1950s maytag dryer?

[birdhouse87]

I've had this dryer and continue to use it daily but I'm unsure of the year. It works well but takes forever to dry jeans. Any ideas?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Great Dryer!

The dryer might need a delinting to remove lint in various areas of the dryer including the blower. That dryer is the pre-Halo of Heat design from Maytag that was check-rated by Consumer Reports. The heat buttons should be Air Fluff, Regular and Wash and Wear, if I remember correctly, with Wash and Wear being the higher heat because Wash and Wear fabrics had to be heated to around 165F to relax the wrinkles. With the dryer running and empty, open the door and hold in the door switch. Look up at the top of the drum at the heating element and make sure that all of it is glowing. It is an open coil element strung through a metal frame with porcelain insulators. It is not uncommon in elements of this age for a section of wire to break and short to a nearby wire resulting in only part of the element actually producing heat which could slow drying.

 

[birdhouse87]

Thank you so much. I will pull it apart and see what I can find going on in there. The heat settings are air, med, and high. Any leads on a matching washer? I'm using a 1960s maytag wringer currently and it's so time consuming!

 

[fester]

Question on that model.

I have a dryer that looks to be identical, save for the little door down low on the front panal. I would have guessed this to be a gas model because my electric has only the main hatch, but now you all have me scratching my noggin. Is this a lint filter? Mine has it in the back of the drum. What gives?

 

[birdhouse87]

It's electric and that is the lint door on the bottom. The model is a 640C?

 

[jocks54]

Nice machines

Both machines are Beautiful! My maytag wringer is not quite in that good of shape.
She runs good but agitator is stuck on. Not ready to remove it yet!
I would have thought dryer was gas too with that access door at bottom.
Including all suggestions is she wired up to a 220 outlet?

 

[fester]

Ah Hah!

You learn something new every day. If you don't, it's a day wasted. I guess mine is the (newer? older?) halo of heat type. I love the glass back tags.

 

[birdhouse87]

It is wired for 220. I used to have a shed full of bendix duomatics and the like but my parents made me throw them away. If only had them now. These and my dexter twin tub are the last of my vintage laundering appliances

 

[goatfarmer]

Make sure the vent to the outside is not plugged.