Appliances Which Work When They Shouldn't

[bloop]

I dont know if this is the right place for this one but if it isnt could someone move it somewhere more suitable or delete it please - thanks.

I am going back now some 20 years and, as always, will tell this story as honestly as I can remember.

It was a saturday evening ( I know this as it was the only time in the week we had friends round) sometime in summer during the 90's. It would be about 9pm and the friends and Mr B and myself were sat in the living room, drinking coffee and chatting. From the direction of the kitchen Mr B and the male friend heard something going bump, bump, bump. Mr B got up to see what it was, only for it to stop as he reached the hall. He quickly checked the kitchen and found nothing out of place so returned to the living room. A few minutes later, it happened again and again Mr B went to see what was making the noise. For a second time the noise stopped as he had got to the hall. Another check around the kitchen revealed nothing out of place and nothing that he could see that could be making the noise.

A short time later, our male friend asked to use the toilet which was at the far end of the hall. As he was returning to the living room, he had to pass the open kitchen door and it was at that point we heard the bump-bump, bump-bump again. This time our male friend noticed the tumble dryer drum rotating and the bumping was one of those washing liquid balls tumbling around in it. Nothing unusual in that other than the fact if you open a tumble dryer door when it is working, it stops tumbling and Mr B had taken the motor out of this dryer as it had some parts that needed replacing, and had placed it on top of the dryer unit. It also had no known electrcity going to it as it was unplugged. It never did it again after that night and we have never been able to explain it, even though there must be some explanation.

We have always had random electrical items come on when they have been switched off though, tv's will change channel without being programmed to do so, cd players have started playing and then stopped and shut down of their own accord - i can only assume they are receiving some sort of 'remote interference' from people/taxis etc passing the house like with cb radios back in the day. For information purposes, the house underwent a complete electrical rewire some 25 years ago.

 

[hunck]

You didn't have a pet hamster did you?

 

[EnolaGaia]

If the motor was removed from the clothes dryer, this would suggest the drive connection (probably a belt) was disconnected from the drum. The drum is equipped (e.g., with bearings) to make it minimally resistant to being turned and hence minimally burdensome on the motor.

My first guess would be that there was an exterior vent duct still attached, and the now-free-wheeling drum was turning due to air pressure shifts (e.g., wind blowing outside).

 

[bloop]

You didn't have a pet hamster did you?

Not at that time we didn't

 

[bloop]

If the motor was removed from the clothes dryer, this would suggest the drive connection (probably a belt) was disconnected from the drum. The drum is equipped (e.g., with bearings) to make it minimally resistant to being turned and hence minimally burdensome on the motor.

My first guess would be that there was an exterior vent duct still attached, and the now-free-wheeling drum was turning due to air pressure shifts (e.g., wind blowing outside).

Please excuse my ignorance - exterior vent duct? Is that the tubing that carries out the steam? If so, no, one was not attached as the only place I had in the kitchen to keep the dryer meant that the tubing had to be removed after use as we would constantly trip over it when it was stretched to reach outside. As I cannot be 100% certain if the back door would have been open (which being summer it quite possibly could have been), could a wind/strong breeze blowing through the open door been and directly into the dryer have possibly the cause?

 

[EnolaGaia]

Please excuse my ignorance - exterior vent duct? Is that the tubing that carries out the steam? If so, no, one was not attached as the only place I had in the kitchen to keep the dryer meant that the tubing had to be removed after use as we would constantly trip over it when it was stretched to reach outside. As I cannot be 100% certain if the back door would have been open (which being summer it quite possibly could have been), could a wind/strong breeze blowing through the open door been and directly into the dryer have possibly the cause?

OK - thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I was referring to the exhaust duct.

I suspect anything that might have induced an air pressure shift or breeze could conceivably have caused the drum to turn. Since they're motor-driven and expected to contain heavy loads, dryer drums are usually configured to turn quite freely (in an of themselves) to facilitate efficiency.

 

[Iris]

This reminds me of something we had when the children were younger.
I had bought a toy calculator at a stall at the local kinder when they had a carboot sale there.
It was made of lego bricks and had a part for batteries at the back. However it worked without any batteries in it.
It didn't have any solar panels that I could see.
I can't recall whatever happened to it after they grew up.

 

[bloop]

OK - thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I was referring to the exhaust duct.

I suspect anything that might have induced an air pressure shift or breeze could conceivably have caused the drum to turn. Since they're motor-driven and expected to contain heavy loads, dryer drums are usually configured to turn quite freely (in an of themselves) to facilitate efficiency.

Thank you Enola, I have learned something new there

 

[XBergMann]

Please excuse my ignorance - exterior vent duct? Is that the tubing that carries out the steam? If so, no, one was not attached as the only place I had in the kitchen to keep the dryer meant that the tubing had to be removed after use as we would constantly trip over it when it was stretched to reach outside. As I cannot be 100% certain if the back door would have been open (which being summer it quite possibly could have been), could a wind/strong breeze blowing through the open door been and directly into the dryer have possibly the cause?

If you were not venting the warm damp air from the dryer to the outside didn't you house fill with water vapour leading to damp and mould?

 

[bloop]

If you were not venting the warm damp air from the dryer to the outside didn't you house fill with water vapour leading to damp and mould?

We would attatch/remove the venting hose as we needed to XBergMann. The only position we could have the dryer in at the time meant we had to remove the front fastening hose after use as we would trip over it when it remained attatched to the door of the dryer. If the dryer was in use, the so was the ventin hose.

 

[XBergMann]

We would attatch/remove the venting hose as we needed to XBergMann. The only position we could have the dryer in at the time meant we had to remove the front fastening hose after use as we would trip over it when it remained attatched to the door of the dryer. If the dryer was in use, the so was the ventin hose.

I see thanks for the explanation. I have never owned a dryer I just hang stuff up round the flat or on my (enclosed) balcony