dryer problem

[Joe]

My old Kenmore electric dryer stopped turning off and stopped emitting heat, all at once. I put a load in before bed and woke up with it still spinning, cold. Do I have one problem to fix, or two?

[dpb]

Probably one if had set on auto cycle.

--

[Mikepier]

Sounds like the timer. When it reaches the end, the heat stops and is suppose to air dry for like a minute or so. You notice the dial is at the end, but the contacts inside don't quite disconnect. Try on a different cycle than the one you have a problem with. Oh by the way, just some friendly advice, not a good idea to go to bed with the dryer on.

[aemeijers]

Oh, I would easily believe one of those 'auto sensor' things acting up.The dryer came with this house, and when I saw that setting, I of course tried it. Damn drier never shut off, and on mine, didn't turn the heat down either. One of these days I need to field-strip that thing, or pay somebody to do it, and fix the squeaky rollers and remove the 20 pounds of lint probably stuck inside, but until then, I just set it for

40 minutes or so, and keep restarting it as needed. (cleaning the lint catcher each time, of course.)

-- aem sends...

[Joe]

I have tried it on all cycles and I cant get any heat from it now. It still wont turn off either. I wonder if staying on too long burnt the element out.

[hibb]

Did the clothes dry at all?

When this happened to me I had to replace the heat element which is a spring like wire that goes around the outside of the dryer tub. Not a real hard job if you can pull the dryer out from the wall enough to easily get to the back to remove the back panel.

David

[mm]

My dryness sensor always works, always turns off the dryer, and it's always about as dry as the last time, or less or more depending on whether I started at a different setting. A Kenmore, probalby Whirlpool, 30 years old. 26 of them with me.

It's the only setting I use.

I think there are two curved metal pieces about 1/2 to 1 inch apart that the wet clothes are supposed to brush against, and I guess it measures the resistance of the clothes, which increases as they dry.

I would like it a lot better if there were two dials, one that stayed put showing where I had set it, and the other that moved closer to dry. Instead there is only the second one. But I've memorized where I start, usually half-way more damp than the do they have that I think most people use, or a little damper. I mix stay press with towels, and I want to take out the sta-press which gets dry early, and then finish the towels, sweat shirt etc. I hang up the towels when they're a little wet because they don't have to look that nice and I don't want to pay to dry them.

I also use the coolest temp it has, other than no heat at all, because I think high heat, or dry clothes in moderate heat, make stapress so hot it stays wrinkled, forever or that one time, I don't know which.

[mm]

Can you use a volt-ohmmeter to check out the element, etc.

[DD_BobK]

a few questions..........

have you tried it with another load of wet clothes? does turning the timer to "off" stop the drum? does opening the door stop the drum?

cheers Bob

[terry]

Agree. Even though the OP mentions it's an electric dryer. We NEVER go to sleep with dryer running.

There is just a remote chance that there could be some old lint in the vent, or that the built in overheat devices (in addition to the thermostat) fail to cut out and something scorches and/or catches fire). See P.S.

We fortunately have never had a dryer fire. Despite that even when our original and seven times self repaired dryer, dating from 1962, failed we have had a number of used ones. For example our current dryer cost a dozen beer and "Pick it up within an hour"! Because the 'seller' had brand new washer-dryer duo coming later that day.

He even helped me load it onto the pickup! . Getting a full size dryer down the basement in my mid 70s was interesting but didn't break anything or myself in the process. That was about four or five years ago and it's worked fine ever since

But have seen the results of a dryer fire; not pretty. Certain amount of smoke damage too! It also IIRC damaged some of the outside vinyl house siding and the owner had difficulty getting replacement siding that would match. That dryer was a write off; wasn't even worth while taking parts off it!

Also IIRC one relative had a something get stuck/caught in their dryer. Somehow they noticed a 'scorched' smell and tracked it down. It was during the day and they were home. Nothing serious but I believe a garment or a bed sheet was damaged.

The worst damage have seen was in a dryer with the the air circulating/ exhaust fan mounted low down. Loose coins (quite a few of them) had got into the plastic fan blades and they had smashed up; it was necessary to take out the broken blades by the handful! With virtually no air circulating 'It was not drying the clothes'!

Nails and other items left in pants pockets can be the same.Consequently have always preferred dryer with the air exhaust fan mounted high up e.g. many older Kenmores etc.

P.S. And there is also just a remote chance that some lazy repairman or previous owner disabled or removed an overheat switch when it previously failed and never 'got back' to fixing it properly. Our use of used machines also alerts one to that!

Twice with microwaves ovens have found situations where a previous 'fixer' or owner had 'jimmied' something to make the m.wave continue working. In at least one case it was an over-heat safety switch. The other was IIRC a door micro-switch that had been by-passed! Very dangerous.

[Stormin Mormon]

The common problem is lint clogging the vent tube. Then, either the heater element or a thermal safety burns out. Call and talk with some local appliance repair places. Heater, or thermal protector, neither is a major repair. I know; I've done that type of repair.

[Joe]

yes, yes, and yes.

[Joe]

The dryer was set to turn off long before I actually got to bed, it just never did and I failed to notice. I'm well aware of the risk of dryer fires, we had one when I was a kid.

[Mark Lloyd]

I had that problem with my dryer (Estate brand), when it was only a few weeks old. The problem was in the motor (the part that was still working, but it apparently contains contacts that switch the other stuff).

BTW, it would be a good idea to post some other way than through Google. It's a common source of spam and a lot of newsgroup users block such posts.

[gfretwell]

The sensor is just a lower set point thermal set in the exhaust air that looks for it to warm up. That indicates the clothes are getting drier. When it warms to the set point it allows the time to advance past the "econo dry" point.. Above that point is strictly "time".

At least that is the way every one I have seen works, including my new Whirlpool, the Maytag it replaced and an old GE I work on for a neighbor.

I agree with the poster who suggested a heating element, or it could be a thermal overload or the interlock Mark alluded to being open.

Unplug the dryer and start probing with your meter on ohms

[Jules]

Ouch.

I dismantled ours and cleaned it all out last year - amazing how much stuff (coins, nails etc. like you say) ends up trapped within the machine. It worked a heck of a lot better with all that stuff gone (and previous owners had obviously been drying dog blankets or whatever in it - choked up with dog hair in there)

Ours sometimes does the same thing that the OP mentions - it'll sit there on cold cycle, never turning off. I traced out the schematic on ours, and there's no way it can be anything other than the timer at fault (once in a while the timer sits there making a constant ticking sound too, even in the off position). I've not taken the timer apart to see if I can fix it, but I suspect it's just wear / damaged switch contacts, and the only thing that'll cure it is a replacement timer...

cheers

Jules

[Joe]

Yup, I found the heating element was fried. I suspect a timer issue too.

[Bob]

Maybe not. In the "auto Dry" cycle, the timer motor runs only when the dryer isn't calling for heat. When the thermostat opens with the dryer at operating temperature, the timer motor gets power in series with the heating element. It it's open, the timer never runs and the dryer tumbles cold perpetually.