1986 Kenmore Electric Special Edition Dryer

[linaran]

Hello fellow friends I'm in need of some guidance. I am in possession of a 1986 kenmore limited edition electric dryer that still kinda barley working but non the less is still drying clothes. For those that are in the refurbished business would it be something or a model anyone would want? It was a handy me down and I love my dryer, but it takes too long to dry clothes and it starts only when it wants to. I've tried getting it repaired but every person I've asked tells me it time to retire it??? Any advice will help, anyone interested?

 

[qsd-dan]

Control boards in these dryers are known to go wonky as they age. New ones were obsoleted long ago but may pop up on Ebay.

Long drying times are either a plugged vent or a plugged air duct that runs between the filter housing down to the blower. Those are both an easy fix.

 

[maytag85]

Dryer with electronic controls (mainly ones with moisture sensors) can be screwy as they age. Even Whirlpool 29” top filter dryers with the Accu-Dry don’t really work even when new and everyone I knew who had a Whirlpool 29” dryer with the Accu-Dry almost never used the auto dry since items would always come out damp afterwards even after wiping the moisture sensor down from dryer sheet residue. This is why I am partial to dryers with a auto dry timer where it advances the timer whenever the heat is cycled off and stops the timer when the heat comes back on. A auto dry timer may be slightly less accurate compared to a moisture sensor that works properly but will be far more reliable compared to a moisture sensor that can a have a mind of it’s own as time goes by.

 

[combo52]

Long dry times on a 29 inch whirlpool built dryer

It looks like you have a gas dryer in which case it likely has weak valve coils.

Also if it’s connected to an exhaust system try running it without the exhaust system and see how it dries to decide whether it’s a dryer problem or the exhaust system in your home.

The not starting easily problem could be a bad touch panel they’re hard to find if that’s the case if it just doesn’t respond.

I did a service call on a little newer 1989 Direct Dr. electronic washer today.

The complaint was that it was leaking a hot water inlet hose was loose on the faucet lol the machine was in beautiful shape.