If you plugged in a new electric dryer into a 240V power outlet and nothing happened is it likely you have blown a fuse?

Answer 1

Answer for USA, Canada and countries running a 60 Hz supply service.First of all, it's 240 Volts, not 220. Even though everybody you know calls it "220", it's really 240 Volts you need, and that's what an electrician would call it.

OK, it sounds like you can't figure out if your dryer is faulty or if there is no power to the unit. The very first thing to do is go to your household electricity main breaker panel and check if the supply of electricity to the dryer circuit has been cut off because a fuse has blown or any breakers have tripped. The old dryer may have blown the fuses or tripped the breakers when it went wrong.

If you find that you have a blown fuse, then replace it with one of the exact same currrent rating (amps). If you have breakers, look for either the old-style ones - they have a tie-bar connecting the handles of two side-by-side breakers together - or the new kind that have a single handle on a pair of breakers. They should also have a label or markings saying their ampacity rating, either 20, 25 or 30 amps. Turn them off and back on. Old breakers can look like they've been reset when they're actually still tripped.

Then go back to the new dryer and see if it now works.

If it still won't work then there are two possible reasons that will have to be considered:

• the new dryer needs more power than the old one and that is why the fuses blew or the breakers tripped.

  If that is the reason, they will just keep on cutting off the supply until you have them upgraded to give enough power to your new dryer.

  Only a licensed electrician should do that kind of work for a 240 Volt circuit.

• if you definitely know that the new dryer is not more powerful than the old one, you will have to consider checking the outlet to be sure that it is receiving power. If you know how to use a voltmeter or another kind of power testing device or indicator safely then you could do that.

  If using a meter or power test device is beyond your skill-level, then you must ask someone who knows more about electricity to do this for you, to save you the expense of calling an electrician and not needing his services other than to tell you that your dryer is faulty, or calling an appliance repairman only to have him tell you that there is no power to your dryer.

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As always, if you are in doubt about what to do, the best advice anyone should give you is to call a licensed electrician to advise what work is needed.

Before you do any work yourself,

on electrical circuits, equipment or appliances,

always use a test meter to ensure the circuit is, in fact, de-energized.

IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY AND COMPETENTLY

REFER THIS WORK TO QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS.