I have replaced the thermal fuse on our old kenmore elite dryer by accessing it from the front "toe panel" however our new dryer does not have this. I will assume that the new dryer also a kenmore elite needs access from the rear panel. Problem is that there are almost 15 screws holding the back panel on and even with all the screws undone the panel does not more, its almost as if it is riveted on. Any ideas? I have looked through videos and other forums and no one seems to have the same dryer.

Can you post the model number off the machine or any other identifying information?

Dryers will blow the main safety when the lint builds up like concrete on the inside of the air ducts and will burn down your house if the safety does not blow. They blow the main safety to keep it from burning the house down. A good way to burn down your house is to replace the fuse without thoroughly cleaning the dryer with soap and water. Go over every inch of the dryer and get every part, like the blower wheel and door and the filter housing, etc. Anything you miss can cause a fire. Halfway cleaning it will not work. If the fuse blows you need to totally tear it down and scrape out and wash all of the parts except the motor, which you vacuum out. You can go to YouTube to see videos on how to take it apart, but do a very good job or it will fail again quickly. I would get a new belt and change it while you have it apart and get some white lithium grease and grease any bearings you find. You need to clean out a drier every two years, at least, according to the manual. You just unplug the wires from the sensors and remove ductwork that they are attached on and clean the entire thing with soap and water. Make sure you go all through the dryer and get all parts like the blower fan and housing, vacuum out the motor well and clean the exhaust line and the outside boot as the screen gets stopped up. Mark all wires you unplug so you know where they go. This is an easier job than you would think. Make sure to clean around all of the sensors, too, because when they cannot sense the dryer will not work, plus the burning lint deposits will burn down your house. The blown safety is like a fuse and located near the elements, but there are several strung together in series, so you have to go from one to the other until you find the one that has infinite resistance. You will need a meter to find the safety that is blown . Replace the belt which you can get the same place that sells a new safety. See: Dryer vent cleaning prevents fires - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6wmD502-xE) and: Cleaning out a dryer with top lint cleanout - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBNDbyRm68M&feature=fvsr)
Cleaning out a dryer: By a woman 2 of 2 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a73HTFkcB90&feature=relmfu)
Manuals: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Whirlpool%20Dryers.zip
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Electrical%20Theory%20and%20Diagnosis%20of%20Major %20Appliances%20Service%20Manual.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Electronics%20and%20Electrical%20Troubleshooting%2 0and%20Repair%20Handbook.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Electric%20Clothes%20Dryers%20and%20Fires.pdf This tells you about house fires caused by dryers which were the number one cause of house fires. Failure to clean the dryer is the number one cause of fires with electrical failure (Due to a dirty dryer not opening a safety, probably.) being a close second.

Model number is 796 81572210 it is a Kenmore Elite 7.3 steam dryer. It is less than a year old. My other dryer was the older version of this and it lasted for over 10 years before I had to ever replace the thermal fuse. I clean the lint filter after every use and regularly clean and maintain the exhaust.

That is a good thing to do but as far as keeping it clean it will not work because places you cannot get to will collect all the dirt. I bet you can fill a five-gallon bucket with the dirt in your dryer.

How to Replace a Dryer Thermal Fuse | Repair Guide Help - Sears PartsDirect (http://www.searspartsdirect.com/kenmore_elite/dryer/model-79681572210-repair/repair-guide/dryer/how-to-replace-a-dryer-thermal-fuse.html)

Dr.Tom Does make a point also, be sure that you clean the inside and examine for broken components before operating. Thermal fuses often fail due to something else being wrong such as the thermostat malfunction, clogged exhaust, dirty/malfunctioning blower, etc. If this occurs again it would be wise to look for other potential problems.

Do not be afraid to tear down this dryer totally. Dryers are very easy to tear down and clean. They are meant to be totally torn down on a yearly basis. It will make a huge difference in how it works, too, besides curing your problem after you thoroughly check it out. Make sure to lubricate all parts that move with white lithium grease, such as rollers and bearings. All it takes is 1/16" of dirt in cups of blower fan blades to kill 33% of air flow. Dirt over sensors will make it run too hot and blow fuses, too. Mark all wires and where they go.

Thank you for all your advice so far. However my main problem is accessing the thermal fuse and accessing the inside of the dryer. The video above I have watched during my search- this is not my dryer, there are NO videos or how to's on my particular dryer. I removed all 15 screws on the back of the machine and the back panel did not budge not even a tiny bit. I may just have to call a sears technician and have them walk me through how to access this fuse.

You do not understand. First, pop off the top by inserting a putty knife on each side at front to push in spring-loaded clips. This will allow you to lift off the top and unplug anything you can to set the top aside. Then you will be able to look down each side of front and see the screws holding the front on. Remove those screws and lay the dryer on its back. Unhook belt from belt tensioner and lift out drum. Then and only then will you be able to access the safeties. The wiring for all safeties starts at the door switch (that you had to unplug to remove front-you should have marked the wires.) and the safeties are strung together like Christmas tree lights-in series. The dryer is designed like this because if you fix it like you want to fix it - by just replacing the fuse you will burn your house down and we will read about you in the paper. Last year we had over 18,000 house fires caused by dirty dryers where people just short out the fuse or replace it without doing a very little bit of cleaning. It is so easy to do that there is absolutely no excuse for not doing it right. Plus, if you halfway do it you will be constantly replacing fuses if it does not catch fire first. I refused to do a job one time because the homeowner wanted me to take ridiculous shortcuts using some junk he made. He got a jack-leg handyman to do it and not only burned down his house but both he and his wife were in the hospital for months, and the handyman went to jail. It's not worth it-you will not save anything by doing a half- job.

The top does not "pop" off with spring loaded clips. There are screws holding it on, I will unscrew them and see if it comes off however I already unscrewed the screws that were holding the back panel onto the top and the back panel still does not move. Would it be more helpful if I included a picture? I am not sure how to upload one to this site. I guess no one else has had to service this particular model before. And I am not sure why you think I am just going to replace the fuse? Did I say somewhere that I was not going to clean it out? If my house burns down I have good insurance that will also replace my dryer plus I have 10 fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to get my family out which sleep no where near the laundry room. So since I read the first post regarding cleaning the machine, I have an above average IQ, have replaced the fuse on my previous dryer ALL that I need to know is how to get inside the stupid machine. So yes I understand. The video you posted is NOT my machine. There is no "Spring loaded clips" the top is SCREWED ON and also screwed into the back panel. I will just call a repair guy to walk me through it. However I thank you for your time.

They made that dryer very hard to service then. Here is the solution, I believe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNa6zfzrm5k