Kenmore drier woes

[robbinsandmyers]

The past few months Ive noticed the landlords Kenmore drier has been taking almost twice as long to dry a full load of clothes. I set the timer on "More dry " and check on it every 30 minutes instead of leaving it an hour and letting it do its thing. The timer slowly advances to " Less dry " and will shut the machine off if I dont check on it but the clothes will still be very wet. One thing that helps is if I clean the lint screen every 30 mins. Even the slightest bit of lint build up seems to make the drier think the clothes are dry and will end its cycle way before its time.  Last night the clothes took 1.5 hrs to dry. Could the vent tube be clogged with lint or is it maybe the felt gasket around the tub is causing air to escape and not be pulled through the tub and out the vent? I know the drier is getting hot as hell inside because when the clothes are finally dry and I remove them before it shuts off they're hotter than hell. Here are the specs on it. Im assuming this is from the 80's? Back then my family has this same drier only in gas. Thanks.

 

Mod. 110.86862100

Ser. M74502633

68621

 

[yogitunes]

the vent may very well be clogged....this would be the first thing I would check...

go outside and check the exhaust port while the machine is running.....it should be a strong force of air.....

also, when was the last time this machine was opened up and all the lint removed?

 

[repairguy]

Yes I agree that you have a vent problem. If you want to prove it run a load with the vent hose removed. This dryer was built the 45th week of 1987 as a 1988 model.

 

[DADoES]

 
Thermostatic auto-dry, the timer will advance whenever the target temperature is reached and the heat shuts off ... and also when the element overheat thermostat trips which may happen repeatedly if airflow is restricted (causes the element to run too hot). Doesn't matter if the clothes are dry or not, the timer will advance under these conditions and eventually reach Off.  Strong airflow is of equal importance to heating ... moisture can't exhaust out of the drum if the airflow is impaired.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

Yogitunes I opened it up last year to replace the belt, rollers, and tensioner assy and cleaned the lint out but it wasn’t too bad at all. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think I’ll run it on air dry and aim my blow gun down the lint filter slot and shoot some compressed air out the vent and we’ll see what happens. I’m sure it’s getting very hot because some times I can barely touch the clothes when they come out and the porcelain is peeling off the back of the tub near the vent holes from high heat

 

[tomturbomatic]

I would like to suggest that you check the lint screen for fabric softener buildup. If you cannot get water to flow through it or only very slowly, you need to remove the gunk buildup.

 

[DADoES]

 
Obstruction in the exhaust ducting from inside the house to outside typically is the problem.  What is the path of your exhaust route?  How many turns/elbows?  Does it go through an outside wall at ground level?  Up to exit on the roof?

 

[maytag85]

I’d look at the high limit thermostat, they tend to weaken with age and definitely will increase the drying time for sure.

 

[repairguy]

Awesome examples Glenn!

 

[combo52]

Bad Hi-Limit Thermostat ??

Not likely on a KM -WP Dryer

 

On a properly Operating and installed dryer the HLT may never cycle once in the dryers lifetime let alone ever wear out.

 

Yes if a dryer has been operating with clogged or other vent problem for a long time a HLT can fail, but a HLT is almost never the cause of a long drying problem it would only be symptom of another problem.

 

John L.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

Well I washed the lint screen today and it was clear as a bell. Water passed through it like there was no screen there at all. So I guess this weekend I'll get my long blow gun and run it on air only and aim compressed air down the lint filter chute in the hopes it pushes all the lint out the air ways and through the vent on the house. I'm anticipating a huge linty mess in the driveway blowing all over the place so I'll bring my Shindaiwa hand held blower home to disperse what I cant pick up.

 

[circlew]

I don't think blowing air into the lint filter chute will help much. You need to pull the dryer out from the wall and disconnect the vent connection to access the vent line directly.