Laundry dryer’s thermal fuse keeps blowing off every few months. What could be the cause

appliancesdryerrepair

Here is what I have done for my 10 year old LG dryer that resides outdoors:

  1. checked the exhaust pipe and there was good air flow with no lint stuck in it.
  2. checked for continuity between heating element's housing and the wires coming to it – there was no continuity as expected.
  3. measured temperature at the exhaust pipe when dryer was at high heat setting with no clothes in it. It cycled between 61C(141F) and 71C(160F).

Temperature test

So far I have bought two thermal fuses from Amazon.com and both of them died in few months. Here is also a close up picture of thermistor:

Thermistor close up

What could be the problem and what additional test to perform?

Update #1: Picture of back draft flap. Seems clean to me.

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Best Answer

Replace the thermostat also, it should be right there next to the fuse. Its probably reading a little low, or intermittently failing, so the dryer is getting slightly hotter than is supported and the thermal fuse blows. Also, while you have the cover open, you can be sure to vacuum the vent and everything making sure there are not restrictions like others have mentioned. For me, the thermostat solved it after I went through about 5 thermal fuses.

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