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littlegreeny

littlegreeny

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Let's show dryers some love and attention. What makes a good and safe dryer? It seems like a moisture sensor is a must have as well as a metal blower housing. What manufacturers make dryers with metal blower assemblies? I was surprised to see the beloved Speed Queen has a plastic blower housing. Is gas better than electric and why? Who makes the best dryers and why?
 
 
I used Whirlpool/KitchenAid from 1960s through 1999.  The 1976 WP's thermostatic auto-dry performance was variable depending on the seasonal ambient temperature (installed in a garage).  The 1992 KA's moisture sensor (mechanical timer) was lax on towels & jeans (had to always set the maximum dryness level), good on everything else.

Rebadged GE (Fisher & Paykel) 1999 to 2004.  Moisture sensor (mechanical timer) was aggressive so could set less than mid/Normal dry.

Fisher & Paykel (topload design) 2004 to current.  Moisture sensor and electronic controls is spot-on, Normal dry is good for everything.
 
From my experience with the 1963 Whirlpool Imperial 29” dryer I bought a little over a month ago, it’s probably one of the most gentle dryers I’ve used since it was a wide array of temperature options and you can either have the full 5600 watt heat output on the super setting or a gentle 4500 watt heat output on normal speed.

In terms of gas vs electric dryers, I’d choose gas where electric is more expensive but since I have solar either one works for me since I have a hookup for gas and electric.
 
lg and kenmore elite dryers

in my experience have/had higher airflo power than the GE's that I had. I use normal cycle with medium on the sensor cycle. That may explain why the matching washers spin super fast. Much faster than the matching washers I'v had to their dryers I've had.
 
My ‘63 Whirlpool has good airflow and seems to be fairly quick for what it is. I believe the blower/fan rpm on my ‘63 Whirlpool dryer is about 3000 rpms or so.
 
My 2019

WP DRYER is just over a year old. I really like it. Now, it doesn't have the bells/whistles that my Duet dryer had, but it does the job. I use auto dry mostly and I can say that it's mostly accurate, but at times it's not. Just the other day I washed the large load of whites which included towels. I put it in 'more dry' and when it buzzed, they were still very damp. On the dial, you can go way past more dry, maybe that's what I'll try next time. But on mixed loads, I can turn it just a little above normal but not quite to more dry, and it's really accurate. I feel like it's the larger loads where it loses it's accuracy......but I didn't know it had anything to do with ambient temp...

I've thought about just using timed-dry with larger loads because I know just about how long it would take to dry...

mark_wpduet-2020090604043605682_1.jpg
 
 
Mark, that's what I did with the KA ... turned the timer backwards from Off into the Regular cycle just to the the point that it'd turn on with the heat contact engaged to get the maximum possible dryness level.

John, yes production was discontinued but they didn't issue a mandatory recall so mine from 2004 is running (which my mother is using now), plus the 2nd one that I found two years ago that I'm using, and a 3rd that's in abused condition but is fixable.
 
Mark, that dryer is very similar to the WP made Kenmore we had when I was growing up. Don't know the exact year it was made, early eighties I believe but it was a tank. Does yours have a moisture sensor?
 
The dryer that was left behind at my old house was a 1987 Kenmore 70 or 60 series dryer and only had a timed drying cycle and a auto dry cycle and I believe it had a moisture sensor but it’s been 14 years since I’ve last seen it. My mom always used the timed drying cycle since the auto dry never completely got things dried and the only dryer with a auto dry timer that actually worked I owned for a brief time was a early 90’s Maytag SOH dryer and it did actually work very well on the auto dry setting. All the dryers I own currently at the moment are only timed drying dryers with the exception of my Maytag DG810 dryer but the rest are only timed drying dryers.
 
I have a BOL Kenmore 29" dryer built by WP, new in 2016

It does more than a great job for the $30 (yes, $30) I paid for it, brand new (Sears was running a special where you would get 50% back in points if you purchased any floor model clearance washer or dryer, so I bought a MOL/TOL Kenmore FL built by LG for about $540, and got about $270 back in points, which I put towards the $ 299 Kenmore dryer, which was new in box). It hasn't had one bit of an issue and even if it did, I got more than my money's worth and most problems with Whirlpool dryers are a cinch and cheap to fix. Of course my wife balked at the idea of bringing home a mis-matched set but I got a brand new front load washer and dryer for less than $600 with tax.

Mind you, this specific dryer of mine is very bare bones -- it has the cycles dial (timed, normal, air dry) and the start button. I view a dryer as a machine that doesn't need to be overly complicated so that's why I went with the most basic one I had.

Of course some of the parts in the newer 29" WP dryers aren't as rugged as those in the older 29" ones, but the repairability is still there and in my view, they're still the best dryer you could buy unless you're getting a Speed Queen.
 
Whirlpool 29” dryers are one of the best dryers you can buy today, and they will out perform most newer dryers as well especially when drying smaller loads of laundry in them. My ‘63 Whirlpool Imperial dryer is the first 29” dryer I’ve owned and so far I am happy with it and the lint screen is easy to clean since it never really gets filled with lint and is small and square compared to the rectangular lint screens in the newer Whirlpool 29” dryers.

maytag85-2020090615541003245_1.jpg
 
I actually was going to bring something up related to dryers. One of my grandparents has an electric dryer BUT it doesn't have a ventilation in the laundry room to blow most of everything outside. How bad is it to not have one of those put in? At least during the winter it does help keep the laundry room warm while the dryer is on but it does moisturize the windows and walls a little bit.
 
I don't know for sure but I don't think mine has a moisture sensor....at least when I look inside I can't see one anywhere.

I agree about dryers. To me a dryer doesn't need to be overly complicated.....I'd rather spend more on a FL washer than some old boring dryer. Oh, and my next FL washer, I'm just not going to get a pedestal. If I can bend over for the dryer, I can bend over for the washer. I will admit though, having that extra height is convenient...but I can live without a pedestal. and my washer will be closer to the height of my dryer. Right now the duet towers over it. My duet washer that just WILL NOT DIE (not that I want it to)

I have a vacuum that stays in the laundry and I have this attachment that goes down deep into the dryer where the lint screen goes...I hate dealing with dusty lint so I just vacuum it. The attachment is more designed for top lint screens but it can be used with other designs..Top screen lint filters are my favorite.
 
Cleaning The Lint Filter On 29" WP Built Dryers

I always clean the filter just after starting the dryer, with the strong vacuum of air sucking down into the dryer nearly all the dust you stir up cleaning the filter is just sent outside and the dust that falls on the dryers top I just wish toward the filter opening with my hand.

 

Letting this dry lint rush through the exhaust duct actually helps clean your duct work.

 

The only caution to doing this is if you have all kinds of small items sitting on the top of the dryer as something could be sucked into the blower.

 

John L.
 
@ John

I'm sure that idea would be good for short runs.....but my brilliant builder put my dryer run through the roof, so I have a second filter that I clean after about every 5 loads which keeps the entire run clean. It amazes me how much lint gets past the dryer lint screen. It's crazy!
 
Bob, I have a unitized Frigidaire washer/dryer. The washer is that infamous agitub unit Eugene (and I) despise. The dryer is electric and has a moisture sensor. We currently rent and these came with the apartment. I really do not like them but have figured out what cycles will get an acceptable level of clean. I tried getting them removed so we could buy our own set but the building management wouldn't allow that.

We're house hunting and I'm still trying to decide what washer and dryer we're going to get once we have our own house.
 
Dryer Vents

Hi Mark, there is nothing inherently wrong with a dryer venting through the roof, Is it excessively long ?, if it goes through an attic the outside of the rigid metal vent pipe needs to be heavy insulated and a proper roof cap that does not restrict the air-flow should be used.

 

All things considered a vent that goes up is better than one that goes down through a basement.

 

John L.
 
I have had several Whirlpool built dryers (of various marques) throughout the years.  They were all durable and performed exceptionally well.  I was rather disappointed with the Speed Queen dryer (that I gave to my Mom about three months ago).  I loved the washer, but disliked the dryer.  It performed well on timed dry but the automatic cycles took too long and tended to over dry on the normal setting and under dry on a less dry setting.  I currently have an LG dryer that I'm very happy with. 

[this post was last edited: 9/7/2020-20:47]
 
Reply #22

Speed Queen dryers are built well like you said but they tend to get quite hot and over dry things at times. My aunt had a 1999 Whirlpool Ultimate Care II set until 2016 and got a Amana (Speed Queen) set and my aunt doesn’t much care for the dryer since it gets very HOT, even more so than my new ‘63 Whirlpool dryer and I’ve used it before and it does get HOT. The dryer is gas but if it were my dryer I’d put a 18,000 btu nozzle in the burner so it would make it more gentle and that may not be the correct fix but honestly I would rather have a dryer that takes longer to dryer and is overall more gentle on clothes rather that have a dryer that gets very hot.
 
Speed Queen Dryers

I wonder if the lack of a moisture sensor on all but the most expensive Speed Queen dryers is the root cause of the frustration with their performance? I'm surprised the blower assembly of Speed Queen's are plastic. I'd think a dryer that costs upwards of a $1000 would have all metal construction and a moisture sensor.

Is there something I'm missing that justifies their high price tag or are they pretty much built like any other dryer?
 
I had a 2013 Speed Queen dryer I left at my old house. It dried well on the *setting on regular/permanent press cycle with any loads. Was a good dryer and quite sturdily built. Much more so than my current Amana but the Amana dries well also. I like having the lint filter on top again. Missed that with my old Whirlpool dryer.
 
Oh yeah I knew that Bob. No there manufacturer ever had a pull out lint filter on the top of the machine. Would be nice if they had made the drum with the integrated baffle they used to have.
 

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