With the dryer the longer the vent run the less efficient the dryer will be. Shorter is better. If the vent line is obstructed at all this also affects effeciency. As an electrician of over 40+ years most of the time it is not an electrical problem but more likely a mechanical problem, meaning blocked or to long of vent piping, a bad element, air flow issues of some kind. The range thing is more likely a pre heating issue. Before we mentioned do you use convect bake? I have seen at times if you happen to be at the end of the line in a rural area one could have low voltage causing the issue but normally if you are not in that position look for simple common sense things to fix the problem. I could send my best elecrician out for a service call if you want. LOL only $98.00 per hour. HA HA.

Do your lights flicker when you run the wash machine to the beat of the agitator? Dim when you start the drier? Microwave taking longer than directions say to cook everything or take a rediculous amount of time to heat leftovers? If so, Could be a neutral issue or connection issue in one of the service lines.

????? wrote:

I could send my best elecrician out for a service call if you want. LOL only $98.00 per hour.

Although I know this was said in jest, has anyone priced out funerals lately?

Sometimes it’s better to pay someone that knows what they’re doing in the first place. Since you have more then one appliance acting up, the chances are it’s not the appliances.

Good luck…oh, keep your dryer vents clean either way.

You could have a duel breaker and one side of the breaker is bad. I have seen that happen out at work on 220v ele-motors. Good luck!!!!

The oven and the dryer “should” be on separate breakers.

If they are on the same breaker, well that’s another issue.

Could be a neutral issue

I was thinking the same thing.

If you suspect any kind of electrical issue and you are not confident working with it get a licensed electrician out immediately. Loose neutrals don’t sound bad, but they can cause fires and damage electronics.

Depending on how you use your meter may give you 220 or 110 readings. Quick video that helps explain it so you know exactly how to find the correct results. Also a picture of what many dryer outlets look like, not all but most.

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Of course! YouTube has the answers! Good video for checking voltage.

Down here in Iowa we have 120 to ground, and 240 leg to leg.That’s on a 120/240 3 wire single phase service.