ttervooren 7 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 I’ve been having trouble with my clothes dryer shutting off after 3-5 minutes. I checked the voltage at the outlet and find it varies throughout the day from 125 to 140 volts. So I assume the problem is my voltage is too high. I bought a Kolblevz 1400 VA voltage regulator at Walmart but it has no affect on the voltage going to the dryer. Whatever it reads at the outlet is the same reading I get from the plug on the regulator. I assume I have bought the wrong voltage regulator or the wrong device. Can anyone tell me what I really need to get my dryer to work? Many thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
traderspoc 255 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 we had the same thing had to attached voltage regulator to it, our bought one for us 1500 pesos used shop in riberas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ttervooren 7 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Oh, I see on the side of the box of VR I bought that it is for PCs, printers, scanners, iPads, etc. maybe I just need to go back to Walmart and see if there is one for clothes dryers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johanson 967 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Remember that we have different standards in Mexico. Per federal statute a single phase voltage is 127 volts and may vary by as much as plus or minus10%. So 139.7 Volts is the maximum it may be. If your dryer is built to Mexican standards, it should work at those high voltages. Now because each phase is not 180 degrees out of phase with the other but 120 degrees (3 phase not 2 phase system) the total voltage for any two phases is 220 volts, not 254 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Curmudgeon 143 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Make sure that your air vent is not blocked. It can shut down from overheating if is clogged. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ttervooren 7 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Yes, Curmudgeon, thanks. I did clean out the vest last weekend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ttervooren 7 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Johanson, you are way over my head. Are you saying my voltage between 125 and 140 is ok and my problem is probably something else? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AngusMactavish 3,133 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 13 minutes ago, ttervooren said: Johanson, you are way over my head. Are you saying my voltage between 125 and 140 is ok and my problem is probably something else? It don't flipping matter, everything is rated NOMINAL. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiny 679 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 What is the age of the dryer? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hensley 216 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Call Miguel at Electro Domestico 333-153-9868 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ttervooren 7 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Tiny, I’m not sure what year I bought it, but believe it is about 6 or 7 years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johanson 967 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 2 hours ago, ttervooren said: Johanson, you are way over my head. Are you saying my voltage between 125 and 140 is ok and my problem is probably something else? Different countries have different voltages. Usually in the US and Canada it is either 110 or 120 volts per dual phase system and if you need twice that you can get that by using two phases. In some places in Europe they don't have those low voltages. You get somewhere between 220 to 240 Volts and not lower In Mexico and a handful of other countries the standard voltage is 127 volts and right now when I measure the voltage on two of my three phases I get 125.4 volts per my Kill A watt meter on one of my phases and about 126 on a second phase shown from my not very accurate Radio Shack plug in meter. Now our power company, CFE, tries to provide 127 volts, but depending on usage it can be as low as 114.3 or as high as 139.7 volts and still be within the 10% variance they are allowed to provide by government regulation. Where I live in Ajijic, in the old days we didn't have enough capacity in my neighborhood and during periods of heavy usage, the voltage dipped down to close to 115 volts and at about 4 AM when almost no one was around the voltage was maybe 136 volts. Now, as I posted above, the voltages these days are very close to 127 almost all of the time. So electrical appliances meant for the Mexican market are built to work at the standard voltages here, which is as I posted above 127 Volts +/- up to 10% 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alpha1 361 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 1 hour ago, ttervooren said: Yes, Curmudgeon, thanks. I did clean out the vest last weekend. You may have cleaned the lint in the screen, however the lint can build up in the exhaust pipe. Ensure that the vent when it is operating if supplying a normal amount of air. If the flow is OK then it may be the high limit switch is faulty and needs to be replaced. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiny 679 Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 If you are not having problems with your other electrical devices, it maybe a problem with the dryer, circuit board, motor, etc. I said maybe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ttervooren 7 Posted March 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 Hensley, thank you for the recommendation. I’ll probably use that number next week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiny 679 Posted March 24, 2018 Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 4 hours ago, johanson said: In some places in Europe they don't have those low voltages. You get somewhere between 220 to 240 Volts and not lower FYI In our house in GDL we have 220 (maybe 240) with step downs for the 120 devices. We needed for the dryer we brought from US. We were told the 220 is cheaper. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bezerk 116 Posted March 24, 2018 Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 MIne was doing that and it was from the outside vent hole being blocked by plants so do check that..before spending any money..:) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Solar 779 Posted March 24, 2018 Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 16 hours ago, ttervooren said: Johanson, you are way over my head. Are you saying my voltage between 125 and 140 is ok and my problem is probably something else? Yes, that is what he is mentioning. Most likely as the others mention it is a thermal cut-out. You can test it quickly by: 1 - seeing if there is good airflow coming out of the other end of the vent hose 2 - running it in "air only" (no heat setting) If not good airflow, and /or if it continues to run longer or OK without heat, then the whole exhaust system needs to be checked / cleaned, most likely. The thermal cutout is preventing a possible fire, FYI. 9 hours ago, bezerk said: MIne was doing that and it was from the outside vent hole being blocked by plants so do check that..before spending any money..:) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiny 679 Posted March 24, 2018 Report Share Posted March 24, 2018 7 hours ago, Go Solar said: Yes, that is what he is mentioning. Most likely as the others mention it is a thermal cut-out. You can test it quickly by: 1 - seeing if there is good airflow coming out of the other end of the vent hose 2 - running it in "air only" (no heat setting) If not good airflow, and /or if it continues to run longer or OK without heat, then the whole exhaust system needs to be checked / cleaned, most likely. The thermal cutout is preventing a possible fire, FYI. Good tests. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Anomino 8 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 I haven't seen this issue mentioned in the replies to your query. If your dryer is a gas dryer, I believe that that all (or most) gas dryers come from the factory set up for natural gas, not the LP gas typically supplied around here. For your dryer to operate correctly on LP gas, it needs the proper gas orifice, which is usually sold as a extra conversion kit from the manufacturer or dealer. If you operate a gas dryer equipped with a natural gas orifice on LP gas, it will tend to overheat because of the higher energy content of LP gas. Dryers have a built-in thermal shutoff, which will cause it to stop operating fairly quickly in the event of too high temperatures. You mention that your dryer shuts off after 3-5 minutes. That seems a little fast for the thermal shutoff to kick in, but I suppose it could be possible. Might be worth asking a repair person experienced in working on gas appliances to check the orifice to make sure that your dryer has the one for LP gas. Just a thought... Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TelsZ4 773 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 17 hours ago, Don Anomino said: I haven't seen this issue mentioned in the replies to your query. If your dryer is a gas dryer, I believe that that all (or most) gas dryers come from the factory set up for natural gas, not the LP gas typically supplied around here. For your dryer to operate correctly on LP gas, it needs the proper gas orifice, which is usually sold as a extra conversion kit from the manufacturer or dealer. If you operate a gas dryer equipped with a natural gas orifice on LP gas, it will tend to overheat because of the higher energy content of LP gas. Dryers have a built-in thermal shutoff, which will cause it to stop operating fairly quickly in the event of too high temperatures. You mention that your dryer shuts off after 3-5 minutes. That seems a little fast for the thermal shutoff to kick in, but I suppose it could be possible. Might be worth asking a repair person experienced in working on gas appliances to check the orifice to make sure that your dryer has the one for LP gas. Just a thought... Don Why would they come from the factory set up for natural gas.. It's my understand that other than in large cities there is no natural gas in Mexico... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barcelonaman 651 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Bought whirlpool from tio sam and had to be adjusted for lpg. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
snowyco 220 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 On 3/23/2018 at 4:39 PM, johanson said: Different countries have different voltages. Usually in the US and Canada it is either 110 or 120 volts per dual phase system and if you need twice that you can get that by using two phases. ... So electrical appliances meant for the Mexican market are built to work at the standard voltages here, which is as I posted above 127 Volts +/- up to 10% "So electrical appliances meant for the Mexican market are built to work at the standard voltages here"This is sometimes true., but note that clothes dryers can be exceptions to this. Clothes dryers that use thermistors to measure temperature, to determine when to turn ON the heater & when to shut OFF the heater, are particularly susceptible to shutting off too soon, when the voltage is too high - with the same problem happening with safety-appliance shut-off thermistor sensors. When Mexico's CFE voltage runs too high, the voltage output of the temperature sensor (thermistor) gives too high a voltage reading, even for the Mexican made dryers , like Easy brand:http://www.easy.com.mx/cuidado-de-la-ropa I've seen this problem on 2 different Mexican made clothes dryers, using thermistors. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johanson 967 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Thanks for pointing this out to us, snowyco. I only know that the newer the products are usually the greater the voltage variance they can handle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AngusMactavish 3,133 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 15 minutes ago, snowyco said: Clothes dryers that use thermistors to measure temperature, to determine when to turn ON the heater & when to shut OFF the heater, are particularly susceptible to shutting off too soon, when the voltage is too high - with the same problem happening with safety-appliance shut-off thermistor sensors. Driers usually have temperature sensors that simply are switches that "open" at their setpoint. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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