F&P DEGX1 Repair

[DADoES]

 
My DEGX1 SmartLoad dryer has been having a problem with throwing an airflow fault (element overheat thermostat triggering) when run on high temp.  I've been working around by running low and medium.  Last week I refurbed the matching Norgetag dryer to the Norgetag washer that I worked-over recently.  Moved the Norgetag dryer in, F&P dryer out for examination.

Here's the Norgetag.

 

[DADoES]

 
The F&P DEGX1, 9-1/2 years old.

 

[DADoES]

 
Model - serial tag.

S/N indicates 2004, July, NZ laundry mfg plant.

 

[DADoES]

 
Top and front removed.

 

[DADoES]

 
After rolling the drum forward to close the door, next step is remove the door grabber assembly.  F&P tries to avoid screws & bolts when possible, parts often attach with latches, tabs, or clips.  Depress the tab, lift upwards.

 

[DADoES]

 
Drum door grabber assembly (the lid of the machine is behind it on the bench).  A small motor in the left-side bracket tilts the panel forward or back to grab or release the sliding drum door.

The tab at the left side of the panel is to manually open the drum door in case of a malfunction or power failure.  Open the lid, pull the tab forward to tilt the panel and manually roll the drum backward until the drum door comes around and is caught by the panel.

 

[DADoES]

 
Door grabber removed.  The sticker on the drum gives instructions for opening it with the tab.

 

[DADoES]

 
After disconnecting a few wires from the motor control board at the lower left, the inner chassis is tilted forward and out of the cabinet.

 

[DADoES]

 
View looking from behind the cabinet to the front.

The u-shaped bracket and yoke inside it at the left is the belt idler/tension assembly.

The heat input duct can be seen at the lower/bottom left.  It mates to the heater box in the base.

 

[DADoES]

 
View looking from front of the cabinet.

Airflow is through the heater box, up the duct on the right side, through the drum, out through the filter and duct at the left, through the blower.

 

[DADoES]

 
Looking down at the base from the back.

 

[DADoES]

 
Belt jockey (idler/tension) pulleys.

 

[DADoES]

 
Lint accumulation in the outflow duct.

 

[DADoES]

 
Another view.

 

[DADoES]

 
Two elements.

Left/rear is 3.6KW, operates at all temp settings when the drum is running in "forward" direction.

Right/front is 1.4KW, operates on high temp (both elements) and at all temps when the drum runs in "reverse" direction.

 

[DADoES]

 
The smaller-capacity element is bad, broken in two places.

 

[frigilux]

Interesting! Have never seen the inner workings of a top-loading dryer. Thanks for the step-by-step disassembly photos.

 

[chestermikeuk]

F & P

Interesting set-up and great to see how all the components work, is this the first time you have stripped the dryer down Glen?

Do the latest model of dryers still use these coil elements do you know?

 

[gansky1]

Lint storage system?

Were you surprised at the amount of lint in the dryer duct system?  Granted, 9 1/2 years of daily-driver use would build up in any dryer but I would guess by your pics that you have a fairly short vent so that wouldn't be the cause.  

 

[pulsator]

My mom's F&P Smartload dryer is out of commission and has been for a couple years now. It makes an awful screeching noise while running! Perhaps I'll be able to take it apart someday and fix it. They really are very neat dryers!!!

 

[DADoES]

 
Yes, this is the first time for "full" disassembly.

F&P no longer offers the topload dryer models.  The newest two units are frontloaders and look to be based on a GE model that has a reversing drum, with some F&P tweaks.

Surprised at the lint clog ... yes, and no.
No:  I figured there was a clog somewhere contributing to the airflow fault, and it's comparable to what I've seen on all the dryers I've refurbed.  Nothing of note in the tube leading to the blower, the blower was clean, and there was just a light dusting inside the cabinet.
Yes:  The fine-mesh filter and self-scraping design is intended to catch more lint than the typical dryer filter and keep the exhaust ducting cleaner.  There is an inherent flaw in the design in that bits of stray hard debris in the clothes can cause small tears in the rotating filter screen, which allows lint to pass through.

1 = 3.6KW element
2 = 1.4KW element
3 = high-airflow control thermostat (forward drum direction)
4 = low-airflow control thermostat (reverse drum direction)
5 = manual-reset safety thermostat

The control thermostats limit the maximum air input temp to 158°F.

 

[DADoES]

 
This is the lint clog I found in the Norgetag dryer.

 

[DADoES]

 
Finished the dryer repair today.  I wanted to replace the drum bearing while I had it disassembled ... as preventive maintenance, not because there was a problem with it.

The replacement bearing kit (this is the old bearing) includes all these parts (not the Allen wrench) -- shaft, bearing & housing, bearing retainer & mounting screws, bearing cover cap & thrust washer & screw.

I couldn't get the cover cap screw loose.  It's not supposed to be very tight and my machine has not previously been disassembled, so somebody at the factory may have been having a bad day (LOL) or being in the incoming heat stream has had an effect.  Note the twisted Allen wrench.

The bearing shaft eventually loosened from its mounting bolt in the side panel behind the drum instead of the cap screw unscrewing.  Unfortunately the shaft won't pass through the bearing so I had to pull the side panel to get at the shaft.

 

[DADoES]

 
New shaft mounted to the heat input flume on the side panel.  A carriage bolt passes through from back of the panel and there's a spacer around the bolt inside the input flume.  Also a small cup fits under the shaft, which I initially overlooked it and didn't take another picture after I replaced it.

 

[DADoES]

 
New bearing, housing, & retainer mounted to the drum.

 

[DADoES]

 
Outflow panel with the drum removed.

 

[DADoES]

 
Sensor control module.  The optical sensor "reads" a ring of dimples embossed in the sidewall of the drum to determine the rotational speed, direction, and position for activating the door grabber mechanism to open or close the drum door.  The rim of the drum rides on seven ceramic bearings.

 

[DADoES]

 
Side of the drum that mounts to the outflow duct, showing the dimples and the filter ring attached.  The gap in the dimples is a reference point so the controller can determine where is the drum door.

The filter rotates with the drum and air is pulled through it.  A lint scraper piece is positioned approx 1/8" from the filter surface and continually scrapes off the accumulated lint which drops into a collection bucket.

 

[DADoES]

 
View of the filter ring from inside the drum.

 

[DADoES]

 
Belt tensioner assembly.