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!!!
F&P DEGX1 Repair
- Thread starter DADoES
- Start date
Help Support :
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.
This is the lint clog I found in the Norgetag dryer.
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.
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.
New bearing, housing, & retainer mounted to the drum.
Outflow panel with the drum removed.
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.
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.
View of the filter ring from inside the drum.
Belt tensioner assembly.
How the tensioner works when mounted to the frame brackets.
Bearing cap installed, screw tightened just snug.
Waiting to be moved back into the laundry room.
<blockquote>washman said: But all that plastic in the F&P dryer does not give me any warm and fuzzies as to how well it holds up over time.</blockquote> Yeah, I suppose tossing it to the curb would have been more responsible ... no disrespect to you either, you tossed your GE dryer, right? ... but I like to fix things.
The bearing didn't need replacement, it had no appreciable wear.
BTW, I have an F&P washer, also built with lots of plastic, that's coming up on 15 years old and none of the plastic parts have yet failed. The tops and lids are plastic, which doesn't rust. Oh ... strike that, the control panel overlay is crackled on the Start/Pause button but that doesn't prevent it from working. My sister and bro-in-law are using the washer now (the grandmother had it since 2004, she died Christmas day), be interesting to see how much longer it goes.[this post was last edited: 2/21/2014-06:49]
Norgetag dryer moved out (and sold!), SmartLoad moved back in.
