Hello all. We have a Bosch WTL 5400 condenser drier (bought in 1999) which, for some reason, has started to take ages to dry wet clothes. The drying cycle starts and ends fairly quickly, but the clothes are still damp. Setting the cycle off again - it does the same and the clothes become slightly less damp, but not yet dry. We have checked the filters (both cleaned out) and have cleaned the sensors, but to no avail. Can anyone help?
Jo
How often do you clean the condensor element?
My Bosch one seems to stay clean for ages, but still needs a run under the tap every 6 months.
Christian.
It had a run under the tap at the weekend and before that - a few months earlier.
Jo
Oh, hang on a mo....I think you may be talking about something different. I was thinking of the filter section at the bottom fromt of the drier. What exactly is the 'condensor element'? Jo
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It is a heat exchanger. It consists of a metallic block about 20cm x 15cm x
5cm with lots of pipes running through one way and plate fins running across them.It is normally found by removing the lower front panel of the machine, pushing locking bars out of the way and withdrawing it with a handle. It is usually encased in blue cotton strands that should be removed before washing the whole lot in the sink.
Christian.
Aah, that does sound like the bit we've been cleaning.
Jo
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In which case, it sounds like your sensor system.
Just to be straight, the dryer warms up and spins the clothes, but it just stops after a few minutes, even when it is still wet?
Does it have a timed mode? If so, try setting it to dry for an hour. Then it should be clear if it stops because of the sensor, or some other reason, like a high temp cutout.
Christian.
On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 13:36:56 -0000, "Jo" strung together this:
Sounds like something needs replacing, probably a faulty stat somewhere.
Its the moisture sensing bit. My AEG measures the resistance between the drum proper and the "paddles". If they get a coating, especially from fabric softener then you have a high resistance all the time and the clothes are "dry". See if there is anything in the manual about this. I cleaned mine with vinegar. Rgds Alec
'gone'. Christian suggeted testing out using the timer function as opposed to the sensors. I've just dried a load, set to 40 mins, and it worked! Looks like it must be the sensors. Thanks Christian. Why didn't I think of that! (Must be something to do with being female!!) Jo
In message , Jo writes
A run under the tap??? My Zanussi's condenser definitely benefits from a medium-pressure hose swooshing water through it both ways every 6 months or so.
But surely this isn't the problem as the Op wrote,
which suggests the sensor(s) have failed.
Indeed. However, some dryers will also shut down prematurely if the condensor is blocked, so that was also a possibility, one that was easy to eliminate.
Christian.
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