We have been experiencing a "hot" smell whenever we use the clothes dryer. We have cleaned all possible lint and dust from the dryer and the vent to make sure that was not the source. New notice the smell coming from the circuit breaker panel, any thoughts?
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If the hot smell is from your panel, it would be good to have an electrician look into this for you. You don't want to risk a fire.
The heat could come from a loose connection, either hot (black)at the breaker or neutral (white) on the bus.
The heat could be coming from an overloaded and faulty breaker. (the breaker should trip and is not tripping)
The heat could be coming from an incorrectly wired panel connection.
In any event, if you smell the panel heating up, the damage may already be done. Wire insulation is not rated for high ambient temperatures and could easily breakdown. This could causing more heating and arcing. Again, an electrician is your best call in this situation.
In addition to Bruce's recommendations, I strongly urge you to not leave the house when the dryer is running until this problem is addressed. Also, please consider keeping a fire extinguisher close at hand.
You should never use water to extinguish an electrical fire. It conducts electricity and you run the chance of being electrocuted by doing so. The fire can be put out using a Class C fire extinguisher or smothered.
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