I tore a whirlpool down just to find the heating element goes behind the drum. Can I use a heating element from another model or how can i make mine work? Your help is appreciated
I was in the appliance repair business for 30 + years . And I love to restore and mod cars which take a lot of time to do professional results . So if space permitted I would have left the dryer intact and routed the heat exhaust to the work area and you would still make the same btu with less effort ( more time to work on car boat projects )
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but you are the type of guy I look up to. A true blue collar engineer who makes super cool and useful stuff. Love it!
This the stuff I watch TH-cam for. Never in a million years would this idea have crossed my mind, but now I feel like I have to build one of these. Awesome work!
I’m sure my wife will most likely be very appreciative that the dryer suddenly is gone…And at the same time I no longer complain that the garage is cold 👍
Just turn your car on inside your garage and let it run for an hour or two. It will warm it up in there really good. Plus you dont have to worry about accidentally getting electrocuted when you try wiring up this heater.
Ok I hope everyone realizes I was kidding about letting your car run in your garage. I almost forgot that some people cant take sarcasm or a bad joke. Lol
@@josephvance8900 Thank you for clarifying! But at the same time, I think it’s really amazing that every have to excuse and explain themselves at all times to not be deemed a complete idiot or a total incompetent.
@@josephvance8900 Well I actually do run the car inside the garage quite often (not so much nowadays because of the fuel price which is, fyi is a tad cheeper than the electricity but is still ridiculously expensive). Isn’t that the reason why it’s called “motor heater”? 👍
Many years ago, I actually fixed my Mom's dryer (that was not putting out any heat, but worked otherwise) by opening up to the heating coil, finding the break, and just twisting the two broken ends together. Worked great for another 15 years like that!😆
@@cb00t Usually the springs will break towards an end. I simply bend the end ring outward just enough to attach it to the eyebolt. One can use steel cable and slip it between the coils, if necessary. It is extremely important to run a steel cable through the length of the spring and secure the ends, for safety if/when the spring breaks. This is for extension springs only.
Watching this made me have memories of when I was growing up. I used to build weird random useful and useless things. Got I miss my parents old house. Endless pieces of random things to use to create things. Makes me want to start doing more things like this again. Thanks for the video man you rock.
It just kills me that he's so casual about what he's doing because for him this is easy. If it were me I'd just end up with scattered parts and not a clue as to what to do with them. He's amazing.
That's what he did...that's a whole bunch of bs he did. This is what a methhead does to a dryer. All of that shit was unnecessary. He just likes cutting metal...that's all I can figure.
I did my clothes dryer to shop heater 18 years ago and it still works great. left mine looking like a clothes dryer and just use the top as more bench space. Out preforms just about any AC shop heater you could buy. Love your build of the shop heater making it smaller and attractive. Thanks for sharing with us.
Seems like all you'd need to do is disconnect the vent hose. Then it's pumping hot air into the room. You could cut the drum belt if you want to be fancy.
@@juanit0tackit0tackito2 trust him to make the temperature go warm so you don’t need a heater? Seems like the whole world is still using heaters. Hard to trust
I did this last summer when I had an extra old electric dryer sitting around that worked perfectly, but I didn't need it as a clothes dryer anymore. I did it without ever seeing this video, so it looks different than yours, but works exactly the same. While I don't ask it to heat my entire shop, it does a great job as an area heater on a cold Nebraska winter day when I otherwise would avoid using my shop to do anything on. I located it above my work bench suspended from the ceiling so it blows strait down on my bench where I do most of my work. It makes it comfortable enough to stay out there for hours on a project, something I couldn't do before building it. It uses far less energy than a standard dryer because it doesn't have to turn the drum. I felt like if space wasn't an issue, i could have just removed (cut) the drum belt and avoided all of the modifications, but full sized dryers are way to big to sit around in my shop and I didn't want to waste energy turning a drum. Anyway, great video. A guy with some ambition and time could probably make a good living rehabbing old working dryers into heaters and selling them.
Appliance Tech here and I gotta hand it to you, I'm super impressed! I was laughing the whole way through because I deal with these units all the time. A couple things. I'd prob mount the thermo fuse to your vent and I agree with wiring the door switch as a master power toggle switch. If you want to get real fancy, you could probably wire up a room thermostat and tap it into the cycling thermostat that's just sitting inside the box to regulate room temp. Side note, I'd prob stick to the electric version of your heaters if it's used indoors like the garage since it'll be clean air friendly (gas = carbon monoxide). You have inspired me to build one!
You're a working class hero, man. You help people potentially save money, keep it out of the hands of evil business, and live better. Thank you for your service o7
pro tip - all that left over sheet metal makes great replacement grease trays and flame shields in your BBQ - will last a lot longer than the original thinner metal did. Helps to have a small bending brake, if not, just use a couple pieces of wood and a hammer to form the bends! Also, be sure to do all your sheet metal cutting with the angle grinder right next to your least favorite neighbor's house - the noise drives them insane :)
@@shantor100 Yeah, but when you pick it up on the side of the road free, it wasn't your money that paid for the dryer, so who cares! And now it's not your money that's going to buying a new heater either. So win win (just not for capitalism)
Built this dryer/heater and he is correct it heats very well. I feel plenty safe if you block it off the coils cut off. the cabinet stays under 100° works awesome
Excellent work. Thus is the type of thing you would find in an old Popular Mechanics magazine only they can't now because they would be afraid of lawsuits. Love Ginger also, my cattle dog heard her at the end and perked her ears up and came over to me.
My cattle dog is now fat and retired. I mean fat like a lump of blubber. You can find a video of her when she was young on my channel. I think one of the videos is called killer dog or something like that. Sydney is her name.
Thanks for making this video. You just saved me a trip to recycling with a dryer I've had sitting in my storage area for over 10 years. It was just to much effort to get it out and haul it away. I usually never throw anything away, and thankfully I didn't. And I really need a shop heater like this. I can't wait to get started on this project. Again thank you.
I figured this would look pretty mediocre but wow that painted case and riveted controls look amazing. I like the idea of being able to set a timer- most of us don't need to heat our workspace for more than a few hours at a time.
I did something very similar to this about 6 years ago. Instead of using the AC motor that was in it I used a different DC motor so I could control the fan speed easier. I used it to heat my shop before I got central heat and air installed. It worked fine and Still works
The blower assembly also works great for an air supply for a metal forging setup .If you take the blower assembly out of a Maytag made dryer , it comes out without doing any cutting .
Former whirlpool employee. We build those in Marion, Ohio I loved video. I love the possibility that I could have helped build that dryer. I can't wait to try this on my own that I've got kicking around.
I tore down a whirlpool dryer and it has the heating element behind the drum. How can I make this work or can I substitute this heating element for another? Your help is appreciated
You could replace the timer button, with the wall thermostat that is made for baseboard heaters. I actually use one of those to run an old milkhouse heater. Biggest problem with the cheap milkhouse heaters is that the thermostat burns out. Bypass that, and the heater runs 24/7. I put an outlet, and a wall t-stat made for baseboard heaters, into a double gang electric outlet box. Wired so that the outlet only gets power when the t-stat allows. Put a 10ga cord on it, to plug into the wall. Then plug the heater into the controlled outlet. Been using these for years now.
@@sixtyfiveford If you used a 24v transformer and thermostat, you could wire contactors, heat sequencers or fan relays to turn on your heaters or in summer fans. You could put a toggle on the heat call in to switch between your gas and electric dryer-heaters. Then you just have to run thermostat wire instead of romex.
@@pyroboobysmith359 But then what would you have learned? This way, you not only learn how to use tools, which makes you all powerful, but you are training your brain to see the world as a collection of parts that you can adapt and mold to meet your needs. Training your brain is very important.
Buddy u just earned yourself another subscriber I'm a disabled mechanic and have been a tinkerer all my life I cant go a day without taring apart something to see how it's made an what ssd ll else I can make of it I throw away nothing u csn always use a screw a nut an peace of see ire 12 inches ling I grew up in mountains of wv it's a 45 min drive to a parts store u can't run back see n girth 3 to 5 times a day when working on a vehicle for a tool or part no u use grinder torched and welders an make what u need if u can u are a inspiration themk you fir sharing I will be eagerly waiting for you next video release
Very smart idea. I usually run the dryer hose blowing down to a pan of water (to catch lint and humidify the hot air coming out of the dryer) to heat up the house a little bit more during the cold months
@@bryonweatherford1772 He's using the water to catch the lint, like a water bath vacuum from back in the olden days. The best way to do that is take a five gallon bucket with lid and make a cyclone filter, like an upright vacuum.
I love these sorts of things. My electric water heater went out once a long time ago and my wife's sister had a spare gas one but we didn't have gas here so I took a stovetop heating element, bent and stretched it into a long skinny loop, crammed it into the middle chimney/flue/exhaust part of the gas water heater, tied it to a heavy duty heat resistant cable and connected that to an electrical timer. Probably super dangerous but it worked flawlessly for years. The heating element eventually burned out and we were doing a lot better financially and just got a good new electric water heater. But basically, I love the idea of repurposing stuff like this.
If you use a heat pump type drier you will end up with a heater that also removes moisture from air. Especially useful in preventing vehicles from rusting if regularly driven in wet/snowy conditions and parked inside the garage.
I've been in apartment maintenance for 28 years. 90 percent of the problem with those is the knobs. They're made of plastic with a metal sleeve. That sleeve rounds over the plastic control knob. Nothing else wrong the knob just spins. Crazy simple. Cool heater idea. Run the vent hose into your room and run it for a cycle. Will heat your house easily in a pinch.
That's how i get most of my floor lamps. The switch is confuckulated so I either use a vise grips or just hardwire the lamp to be always on then for $12 I buy a tabletop lamp dimmer (which I often run to my favorite chair) and make sure it has a dimmable bulb inside it. I get years more use out of something often thrown away.
Last year (2020) the control knob on the washing machine in my apartment failed (spin, no start on pull). Rather than tell my landlord to replace it, I unplugged the 20+yo machine, unscrewed the bracket holding the failed knob and saw that the plastic mount was broken right next to its mounting screw (so the knob wasn't in contact with the underlying controls). 2 drilled holes and 2 screws later, the machine works again and you can't even see my repair from outside of the machine. Felt great to fix something and kept people out of my apartment during the pandemic.
And the stupid knows cost $50 or more sometimes to replace. My 3d printer has paid for itself time and time again helping to replace rare appliance knobs/buttons and out of production automotive plastic clips
I like how you do little things like explaining what you did with the bulb, and which safety protectors you saved, using the drum as a fire pit, and the fact that you wore eye protection. A lot of times with projects like this, I feel like I learned something by watching this, but I feel like the person who made the video was gonna burn a building down. But here, I actually feel like I would trust this and could potentially do this myself, based just on my past personal washer/dryer repair experience and the specifics pointed out here. Well, if my body were working better. Health stuff is keeping me down right now. But I'm watching this kinda stuff to keep me going. I gotta get better so I can get stronger and go harder and do these kinds of things myself. I never want to have to need help like this again.
You never cease to amaze me! Absolutely fantastic! The electricity bill though… that would also amaze me after using this a few hours every day, over the course of winter 😅
Wouldn't cost any more than drying a load of laundry for the same amount of time. Less actually, since you no longer have the motor load of turning the drum.
This is fantastic!!!! Thought of something similar years ago but never got around to it but also having to run a 220 line back then was not doable in my old shop but it’s readily available now. Thank you so much that it wasn’t a waste of time !!!!
I would of never thought of that! I love seeing others thinking outside of the box! Great job! I just put a motor in a dryer identical to that today. Simple.
You should incorporate the shut-off switch for the door back in so that you can quickly shut the unit off. Just a thought. Awesome video. Really like your retractable 240 cord. I will show this video to my father-in-law. If there isn't a tool available he will fabricate one. He will like this video I know!
That switch is NO or normally open and it doesn't have a detent, so it's not a great fit for that purpose, but yeah, a regular toggle switch would be a welcome addition.
Nailed it ! Fantastic conversion of something that is easy and cheap to replace parts for if ever and when you add solar along side of the electric option it will beat out the natural gas hands down. Please build a solar application for this !
Electric 240v dryers use 2500-5000 watts. It'd be ridiculous to want get that from residential solar *just* for heat. An air source heat pump mini split would be a better option. You'd get many more BTUs of heat per watt and would have AC in the summer if needed. Heat pumps are artificially expensive in the US, but you can get them online if you know how to do the install yourself.
Fantastic! I might give this a try but for me it's a guarantee that I'll end up with multiple bloody appendages in the process. Great video & impressive work!!
I kept an old dryer running for years. Whenever the coil would break I would use a pair of plyers and twist it back together. The first fix lasted over a year. The coil broke in a different spot and I did the same fix. It was only two screws at the top of the front door to open the front panel then remove the drum. The coil was directly behind the drum and easy to get to. After the second fix the dryer ran over three years until I moved and sold it for what I paid for it.
Looks great. I once saw a diy solar air heat collector made from an old storm window. It put out an amazing amount of heat with the only electrical parts being a fan and a thermostat to run whenever the collector temp was high enough. It doesn't help for night, but it's still a help.
Great project! Been thinking of this for a couple years! Nicely done! I dont recommend people plugging in to a NEMA 14-50 receptacle used for a car charger. If someone puts a range cord on the thing they wont have proper overcurrent protection if the charger outlet is on a 50 amp breaker. Thanks for the inspiration!
I think you're misunderstanding the value and purpose of breakers and building wire protection. Circuit breakers are not intended to protect devices or their cords, and there no harm in using an "oversized" (50A) circuit.
@@Shepherd4now I have installed overcurrent protection for the last 32 years and have even done some classes on applications. I may not have communicated my meaning well enough for you to understand my meaning. I would go into this more concisely but...Im not here to help you understand.
On the element case, the bottom sensor is the high temp cycling thermostat which keeps the element from exceeding 160 degrees. The top sensor is a resettable bimetallic fuse. When it throws, you can take it out and slam it down on the concrete floor to force the metal disk inside back to the on position and regain continuity.
@@obsoleteprofessor2034 it's just a dish shaped bimetallic disc. You just have to pop it back into its normal shape. Just slamming it on concrete seems to do the trick.
Moe another great repurposing of a discarded piece of equipment. All the dryers I have picked up have the heater coils positioned in a large circle, not like the one you have. Once I find one with the box in coil I will give this a shot. I have used the metal from washers & dryers for a few repairs. Can't beat the price. A little late 👍 # 208 Stay well, Joe Z
The ones with the large coil at the back of the drum are made by GE. Those might be more popular depending on where you live. Around here it seems that everything is Whirlpool product, or an old Maytag before Whirlpool bought them out.
Yeah, I've used washing machine case metal to make replacement parts for my BBQ - grease trays, and flame shields - it's much thicker than the original stuff and will last a lot longer. With an angle grinder and a mig welder, you can make all kinds of stuff out of old appliance enclosures. Even easier if you have a small sheet metal brake!
That is an excellent upcycle to an old dryer. We live in a disposable society. Rather than find and repair the problem, we just toss it and buy new. A lot of times it's a simple fix, a switch, sensor or broken wire. Thumbs up, great project.
Very nice video. I would suggest keeping and re-implementing the lint filter to clean incoming air, especially if you have a dusty shop. I really like the heating cost comparison in the description. This is something I was wondering about. If one is planning on full time heat and can get it, natural gas is the clear winner.
@@pelassancho24 Except that you would be using up the oxygen from the room air while dumping carbon monoxide into the air. Gas powered heating appliances should be vented to the outdoors. Also, having an open flame in an area with gasoline, solvent, and oil fumes is a dangerous combination.
Another control option would be to use an old microwave electronics to power it. I use one in my shed and I can program it up to go off up to 90 minutes later. This is great for melting the ice off of gears collected on bikes during the wintertime.
,,,,,,,,, Nice Job, My only problem with this is , the electric Bill. Electric dryers use around 6000 Watts of electricity. That'll make the Meter outside spin like a top.
I just used the dryer as the heater in my garage by redirecting the exhaust back into the shop instead of outside. Worked pretty well. I should add-- we had our washer and dryer in the garage...so I didn't modify anything, just ran the dryer to generate heat in the garage. And unrelated --- my bench was near it and so was my vice, so I would grind things on the vice and spray the dryer with sparks --- wife not happy, so I added some hanging plastic strips to keep it clean but easy to move and get to the washer and dryer. Oh let me edit this again --- this resistance heaters are really inefficient, they consume a lot of energy. A much more efficient way is a heat pump, so maybe your next video should be on how to convert an air conditioner into a heater, it is 10x more efficient use of electricity, but only works when the outside temp is 35F or more, but you can use the resistance heater to keep the cold side above freezing. :)
I agree and this is the reason I built a natural gas version earlier this year. It operates at 1/5 the cost of this electric version. Everyone wanted to see an electric version as Nat Gas isn't available everywhere, that's the only reason I built it. But even then heating with Diesel, Kerosene or Propane are generally far cheaper and more efficient than electricity. Heat pumps are nice but loose efficiency dramatically the colder it gets with it being useless sub freezing like you said.
@@sixtyfiveford While gas is cheaper to run, it is literally never more efficient than electric resistance heat. Electricity used for heat like that is always 100% efficient, because all of the energy gets spent making the coils (and to a small extent the wiring) warm and giving off heat. Electricity is just considerably more expensive than gas heat, so the efficiency doesn't make up for it.
I think it was a gas dryer before but i had the same thought. Edit: commented before I got to the end, but confirmed! Next maybe a modified gas dryer to work on propane?
I believe last year he made one around winter time..I thought he just did a re upload of last year's video..Which is still possible..Which I don't mind if so and understand people would like a workshop heater this time of year..
I like it. I think I'll try a simpler approach. Take the belt off of the drum and point the vent hose wherever you want. Bigger, but much easier. You can use the drum as an oven/airfryer and you get a workspace/counter.
Good idea for safety would be to put a filter on the back inlet to prevent buildup inside the unit. Very cool idea. I have an extra dryer might go for this project and make one.
I had a new electric dryer, that from the factory, would melt the lint basket. I double checked the wiring, and it was coded correctly, but the factory wiring did not include the overheat sensor. The sensor was there, but not wired into the system. I rewired it, and no more melted lint baskets.
I realize this takes the fun out of it but if it were me I would just fix the dryer, turn it on, hook a hose to the exhaust, aim it my way and enjoy. Then if our dryer ever broke down in the house we would have a backup. There’s only one problem though, I don’t have a garage. I will say that was very clever how you compacted the dryer and made use of the controls. It looks professional... Good Job!! 👍🤓
Cool, cheap, and simple. If you have some rock wool laying around, you could wrap the heated part and increase the efficiency even further. It should reduce some of the noise from the resonating sheet metal box too.
You could move your regular clothes dryer out in the shop if room permits, dry clothes out there, vent the exhaust (if electric) to inside the shop, and now you've also got a built in shop humidifier in the dry winter while the wet clothes are drying!
That would work but drying cloths makes alot of moisture and I mean alot !!! We did it in out mud room for about a day and it was like a pool oit there . Water running down the walls
I've wondered since I was a kid, how clothes got the hot air... I always pictured something way more complex. You answered my curiosity and brought a smile to my face! P.S. do you know if Ford is needing an engineer!? Lol.
This is the kind of video i like!! Take some crap and make something usefull. Yeah, i could buy a 5kw heater, sure.. But what´s the fun with that?! Im subscribing!!!
@@sixtyfiveford With regard to your review/recommendation of the 12v Makita Cordless Ratchet...they have an 18v model that's been released since your review. Do you still like the 12v or would you recommend getting the 18v...and if so, perhaps you could post an affiliate link? Thanks.
Put a line voltage stat on it (depending on the KW of the unit, guessing 5 kw) so you don't have to reset the heater every 60 minutes. Or put a transformer and contactor on it and a 24 volt digital stat.
I use mine in my quanset and in North Dakota I also use it to thaw out my pickup when I get home it'll only run for 60 min my shed is big so I need it to run longer than 60min how could I rewire it to do that?
Great video. Here in Australia I don't see many dryers getting thrown out, except for cheap crappy ones. I'm not sure it would do well with solar though, the elements use a heck of a lot of power right? 3-4000W? We use a gas dryer for that reason (we are on solar). In fact, we converted ours to LPG (propane), rather than natural gas, so we can use bottles. Great job.
yeah but also in America 240v is the devils playground :( at least in Australia you're already running 240v with no special leads needed and no special outlets to be installed in the house.
@@woodsy900 Wire size is rated for the amps you're pulling across it, not the voltage. The US is already a 240V system - it's just provided differently at the consumer side than other countries, and 120V outlets are the norm here. As such, it's not that the US needs "special wiring", it's that much of that was done already on the base electrical system, albeit, depending on your perspective, arguably unnecessarily, in those countries that many typically distinguish as "240V countries".
Really very cool! Well done! Question: would it be beneficial to keep both sides with one folded over the other to make a studier/cooler top? And, how about reusing the lint trap as a pre-filter on the back? Could be great for a wood shop application 🤔
Not very efficient. Reverse cycle mini split would be ideal for solar. This is just a 240V resistive heating element and a large fan. This is 5X less efficient than a mini split, for heating.
The $1500 saved by not getting a mini split will buy you enough electricity to run this for 10 hours a weekend, 20 weeks a year, for over 20 years. (figured at 20 cents per Kw) Good chance you won't need it to run the whole time you are in your shop so might be less $$ spent.
Will saves the day again and throws some intelligence on the proclaimed efficiency of your resourceful and clever project... 12K BTU mini splits can be yours for 600 (Pioneer Brand HD has them) and you can pay as little as 150 to the right HVAC tech to do the hookup correctly with a vacuum pump... Just run your own electric, mount your outdoor unit and drill a hole in the wall ready for your HVAC dude... Another downside of his DIY heater is that it will burn out all of the oxygen in the room which could be a real bummer if you also wear a mask these days... Cool video though..
Very true. With a washer you're getting a transmission, but dryers are so simple. When they charge the same price for each, which one do you think they're making the most money on? It's a rip off!
@@DarkFlamage Even in a washing machine, the transmission has a couple sintered metal gears in it which aren't very expensive to make these days - the prices they charge for that stuff is astounding compared to the material costs of the stuff that goes into it!
This video is awesome ! 100 percent correct about the dryer failing and the heater coil needs replacement. I replaced mine last year thanks to TH-cam! I really want to try this project however i don’t think it will look as retail ready as yours. Lol.
I love watching videos like this with people that have some ingenuity, great job man I have some old dryers laying around my wife will think I'm the man
Moved into a house with a larger garage space. 1500 watt heater isn't going to cut it anymore. This project is a great idea. I'd just need to figure out a way to get 220V into the garage. For some reason, the panel is in the basement on the other side of the house. Thanks for the great idea.
Amazing!!! Thank you so much when I get a chance I'm gonna make myself one I'm not gonna mount mine high up dog and put mine on the ground, As the floor is always cold Keepin the unit cool and heat rises. Thanks again
Check out the natural gas/propane version th-cam.com/video/a3DSOUJ68iE/w-d-xo.html
I seriously would buy one from you, I live in a mobile home, it'll be perfect..
Sign me up for 2 of them!!
I tore a whirlpool down just to find the heating element goes behind the drum. Can I use a heating element from another model or how can i make mine work? Your help is appreciated
I was in the appliance repair business for 30 + years . And I love to restore and mod cars which take a lot of time to do professional results . So if space permitted I would have left the dryer intact and routed the heat exhaust to the work area and you would still make the same btu with less effort ( more time to work on car boat projects )
😊
@@chillhomebody2958
I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, but you are the type of guy I look up to. A true blue collar engineer who makes super cool and useful stuff. Love it!
typical engineer, even though you were trying to give a compliment you sound like you still believe you're of higher class than everyone else lol
@@tdwz1652 dude, how? I said that he's the type of guy I look up to...By definition that's putting me below him.
@@tdwz1652 Show me on this doll, where the engineer hurt you.
@@jedburnell9046 good one, last time I heard that one i fell of my dinosaur
@@tdwz1652 Your ESL is leaking.
This the stuff I watch TH-cam for. Never in a million years would this idea have crossed my mind, but now I feel like I have to build one of these. Awesome work!
Agreed!!
I’m sure my wife will most likely be very appreciative that the dryer suddenly is gone…And at the same time I no longer complain that the garage is cold 👍
Trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Just turn your car on inside your garage and let it run for an hour or two. It will warm it up in there really good. Plus you dont have to worry about accidentally getting electrocuted when you try wiring up this heater.
Ok I hope everyone realizes I was kidding about letting your car run in your garage. I almost forgot that some people cant take sarcasm or a bad joke. Lol
@@josephvance8900 Thank you for clarifying! But at the same time, I think it’s really amazing that every have to excuse and explain themselves at all times to not be deemed a complete idiot or a total incompetent.
@@josephvance8900 Well I actually do run the car inside the garage quite often (not so much nowadays because of the fuel price which is, fyi is a tad cheeper than the electricity but is still ridiculously expensive). Isn’t that the reason why it’s called “motor heater”? 👍
Many years ago, I actually fixed my Mom's dryer (that was not putting out any heat, but worked otherwise) by opening up to the heating coil, finding the break, and just twisting the two broken ends together. Worked great for another 15 years like that!😆
I do a similar thing with broken garage opener springs.
@@LeroyBraun I must know this secret please, I have never heard of this!
@@cb00t Usually the springs will break towards an end. I simply bend the end ring outward just enough to attach it to the eyebolt. One can use steel cable and
slip it between the coils, if necessary. It is extremely important to run a steel cable through the length of the spring and secure the ends, for safety if/when the spring breaks. This is for extension springs only.
Forgive my ambiguity. I am talking about repairing the springs for reuse as springs.
Watching this made me have memories of when I was growing up. I used to build weird random useful and useless things. Got I miss my parents old house. Endless pieces of random things to use to create things. Makes me want to start doing more things like this again. Thanks for the video man you rock.
It just kills me that he's so casual about what he's doing because for him this is easy. If it were me I'd just end up with scattered parts and not a clue as to what to do with them. He's amazing.
You got this Gary. Start small and before you know it youll get there
Wish he would build me one
Yes when open up wash machines/ dryers etc etc you will be shocked how simple they are!
That's what he did...that's a whole bunch of bs he did. This is what a methhead does to a dryer. All of that shit was unnecessary. He just likes cutting metal...that's all I can figure.
It's because he took it apart but still left the innards intact. You can do this gary
I freaking LOVE how you don't mess about with Unnecessary screws and fasteners, you are an angle grinding master, well done good sir.
I did my clothes dryer to shop heater 18 years ago and it still works great. left mine looking like a clothes dryer and just use the top as more bench space. Out preforms just about any AC shop heater you could buy. Love your build of the shop heater making it smaller and attractive. Thanks for sharing with us.
Seems like all you'd need to do is disconnect the vent hose. Then it's pumping hot air into the room. You could cut the drum belt if you want to be fancy.
Trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Nice. How does it affect your electric bill vs a store bought heater?
@@juanit0tackit0tackito2 trust him to make the temperature go warm so you don’t need a heater? Seems like the whole world is still using heaters. Hard to trust
@@technicalitems731 A wat is a wat. So, it cost the same as a heater of the same wattage. I kept all the controls like Time setting and temp setting.
The best part of the video was at the very end with your Dog.
It made my day. 👍
I did this last summer when I had an extra old electric dryer sitting around that worked perfectly, but I didn't need it as a clothes dryer anymore. I did it without ever seeing this video, so it looks different than yours, but works exactly the same. While I don't ask it to heat my entire shop, it does a great job as an area heater on a cold Nebraska winter day when I otherwise would avoid using my shop to do anything on. I located it above my work bench suspended from the ceiling so it blows strait down on my bench where I do most of my work. It makes it comfortable enough to stay out there for hours on a project, something I couldn't do before building it. It uses far less energy than a standard dryer because it doesn't have to turn the drum. I felt like if space wasn't an issue, i could have just removed (cut) the drum belt and avoided all of the modifications, but full sized dryers are way to big to sit around in my shop and I didn't want to waste energy turning a drum. Anyway, great video. A guy with some ambition and time could probably make a good living rehabbing old working dryers into heaters and selling them.
Appliance Tech here and I gotta hand it to you, I'm super impressed! I was laughing the whole way through because I deal with these units all the time. A couple things. I'd prob mount the thermo fuse to your vent and I agree with wiring the door switch as a master power toggle switch. If you want to get real fancy, you could probably wire up a room thermostat and tap it into the cycling thermostat that's just sitting inside the box to regulate room temp. Side note, I'd prob stick to the electric version of your heaters if it's used indoors like the garage since it'll be clean air friendly (gas = carbon monoxide). You have inspired me to build one!
I thought of the door switch as an emergency stop button as well.
Keith, it's cold again. You build your dryer yet?
It's about time I saw a DIY that wasn't a waste of time. Junk to gold. I'm actually gonna do this. Nice job.
Have you done this yet?
You're a working class hero, man. You help people potentially save money, keep it out of the hands of evil business, and live better. Thank you for your service o7
pro tip - all that left over sheet metal makes great replacement grease trays and flame shields in your BBQ - will last a lot longer than the original thinner metal did. Helps to have a small bending brake, if not, just use a couple pieces of wood and a hammer to form the bends! Also, be sure to do all your sheet metal cutting with the angle grinder right next to your least favorite neighbor's house - the noise drives them insane :)
Absolutely.
Pretty sure "evil business" made the dryer
@@shantor100 Yeah, but when you pick it up on the side of the road free, it wasn't your money that paid for the dryer, so who cares! And now it's not your money that's going to buying a new heater either. So win win (just not for capitalism)
@@gorak9000 I'm talking about initially and to the comment that businesses are evil. Not debating over roadside freebies
Great job! I think a worthwhile addition would be a little hardware cloth screen for the intake to keep mice out.
Oooo, first use every year, you get the aroma of Roasted Mice!!!
Built this dryer/heater and he is correct it heats very well. I feel plenty safe if you block it off the coils cut off. the cabinet stays under 100° works awesome
Excellent work. Thus is the type of thing you would find in an old Popular Mechanics magazine only they can't now because they would be afraid of lawsuits. Love Ginger also, my cattle dog heard her at the end and perked her ears up and came over to me.
Hey thanks. Cattle dogs are great.
My cattle dog is now fat and retired. I mean fat like a lump of blubber. You can find a video of her when she was young on my channel. I think one of the videos is called killer dog or something like that. Sydney is her name.
I’ve never wanted to destroy a perfectly good dryer before in my life because this looks awesome!!!
Thanks for making this video. You just saved me a trip to recycling with a dryer I've had sitting in my storage area for over 10 years. It was just to much effort to get it out and haul it away. I usually never throw anything away, and thankfully I didn't. And I really need a shop heater like this. I can't wait to get started on this project. Again thank you.
Awesome
This is awesome! Backyard engineering at its finest. Well done!
This is so cool! Great idea and the build looks retail!
When you affixed the Maytag badge: chef's kiss!
This is very inspiring, I can see using these parts to make a dehydrator.
Also Ginger is awesome!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
I figured this would look pretty mediocre but wow that painted case and riveted controls look amazing. I like the idea of being able to set a timer- most of us don't need to heat our workspace for more than a few hours at a time.
My thoughts exactly. I think it turned out way better looking than my last nat gas one.
Agreed! It looks professional and like it want MEANT to be that way.
Never have to worry about forgetting the heat on in the shop either. Believe me, I've been there.
Good point, heat quick and probably not that long, I do wish there was a solar version, but hey still a great idea
@@alanthompson4912 IDK probably too expensive to produce enough BTUs to heat a shop part time.
I did something very similar to this about 6 years ago. Instead of using the AC motor that was in it I used a different DC motor so I could control the fan speed easier. I used it to heat my shop before I got central heat and air installed. It worked fine and Still works
What a remarkable recycle project,I wish more people could do these type of useful devices!
The blower assembly also works great for an air supply for a metal forging setup .If you take the blower assembly out of a Maytag made dryer , it comes out without doing any cutting .
So could a hairdryer.
@@StanSwan But at a about a 50 times the air flow than a hair dryer .
@@Czechmate.z Depends how large the piece of steel is. Too large a hot spot can just be wasteful.
Former whirlpool employee. We build those in Marion, Ohio I loved video. I love the possibility that I could have helped build that dryer. I can't wait to try this on my own that I've got kicking around.
I tore down a whirlpool dryer and it has the heating element behind the drum. How can I make this work or can I substitute this heating element for another? Your help is appreciated
I own the exact dryer . Also had appliance repair business for 30 years theses were the best dry for the money cheap for parts
You could replace the timer button, with the wall thermostat that is made for baseboard heaters. I actually use one of those to run an old milkhouse heater. Biggest problem with the cheap milkhouse heaters is that the thermostat burns out. Bypass that, and the heater runs 24/7. I put an outlet, and a wall t-stat made for baseboard heaters, into a double gang electric outlet box. Wired so that the outlet only gets power when the t-stat allows. Put a 10ga cord on it, to plug into the wall. Then plug the heater into the controlled outlet. Been using these for years now.
Great idea
@@sixtyfiveford If you used a 24v transformer and thermostat, you could wire contactors, heat sequencers or fan relays to turn on your heaters or in summer fans. You could put a toggle on the heat call in to switch between your gas and electric dryer-heaters. Then you just have to run thermostat wire instead of romex.
Or, for $70. you could just buy a 220v heater, 1/4 the size and same or better output.
@@pyroboobysmith359 But then what would you have learned? This way, you not only learn how to use tools, which makes you all powerful, but you are training your brain to see the world as a collection of parts that you can adapt and mold to meet your needs. Training your brain is very important.
@@pyroboobysmith359 Where's the fun in that?
Not even two minutes in......"You've got your amazing firepit!!" Of course we do....BAM! you're the kind of neighbor I want to live next to Moe!!
Buddy u just earned yourself another subscriber I'm a disabled mechanic and have been a tinkerer all my life I cant go a day without taring apart something to see how it's made an what ssd ll else I can make of it I throw away nothing u csn always use a screw a nut an peace of see ire 12 inches ling I grew up in mountains of wv it's a 45 min drive to a parts store u can't run back see n girth 3 to 5 times a day when working on a vehicle for a tool or part no u use grinder torched and welders an make what u need if u can u are a inspiration themk you fir sharing I will be eagerly waiting for you next video release
Finally something worth watching on any tube. Fascinatingly simple, why didn't I think of that. Russ
Very smart idea. I usually run the dryer hose blowing down to a pan of water (to catch lint and humidify the hot air coming out of the dryer) to heat up the house a little bit more during the cold months
The hot air coming out of a dryer is already humidified by the damp clothes.
@@bryonweatherford1772 He's using the water to catch the lint, like a water bath vacuum from back in the olden days. The best way to do that is take a five gallon bucket with lid and make a cyclone filter, like an upright vacuum.
I love in the ingenuity in your videos.
Also, Ginger is an amazing jumper! Glad to see her doing better and well.
Thanks. I think she has springs in her legs.
I did this with my identical dryer model a couple years ago! Thinking I might bust out my angle grinder and follow your “form factor”
Great work! 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Awesome
Wow I am insanely impressed. Love the finished product! Close up the back side and that looks OEM!
Thanks! 👍
I love these sorts of things. My electric water heater went out once a long time ago and my wife's sister had a spare gas one but we didn't have gas here so I took a stovetop heating element, bent and stretched it into a long skinny loop, crammed it into the middle chimney/flue/exhaust part of the gas water heater, tied it to a heavy duty heat resistant cable and connected that to an electrical timer. Probably super dangerous but it worked flawlessly for years. The heating element eventually burned out and we were doing a lot better financially and just got a good new electric water heater. But basically, I love the idea of repurposing stuff like this.
If you use a heat pump type drier you will end up with a heater that also removes moisture from air. Especially useful in preventing vehicles from rusting if regularly driven in wet/snowy conditions and parked inside the garage.
Any heater will lower the relative humidity, and a heat pump driven dryer costs like $1000. Not many of those on the curb for free yet.
@@teebob21 That's true but second hand malfunctioning units may be bought pretty cheap. Just have to make sure the compressor still works.
I really like these heater builds. Ginger enjoys the extra parts also. Cheers!
Hey Thanks. Ginger is a great sport to play along.
I've been in apartment maintenance for 28 years. 90 percent of the problem with those is the knobs. They're made of plastic with a metal sleeve. That sleeve rounds over the plastic control knob. Nothing else wrong the knob just spins. Crazy simple. Cool heater idea. Run the vent hose into your room and run it for a cycle. Will heat your house easily in a pinch.
That's how i get most of my floor lamps. The switch is confuckulated so I either use a vise grips or just hardwire the lamp to be always on then for $12 I buy a tabletop lamp dimmer (which I often run to my favorite chair) and make sure it has a dimmable bulb inside it. I get years more use out of something often thrown away.
Last year (2020) the control knob on the washing machine in my apartment failed (spin, no start on pull). Rather than tell my landlord to replace it, I unplugged the 20+yo machine, unscrewed the bracket holding the failed knob and saw that the plastic mount was broken right next to its mounting screw (so the knob wasn't in contact with the underlying controls). 2 drilled holes and 2 screws later, the machine works again and you can't even see my repair from outside of the machine. Felt great to fix something and kept people out of my apartment during the pandemic.
And the stupid knows cost $50 or more sometimes to replace. My 3d printer has paid for itself time and time again helping to replace rare appliance knobs/buttons and out of production automotive plastic clips
I like how you do little things like explaining what you did with the bulb, and which safety protectors you saved, using the drum as a fire pit, and the fact that you wore eye protection.
A lot of times with projects like this, I feel like I learned something by watching this, but I feel like the person who made the video was gonna burn a building down.
But here, I actually feel like I would trust this and could potentially do this myself, based just on my past personal washer/dryer repair experience and the specifics pointed out here.
Well, if my body were working better. Health stuff is keeping me down right now. But I'm watching this kinda stuff to keep me going.
I gotta get better so I can get stronger and go harder and do these kinds of things myself. I never want to have to need help like this again.
Someone give this man an award
You never cease to amaze me! Absolutely fantastic!
The electricity bill though… that would also amaze me after using this a few hours every day, over the course of winter 😅
Wouldn't cost any more than drying a load of laundry for the same amount of time. Less actually, since you no longer have the motor load of turning the drum.
Couple bucks for two hours, maybe 3$
If circuit breaker shuts down. You will know why.😉
This is fantastic!!!! Thought of something similar years ago but never got around to it but also having to run a 220 line back then was not doable in my old shop but it’s readily available now. Thank you so much that it wasn’t a waste of time !!!!
I would of never thought of that! I love seeing others thinking outside of the box! Great job! I just put a motor in a dryer identical to that today. Simple.
It's a 220 system thats why it heats 4 times more, you did a very good job making it
My Wife will be out of town this weekend. Can't wait to conversion to take place.
You should incorporate the shut-off switch for the door back in so that you can quickly shut the unit off. Just a thought. Awesome video. Really like your retractable 240 cord. I will show this video to my father-in-law. If there isn't a tool available he will fabricate one. He will like this video I know!
That switch is NO or normally open and it doesn't have a detent, so it's not a great fit for that purpose, but yeah, a regular toggle switch would be a welcome addition.
Nailed it ! Fantastic conversion of something that is easy and cheap to replace parts for if ever and when you add solar along side of the electric option it will beat out the natural gas hands down. Please build a solar application for this !
Electric 240v dryers use 2500-5000 watts. It'd be ridiculous to want get that from residential solar *just* for heat.
An air source heat pump mini split would be a better option. You'd get many more BTUs of heat per watt and would have AC in the summer if needed.
Heat pumps are artificially expensive in the US, but you can get them online if you know how to do the install yourself.
Fantastic! I might give this a try but for me it's a guarantee that I'll end up with multiple bloody appendages in the process. Great video & impressive work!!
I counted my scar one late Night. Ah . 75 marks.. I need patience and better tools..
This is what I call excellent recycling ability I would buy that and a heartbeat
I kept an old dryer running for years. Whenever the coil would break I would use a pair of plyers and twist it back together. The first fix lasted over a year. The coil broke in a different spot and I did the same fix. It was only two screws at the top of the front door to open the front panel then remove the drum. The coil was directly behind the drum and easy to get to. After the second fix the dryer ran over three years until I moved and sold it for what I paid for it.
Using rivets on the faceplates made this thing look super legit! Excellent content dude.
Thanks Man
Did you notice the other badges on it?
Looks great. I once saw a diy solar air heat collector made from an old storm window. It put out an amazing amount of heat with the only electrical parts being a fan and a thermostat to run whenever the collector temp was high enough. It doesn't help for night, but it's still a help.
Cool but this one isn't solar. At all. Title is click bait
@@chas7surf I did understand it wasn't solar. I just brought it up as a heat source under the general topic.
Great idea but that "acrossed" word, what state are you in?
Great project! Been thinking of this for a couple years! Nicely done!
I dont recommend people plugging in to a NEMA 14-50 receptacle used for a car charger. If someone puts a range cord on the thing they wont have proper overcurrent protection if the charger outlet is on a 50 amp breaker.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I think you're misunderstanding the value and purpose of breakers and building wire protection. Circuit breakers are not intended to protect devices or their cords, and there no harm in using an "oversized" (50A) circuit.
@@Shepherd4now I have installed overcurrent protection for the last 32 years and have even done some classes on applications. I may not have communicated my meaning well enough for you to understand my meaning. I would go into this more concisely but...Im not here to help you understand.
DUDE! Guys like YOU Made America GREAT! I just Subscribed and Hit the Bell! Thanks
Hey thanks
As a retired sheetmetal worker, I approve! Great creativity. 👍
Awesome! Thank you!
On the element case, the bottom sensor is the high temp cycling thermostat which keeps the element from exceeding 160 degrees. The top sensor is a resettable bimetallic fuse. When it throws, you can take it out and slam it down on the concrete floor to force the metal disk inside back to the on position and regain continuity.
Yes I can verify this works much to my surprise.
Yikes! I've worked on these for years and never broke one open to see what blew.
@@obsoleteprofessor2034 it's just a dish shaped bimetallic disc. You just have to pop it back into its normal shape. Just slamming it on concrete seems to do the trick.
Nice!
Moe another great repurposing of a discarded piece of equipment. All the dryers I have picked up have the heater coils positioned in a large circle, not like the one you have. Once I find one with the box in coil I will give this a shot. I have used the metal from washers & dryers for a few repairs.
Can't beat the price.
A little late 👍 # 208
Stay well, Joe Z
The ones with the large coil at the back of the drum are made by GE. Those might be more popular depending on where you live. Around here it seems that everything is Whirlpool product, or an old Maytag before Whirlpool bought them out.
Yeah, I've used washing machine case metal to make replacement parts for my BBQ - grease trays, and flame shields - it's much thicker than the original stuff and will last a lot longer. With an angle grinder and a mig welder, you can make all kinds of stuff out of old appliance enclosures. Even easier if you have a small sheet metal brake!
That's a pretty good idea! Now if I can get the wife to make me one I'll be all set.
Hahaha..
That is an excellent upcycle to an old dryer. We live in a disposable society. Rather than find and repair the problem, we just toss it and buy new. A lot of times it's a simple fix, a switch, sensor or broken wire. Thumbs up, great project.
I’m building this. What a great idea. I spend so much time in my garage and always struggle to keep warm. Awesome thank you
Have fun! You just can't use GE branded dryers. Their heating element is at the back of the drum and not in a tube.
Very nice video. I would suggest keeping and re-implementing the lint filter to clean incoming air, especially if you have a dusty shop. I really like the heating cost comparison in the description. This is something I was wondering about. If one is planning on full time heat and can get it, natural gas is the clear winner.
So just convert a gas clothes dryer into a heater. What’s your point? Nothing would change just choose a gas dryer to harvest.
@@pelassancho24 Except that you would be using up the oxygen from the room air while dumping carbon monoxide into the air. Gas powered heating appliances should be vented to the outdoors. Also, having an open flame in an area with gasoline, solvent, and oil fumes is a dangerous combination.
FACT! Natural gas can be a killer!
Another control option would be to use an old microwave electronics to power it. I use one in my shed and I can program it up to go off up to 90 minutes later. This is great for melting the ice off of gears collected on bikes during the wintertime.
Good idea. That would be neat to just punch the time in and press start.
I thought for sure you would have that Dog walking on top of that Drum and rolling around the yard!!☺
Give me time and maybe.
Very well done. I've saved an old electric dryer for just the same reason. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. You've inspired me to get er done.
,,,,,,,,, Nice Job, My only problem with this is , the electric Bill. Electric dryers use around 6000 Watts of electricity. That'll make the Meter outside spin like a top.
I just used the dryer as the heater in my garage by redirecting the exhaust back into the shop instead of outside. Worked pretty well.
I should add-- we had our washer and dryer in the garage...so I didn't modify anything, just ran the dryer to generate heat in the garage.
And unrelated --- my bench was near it and so was my vice, so I would grind things on the vice and spray the dryer with sparks --- wife not happy,
so I added some hanging plastic strips to keep it clean but easy to move and get to the washer and dryer.
Oh let me edit this again --- this resistance heaters are really inefficient, they consume a lot of energy. A much more efficient way is a heat pump,
so maybe your next video should be on how to convert an air conditioner into a heater, it is 10x more efficient use of electricity, but only works when
the outside temp is 35F or more, but you can use the resistance heater to keep the cold side above freezing. :)
I agree and this is the reason I built a natural gas version earlier this year. It operates at 1/5 the cost of this electric version. Everyone wanted to see an electric version as Nat Gas isn't available everywhere, that's the only reason I built it. But even then heating with Diesel, Kerosene or Propane are generally far cheaper and more efficient than electricity. Heat pumps are nice but loose efficiency dramatically the colder it gets with it being useless sub freezing like you said.
@@sixtyfiveford While gas is cheaper to run, it is literally never more efficient than electric resistance heat. Electricity used for heat like that is always 100% efficient, because all of the energy gets spent making the coils (and to a small extent the wiring) warm and giving off heat.
Electricity is just considerably more expensive than gas heat, so the efficiency doesn't make up for it.
I could swear I've watched this video before.
I think it was a gas dryer before but i had the same thought.
Edit: commented before I got to the end, but confirmed!
Next maybe a modified gas dryer to work on propane?
Ohhhh it was the gas one.
I believe last year he made one around winter time..I thought he just did a re upload of last year's video..Which is still possible..Which I don't mind if so and understand people would like a workshop heater this time of year..
I believe I also saw this ELECTRIC model posted before this one.
The other one was a natural gas dryer.
Well I have to say pretty dang cool build. I love this kind of content. Good old ... Yankee ingenuity! Keep em coming please!
That is the slickest thing I've seen today! Well done, I don't think I'll ever be able to drive by another FREE dryer again.........
Love the dog!
He is so cute!
Oh, and nice video
I like it. I think I'll try a simpler approach.
Take the belt off of the drum and point the vent hose wherever you want. Bigger, but much easier. You can use the drum as an oven/airfryer and you get a workspace/counter.
That is a great idea!
Thinking the same thing for those of us just a little less handy.
🤣
Taking the drum out completely and shrouding the motor would give a person a nice little bake booth for powder coating as well.
Good idea for safety would be to put a filter on the back inlet to prevent buildup inside the unit. Very cool idea. I have an extra dryer might go for this project and make one.
I had a new electric dryer, that from the factory, would melt the lint basket. I double checked the wiring, and it was coded correctly, but the factory wiring did not include the overheat sensor. The sensor was there, but not wired into the system. I rewired it, and no more melted lint baskets.
Your a lucky man, dyers are the #1 reason for house fires.
When it get's cold like this, all the diy gotta stay warmer comes out! Nice!
I realize this takes the fun out of it but if it were me I would just fix the dryer, turn it on, hook a hose to the exhaust, aim it my way and enjoy. Then if our dryer ever broke down in the house we would have a backup. There’s only one problem though, I don’t have a garage.
I will say that was very clever how you compacted the dryer and made use of the controls. It looks professional... Good Job!!
👍🤓
Cool, cheap, and simple. If you have some rock wool laying around, you could wrap the heated part and increase the efficiency even further. It should reduce some of the noise from the resonating sheet metal box too.
You could move your regular clothes dryer out in the shop if room permits, dry clothes out there, vent the exhaust (if electric) to inside the shop, and now you've also got a built in shop humidifier in the dry winter while the wet clothes are drying!
That would work but drying cloths makes alot of moisture and I mean alot !!! We did it in out mud room for about a day and it was like a pool oit there . Water running down the walls
Plus lint every where ,not good if you doing any auto body or touch ups
I've wondered since I was a kid, how clothes got the hot air... I always pictured something way more complex.
You answered my curiosity and brought a smile to my face!
P.S. do you know if Ford is needing an engineer!? Lol.
It’s literally a big hairdryer in a box 📦 with a filter to keep the recirculating air clean.
At first, I have to admit, this did look a little sketchy, but when it all came together, it's friggin BRILLIANT!!!!! Your dog is adorable too.
65' FORD... Super Cool DiY project. The Best Part Was The Amazing Ginger! Awesome Dog she is!
This is the kind of video i like!! Take some crap and make something usefull. Yeah, i could buy a 5kw heater, sure.. But what´s the fun with that?! Im subscribing!!!
Hey thanks.
Not crap. Materials/supplies
@@richardcranium3417 Yes, but something that someone else discarded as crap! We know better!! 😉
@@J1I9M7M4Y exactly. We agree.
@@sixtyfiveford With regard to your review/recommendation of the 12v Makita Cordless Ratchet...they have an 18v model that's been released since your review. Do you still like the 12v or would you recommend getting the 18v...and if so, perhaps you could post an affiliate link? Thanks.
Put a line voltage stat on it (depending on the KW of the unit, guessing 5 kw) so you don't have to reset the heater every 60 minutes. Or put a transformer and contactor on it and a 24 volt digital stat.
If your garage is still cold with this blowing for 60 minutes, you need to close the damn doors!
I use mine in my quanset and in North Dakota I also use it to thaw out my pickup when I get home it'll only run for 60 min my shed is big so I need it to run longer than 60min how could I rewire it to do that?
@@deanb949 if you had a stone cold garage of any real size, this isn’t heating it in 60 minutes.
Great video. Here in Australia I don't see many dryers getting thrown out, except for cheap crappy ones. I'm not sure it would do well with solar though, the elements use a heck of a lot of power right? 3-4000W? We use a gas dryer for that reason (we are on solar). In fact, we converted ours to LPG (propane), rather than natural gas, so we can use bottles. Great job.
yeah but also in America 240v is the devils playground :( at least in Australia you're already running 240v with no special leads needed and no special outlets to be installed in the house.
@@woodsy900 Wire size is rated for the amps you're pulling across it, not the voltage. The US is already a 240V system - it's just provided differently at the consumer side than other countries, and 120V outlets are the norm here.
As such, it's not that the US needs "special wiring", it's that much of that was done already on the base electrical system, albeit, depending on your perspective, arguably unnecessarily, in those countries that many typically distinguish as "240V countries".
This was an excellent conversion, Kudos to you and your ingenuity.
This is the quality content i come to youtube for
Really very cool! Well done! Question: would it be beneficial to keep both sides with one folded over the other to make a studier/cooler top? And, how about reusing the lint trap as a pre-filter on the back? Could be great for a wood shop application 🤔
Woodshop heater, NOT safe.Trush me I know.
I was thinking of using an actual furnace filter from ACE or such, sized to fit need. I also use a dust collection system for my wood working.
Not very efficient. Reverse cycle mini split would be ideal for solar. This is just a 240V resistive heating element and a large fan. This is 5X less efficient than a mini split, for heating.
It's FREE. You forgot that part.
The $1500 saved by not getting a mini split will buy you enough electricity to run this for 10 hours a weekend, 20 weeks a year, for over 20 years. (figured at 20 cents per Kw) Good chance you won't need it to run the whole time you are in your shop so might be less $$ spent.
Will saves the day again and throws some intelligence on the proclaimed efficiency of your resourceful and clever project... 12K BTU mini splits can be yours for 600 (Pioneer Brand HD has them) and you can pay as little as 150 to the right HVAC tech to do the hookup correctly with a vacuum pump... Just run your own electric, mount your outdoor unit and drill a hole in the wall ready for your HVAC dude...
Another downside of his DIY heater is that it will burn out all of the oxygen in the room which could be a real bummer if you also wear a mask these days...
Cool video though..
@@miguelluismusic4181 ... mini-splits use up the oxygen in the room? Yeah, I guess a cheap unit could catch fire!
When you see how sparse and simple a cloths dryer is, it seems like the mark up is incredibly high.
When I went to electronics college our professor taught us that its roughly a 1 to 100.
Very true. With a washer you're getting a transmission, but dryers are so simple. When they charge the same price for each, which one do you think they're making the most money on? It's a rip off!
@@DarkFlamage Even in a washing machine, the transmission has a couple sintered metal gears in it which aren't very expensive to make these days - the prices they charge for that stuff is astounding compared to the material costs of the stuff that goes into it!
I would bet the total production cost is around $60-80 to make one of these.
Some markup can be attributed to shipping costs. The less dense an item is the more it costs to ship per pound.
Great conversion! But the Puppy tricks at end...Priceless! Two Paws Up! Cheers.
Wow. You just provided a slick solution for the 6 people that have the wherewithal to pull this off.
I love this stuff. It’s wonderful, the great ideas is working class people come up with that “smart” people would never figure out. Awesome
This video is awesome ! 100 percent correct about the dryer failing and the heater coil needs replacement. I replaced mine last year thanks to TH-cam! I really want to try this project however i don’t think it will look as retail ready as yours. Lol.
I love watching videos like this with people that have some ingenuity, great job man I have some old dryers laying around my wife will think I'm the man
Once used the guts from a 50 yr old oil furnace to make a wood stove for my garage. Worked great.
Moved into a house with a larger garage space. 1500 watt heater isn't going to cut it anymore. This project is a great idea. I'd just need to figure out a way to get 220V into the garage. For some reason, the panel is in the basement on the other side of the house. Thanks for the great idea.
Putting the Maytag badge back on there was the cherry on top... 😂 very nice
Love your shop heater look. You can be so proud of your ingenuity 👍❣️
Thanks for posting , I have the exact same dryer so now I can copy yours. I've got mine apart so far. On with the show !!!!!
Amazing!!! Thank you so much when I get a chance I'm gonna make myself one I'm not gonna mount mine high up dog and put mine on the ground, As the floor is always cold Keepin the unit cool and heat rises.
Thanks again