Lady Kenmore 800 Soft Heat Gas Dryer Start Up
- Thread starter 4bagger
- Start date
Help Support :
It's just a white dryer with the black control panel that matches the KAWE860, but is one step down, but it is under wraps for the winter because it is outside under the deck with the other gas appliances. I will try to learn how to take pictures. I don't know how to document the 37K burner, though. I do have the same dryer in electric inside which I use some during the winter. Maybe I can get a picture of it.
kenmore gas dryer ignitor on all the time
I have a Kenmore Series 90 gas dryer 11070902998 that stopped working one afternoon. It worked fine in the morning. Pushing the start button only elicited a hum. I replaced the motor with a new one...same thing again. I replaced the timer and little electronic control board. Still won't start. Now, I notice that the gas ignitor is on as soon as I plug the machine in. If the dryer is on the air-only part of the dial, this doesn't happen. I've got very little left to replace...any ideas?
I have a Kenmore Series 90 gas dryer 11070902998 that stopped working one afternoon. It worked fine in the morning. Pushing the start button only elicited a hum. I replaced the motor with a new one...same thing again. I replaced the timer and little electronic control board. Still won't start. Now, I notice that the gas ignitor is on as soon as I plug the machine in. If the dryer is on the air-only part of the dial, this doesn't happen. I've got very little left to replace...any ideas?
Check the belt-break switch, it might be open, the contact should be closed all the time except when the belt breaks.
John
John
Ok, since I'm a fairly new member, still reading all the interesting posts on this stuff, I ask the question - was a video ever uploaded of the modulating 37,000 btu burner for the 800 KM gas dryer? If not, I can perhaps help to make that video with my vintage unit. Also, some things I've run into over the years with my lady: Open start winding in the motor - was able to repair / solder it. Centrifigal motor switch went bad - was able to repair, but also sourced a new one for later. The usual belts and ignitor failures - mine is a clapper unit. Hi limit switch failed, but I didn't realize that this was an ongoing problem for a couple years, where the burner would shut off toward the middle of the timed cycle, then a chattering noise from the gas solenoids and ignitor wanting to re-ignite the burner - it was all caused by the hi limit switch being intermittent - this one had me stumped for a long time! Other than that, she's pretty reliable for a 60 year old, does at least one load a day.
Didn't the Lady Kenmore designation get replaced by the Kenmore Elite line?
Not that I'm aware of, a video would be fantastic. Loading it up on Youtube would get a wider audience and preserve it for future viewing.
Ok, I'll work on doing just that.
I’ve always wondered how the Soft-Heat modulating gas burners worked on those early 60’s Kenmore gas dryers, have some idea as to how they work, but a video would be able to convey that much, much better. Tried explaining how the modulating burner works to a friend of mine from the UK (servis-dream) who was quite intrigued by that concept, but once there’s a video, it’ll give me and others a visual of how it works.
Last edited:
Well, I can share my theory. The burner has a regulator built in - basically a rubber diaphragm that moves a pintle in or out controllng the amount of gas going to the burner - think of your barbeque HI - MED -LOW control. On one end of this diaphragm, there is a counteracting force - a spring, which pushes on the diagphragm towards opening the pintle (to let maximum gas through). On the other side of the diaphragm, there is a closed chamber which is attached to a capillary tube. This tube runs up to a sensing bulb that is mounted in the air exit stream. When the cloths are just put in, they are full of moisture. This moisture evaporates in the exit air stream and cools the temperature where the bulb is. Cooler temperature means lower pressure inside the closed chamber and thus the spring overcomes the lower pressure, thereby opening the pintle fully. As the cloths start to dry, less moisture, more heat in the exit stream and higher pressure in the capillary and closed chamber. This higher pressure overcomes the force of the spring and pushes the pintle toward closed, reducing the amount of gas going to the burner. Long winded, I know. Anyways, I did a video this morning, 40 some minutes long, showing the modulating burner flame. Now all I have to do is figure how to upload it from my phone. Anyone volunteer to help me do that?
