Clothes dryer taking too long to dry clothes.

I have a Sears electric dryer (110.86880100) that takes 2 70 minute cycles to dry a load of clothes. The lint filter is clear; the exhaust opening inside the drum is clear; there is no kink in the exhaust tube; there is no obstruction at the end of the exhaust tube outside the house.

So, i figured that the heating element was bad. I went to an appliance repair parts store to buy a new heating element; however, the "knowledgeable" guy at the counter told me that, if I was getting any heat at all, the element was not bad. I asked if the element had parallel heating elements (one might be bad and the other still working) and he said that the element was one strip and he suggested that the exhaust tube might be kinked.

I had previously checked and I have LOTS of airflow at the end of the exhaust tube outside of the house.

Anybody got any suggestions??

TIA

Chuck

Reply to
jurgens
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I had the same problem a couple of months ago. The clothes would be hot but would not dry. I found out that water had gotten into the exhaust tube from the outside when it rained and finally completely plugged up the tube.

First, disconnect the tube from the dryer and turn the dryer on and see if any air is coming out. It should be quite forceful. If a good amount of air is coming out, your problem is in the tube, if no air is coming out, the problem is in the dryer.

David

Reply to
Shy Picker

I had the same problem a couple of months ago. The clothes would be hot but would not dry. I found out that water had gotten into the exhaust tube from the outside when it rained and finally completely plugged up the tube.

First, disconnect the tube from the dryer and turn the dryer on and see if any air is coming out. It should be quite forceful. If a good amount of air is coming out, your problem is in the tube, if no air is coming out, the problem is in the dryer.

David

exactly what part of " I have LOTS of airflow" do you not understand?

Reply to
nefletch

I hate to ask the obvious, but how damp are the clothes coming out of your washer? Could it be your washer isn't wringing the clothes out sufficiently during the spin cycle, that your dryer now needs to work harder to dry them?

Reply to
Kyle

You went to buy a new element without checking the old one first??

You need to find a more knowledgeable parts guy.

According to the illustrations at SearsPartsDirect.com, this heating element has three coils that are physically parallel but electrically in series (wired end-to-end). If one of the coils has broken in the middle and flopped over onto an adjacent coil, you'd still get heat, but not as much.

Other than the obvious ones -- pull the heating element, inspect it visually, measure its resistance with a multimeter and compare to spec -- you should also check your washing machine. Could be somebody left it on the "delicate" setting, which uses the low-speed spin cycle, and your clothes take longer to dry because they're starting out wetter.

Reply to
Doug Miller

You can still have what you think is lots of airflow and have it excessively constricted. How long is the outlet hose? How many turns does it make.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Yes there are many parts in the electrical circuit which could cause a dryer not dry properly! My neighbour has a dryer which has two heating coils. Low heat and high heat etc. When he complained it was taking a long time to dry we took it apart and found that one of the heating coils had a break in it. We were able to repair, in that instance, the break; usually you have to install a new heating element. Anyway that was at least three years ago; probably longer and the dryer is working fine. Other causes could be a defective thermostat, a trick/faulty humidistat if dryer so equipped, possibly bad contacts on the timer switch? It may come down to 'trouble shooting' the machine. Probably take less than an hour by someone who knows what they are doing, has the right tools and possibly a test-meter (although not essential for someone who is knowledgeable). PS. Don't believe all counter men or jump to conclusions that it IS one part or another.

Reply to
stan

  1. Clothes too wet, bad washer.
  2. Coil defective
  3. Overtemp defective. (2 or more of these)
  4. Timer defective.
  5. Humidistat defective
  6. Operator defective
Reply to
Van Chocstraw

Isn't there a blower fan that moves air out of the dryer? Given the symptoms, it ought to be top on the list.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Don't forget load shedder. If he has a Dencor unit or similar load limiting device on the house, then the settings could be low or a stuck relay. Those devices are wired to shed the heating element only. The tumbler will go all day if need be. My bet is bad heaeting element though.

Reply to
Lefty

He did say "previously", so more recently, it might be blocked.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

my exhaust line had a low spot, found it when i picked it up after disconnecting shower i got a bath of water.

the low spot must have been created by my replacing a washing machine hose.

sure dries good since i fixed it

Reply to
bob haller

Sheesh, what's your frickin' problem?

Reply to
Shy Picker

Some older models had 2 elements. How many terminals are on the element case. Also easy to open case and look at the element. WW

Reply to
WW

Does this problem happen only on 1 particular cycle on the timer? ( Auto Perm Press, Auto Cotton, or Timed?) The same thing happened to me only during the Auto cycles, but it worked fine on the Timed cycle. It turns out when I took my timer apart, I noticed the contacts for the heating element were not making good contact in the "Auto"modes, but in the "Timed" mode, the heating contacts are internally connected and stay on all the time. Try it in "Timed" mode for about an hour. If it works, then the problem is with the timer

Reply to
Mike rock

my line with a low spot had LOTS OF AIRFLOW TOO.

but still didnt dry.

Reply to
bob haller

I think no one has suggested that the drum isn't rotating, or not conceivably not rotating enough. Needs the belt tightened or replaced.

My mother and I replaced a belt on a Whirlpool when I was about 14 and the dryer was about 5 years old. It lasted another 15 after that and was still working fine when she moved to an apartment building that had dryers and no rooom for hers.

Reply to
mm

I would suggest thee possibilities, in likely order.

  • heating element not fully functional: This could be due to power supply issues (one half of the 240V supply not functioning resulting in 120V) or a damaged element, reducing the heat to half, or a high resistance connection to one or more heater elements.

  • Poor venting. Could be lint build up, crimped duct or as noted, water in the duct at a low point.

  • Control problems with the dryer control keeping the temperature as in delicate cycle.

Good Luck

Reply to
sligoNoSPAMjoe

I hsd s broken heating element. The ends would touch intermittently and heat up then shut down. Even when I pulled the heater out and checked it with an ohmmeter the problem didnt show. I had the thing in and out 2 or 3 times before it opened and stayed open so I could find the problem.

BTW, it was only a month out of warranty.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

Aside from jeans, my very old (gas) dryer dries a large load in about

35 minutes.

Washer not spinning properly? Can you wring clothes with water dripping?

Is the dryer drum turning?

Are the clothes very warm after 10 minutes of high-setting drying time? This can be related to thermostat, a burned out element, corroded switch, etc.

OK, you said there is lots of airflow. Were the pipes cleaned out in the past 6 months? A good cleaning can't hurt.

Reply to
Phisherman

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