Chosen Solution
My dryer starts quiet and normal and drys clothes fine. However, after only a few minutes of being on, it starts humming loudly. I have taken everything apart and cleaned thoroughly including blower fan, motor, and exhaust. Any and all lint and debris has been cleaned. I’ve inspected rollers and all the other aspects of the dryer that the internet tells me is the cause to a noisy dryer. Everything seems to look good, but after reassembling the problem persists. Loud humming after a few minutes of being on. I have a suspicion it’s the element, but how does the element cause a loud humming noise like that? Thanks in advance!
Hi @swizd89 Don’t know the answer but perhaps try isolating the heater element to eliminate if it is heat or the element that is the cause or whether it is something else. Here’s the wiring diagram for the dryer that may help with this. Just what I would try. Be safety aware and make sure that the power is disconnected first and then when disconnecting any wire that the end is well insulated and the wire is tied off so it doesn’t move about, before reconnecting the power and testing.
The dryer’s drive belt which wraps around the drum and idler pulley and the drive motor to rotate the drum can wear out over time which can make the dryer noisy when the drum is turning. The next thing would be your drive motor burning out. Here’s the part: https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/…
Hi Daniel, I might take a different approach based on your answers. It sounds like the rear drum bearing could be beginning to fail. The bearing has two parts, the drum portion which looks like like a shaft with a ball on the end on one end of the dryer drum, and the bulkhead portion that looks like a bracket with multiple plastic pieces in it.I am wondering if the vibrations from the bearing are amplified by some portion of the heating element, or metal housing for the element that surrounds the bearing. I am suspicious that those parts expand or contract with heat. This would explain the change in no heat vs heat cycles, and the fact that if the dryer isn’t allowed to cool, the sound is present immediately.Also there is the possibility that the element shroud could be warping just enough to rub against the back of the dryer drum when the heat has come on and doesn’t cool off enough to lose contact unless the dryer sits for a while.A quick check of the shroud theory would be to start the dryer on a heat setting (with clothes or something in it so it’s just like normal) and when the sound starts, switch to a no heat setting and see if the sound goes away or lessens.The sound might also change if you run the dryer with nothing in it. This would reduce the load on the bearing and would possibly help to determine if the bearing theory is the idea.You could see if you can find some lubricant for that bearing, or re-smear what’s already in it and see if it gets better. Check the plastic bearing parts carefully for wear, too. There is also a ball bearing that contacts the end of the shaft on some types, and can fall out. I hope this helps.
