Dryer Element

[motocrash]

Anyone use one of these ? I realize it's 220/240v but was thinking the design of it would probably work well on 110/120v. ?

 

[PerazziMx14]

Please delete

 

[SonnyE]

A dryer element like that is kind of tricky. First, it is an air heating element. So it gets glowingly hot. And it has to be supported with high temperature porcelain stand offs.
The red hot glowing element can be subject to early failure. They aren't a tough as the following:

I've used a 240 volt range element, powered by 120 volts and it worked great. Similar to this.
That was back in one of my first builds. It makes a great heat source that is contact friendly. A dryer element is not.

I've also used a simple single burner hot plate in a porcelain/steel refrigerator. Like this.

But, mind you, in those days all I wanted was to smoke meat. Not roast it like modern smoker/ovens can. I merely wanted to heat a can with hardwood chips in it in an enclosure.

 

[motocrash]

Here it is in it assembly.It doesn't appear to use porcelain,dunno.

 

[SonnyE]

See the little doo-dads supporting the element?
I would not use it myself. I'd opt for the range element.

 

[johnmeyer]

I've replaced the heating element on dryers, and they are definitely designed to have air moving over them. If you think how hot a dryer gets, and how quickly it gets there, you get some idea of how frightfully hot the element must get to make the air that hot. Without air flow, I would be worried about whether the element might tend to self-destruct.

Also, you have to think about electrical safety.

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[SonnyE]

View attachment 354355

Dude,
Your clothes will be dry in a moment....
Holy Mackrel!

 

[motocrash]

View attachment 354355

See! It's almost ready to throw some wood chunks in! :D

 

[motocrash]

It would be controlled by a PID and get as hot as it's told to.It would have a convection air current same as any other smoker with an electric element.You guy's are talking like I'm going to just plug it into an extension cord and let'er rip.
Not like this !

 

[motocrash]

More like this..

 

[Rings Я Us]

 

[SonnyE]

It would be controlled by a PID and get as hot as it's told to.It would have a convection air current same as any other smoker with an electric element.You guy's are talking like I'm going to just plug it into an extension cord and let'er rip.
Not like this !
View attachment 354357

It's your money. When it burns out, talk to that guy in the mirror.

 

[johnmeyer]

It's your money. When it burns out, talk to that guy in the mirror.

SonnyE brings up an important point that I missed in my last post: power draw. That dryer I fixed almost twenty years ago consumes, by actual measurement, 5,269 watts. That is over 40 amps, and indicates that, when powered, the heating wire's resistance is less than 3 ohms. By way of comparison my MES 30, by actual measurement (documented here), consumes almost exactly 800 watts during its "on" cycle.

Your PID may not be "happy" controlling something that is close to being a short circuit, but it sounds like you've already got it working, so perhaps that isn't an issue.

 

[motocrash]

 

[motocrash]

Your PID may not be "happy" controlling something that is close to being a short circuit, but it sounds like you've already got it working, so perhaps that isn't an issue.

John,it was just an idea I had when I stumbled across the element looking at others.

 

[Moot106]

Mine is powered by dryer elements. Has a fan blowing across the element the whole time it's powered on. My setup is the same thing sausagemaker uses on their cookers. I don't have a ton of hours on it yet but the last 5 weekends I've done over 100lbs of hams and bacons per run. The way I'm doing hams they take about 24hrs. So between the hams, bacon, jerky and pork butts I've done it's run over 200 hours so far with no issues

 

[Rings Я Us]

Make sure you install a lint catcher.

:p

 

[Moot106]

I got screen on my chimney to keep birds and bugs out. Does that count as a lint catcher?

 

[SonnyE]

I got screen on my chimney to keep birds and bugs out. Does that count as a lint catcher?

No. That's a bird and bug strainer.