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You need to use a OHM meter to determine the lenght of the wire you need. While it is very true that you can use a dryer heating element, or even the wire element out of a electric space heater, hair dryer, toaster, etc, etc. The heating ability of those elements is determined by the lenght and diameter of the wire. Cutting the wire shorter will increase the heating capacity, not decrease the amount of heat they will make. The more resistance, (ohms) the wires measure, the less heat they will create, the less rsistance, the more heat. Cutting the wire to short can cause the wire to overheat, possibly burning intwo, can cause the powersupply wires to overheat as well, and will use more electricity than neccessary and not be very efficient. Simply cutting the wire to make it fit the space, isnt a very good method of sizing the wire. 60ohms of nichrome wire will give you approx 250watts of heat at 110volts, the longer the wire (higher the ohms), the less watts of heat. For comparison, a electric space heater element can produce 1500Watts of heat. Two elements from the same heater, connected in series, would only produce 750watts. Cut one of these same elements in half and you could produce 3000Watts of heat, provided you didnt blow a fuse first. (which you probably would)
Since you are going to a appliance repair place to get your heating elements, while there also get a couple of feet of heat resistant wire to connect to your element.
