Here are your parts
Replacement parts for KENMORE 11060994990 | AppliancePartsPros.comOK the way I understand your post is that the repairman replaced the hi-limit thermostat and then by-passed the thermal fuse with the wire nuts.
I am assuming the thermal fuse he replaced was the one on or near the heater assembly.
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Here are my questions, would a faulty high limit thermostat cause the thermal fuse to blow?[/COLOR]
Yes. That is why they are sold as a set. The thermal fuse is there to protect the unit if the hi-limit thermostat contacts weld together and there is a temperature run away.
The hi-limit is a safety device and the thermal fuse gives extra protection.
[COLOR="Blue"]Is is safe (legal) to bypass the thermal fuse?[/COLOR]
I do not know about legal but it is definitely not safe.
The fellow who did this must be a fool. If the house burns down and the cause turns out to be the dryer then they would be liable.
I would report this to the appropriate associations etc., this person is an accident waiting to happen.
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Also is there such a thing as a high limit thermostat with a built in thermal fuse?[/COLOR]
I have never seen one.
Below is some general info of the above repair. When a thermal fuse blows you have to find out what caused it to go.
Note: that sometimes they do just blow on their own but changing it without checking other things is a gamble. I believe richappy (another regular poster on this forum) has done a study on thermostats and found a wide variation of actual trip point and what is specified.
Check the heating coil.
Unplug the unit and both wires to the coil.
Check it with a meter, should be around 12 ohms.
Then check from each side of the coil to the case/frame, both should be infinite ohms (open). If not the coil may have sagged or broken and is touching the case. This can cause it to run on high and the thermostats cannot regulate it.
If the above is OK then you will also have to replace the hi-limit as it should have regulated the temperature so the fuse did not blow.
You still have to find out why it blew.
Check that the belt is OK.
Check the seals (drum etc) in the unit. The air is pulled over the heating coils, through the drum and pushed out the exhaust. So any large seal leak will pull in room air and the cycling thermostat on the blower will run the unit hot.
Check that the lint filter is not coated with fabric softener residue which greatly reduces air flow.
Check/clean your vent system.
Check/clean the blower wheel.
If all OK you may want to replace the cycling thermostat as it's contacts may not be opening (welded shut).
