[johnwill]

Did you check the obvious? I just cleaned out the critter screen on the side of my house because the drier stopped working. It was totally filled with lint balls and had stopped the airflow.

 

[johnwill]

But i just had to write about how much of an American thing having a "Critter Screen" is.
I almost fell off my chair laughing. Never heard of such a thing!

Without it, the birds make nests in the vent. The flaps are no impediment, I've watched them open one and go in to build their nests. Not sure why it would be just an "American Thing", don't you have birds where you live?

 

[johnwill]

My dryer is barely used and vents directly into the laundry.

Really bad idea!

 

[johnwill]

Whatever blows your hair back, I sure don't want that happening in my house!

 

[johnwill]

A simple magnet on my vent flap eliminates all your concerns, and it's very easy to use.

That would be incorrect, since there are multiple flaps in most of these vents. Also, even if you have the right design flap that doesn't solve the issue. If the magnet is strong enough to resist the birds prying it open, it's likely strong enough to prevent the driver air pressure from opening it.

 

[johnwill]

My dryer vent is around 13 feet up the wall, so getting a ladder out three times a week to remove the magnet, rain or shine, is a non-starter!

 

[johnwill]

I designed my home to be convenient, very much unlike engineers who design for their own convenience and don't consider the end-user. For instance, who in their right mind believes the most convenient place to locate a vehicle fuel pump and filter is inside the gas tank?

Since the laundry is on the second floor, running the vent down to the first floor would involve a number of bends in the pipe, not a really good idea with a dryer vent.

 

[johnwill]

Clearly, the pressure sensor would be for sensing back-pressure in the exhaust line, so it's certainly a possible suspect. I'm at a total loss where else a pressure sensor would be used in a dryer.

 

[johnwill]

I tried blowing through it, and air didn't go through. Maybe it needs a certain amount of pressure to send a signal to the burner.

You can't blow through a pressure sensor, this happens to be a topic I know a bit about. In a previous life I designed avionics, including several air data computers.

The other port is for ambient pressure, not a pass-thru. The object of the exercise is to measure the difference between the ambient pressure and the pressure in the dryer exhaust vent. That's normally done with a strain gauge on a flexible diaphragm or a capacitive sensor.

 

[johnwill]

Well, it didn't let air through, that's good. However, you don't know if it's actually working and being sensed.

 

[johnwill]

Look what I found folded up inside when I checked the control board for corrosion.

I think virtually all appliances come with similar documentation, I know all my major appliances have a similar pack of documentaton.

 

[johnwill]

Yep, I've never seen those documents where you could easily reach them without at least taking a couple screws out.