Blown fuse in a Sanyo portable dryer

[Spork Schivago]

My wife's Aunt brought me a Sanyo portable dryer. She said it wasn't getting any power at all. I pulled the back cover off, found the fuse, checked it and it's bad. The fuse says 6G20A 125v. It doesn't look like a slow blow fuse. I was wondering if I could use a ceramic fuse that's rated for 20A? It'd probably be a 250v fuse, which, from what I've read, should be fine. Just not sure about using a ceramic one or not. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

Just in case anyone's wondering, the fuses I'm thinking of using say Fast-Acting Ceramic 20-Amp 250-Volt Fuse on them. The one in the dryer is a glass fuse with a flat bar inside of it. The slow-blown ones I've seen are always twisted or something, this one isn't.

[Poor Flick]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

I would think put in a fast or slow 20a fuse, try running it. If it doesn't blow, check the power wires individually with an inductive amp meter.
When I see blown fuses I always want to try to find out why it blew.
The wiring diagram either on paper if you have it or online may show what type of fuse to use. I would think ceramic is better than nothing.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

Thanks for the reply. I have a digital multimeter and an analog multimeter. What's an inductive amp meter? This dryer has definitely been taken apart before. I wonder if originally it had a slow blow and someone who didn't realize what they where doing replaced it with a fast-blow fuse. There's schematics on the side of the dryer but it just says fuse, doesn't even say amperage or anything. Maybe an on-line one would be more informative. From what I've read, I can replace a regular glass fuse with a ceramic but shouldn't go the other way around. Using ceramic would just make it a bit safer.

[Poor Flick]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

The inductive ones have a clamp on pickup to take amp readings. I've used mine on alternators, heater motors, etc. Today I used it on my electric furnace heating element circuit. The top opens to clamp around a wire or cable, I set it for the correct amp range and for A/C or D/C. These are very handy for cars or house repairs. I wished I had bought a better brand, as the LCD display on mine looks to be "bleeding" at the edges, it's only about 6 years old.
As far as fuse type, I'd go with ceramic if your info says it's safer.

[budm]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

The Ceramic body fuse has higher interrupt current rating, meaning it does blow up with fuse body flying like the glass fuse. Most appliance will require Ceramic body fuse.
There is no warning label by the fuse saying to use the correct size and type fuse near by?

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

The Ceramic body fuse has higher interrupt current rating, meaning it does blow up with fuse body flying like the glass fuse. Most appliance will require Ceramic body fuse.
There is no warning label by the fuse saying to use the correct size and type fuse near by?

No, there is a schematic on the side of the dryer but all it said was FUSE. Even the holder that the fuse was in didn't have any markings on it. It was a Sanyo. I put the ceramic one in, tried it to make sure it fixed the problem and to make sure I didn't see anything smoking, then I gave it back to her. I wondered if there was something like a ceramic fuse or a slow burn fuse in here before and some one replaced it with a glass type fast acting one. Thanks.

[cabaynes]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

Hey Spork,

I have this exact same issue with the exact same dryer. Can you point me in the direction of what you used to replace this part with? I'm a bit worried that I'm going to use something inadequate and burn the dryer down!

Thanks
Charles

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

You need to make sure it takes the exact same fuse. I went for a 20A ceramic fuse. It was meant for higher voltages and stuff. If it did blow, the inside would turn into glass (a good insulator) and it would prevent arcing. It did blow again. Someone else went to look at it this time. Someone who knew more about dryers than I did. I told them if it was blowing again already, then there was something else wrong with it and that we could replace the fuse but it'd just more than likely blow again in the near future.

They wanted me to come look, I kept insisting I wouldn't be able to help because I knew nothing about dryers. My health has been deteriorating lately, I've been in a lot of pain, car rides hurt. So I didn't want to go. They ended up calling my mother-in-law's wife who used to work on small engines. She found a wire that had been rubbing or something (it had a bare spot on it). The bare spot, albeit small, was grounding out, blowing the fuse. If I was you, I'd check to see if you can find the reason as to why the fuse is blowing first. From what I was told, it was a very small bear spot. They just taped it up, replaced the fuse again and it started working.

Again, I just went with a 20A ceramic fuse. If you live in the states, you should be able to use the 120V or the 250V fuses. Make sure your dryer takes a 20A and go from there. Hope this helps.

[cabaynes]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

Thanks so much for the advice. Sought out some help at the local electrical supply store as well and they mirrored your thoughts. Good to go now!

[Longbow]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

All discussion has focused on a blown fuse. Ok, find the right replacement fuse for safety purposes, but before you turn it on, find the real problem. This is a portable unit, so it operates on 120v, not 220v because of the outlet availability throughout the house. A blown 20A fuse - think about it - there is only one thing that draws this kind of current and that is the heating coil, which has broken and shorted out to the metal enclosure. The only other thing might be a broken wire or loose terminal that has shorted to the metal enclosure, but it is 99% sure that the heating coils are the problem. Sometimes these coils overheat because of a clogged vent, your next check point.

[budm]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

BTW, what is the model number of this SANYO any way?

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

I bet I can find the model number from my aunt if Cabaynes doesn't get back to you Budm. I remember when I was working on hers, I want to say I remember the company putting a schematic either inside the dryer or on the side of the dryer. Growing up, I almost remember a lot of stuff coming with schematics. I wonder why companies don't provide them with their products like they used too...Then again, maybe I'm just remembering something that never happened.

[Longbow]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

A schematic might be inside the unit as it is on many appliances. However, you won't need one for a no power symptom. Since you already have the back off the unit, locate the heating coils which will probably be held in by 2 or 3 fasteners. Use multimeter to confirm that the coils are shorted to the metal enclosure. Fuses blow for a reason.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

I needed a schematic to try and verify the correct fuse was in the dryer. It had been ripped apart before and judging by how it was put back together, I'm pretty sure it was the Aunt who took it apart. I just wanted to make sure they hadn't put a bigger fuse in the dryer than what was supposed to be in there before replacing it.

[keeney123]

Re: Blown fuse in a portal dryer...

Does the dryer have a wattage rating? Volt*Amps= Wattage or Wattage/Volts=Amps