Home Repair

Fuses blow when it rains

This topic is available here on The Repair-Place forum
Ok, back to my dryer problem again! LOL

I have now determined that my dryer blows fuses every single time it rains.
There are 2 fuses for the dryer, both 30 amp. It is only one fuse that blows, and it is the same one every time.
It just doesn't make any sense at all.....

I did have an electrician come out, he agrees it is messed up, but has no clue what is wrong or why.

Any ideas?
Just some stream of consciousness thoughts....

Have you been able to trace back the wire from the dryer outlet to the fusebox? (Do this carefully since it's a suspect in a voltage leak....)

Is the outlet on an outside wall?

Perhaps some water is coming in a wall (maybe running along the dryer vent?) and coming in contact with the wire?

Is it metal dryer vent hose? Perhaps the dryer is grounded to it's cabinet, and that ground is running along the vent hose and makes it to ground when the outside of the house gets wet?

I would check this stuff when it's not raining... maybe even not do it at all and demand the landlord send a real electrician.

Maybe test the theory on a dry day by leaving the dryer off then going to where the vent is and soaking down the side of the house around it and then start the dryer...?

I'm leaning back to the demand an electrician route....
One other thing... water inside a wall can come from roof problems, too.
I would DEFINATLY get an electrician to look at it again. This could be a potentially dangerous situation.
Don't use the drier when it rains is probably a good idea until the mystery has been solved.
The reason it blows only when it rains, could be just a humidity problem. but there must be some sort of problem with one side of the 220 line maybe grounding out with a little moisture. Could be checked easily by an electrician while raining or during the time when you would expect it to blow.

Just be careful...

Repair-Place.com

Questions to Webmaster