1950's Maytag model 641 dryer

[rickr]

I have a couple of questions about my Maytag dryer. It has an ozone lamp and socket attached to a brace on the outside of the drum,and a ?? watt ballast bulb mounted behind the filter at the inside rear of the drum. Is the wattage forty watts,like my 56 Whirlpool? The lamp is burnt out,and I want to replace it. Also,why is the ozone bulb mounted ouside the drum?? Whats up with that?? It would be impossible for that lamp to shine on the clothing like that. I think this dryer was made in 1959.
Now for the second question. The dryer is electric,and has a short of some sort. When you touch the timer dial as the dryer is on,you can feel a slight trickle if you are barefoot. I am ok with that. However, I replaced the vent hoses on both dryers with new metal hoses today. The metal hose from the Maytag's exhaust brushed against the metal 220 volt outlet box while the dryer was running,and sparks flew!! I am NOT ok with that!!
I removed the back panel,after disconnecting the dryer.It was very clean inside,and I did not see any obvious shorts,like a bare wire,or terminal pushed against the cabinet,etc. One of the teminals from the 220 volt power cord was loose at the bakelite connector block on the rear of the dryer,and the bakelite was slightly charred from that. I tightened that,and reinstalled the back panel and tried the dryer out again. This time I pushed the metal dryer vent hose against the outlet box (with a piece of wood) sparks flew again,so I unplugged the dryer,and here I am!! I did notice a ground terminal on the rear of the cabinet,that is not in use. On these "oldies" does that need to be connected even with the three wire 220 volt power cord?
Obviously this dryer is NOT safe to use in this condition.
Any tips from anyone with knowledge on the old school Halo of Heat dryers will be appricated.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[coldspot66]

A few things come to mind. Make sure the heating elements are not grounded to the heater shroud. If a sagging piece of heater wire is touching any metal, that could explain the tingling when you touch the dial or any metal part. Also make sure the 220v outlet is ok. But if the W/P does not give you a jolt,then it prolly is fine. Is there a grounding strap attached from the center terminal (neutral) to the frame of the appliance? Also a green grounding wire could be attached to any screw on the back panel, or a grounding screw to a cold water pipe. I guess I would do that anyway. I have a Halo of Heat manual that I will check to see how the cabinet should be grounded.

 

[gansky1]

Hi Chris - You just need a regular 40 watt appliance bulb for that dryer. The ozone bulb emits a "gas" (?) that supposedly sanitized clothes, as long as the dryer can "pull" it into the air going into the drum, it makes no difference where the bulb is. I've seen others mounted outside the drum - I think Speed Queen did this for a while on very early 60's machines too.

What do your buttons on the panel read? You might have the first of the electronic control models.

You might want to remove the cabinet and check the heating element string in front of the drum. If it's touching the galvanized metal shroud, you'll get a tingle - actually, more like a deadly shock at 220v! My 906 had a warped coil touching the heater shroud and was running 220v on the cabinet. Check that problem and then when you've resolved what is wrong, this dryer should be grounded at all times to a cold water line or other suitable ground, not only for safety but the electronic control system needs to be grounded as well.

 

[kenmore1978]

Grounding

I'm assuming you're using the original 3 wire cord, so after doing all the things suggested already, there should be a connection between the green grounding lug and the white terminal of the power cord.

 

[rickr]

Thanks Coldspot66 and Greg,
I will get a forty watt bulb for the dryer drum.i understand how it was design to work now.
The buttons on the dryer controls read: "Air Fluff"---"Regular Drying"---"Wash N Wear" On the control dial it reads: "Drying Time" Twice. And the numbers go to 100 on the dial.
How do I get to the heating element to inspect it? I understand I have to remove the cabinet,however what is involved with doing that? I see the three screws on either side at the bottom of the cabinet. It the top to be removed also? Or the front? If so how are those removed? (Please)
I added a better view of the dryer.
Thanks,
Rick

 

[rickr]

Picture toooooo Big!!

Sorry about that. I am not so good adding pictures @#$&%
Rick

 

[coldspot66]

Heaters are in the front mounted to the front of the cabinet. You can raise the top by removing 2 screws on the back rail that attach the top to the cabinet, pull the top forward to release it from whatever fasteners that hold the top to the cabinet, then remove all screws around that base of the cabinet; left, right and front.Then pull the cabinet away from the base. Open the door and remove the 4 screws that hold the heater shroud to the front of the cabinet. Disconnect the wiring to the heaters and you can lift out the round heater shroud through the top. Told ya it wasn't easy. It's funny that Maytag always made a big deal about front servicability on the washers in the 60's, but NEVER mentioned anything about the dryers. Now you know why!!!

 

[coldspot66]

Oops, I see there are no screws on the front of the cabinet. All the less to remove!!!!!!!!!!

 

[westytoploader]

Being shocked by appliances...

Not to stray from this dryer thread, but I'm thankful that nothing has really zapped me yet, no not even the Bendix when I dry-ran it with the Belden cord, but I'm going to have to do something about my 1947 Hamilton Beach model G mixer.

I was making a large batch of pancakes last weekend (about 40 "silver-dollars"), so instead of using my smaller direct-drive mixers I decided to use the HB which has plenty of power for the job. Upon touching the worn part on the base (paint has come off in a few places) with the back of my hand, I felt a "tingling" sort of like putting salt on a small cut (not pleasant). I knew this was a "leak" because when I touched the bowl adjustment lever I didn't feel anything. I touched the silver ring on the attachment port and got the same buzz, only this time a little bit stronger. I decided that it probably wasn't safe to use this mixer for finishing the batter up, so I broke out the "styled" avocado GE hand mixer, and even though it wasn't as powerful as the HB it still worked well. So now I have to address this problem...I think a new cord and coat of paint should help reduce the "conductivity" of the housing and base, since bare metal is indeed exposed. Can body shops be used for mixers?? ;-)

 

[kenmore1978]

current leakage

It would probably be better to find out why there is leakage than try and cover it up with paint. If for some reason you can't find the point where some wire is touching the housing, you can replace the cord with one that has a polarized plug so that the body of the mixer would always be on the "neutral" side of the line. If you look at the current cord where it connects to the switch insdie the mixer, you'll probably see that it's already wired correctly in that if it's a round cord with two wires in it, the black wire will go to the switch. If it's a cord that looks like lamp cord, the wire that does NOT have a ridge or ridges molded into it will go to the switch. BUT, still, the cords will have plugs that can be inserted either way, which means the switch could be on the neutral side of the line depending on how it's plugged. I think you can buy a polarized replacement plug. Wire it so that the WIDE blade is connected to either the white wire in round cords, or the UNRIDGED wire in lampcord style cords.

Guys, double-check me on the correctness of this.

 

[goatfarmer]

Yes,Halo of Heat dryers are a PITA when it comes to getting to the element.It's possible that you might be able to pull the cabinet far enough out to see the element,without removing it.

Did sparks fly when the dryer wasn't running?

kennyGF

 

[coldspot]

HI

I have replaced a element on my maytag de606 befor. Let me tell you its no fun. After you remove all the screws frome the back and sides of the dryer. Dont try to move the cabint right away if it has a door switch unpluge the wires that go to it. Found out the hard way on mine.

Also on the element there will be white ceramic insulators about every 3" that the element goes thourgh. Make sure this are not cracked. It may be best to replace them I payed about $6.98 for all of them. Also the element is only about $29.00.

One more thing make sure all buttons are fasten on items before drying them. Also check for loss items like change. The element is right on the front so items like these can fall into it and bam there goes $29.00 down the drain.

 

[coldspot]

Also the element might need to be unpluge also to remove the cabinet.

 

[rickr]

OL' Sparky

Thanks for the tips guys! I tried the dryer this morning,on "Air Fluff" setting and it still sparked like crazy. I know the power could still feed back through a grounded element even if it is not powered up,so that doesn't really prove anything. Don't have a volt meter at home,however they have one at work I could borrow. I will tear the dryer down and take a peek anyway. I won't trust it until I can take a look at that element now anyway.
Thank's
Rick

 

[rickr]

Found the Problem!!

Hey Guys! Just found the problem! An old fashioned baby diaper pin wedged in the element coil,and welded to the shroud! Talk about a direct short.... I carefully pried the pin loose from the shroud,and then "unwound" it from the heating element coil. Next took the heating assembly out to the garage and gave it a good cleaning with the shop vac. Now to put it back together...
Rick

 

[rickr]

No more

Took the shop vac down the basement and cleaned lots of lint from areas covered by the element shroud,and not accessable when the element assembly is in place. Then reassembled the dryer and tried it out. Pushed the metal vent pipe with a piece of wood until it touched the metal 220 volt outlet box and NO SPARKS!!! YAY!!! I will add the ground wire before pushing the dryer back against the coal bin,and we will be in business!!
Thanks again for all your help guys. I will dry a load in the dryer later today,and will let you know how it does.
Rick

 

[fixerman]

I have found the reason things get in the element is because there is suppposed to be a felt seal glued to the front of the drum opening. Soometimes this seal disintegrates or comes loose. Make sure it is there and in good shape.

 

[retromom]

A what?

Rick:

Bet you were "shocked" to find that in there ;-)

Glad you got it fixed. It's a really nice dryer.

Venus

 

[goatfarmer]

Another classic saved! Great job!

kennyGF