Gas dryer pops GFI

[fecmech]

A friend picked up a used gas clothes dryer that will not run on a GFI circuit(tried it on 4 different GFI's in her basement). It will run fine on a non GFI circuit. Any ideas on what to look for?

[Jeffrey]

The neutral is touching the frame somewhere. First make sure it is wired correctly: Wide blade = neutral (white wire), narrow blade = hot (black wire), U shaped blade = grounding (green wire). Depending on the type of wire connecting the drier to the plug, the actual conductors inside the wire can be VERY thin, like human hair thin for SJ cord. Check terminals inside drier for any evidence copper strands may be touching the frame. Also check inside the plug for strands from white wire touching green terminal. Electrical tape can be your friend controlling copper strands in SJ cord. More detailed checks will require use of a volt or amp meter. PM me if this does not help.

[bnelson06]

I'm going to guess that the ignition for the dryer is kicking the gfi as the spark needed to light the gas is what the gfi is intended to prevent. Plug it into a regular outlet.

[Jeffrey]

Spark ignition tripping it is a possibility. I'm really not a small appliance guy. Commercial HVAC is really my area. I thought hot surface ignition was used now.

[fecmech]

I thought hot surface ignition was used now
I'm pretty sure that's what is used on this machine. I will open it up and check out the wiring when I go over tomorrow. Thank you

[leeggen]

I have never heard of putting a dryer on GFI? Some motors,relays, and igniters don't like GFI.
CD

[reloader28]

I would (and do) change out the GFI and put a real outlet in there. GFI's are pure junk as far as I'm conserned.
Every one I've seen seem to only handle about half as much juice as a normal outlet. Switch it out and let the breaker do its job.

[MaryB]

A cracked hot plate ignitor can still work but will arc and that could trip the gfi

[cajun shooter]

I'm going to go with those that say a dryer of any type is not going to run correctly on the GFI circuit because of the limits it's set at. I've never seen a home wired with a GFI circuit for the washer dryer. I not only worked with electricians on jobs but I design wiring for homes in our family home design business. The breaker for that circuit will provide the needed protection with a normal receptacle.

[bangerjim]

Someone got paranoid and put GFI's everywhere in that basement! Change out to a regular outlet and all will be OK. GFI's are meant for bathrooms and outdoor temporary portable load circuits and NOT heavy motor loads.

And there could be a wire touching inside also.

Check internal wiring with a DVM to be safe...........but change out the outlet.

banger

[powderburnerr]

first place to check for a rubbed wire is at the door switch,

[44man]

Someone got paranoid and put GFI's everywhere in that basement! Change out to a regular outlet and all will be OK. GFI's are meant for bathrooms and outdoor temporary portable load circuits and NOT heavy motor loads.

And there could be a wire touching inside also.

Check internal wiring with a DVM to be safe...........but change out the outlet.

banger
True. Moisture the biggest bugger.

[Pipefitter]

GFCI's work on an "unbalanced load" principle. It takes as little as 4 milliamps across the human heart to induce a heart attack (a typical 9 volt battery has enough current to stop your heart if applied in the right place). When a GFCI detects current "leaking" to ground it will trip. A standard breaker will "overheat" a bimetal spring and trip at current above its rating, or somewhat below its rating if it is old and has tripped many times before. Note that a fuse or circuit breaker can take as many as 6-8 cycles at 60hz to trip, more than enough to send a dangerous amount of current through the human body.

[Sweetpea]

Another thing to think about, on a GFI circuit, only the first plug is GFI, and it serves for the others after it.

If there is more than one GFI on one circuit, they will trip each other.

[rush1886]

The neutral is touching the frame somewhere. First make sure it is wired correctly: Wide blade = neutral (white wire), narrow blade = hot (black wire), U shaped blade = grounding (green wire). Depending on the type of wire connecting the drier to the plug, the actual conductors inside the wire can be VERY thin, like human hair thin for SJ cord. Check terminals inside drier for any evidence copper strands may be touching the frame. Also check inside the plug for strands from white wire touching green terminal. Electrical tape can be your friend controlling copper strands in SJ cord. More detailed checks will require use of a volt or amp meter. PM me if this does not help.

On the terminal block where the line cord wires are terminated, check to be certain that the neutral is NOT bonded to the frame by a small metal strip--approx. 1/32" thick and an 1/8" to 1/4" wide. This strip would be landed on the terminal block, under the neutral, then just simply metal screwed to the frame/skin of the dryer, most generally within 3"-4" of the terminal block.
Manufacturers typically supply this strip, and if the dryer was originally used in a heavily rural area, the installer may have hooked it up in order to ground the appliance.

added info: this bonding strip may be a simple green wire, as opposed to the metal strip. Easily identifiable, as one end will attach to the terminal strip, and the other end will attach to the frame/skin of the dryer.