Whirlpool dryer shuts off after few seconds in Europe

[katalinhopkins]

Model Number

WED9050XW1

Brand

Whirlpool

Age

Less than 1 year

I bought the front loader Whirlpool dryer at the PX in Germany that was made to be installed in Europe, and just had an electrician run the wire from the box to the dryer, and he also made the wire to connect from the dryer to the industrial plug. We tried to run it. The drier turned on, and immediately the light bulb blew with a spark. So we removed the bulb and didn't replace it with anything yet. Note that we are in Europe, the dryer was made for Europe (TYPE: DHZN-ELE-2406024-EL54, MOD:WED9050XW1, SER:M04840648; 120/208V 23A 60Hz; 120/240V 24A 60Hz), so it is installed to 22V electricity. We had requested a fuse replaced by the electric company from 16A to 32A which is what was in the install requirements. The fuse itself has not yet been installed, but it is all set up as far as wiring. After the light bulb blew, the drier would turn on, and it would run for about 5-8 seconds and then shut off.
Please help trouble shoot this. Is the problem that the fuse is still only a 16A, and it will work properly after the 32A fuse is installed? Why did the light bulb blew immediately? Please help

 

[fairbank56]

That dryer is not for use in Europe. Power there for residential use is 220/440 AC 50hz, in the U.S. it's 120/240 AC 60hz. Applying 220vac caused the 120vac bulb to blow and may have damaged the control board. The motor in this dryer is 120vac as well. You do not have 120vac there in Europe.

Eric

 

[katalinhopkins]

Hi Eric
Thank you for your reply. The store that sold us the dryer is the military base store and it was sold as the 220V dryer. I made sure that I had asked more than once to make sure it is for Europe. I also bought the washer at the same time, and we had no issues with the washer whatsoever. The washer included the converter plugs as well. The dryer didn't come with any cords/plugs, and the store told us that they manufacturer just stopped sending cords altogether, and that the dryer was for 220V. I also just called Whirlpool and they verified that this was made for Europe, so the issue has to be something else.
Would you have any other ideas why it keeps shutting down?

 

[fairbank56]

Well, most US dryers are "220v". They are actually 120/240 volt. The heat circuit runs off of 240 and the motor and control board run off of 120. I looked up your dryer model number on the Whirlpool site to get the operators manual, installation manual and wiring diagram. That all shows that this is a 120/240vac 60hz dryer. You do not have 120vac there, correct?. Check the information on the bulb that blew. Does it say 120vac?

Eric

 

[katalinhopkins]

I just tried to make out what is written on the bulb, which I managed to drop and it broke (not happy), and I can't say for sure.
I called Whirlpool and gave them the model, serial number and she said it was made for Europe, however, she wasn't able to give me any more info. I inserted a pic of the sticker. I am getting really upset about this, because I am starting to think that the people at the PX on the base didn't know what they were selling, and here I am now with a drier I don't know how to make work. If it is for 120V: can we wire it up somehow to still work? I do have a large capacity transformer available also.

 

[fairbank56]

As far as I know, Whirlpool dryers made for Europe have a prefix to the model number such as the 3LWED5500YW0 model. This dryer has a 220 volt 50/60hz motor in it. Based on what I can find for your model number and the photo you provided of the sticker, it is a 120/240 volt 60hz model for US power. The heating element is 240vac and the motor (and control board) is 120vac. To be sure of what you have, you could check the nameplate on the motor although that would require taking the dryer apart. If it is 120vac 60hz, then it won't work there. If this is the case, the control board may already be damaged. You could use a transformer to power the motor and control board but it would need to be an isolation type transformer.

Eric

 

[katalinhopkins]

You are 100% correct: this is for US. SO we did an experiment and left the 240 L1 line wired to the 220V electricity and took the line for 110 and wired it up to a plug and plugged it in to a high power transformer and the unit turned on. It however shut off again after a little while just like before. Do you think it would be feasible to make a special wiring that leaves the 240 part going into the wall outlet for 220 and the motor and control board wired up to the transformer?

 

[fairbank56]

Yes, you could do that but why is the dryer shutting down? You already applied 220v to the control board which normally uses 120v, so it could be damaged. Also, you will be running the motor at 50hz vice it's design frequency of 60hz. The motor will run 20% slower and probably hotter than normal. If they sold you this dryer under the premise that it was ok to use as is on the power grid there, then you should be able to return it and get a dryer that is designed for use there.

Eric