GE GFQ14 Condenser Dryer Issue

[bobbyjones]

Hi Folks!

I have a nearly new (just outside warranty) GE GFQ14 Combination Washer & Dryer. It's a fantastic machine and uses condenser drying to dry the clothes (all in one).

Recently I noticed that it was not drying. So I took the cover off and found that the plenum for the drying part is very hot and that the fan is working. Also, I could see the clothes in the dryer moving from the blast of hot air. So the dryer side is working fine.

What I noticed though was that, at some point during the drying cycle it was injecting a lot of water into the tub! So my clothes would start to get dry and then the machine would soak them. I mean soaked.

So this accounted for the symptoms. The machine has extensive diagnostic abilities and there were no codes of value present. Just ones you would expect in a RV, loss of power, loss of water, door latch. That was about it. So I cleared them off.

The machine is protected by a quality surge suppressor/line conditioner.

Last night I turned off the cold water inlet and it completed a drying cycle.

This leads me to believe it may be a water valve or the ECU could be telling it to open. I will do more testing to narrow it down, but I thought I would ask in case anyone has seen common issues like this with the unit?

Many thanks in advance, it really is quite the machine and has worked really well up to now.

 

[combo52]

Clothes getting wet in the dry cycle

There are many things that could cause this may not be draining properly in the water simply accumulating in the tub enough to get the clothing wet, the condenser water might be splashing on the outside of the revolving, wash, basket, etc.

It’s the type of thing that may not through a fault code because there’s nothing electrically wrong with the machine, etc..

This used to happen with the old GE water condensing combos the spreader plate used to get bent and water would splash against the outside of the revolving basket and the thing would just run for hours and hours, hot and steamy, but the clothes never got dry.

John

 

[henene4]

Oh the machine is definitely telling the cold valve to open - as it should.

These machines do use cold water to condense the moisture out of the air.
For condensation to take place you need some way to remove heat from the system - a ton of heat actually.

It's actually way more confusing the machine did work with the cold water inlet closed.

What could be an issue is either the drain pump flunking out.
Or, more likely with your description, that part of the water supply system has failed.

The cold water inlet to the condenser has a flow restrictor that limits the water flow to about a cups worth of water flow per minute.
If that flow restrictor broke, that could explain the excessive water intake during drying.

https://www.geapplianceparts.com/store/parts/assembly/GFQ14ESSN0WW

GE has the parts diagram for the machine online.
You can see a water pipe going to the big condenser piece connecting the air outlet at the back of the tub to the fan and heater.

The flow restrictor is probably part of the 4-way valve as it isn't listed seperatly.

 

[mrboilwash]

My initial thought would have been the condenser tank being clogged with lint so badly that it would overflow with water, but if you see airflow on the clothes it can be ruled out I think.

 

[bobbyjones]

Many thanks for the replies, odd that I didn't get an email notification.

The water was definitely being added into the drum, I could see it as it was doing the drying cycle. The volume was such that the clothes were then soaked completely to the extent that when you took them out they dripped all over the floor.

It did dry the clothes with cold water valve closed. For certain. The pump is working and shows no signs of an issue.

The condenser plenum (not sure what it should be called but the fan is attached to it) gets evenly hot, too hot to touch, especially near the outlet where it injects the air into the drum. You can see the clothes moving from the hot air blast so that side is working. (I too thought perhaps the plenum and fan needed lint removed but there is tons of hot air and volume).

"Or, more likely with your description, that part of the water supply system has failed.

The cold water inlet to the condenser has a flow restrictor that limits the water flow to about a cups worth of water flow per minute.
If that flow restrictor broke, that could explain the excessive water intake during drying." <- I was thinking along the same lines. Either something like the ECU was telling it to add more water than it should OR some kind of valve broken or stuck allowing water in.

The machine has diagnostics for everything from spin RPM to reading out all the sensor values and also to activate each water valve. I have done them all, and while a lot of fun, nothing appeared wrong at all. In fact, everything appeared to work perfect and the drum will even hold to within ONE RPM of desired speed.

So it was all very impressive. But one of the tests (cold water inlet to condenser?) did say that it flows very little and takes quite a bit of time to fill up. That one worked as well.

"You can see a water pipe going to the big condenser piece connecting the air outlet at the back of the tub to the fan and heater.

The flow restrictor is probably part of the 4-way valve as it isn't listed seperatly." <- I will look into that as my gut was leading me to something like that. Something simple.

In the meantime, I will try it again and try various settings to see if it still crops up. I happened on the sensor dry operation and other drying cycles seem to be working. But I haven't had time to truly investigate it...yet

 

[foraloysius]

Marvin,

There is no email notification on this site so you will have to keep an eye on it yourself.