Maytag Dryer De808--Pilot light???

[rb]

Hello,

My husband and I just bought a house in which everything is vintage, including the lovely De808 dryer. However, when the gas was turned off and then back on, it stopped heating. I am guessing I need to light the pilot light, but have no idea how to go about that. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[rp2813]

I'll hazard a guess, depending on your dryer's age.  I'm doing this from distant memory so I don't know the exact location of the pilot's flame.

 

If you open the access panel at the bottom, you should see the gas valve with related pilot assembly, and a (usually) red lever.  That red lever is key to lighting the pilot.  I recommend using a long wand type of lighter for this.  Pull the red lever down and hold it.  Flick on the lighter and if you can't find the small tube that runs the pilot, just wave it around in that general area and you should get the pilot to light.  Continue holding the red lever for about a minute, then let go and the pilot should stay lit.

 

If your dryer doesn't look like I described behind the panel, you'll need to wait for somebody else to chime in.

 

[rb]

Hmmmmm....that seems to be part of the issue, I don't see any levers or any springs to compress. I am wondering if it has a glow bar?

 

[kenmore71]

That's a Big-Door SOH dryer.  If I'm not mistaken, those should have electronic ignition.  I thought the last Maytags to use a pilot light were the 1975 HOH *06 models.

 

My best guess as to the problem is that there is either a large amount of air that got into the line when it was turned off and back on or that some debris in the line was shifted loose and is causing a blockage.  Your best and safest bet for either problem is to call the gas company and have them come out and make sure that gas is actually getting to the dryer. 

 

[cornutt]

Is it possible that a valve in the line going to the dryer was shut off when the gas was turned off?

 

[goatfarmer]

There IS no DE808. A DG806 is probably what you have. If it has the large door, it is auto ignition. Could be the igniter, or a host of other problems.

 

[qsd-dan]

There IS no DE808.

Darn, what should I start calling my machine on the left? ;>)

 

[3beltwesty]

DE808 parts

non existant invisible Parts for dryer that does not exist

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-model/Maytag-Parts/Dryer-Parts/Model-DE808/3048/0151200

 

[goatfarmer]

Dan, I would bet that's an 806. I don't recall Maytag extending the 08 tag to the TOl models. Either way, a gas dryer wouldn't be a DE. Call me Mr Technical!

 

[3beltwesty]

A DE808 is an electric Maytag dryer.

DE is in many other dryers and brands too where E means electric; and G means gas.

Something sounds goofy if you have a DE808 Maytag and has a gas input!

My own 1976 Westinghouse Electric dryer is a DE503

So here me and Mr South Bend want to really know if the dryer really has a gas line; or too is really marked a DE808!

My own DE503 has its patent plate on its door; thus thinking absurdly maybe your dryer had its door replaced and somehow a gas dryers door was used. (ie wild guess; I have NO clue it they are the same in fit! )

I have seen stuff like this happen in field service on other consumer items!

 

[kenmore71]

They did on the dryers

*06 dryers were the "Halo-of-Heat" dryers.  The *08 dryers were the big-door "Stream of Heat" dryers.

You are right about the "DE" designation.  There was indeed a "DE808" and a "DG808" dryer.  That said, if one's "DE" dryer was connected to a gas line there is a MAJOR problem.

 

From a 1978 brochure -

 

[goatfarmer]

I stand corrected!

 

[combo52]

MT GAS DRYERS

If the lint filter is in the back of the drum it has a pilot that must be manually lit when the gas is turned back on. If the lint filter is just inside the door it does not have a pilot light that can be lit[ DO NOT ATTEMPT to light anything ]. It could as suggested that you have air in the line, if you let it run for 30 minutes it will probably clear it self. Otherwise if the other gas appliances work in the house and the gas to the dryer is turned on you need a repair person. Non-heating gas dryers are usually not a serious problem and if the machine is in otherwise good condition are usually worth fixing.

 

[rb]

Thanks. It is in fact a DG808. The "G" was double stamped, and I thought it was an "e"--sorry about the confusion. Yes, the gas seems to be getting to the dryer. I even bled the connection going into the dryer to make sure. And, after further inspection, it does seem there is an electric igniter--I just didn't know what I was looking at, at first. I've double checked the lines, bled them, let the dryer run, and I am out of ideas. It just seems odd to me that it worked before the gas was turned off and now does not. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[volvoguy87]

Ignitor?

Do you hear the solenoid open to open the gas flow? Does the ignitor glow?
Dave

 

[rb]

Dave,

I don't know the answer to your first question (I am a novice with gas dryers), and no, nothing is glowing behind the access panel.

 

[volvoguy87]

Glowing.

There is an electric ignitor down there. It's supposed to glow white hot, then the gas valve opens, and it ignites the gas. Once the flame sensor detects the heat of the flame, the ignitor turns off and the gas valve remains open.

Does this dryer have a thermal fuse that could go out? Might the ignitor be faulty, or could it be something else?
Dave

 

[combo52]

MT GAS DRYERS

The flame sensor senses that the ignitor is hot enough and then the 2nd gas valve is opened, the ignitor is turned off by the ignators heat not by the flames heat.

 

[rb]

Dave,
Since nothing is glowing, I am guessing it is the ignitor? I also know that the gas seems to get to the point where "fire" should be because I can smell a bit of it when the dryer comes on--much like what happens when a pilot light is unlit.

I have no idea if it has a thermal fuse, and the diagrams I have found of this dryer are not helpful in identifying one.

Thanks so much for your help; you are kind of offer advice and knowledge.

R.