Maytag A606 Washer And Maytag DG606 Halo Of Heat Gas Dryer

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It's a very simple process to convert to electronic ignition. get a donor gas dryer that's electronic and take the ignitor, electronic eye and the valve assy and swap them in. you should use the orifice from your original valve because it is less btu's than the electronic one. take the ignitor and attach it to the top of the flame tube, I welded mine on. attach the eye to the burner can as I call it at approx. the 10:00 position, in the space between the halo ring and the front panel. mount the electronic gas valve in your old mount cradle, some minor trimming to the mount and that's about it. Two wires to hook up from your harness to the new valve and that's it.
 
Thank you Tazz for explaining how to do the electronic ignition conversion. I will need to obtain those parts to convert mine to electronic ignition, but I might just use it with the pilot until I get the parts I need for the electronic ignition conversion. I will just turn the pilot off when it’s not being used, and ignite the pilot on the days I will be using my DG606. I will have to put my A606 set into service one day soon since the glides are worn out on my DG810, and the A810 washer I have still works, but it has developed a small leak, and I will have to look into it soon to see where it is. In the meantime I am just using the A606 and my DE306 HOH dryer since those are my only working machines at the moment.
 
Converting a Maytag HOH dryer to electric ignition

It’s not quite that simple and it’s not something that somebody that doesn’t have a lot of experience working with gas appliances mechanical things and electrical thing should attempt.

The valve assembly from a new or Maytag stream of heat dryer does not fit exactly so you have to do some adapting you also have to cut a hole in the burner Cone at the precise spot to mount the flame sensor.

There’s nothing electronic about the ignition system it’s just electrical so that’s good. It does need to be done correctly however and you’re right it’s a good idea to put the 18,000 BTU burner orifice in otherwise it could be dangerous the HOH dryer is poorly designed in the first place having the flame that close to when underneath the clothes load.

John
 
John I will say I am mechanically inclined, but the most difficult part of the electronic ignition conversion would be cutting a hole in the burner cone to put the flame sensor, and wiring in the wires from the dual gas valve, igniter, and flame sensor.

I do want to convert the DG606 to electronic ignition in the future, but I will just use it as is with the standing pilot. I will just turn the pilot off on days when it’s not being used, and lighting the pilot on the days I will be using the DG606 to dry clothes.

I will probably have to put the A606 and DG606 into service this summer since my A810 set needs some work, and the DG810 will need a partial refurbishment since the drum glides are worn out on it, and it needs a belt and roller job as well. The A810 works, but has developed a small leak in the hose that goes from the tub to the drain pump. The DE306 HOH is my only working dryer at the moment.
 
Don't ever let anyone discourage you Sean, go for it. Just approach it in a cautious manner and you'll be fine.

If I had a dollar for every time I was warned with "Don't do this, only let a professional do that" B.S. I'd have about 100 extra bucks lying around. Sure, there were few failures along the way but much was learned and I ALWAYS came out on the winning side with some tips/tricks that so-called "experts" were completely unaware of.
 
Just be sure to do yourself and any future owners a favor, and tape an envelope to the back of the control panel cover with some documentation inside.
Particularly, a list of the conversion parts you used, and their part numbers. Oh, and a URL for this forum thread!

That way, anyone using or servicing your machines down the road will know what is what, when the machine doesn't match the schematics or service manual diagrams.
 
Dan the electronic ignition conversion won’t be too difficult, but I will need the parts for the conversion. The gas HOH dryers may have had bugs in the design, but I have seen quite a few gas as well as electric HOH dryers pop up for sale here in Southern California, and I’ve seen at least a dozen plus Maytag center dial washer and dryer sets from the 60’s and 70’s here in Southern California, and that must mean Maytag had to have been popular here in SoCal.
 
Converting a Maytag HOH dryer to electric ignition

Hi Sean. I was not trying to dissuade you from doing this conversion, I’m sure you can do it with your mind put to it.

I was really taking issue with Tazz saying that it was easy to do I don’t think most people should attempt it unless you’re really comfortable cutting metal and making adjustments to gas burners etc.

It’s also important for all involved to use the correct terminology there is nothing Electronic About this system there is no thermal eye etc. Understanding how something works is the first step if you’re going to convert it and transfer it to another dryer.
 
John yeah, Tazz did make it sound easy, but it’s a little involved since you have to cut a small hole in the burner cone for the fame sensor, and you have to figure out how to wire in the newer dual gas valve.

John when I convert mine to automatic ignition in the future, I will show the step by step process of the conversion. There are threads that do exist on how to convert HOH gas dryers to automatic ignition, but none of them really show the step by step process or explain what you need to do for the conversion. I do want to convert the DG606 to automatic ignition in the future, but I will have to obtain the parts for the conversion, and maybe somehow acquire another 18,000 btu burner orifice just Incase if I find another gas HOH dryer in the future.
 
Update on the Maytag A606 and DG606. I am almost done with them, and all I need is solder, to solder the wires onto the electronic dry control board, and the A606 needs new damper pads and that’s it.

My next project will be to get my Kenmore portables up and going again. The dryer needs a new drum belt, and the KM portable washer will need a new timer knob (the timer itself is fine, but the actual knob is broken), and I will need to try to find new springs or spring mounts for the KM portable washer.
 
I tried soldering the wires onto the DG606 electronic dry control board, and after serveral failed attempts, I hope I didn’t ruin anything. If I can’t get the electronic dry control to work on the DG606, I might just get a Maytag 306 timer and put it in it to make it simpler, might require some modifications to the wiring, but I might have to do that if I can’t get the electronic dry control to work on the DG606

maytag85-2019051814012104630_1.jpg
 
Dan, I don't think that is corrosion. I think that is burning and flux spatter from the soldering attempt.

Sean, I think you might want to step back a bit and practice your soldering, then tackle this again once you have the hang of things. This control board is definitely salvageable, so I don't think you need to buy any new parts to restore your machine to working order. (I also believe if you DO buy the new part, it's likely to suffer the exact same fate if you attempt the same soldering operation on it without working on your soldering skills first.)

Please don't take this personally. You're soldering something comparatively large (the wire and spade connector end, which both act as heat-sinks), to something comparatively tiny (the thin traces on the control board). Getting enough heat on the joint to make a GOOD connection, without overheating the board, isn't the easiest task if you're not proficient with an iron.
 
I will admit my soldering isn’t that good yet. I might order a new board for it, but I might just order a DE/DG306 timer and put it in. Yes it won’t really be original if I did that, but a timer would be a lot more simple if I did that, plus I have my other DE306 to reference from.
 
The DG606 has developed another problem I am going to have to look into. I am not sure how to fix this, but the Maytag experts might know what I am talking about. The drum on the DG606 wants to scrape the part that is above the door gasket, and I’ve checked all all of the leveling feet are even. I am not sure what the problem is, but I’ll have to take the DG606 apart again to do some more fine tuning and adjustments.
 
I bought a timer since I am not entirely sure how to wire it in. The DG606 is now a DG306, and I did get it installed, but haven’t wired it yet. Just and update on the DG606.

maytag85-2019052222331507027_1.jpg
 
I did have the rear panel off, and it was level. I couldn’t figure out what it was, so I took it apart, and while I had the drum out, I added more oil to the drum bearing, and I put it all back together, and everything is running smoothly. I even added more grease to the idler/tensioner pulley shaft, and it runs pretty quiet now. I just have to figure out how to wire the DG306 timer in.
 

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