Dyson Airblade V AB12 Hand Dryer - Not Working - Starts and Stops

Dear expert,
I bought two Dyson V blades, installed them via licensed commercial electrician, and they won't work... just snorts intermittently.  The lenses are clean and we have no idea whats wrong. they are getting ample power, each on its own 20 amp circuit @ 120 volts.

I hope you can help.  We received two new units from Dyson which when installed, do exactly the same thing.

 Please help.
 Best,
 Tim O.
 Billygoats BBQ.


Dear Billygoat,

Dyson reports that this problem is almost always the result of an improper ground.  

The Dyson Airblade hand dryers run digital motors.  Additionally, the sensor of the Dyson Airblade V AB12  is more advanced than other sensors.  It actually detects the electro-magnetic field that the user emits.  So if you put a piece of paper under the sensor it will not go off, but if you put your hand under it it will.  (Most other hand dryers are activated by infrared sensors and so would not differentiate between the two.)  

Often, when you have this kind of a ghosting problem, it is because the sensor is being stimulated by something else in the environment.  It could be an unsteady electric supply.  It could be an exceptionally bright or reflective restroom.  Or it could be because the hand dryer is mounted too close to a counter-top.  But the AB12 is different and so does not experience the reflective or mounting problems.  The unsteady electric supply could be a problem however, and specifically the improper ground would create this problem.

In a follow-up conversation with Tim, we ascertained that the hand dryers have been fitted with plugs and plugged in.

There are some people who plug their hand dryers into the wall rather than hard - wiring them.   There are some hand dryers that come with plugs, but the vast majority do not and they are intended to be hard wired.  While most hand dryers seem to work fine with the plug, please note that this may void the warranty and the UL (or similar) certification.  And we always recommend that the dryers are hard-wired.  This is safer and cleaner.  Furthermore, in this situation, it seems that the plug was hanging a little loose.  This makes the grounding issue more likely as the ground may be loosing its connection.

Tim, thanks for reaching out and and best of luck at Billygoats!     

Hand Dryer Expert