Abstract: A clothes dryer having a control circuit including a speed sensor, wherein the control circuit can sense movement of a portion of a drum assembly. The control circuit uses sensed speed information to control the motor, the heater, or other portion of the clothes dryer. While conventional components can provide a simple speed-triggered on-off switch for the motor or the heater, the present speed sensor approach can provide additional functions by discriminating between varying speeds. The speed sensor can also provide improved accommodation of a broken or slipping drive belt or other drive system problems by sensing the speed of a portion of the drum assembly rather than the motor speed. The speed sensor can replace the functions of multiple conventional components, simplifying the construction and reducing cost. The speed sensor can incorporate a solid state component which has lower cost and improved reliability over standard approaches.