When I run my dryer, I blow a circuit after about 5-10 minutes. Any suggestions?

Gas or electric? Open it up and clean around the heating element and motor. The motor could be on its way out, but might last a while longer if it is getting air in its ventilation slots. Also make sure the drum turns freely when hot.

Its electric. I have already had the motor replaced once. Do you think it may have done something if the exhaust tube had fallen off, and I was not aware? I have since reattached the tube, but the problem still accures.

Check the dryer current rating. If the circuit breaker is sized appropriately, you could have a bad circuit breaker (Needs to be 110 -125% of the dryer current rating). If the circuit breaker is too small DO NOT REPLACE IT WITH A LARGER VALUE... call an electrician.

If you have a bad connection it can cause the CB to blow as well.

Unplug the dryer. Check the cord. Make sure the insulation is in good condition. Cracked or discolored insulation may mean an overheated wire. Cords are cheap to replace. Also look at the terminal block where the cord connects. Corrosion, rust or discoloration mean problems.

Now plug the dryer back in and run it. Touch the plug (insulated part). You should be able to hold your finger on it for 10 seconds without discomfort. It should feel only slightly warm.

Do the same test at the circuit breaker.

If any of these are hot, they should be replaced. This is heavy duty wiring, so you may need to call an electrician.

If all else fails, I would replace the circuit breaker next. CBs do not fail often, but they do fail.

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Originally Posted by tjinx

When I run my dryer, I blow a circuit after about 5-10 minutes. Any suggestions?

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A circuit breaker fails for several reasons; high load meaning the element or motor is drawing too much electricity. Or a ground fault i.e.: a hot wire touches a grounded surface. I'll assume it not a ground fault as it does run for several minutes before it trips the breaker. I’ll assume you've had the dryer for sometime and I can't speculate if it is gas or electric. So here's my guess your motor is full of lent and dust causing heat to build up, causing the motor to work harder, thus needing more amps. Remedy rock the dryer out of its home and turn her on her face to the point of getting a good view of its bottom, whip out your trusty vacuum and give it a good once over. If that doesn’t work post more complete details
Hope that helps a little
Zy

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Originally Posted by zyzyxy

A circuit breaker fails for several reasons; high load meaning the element or motor is drawing too much electricity. Hope that helps a little
zy

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Hi zy,
Newer motors are more sealed from lint, and these units have an internal thermister (acts like a click-off switch)that opens up the circuit to shut the motor off. Once the motor cools down it resets itself to run again when you hit the start button.
The motor overcurrent draw will occur if there is a frictional drag from misalignment of the drum or other working parts. This gives enough rise in the motor current before it heats up to cause a breaker to trip if the dryer is set to the higher heating element combination. IMO this might be the problem.

This is more likely what is happening... Depending on the brand panel, and the temperature rating of the breaker, a 30amp double pole breaker will hold an excessive load for about 5 minutes before it trips.
If this is an old panel like Zinsco and the breakers are 'twins' then they are temperature compromised. If breaker temperature is not the case, then the breaker is no longer able to maintain its thermal magnetic overcurrent protection functional range and needs to be replaced.
JMO... nm