Non smart appliances

Our electric dryer is a 1988 Kenmore model. Thursday night it stopped heating. Friday I got around to taking it apart. Inside the front cover is

Schematic for electric dryer

which is a pleasantly simple wiring diagram. The only “electronic control” is a small thing that has lasted 30 years so far and seems to control the moisture sensor.

As for the heater itself, it comes out with a few screws, from the front:

Dryer heater element

A closeup view shows the problem

The resistance wire is broken. You might be able to weld such stuff, but the replacement unit is still available and costs less than $20.

Try that with a modern appliance! Sure it doesn’t match the 25 years newer HE washing machine, but it hardly ever breaks, is cheap to repair, and there is not that much to be done about the efficiency.