GE 7 cu ft electric dryer

[the7]

New GE GTMP400EMWS dryer.

I bought a new GE 7 cu ft electric dryer to replace an 16 year old Kenmore dryer (with top lint filter) because the old dryer occasionally causes brownish marks on the collar tips of shirts.

Apparently the tips of the shirts were caught in the gap between the rotating drum and the stationary back plate. The gap of the old dryer will get wider due to the wearing-out of the felts/supports at the rear and at the front of the drum. So I decided to replace the old dryer.

The construction of the rear end of the GE drum is completely different from that of the old Kenmore. There will be no gap at the rear to catch the tips of the shirts.

The new GE 7 cu ft dryer seems to hold a bit more clothing than (say about 5% to 10% more than) the old Kenmore. It takes about 48 min to dry a load of cotton clothing using the normal cotton sensor cycle.

I think that the design of the drum of GE is better but the overall construction of the Kenmore/Whirlpool is better.

 

[combo52]

DRYER CONSTRUCTION QUALITY

I am glad you like your new dryer but the construction and durability of your old dryer was much better than the GE dryers of the last 15 years or so. There is a gap all the way around the front of your new GE that gets bigger at the bottom half and starts staining clothes that get caught there, I just fixed one last week that was 9 years old and it is much more expensive and less satisfactory a repair than replacing the rear drum seal on a WP built dryer.

 

[logixx]

Euro vs. US

I find it rather interesting that the back and front parts of US dryer drums typically remain stationary, while most Euro dryers rotate the entire drum. Wonder why that is?

 

[yogitunes]

Don't kid yourself!!!.....you may not have the GAP that was seen in the rear of the Whirlpool.....but you'll have even more fun and damaged clothes from the gap at the front of your GE, just wait......mine started doing this in the first year, always grabbed a washcloth, sock, or button on jeans, and twisted the heck out of them until they ripped, you wouldn't notice it until the load was done and you opened the door......

NOT to mention, the rear is where the heat comes in, this back panel gets scorching HOT, a full load of towels or a blanket will melt from constant contact, best to stay with medium or low heat for almost all loads, and will take a little longer to dry....at least with your Whirlpool, the clothes slid along the stationary back panel, while a small built in ramp tossed the clothes away from the heat source.....

ALSO, most Whirlpool/Kenmores had a soft heat feature dropping down the temp for minimizing wrinkles...an exclusive other manufacturers don't have

 

[combo52]

DRYER DRUMS

Many American dryer drums are one piece, the GE that we are talking about the only thing that doesn't revolve is the front of the machine and the door. The most successful and safest dryer designs have stationary fronts and or back areas. All MTs after 1976, all WP built after 1966, all Nogre built after 1980, all Speed Queen home and commercial after 1980. Having stationary areas where the heat enters the drum, this allows better clothing protection from excessive heat of having the whole rear of the drum  become super heated. It is also a less expensive way to build a dryer which is one of many reasons that 80+% of US homes have and use dryers. US dryers are by far and away the best in the world.

 

[the7]

Dear yogitunes

Could you tell me the model no of your 1 year old GE dryer?

Dear combo52

Could you remember the model no of the 9 year old dryer?

 

[the7]

Please note my GE is of the new style (not of old style from Frigidaire).

See diagram attached.

 

[DADoES]

 

That is not a "new" design.  I have a 1999 GE/Camco-sourced F&P DE04 dryer that looks exactly the same, and a GE DS4500EB0WW manuf'd 2002 per the S/N.  The GE I got for free, and refurbished it with $210 in parts -- front drum support & bearings, rear bearing sleeve, inner door panel, heating element, front air duct/filter housing, idler pulley.

 

[toploader55]

Just bought yesterday,

New Kenmore Dryer.

7.0 cu ft. Capacity, around $400.00. Love it. Runs Great, on every Cycle. Great Daily Driver which I needed going into the summer. Model # 110.61202010.

Just does it all without spending $800.00 +. I just can't see spending that kind of money on a dryer. It's Perfect for my needs.

What's up with these $1000.00 plus dryers ? Just need dry clothes.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I wonder if part of the inflated price for dryers is the cabinet changes they are making to keep the dryers matching all of the variations in the fronts of the new FL washers. American-made dryers would go decades in some cases with only minor trim changes to the front panel.

 

[combo52]

PRICES OF NEW DRYERS

I think that there are several factors that are allowing the price of new dryers to equal that of the matching dryer.

1 People are so used to having a dryer that they are willing to pay the price.

2 People wrongly assume that a new dryer will work better and be more energy efficient.

3 the energy-star washers are being subsidized by the goverment, state, utilities which makes them cheaper than they would otherwise be.

4 The building and assembly of the new washer designs that have come out is very automated compared to the building and assembly of clothes dryers.

5 The manufactories are making more money on the sale of dryers than washers which is way they are being pushed in pairs. I am sure that they would love to sell you a new stove to go with that new washer and dryer LOl.

In many cases it will be cheaper and work better to keep your old dryer or buy a more sensible rear control machine than buying one that matches the new washer. Many new dryers are actually smaller inside than the older wider machines and a larger diameter drum seems to work better than the deeper ones in the newer 27" machines.

 

 

[the7]

Thanks combo52 for the valuable info.

It seems there are two heating elements in the GE 7 cu ft dryer.
Wonder if you know the wattage of them and why it uses two instead of one?

 

[gr81nknox]

interesting observation

Last fall my parents bought a new Kenmore pair, washer model 2800 and dryer 6800. The washer was the Kenmore version of the 4.3 cubic foot Cabrio and the Dryer was the matching dryer(7.0 I believe). While the washer is all new, the dryer is basically the same dryer as the 1995 90 Series model it replaced. Aside from the electronic controls and more rounded look of the cabinet, it looks the same. The drum, the drum light, the filter location, even the mechanical sounds it makes are nearly identical to their old one as well as my 2002 Elite. The price certainly isn't the same, as they paid close to $600 for it. I will give it that it dries clothes quicker than the old one, but that may be attributed more to the higher spin speed of the new washer.

 

[DADoES]

 

Some Maytag Bravos dryers have a high-velocity belt-driven blower that makes for longer venting allowances and/or faster drying.

 

[the7]

After using the new dryer for several days, my wife is quite happy with the new dryer because the clothing dried from the new dryer are softer than from the old dryer.

 

[the7]

There are two heating elements in this GE dryer.
It seems that the dryer will cycle only one heating element ON/OFF to maintain a desirable drying temperature while the other heating element is always ON during the drying cycle.
In such manner, the drying temperature variation will be less than that of the other dryer using one heating element.

 

[the7]

I bought a digital thermometer to measure the outlet temperature of the GE dryer.
The sensor was placed in the lint tray.
The setting was in normal cotton cycle with a typical cotton/mixed load.

A) From 0 to 10 min, the temp was increasing slowly from 68F to 113F (47F increase)

B) From 10 to 20 min, the temp was increasing very slowly from 113F to 118F (only 5F increase).

C) From 20 to 32 min, the temp was increasing slowly from 118F to 149F (31F increase).
During the periods of A, B and C, the inlet thermostat was cutting IN/OUT one of the heating element to maintain the set-temperature of the inlet.

D) From 32 min to 50 min, the outlet thermostat took over to the set-temperature of the outlet. The outlet temp as measured varied from 136F to 154F. When the temp exceeded 154F, both heating elements were cut OUT (OFF). When the temp fell below 136F, both heating elements were cut IN (ON).

E)From 50 min to 56 min (cooling down period) the outlet temp fell slowly to 104F and at 56 min the buzzer sounded to end the drying cycle.

 

[the7]

The sensor in the lint tray.

 

[the7]

The digital thermostat.