My dryer died last night. I'm not sure if it is the outlet or the dryer.
April 5, 2013 2:01 PM   Subscribe

My dryer died last night. I'm not sure if it is the outlet or the dryer. I do have a digital multimeter and want to test the outlet. I'm not sure how to do this without killing myself.

The meter is a Fluke 12. I can test a battery with it but I am a bit concerned about testing a 220V outlet with it. Any tips with on what setting should be used on the meter and where I should stick the leads in and in what order would be appreciated.
posted by johnpowell to Home & Garden (21 answers total)
 
This doesn't directly answer your question, but can't you plug something else into the outlet, and plug the dryer into a different outlet (maybe more difficult) and see what happens?
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 2:06 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Also doesn't directly answer, but we had this happen recently. Turned out: it was on a circuit that got tripped. Look for an outlet with one of those little push buttons on it. Note: not necessarily anywhere near the dryer! Houses are weird.
posted by curious nu at 2:08 PM on April 5, 2013


i_am_a_fiesta, the problem is that it's a 220v outlet, not a regular 110 outlet. Too much voltage for any random thing you'd plug into it, and the plugs are a different shape anyway.
posted by KathrynT at 2:10 PM on April 5, 2013


From the specs:

(AC) Range and Resolution: 4000 mV, 4.000V, 40.00V, 400V, 600V


I'm not saying you should do this -- I've electrocuted myself enough times to know I oughtn't give advice on that front -- but at the very least your multimeter should be able to handle it.
posted by griphus at 2:12 PM on April 5, 2013


Response by poster: The only other 220V thing is the stove and moving that in the laundry room would be a nightmare. And yes, the breakers have been reset and there isn't a GFI between the breaker and outlet.
posted by johnpowell at 2:13 PM on April 5, 2013


Can you get a 220v extension cord that would run to the dryer room? I've also seen a 220v receptacle tester, but they don't seem to stock them at Home Depot.

Though at the end of the day, what do you want to accomplish? If it's the outlet, you'll need an electrician. If it's the dryer, you might just get an electrician to come over and look at it. If your baseline is "I want to do this but not kill myself, please help" I think bringing in the pros is probably money well spent. I can't say I'd want to be fiddling with dryer outlets...

Be safe, and good luck!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:19 PM on April 5, 2013


Is your floor dry? Are you touching nothing but the plastic part of the multimeter leads?

If both these answers are yes, then go ahead and probe around, you'll be fine.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 2:20 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Your meter is auto ranging and auto type setting so hard to blow up. Just make sure you set it to VAC/VDC and not the continuity setting.

Your dryer receptacle has four holes: A round hole (this is the ground connection); a L shaped hole (this is the neutral connection) and two flat holes (your hot connections).

To test the receptacle stick the leads of your meter into the holes being careful not to touch the metal of the leads. Your meter should read:

With one lead in each flat hole: 240V
With one lead in the round hole and the other in either of the flat holes: 120V
With one lead in the L hole and the other in either flat hole: 120V

With one lead in the L and one lead in the round hole: 0V (or close too it, there may be a volt or two showing from induction).

Make sure the metal of the leads is touching the metal inside each of the holes when performing the tests; you might have to wiggle the leads around to make contact.

Don't mess around plugging anything else into the dryer receptacle. It's very unlikely you have anything that would fit and even if you did if the plug has a problem you could damage the other item.

PS: If you've checked the 30A breakers in your panel and they are on it's pretty unlikely to be your receptacle. A dryer that just up and dies is often caused by a broken belt and if so is a fairly cheap fix.
posted by Mitheral at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2013 [13 favorites]


Also the setting you want is closest to the maximum voltage of the thing you're dealing with without going under (basically the opposite of the Price is Right), so 400V AC is the answer.
posted by griphus at 2:24 PM on April 5, 2013


can you post a pix of the outlet? i'll tell you which points to probe if you are unsure. it's not unsafe, particularly, but I do like to hold both probes with one hand. tricky, but a litte bit of insurance against a cross-chest shock.

if it's the triangular type of outlet i expect, you should read 240v give or take a few 10's of volts between two of the slots. the hard part is making sure you make contact with the internals of the outlet.
posted by FauxScot at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2013


I'm assuming by "died" you mean the dryer stopped doing anything...no tumbling or heating. You did check to see if a breaker has tripped, right?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:38 PM on April 5, 2013


Response by poster: Here is a pic.
posted by johnpowell at 2:41 PM on April 5, 2013


Response by poster: Thorzdad, yeah, it does nothing.

No noise, no attempts at trying to spin the motor.
posted by johnpowell at 2:42 PM on April 5, 2013


Ah you have one of the illegal in Canada style lacking a dedicated ground and neutral. I forget about those. The two slanted holes are your hots and should have 240V between them. Between either slanted hole and the vertical hole you should read 120V.
posted by Mitheral at 2:46 PM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]




Have you tried turning it on since last night? It could have been a thermal overload preventer in the motor, which will reset when it cools down. Some motors have push-to-reset circuit breakers, if you're okay with opening up the unplugged dryer.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:08 PM on April 5, 2013


Some dryers come with their own fuses. You might want to see if you there is a panel you can remove to check.
posted by aroberge at 5:07 PM on April 5, 2013


Check for a reset button on the back of the dryer.
posted by brujita at 5:31 PM on April 5, 2013


It's hard to mess up a multimeter. 1- Don't short the probes onto anything or against each other. 2- Don't touch the metal part. 3- Always check for AC voltage, then DC voltage, then work down the voltage scale (if its not auto ranging). If you see no voltage, then you can safely check things like resistance and continuity.

Mitheral is right.

You may find that you get nothing between the slanted legs, and 120 between one and the neutral, and nothing between the other one and neutral. This indicates that half the circuit breaker pair is broken, and it's time to call an electrician.

Does the dryer do *anything*?
posted by gjc at 5:55 PM on April 5, 2013


Admiral Haddock: "Can you get a 220v extension cord that would run to the dryer room? I"

Just for posterity, even if 220V extension cords were common, this would be A Bad Idea. All that extra distance, lots of resistance...

Other than that Mitheral's got it.
posted by notsnot at 7:52 PM on April 5, 2013


For about $5, you can buy an outlet tester at Home Depot. It's got two leads coming out of it and a couple of lights. One lights up if it sees 120V across the leads, and both light up if it sees 240V across the leads.

It's bog-simple to use.
posted by Hatashran at 9:18 PM on April 5, 2013


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