What is in a clothes dryer?

Recently, I acquired 2 washers and 2 dryers. After dismantling my first dryer, I was somewhat surprised at how simply they are made. The frame was nothing more than the painted sheet steel box that you see from the outside. Inside was a single sheet running top to bottom acting as a drum support and motor mount.

From the first drier, we have:

• 1/3 hp open-frame 110 volt motor, rated for 5.8 amps


• sheet metal blower housing


• lots of flat sheet metal.

It looks like we have parts for a coal forge: sheet for the "table" area, as well as the obvious blower. I bought a varistor at a garage sale, rated for 5 amps. I wonder if I could mount the varistor in line with the blower, and not use an air gate?

I was pleased to discover that the blower motor (which also spins the clothes drum) was 110 volts. The dryer was a 220 volt unit (two 110 volt lines, and a neutral) but I guess one "leg" ran the blower, and the other "leg" operated the heater. My primary reason for obtaining these units was to gather parts for a power hammer, although Jim C had a forge blower blueprint using a dryer fan on IForgeIron.com, so I wanted to try that out too.