Kenmore HE3 Dryer repair - Thermal Fuse

We recently had a problem with our dryer: It would start and run, but had no heat. The last time this happened I watched the repair guy swap out something called the "thermal fuse." It was the classic $110 repair - a $10 part and $100 for the labor and service call. This time I decided to try the repair myself.

First, I called the local repair shop (Master Tech Appliance) to order the part. It turned out that they already had the part in stock. Good start! The specific part number (thermal fuse for a Kenmore HE3 dryer) is 3390291. Here's what I did:

Step #1: Switched off the circuit breakers. We have a circuit labeled "electric dryer" and another labeled "dryer", so I did both to be safe. This seemed easier than trying to manhandle out the dryer to unplug it.

Step #2: Removed two small screws the held the front, bottom panel on. These were a little tough to get to. Our dryer is mounted on a pedestal, and opening the pedestal drawer made it easier to get to the screws.

Step #3: Removed two small screws plus a third screw with a bracket to remove an oblong metal "bin" into which the lint screen fits. With this bin out of the way, two key parts - the thermal fuse (left) and the thermistor (right) were right there.

Step #4: Removed two very small screws that secure the thermal fuse.

Step #5: Removed the wire leads from the thermal fuse.

Steps #6 thru #10: Connected the wire leads to the new thermal fuse. And then performed the remaining steps in reverse until the dryer was put together. After the new fuse was installed, presto!, we had heat.

One other piece to mention: We have a very long run (14') between the dryer and the outside. It had been about 12 months since I last cleaned out the dryer duct, and so I made sure to do that before replacing the fuse. It should probably be done more like every six months, and that may be partially responsible for the fuse blowing.