Maytag DE 701 halo of heat dryer door gasket

[dnfrank]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and am delighted to have found it. I own a vintage Maytag washer and dryer set. I bought them used in the early 70s and have been using them ever since. They have a wonderful retro quality to them and the fluorescent tube lights with the star panels brighten the utility room. Classic!

I had an old school repairman rebuild the washer a couple of years ago. The Halo of Heat dryer works well but the door gasket is shot, very dry and brittle. I do not use it out of concern of overheating and perhaps fire.

I have looked everywhere for a replacement gasket and wonder if any of the members here have any tips on where to find one. I haunt eBay to no avail. Any suggestions you have would be welcomed and would send me to the moon and back!

Thanks and what a great site!
Diane

 

[repairguy]

Hi Diane, that’s pretty incredible that you’ve held on to that used Maytag set for 50 years. The gasket you seek has been no longer available for quite some time and I’m pretty sure there’s a few of us here who have been searching for many years as well including myself. My best advice would be to find an old Maytag dealer that has been in business for many years and by some miracle might still have one on the shelf. Unfortunately I don’t believe too many of those dealers exist as they once did. The Maytag company itself has not existed since 2006.

 

[maytag85]

Someone like qsd-dan might be able to help you locate a new door gasket for your dryer. While it’s not being used, I’d inspect the front felt seal/gasket that prevents metal objects from falling onto the heating element and shortening it out. I’d also check to see what shape the high limit thermostat is in since they tend to get weak with age and will cycle the heating element below the operating thermostat temperature and if you do need a new high limit thermostat, replace it with a Supco L180-40 thermostat since it will help speed up the drying time if it’s on the weak side cycling the heating element below the operating temperature.