Tumble dryer stops after 20 minutes

[Trevor Davies]

We have just recently bought a zanussi condenser dryer. Every time we use it, it runs for 20 minutes then stops. The water resevoir then has about 1 cupful of water in it and the condenser itself has 2-3 cupfuls of water in it !!! After emptying both of these and restarting, it runs for another 20 mins then stops again with the same result - condenser has a load of water in it. The clothes were spun in the washing machine before being put into the tumble dryer and do not feel particularly wet before going into the dryer - they are certainly not dripping. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks, Trevor Davies.

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

Where would the water be coming from if not from the clothing?

[mark_yh]

It sounds as if this is faulty and you should return it. We have a Zanussi condensor and it certainly runs at least until the water container is nearly full without cutting out.

[Trevor Davies]

The point was that the water which comes out of the clothes is supposed to be dealt with by the condenser and fed through to the water resevoir, instead of which the condenser itself is filling up with water. Engineer has tried to fix it but with no success yet, will have to wait and see which bits they replace on the next visit !

[Jo]

It sounds like the sensors have a fault. We've got the same problem with our Bosch at the moment. Are you able to set it to tumble using a timer switch eg set it for 40 mins at a time? If so, does it run for the whole 40 mins? We can use ours if we set the timer, but if we just switch it on it stops, like yours, after about 20 mins & the clothes are still damp.

I hope that helps,

Jo

[Trevor Davies]

Yes it does have a timer, the problem with that is I would need to set it to 15 mins then when it stops, take out the condenser to empty all the water out then start again for another 15 mins and so on. I think i'd rather leave it out on the washing line than go through that every time :)

[Trevor Davies]

Just in case anyone with the same problem finds this thread hoping for a solution, it's been fixed. The problem was that the pressure buildup in the system was pushing against the door flap that hides the reservoir and condensor. This pressure moved the door flap very slightly which triggered a microswitch and shut down the system. The reason emptying the condensor fixed the problem was that to empty it, you had to open and close the door flap !!! So if you have a zanussi with the same problem, open the door flap at the bottom left of the dryer, also open the flap at the bottom right (I think it covers the fan) and then you should see the microswitch. Bend the switch contact slightly outwards i.e. away from the dryer, put the flaps back and hopefully the problem will be solved !