AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

[Colin909]

I have a 5 year old AEG 57560 tumble dryer. It now runs cool always, with no hot air at all. I regularly clean the filter, condenser and the machine is veryclean and otherwise in good condition.

I thus suspect it is the heater and or thermostat whicvh has gone. When I open the back I see that these are easy to replace but I want to check some things:

a) Do I simply disconnect the old heater and connect the new one in its place. Similarly for the thermostat. Both are easy to remove and re-fit. Or does anything else need to be adjusted when replacing these?

b) When I took the back off (the extruded metal panel which covers the heater and intake fan, I found that some dust had accumulated around the fan , also on the inside of this back panel and even a few pieces in the heater itself. I have cleaned this out but is it normal for some dust to accumulate over time in there? I would have thought it could be a fire risk if dust is in this part of the assembly (even in small quantities) or am I missing something?

I want to be sure about these things rather than simply swap in a replacement heater and thermostat.

[iadom]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

You should never, ‘simply swap’ any electrical component without first testing it with a suitable meggar or multimeter for continuity, resistance and insulation.

A small build up of dust or fluff is not uncommon in most dryers. Its not a bad idea to unplug the machine, remove the back panel and give it a clean every 12 months or so.

[Colin909]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

Agreed. I always ensure the machine is disconnected, unplugged, etc.. The dust build up was not large but I have cleaned it out. The rest of the inside of the machine is almost dust free although I’ll take your tip to clean out every 12 months.

I did check the heating elements and thermostat with a meter. Both were continuous. However, there are 2 components on the heating board itself, right beside the elements, which look like rectifying diodes. Both of these are open circuit in both directions which suggests a fault. They may also be circuit breakers where again open circuit indicates a fault. Are you aware of their purpose?

[TheSpinDoctor]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

Hi Colin.

They are actually thermal fuses which if they are O/C would suggest the appliance has overheated. You may want to check the heat exchanger which is located at the front right lower of the product. If that gets clogged that can cause overheating to occur.

You may also want to check the front drum bearing as usually this gets bunged up with lint which impedes the drum rotation & restricts air flow which also can pop the thermal fuses. Be careful though as this is tricky & when you put it back together will feel like you are trying to put toothpaste back into its tube but this should be checked as if it isn’t & is actually the problem, the new heater won’t last long before it also pops the thermal fuse.

If you feel this may be something you may struggle with, you may want to consider calling out a qualifed, trained & reputable engineer in your area. You can follow the links on this site if you need one.

[Colin909]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

On looking again I am able to see that they are thermal fuses and both are open circuit. I can also see evidence of over heating on the inside of the heater surround. So it is a new heater which is required. It is 5 years old.

I do not plan on checking the front bearing as there is very little fluff in any other part of the machine, including around other parts of the machine which I know from other posts usually get a bit clogged up, so it seems unlikely to be the cause.

I had just cleaned the condenser the previous week so now I wonder if somehow I had refitted it incorrectly but it certainly clicked into place as usual and it looks fine with no evidence of fluff in its chamber. I will re-fit it again just in case.

Thanks for all the assistance which has been most helpful.

[iadom]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

The heating elements hardly ever overheat due to being faulty themselves, it is almost always caused by other means, blockages, loose fan etc.

One other common cause of thermal fuse failure is constantly stopping the machine in mid cycle to check on the dryness of the load. You should always allow the machine to finish on its own or turn it to a cool tumble setting for a few minutes.

I fear that changing the heater on this machine will not rectify the problem.

[Colin909]

Re: AEG 57560 TUMBLE dryer not heating the air

This could be it as we have a visitor using the machine over the past week and I believe it has been checked on regularly. May not have fully cleaned the filter either. This coincidence suggests that it is the cause.

[Author]

Posts