A DE606 from 1966!

[lowefficiency]

Hey folks! I've been absent for a while, but recently came across a Maytag DE606 that I couldn't pass up. It was listed on Facebook Marketplace, and the listing said it had been in use up until a few days prior, but that now the button wouldn't stay in. For just $20, I had to go grab it.

 

[lowefficiency]

It had already been partially taken apart by the seller, but nothing I couldn't put back together in their driveway. I had to tape the door shut, as it seemed to be slightly sprung? (And also the knob was loose.)

It looks remarkably clean, especially for its age. It has a "BZ" serial number, so that's December of 1966! It has the blue shaded control panel of course, and the white knob and skirt, but it's interesting to me that it also has the matte/brushed finished on the control panel trim/edges. I had expected it to have been chrome on a 606, is this something that is unique for the early years of the "new generation" Maytags? (The control panel on the April 1969 KDG606 I parted out had been chrome...) This one also had a white knob on the door - not sure if this was also correct for it, or if it had been replaced at some point?

The panel back has a little bit of yellowing, but overall it's in great condition.

 

[lowefficiency]

Control panel shot. This one still has the "WASH-WEAR" nomenclature, which means that of the three "new generation" Halo-of-Heat dryers I've had, all three had different wording!

This December 1969 DE606 is "WASH-WEAR", the April 1969 KDG606 I parted out had it as "PERMANENT PRESS", and my August 1975 DE806 has it as "HEAVY".[this post was last edited: 4/5/2025-18:12]

 

[repairguy]

Welcome back and congratulations on your Maytag score!

 

[lowefficiency]

The DE606 electrical schematic diagram from inside the top cover.

The later service manuals show that there were three iterations of the design:
* DE606 with reed switch and wire baffle
* DE606 with SCR and bar baffle
* DE606 with SCR and bar baffle without pilot light

This here is the reed switch / wire baffle variant, but since this predates the SCR version of the electronic control, or the bar baffles in the drum, it didn't have any clarifying descriptors. It's just "MODEL DE606" in this schematic.

 

[lowefficiency]

> Welcome back and congratulations on your Maytag score!

Thank you!

 

[lowefficiency]

Working our way inside, there is nothing out of place, other than being linty. This was a nice find - a completely different story from the rusted and corroded parts of the gas version of the same dryer that I took apart a couple years back:

"Avocado Maytag KA606 / KDG606 Parts Machine Pair"
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?91799_17~1

The push action on the knob here was VERY gummed up - took a fair amount of force to push in, and it was slow to pop back out. A few drops of oil and it was moving as it should. The switch itself looks brand new, but the dust on it says it has been there at least a little while.

 

[lowefficiency]

I think there is a motor in there somewhere?

Massive amount of lint and debris in the bottom of this one. The whole bottom of the machine was "felted" with lint. The motor pulley was loose on the shaft too.

 

[lowefficiency]

Looks better with a quick vacuuming. Anyone know why a prior owner or service person would have tied the tensioning spring to the side like that?

I found quite a bit of metallic debris down there too (second picture). I can't imagine the metal heating coil was too happy to have that come through...

 

[lowefficiency]

Almost forgot this picture - over 58 years of use, and not a speck of rust on this one.

 

[lowefficiency]

So I wired up a cord for 120V operation, plugged it in, and tested out the symptoms. True to the seller's word, the dryer would only run when the button was pressed. I pressed and released the button a couple times, listening for the centrifugal switch (I'm pretty sure I could hear it), and pondering why it wouldn't keep running if the switch was actuating. Then I smelled something, looked over the back, and smoke was POURING out of the motor! It was probably only 10 seconds or so of run time, but it took several days of fans running to get that smell out of the house.

A closer inspection found that several terminals on the centrifugal switch had been getting quite hot. The insulation on the wiring clipped to these terminals had also been burned back.

 

[maytag85]

LowEfficiency, dumb question, but do you still have the shroud, burner cone, gas valve from that Maytag DG606 you parted out or not? Thinking about obtaining those parts to convert my Maytag DE806 into a gas version, if I end up moving to a location that doesn’t have electric available. There’s still a Maytag HOH (was gas) lurking in the appliance junkyard in AZ, just have to snag the front panel (rear panel as well) since it has the small opening for the pilot light and burner assembly.

 

[lowefficiency]

Removing and opening the centrifugal switch explained part of the issue. It appears as though one set of the contacts had welded themselves together. Tracing the schematic, this fault would have resulted in the start winding being permanently paralleled with the run winding, which obviously isn't good.

The burned terminals, however, are on the second set of contacts which were operating normally (ie: not welded together). This is the loop which goes through the heating element, the high limit and regulating thermostats, etc. I wonder if this could have been collateral damage from the heating element being shorted out by one of those coins, nails, etc, that had found their way through the front seal? (The front seal was missing, by the way. Not loose or fallen off inside, completely missing.)

 

[lowefficiency]

A more specific diagram of how the switch failure had presented itself.

 

[lowefficiency]

Sorry Sean, I don't think I do! I can check next time I go to our storage unit, but I'm pretty sure we only saved the parts that would have been useful as spares for our electric DE806. The insides of that dryer were a mess from the corrosion... I remember trying to unplug the electrical connections, and the metal would just snap in your fingers.

 

[maytag85]

The Maytag DE306 I picked up back in August of 2018 didn’t have a felt seal on it at all, have since installed a felt seal on. That particular dryer is essentially a DE806, not a true DE896 since it’s basically a 407 dryer, but close to a DE806 nevertheless.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #14

The inside of my Maytag DG606 had some corrosion, but wasn’t all that bad. Think that particular Maytag 606 set was only in service for about 16 years judging by the shape everything was in. Timer was stiff on the washer since it appeared to be sitting for a good 30 years.

 

[qsd-dan]

Great to see you you posting again!

The first couple of years saw a few different console changes on the washers, I think the dryers went through the same changes.

The motor has been changed out sometime, all motors in 1966 for washers and dryers were round back then.

Some of the the centrifugal motor switches on both HOH and SOH dryers are interchangeable, grab one from an SOH if you have a spare one handy.

 

[combo52]

Original 1966 DE606 HOH dryer

Hi Dave looks like it should be a pretty easy restore, the reason someone added a strap to the tension spring is because the motor pulley is completely worn out and the drum I’m sure wouldn’t turn without that extra pull, Maytag changed to a steel pulley so they wouldn’t wear out like that. It was a part that we used to change all the time on these earlier HOH dryers, the groove on the blower pulley might be quite worn too if it’s still the aluminum pulley you may have to change that as well to get good blower operation.

Luckily, it’s still easy to find motors to fit these dryers, but you’ll probably need to change at the start winding is probably damaged pretty badly if it smoked that badly.

Dave, I saw your message about the DE 808 parts. I still have them if you want them I had saved the whole dryer top that might be hard to ship. Let me know what you want.

John. L