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/par...ag-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.

 

[rb]

*to

 

[volvoguy87]

Thanks.

Thanks for the correction John.

More research...

Also, you mustn't touch the ignitor, skin oils can cause it to fail.
Dave

 

[rb]

Well, then. That might be the problem. I think when the dryer first wasn't working, my husband touched it trying to clear the webs from inside the bottom of the dryer.

 

[rb]

Success?

I think it is indeed the ignitor, because mine is naked--has no black casing at all, but I found the crumbles from it--as this one does:

(PS: Dave, thanks for using "mustn't." As an English teacher, I love it!)

http://www.partselect.com/PS373027-Whirlpool-4392003-Igniter.htm?Inventory=373027&SourceCode=1

 

[combo52]

GAS DRYER IGNATORS

Are not affected by skin oils, in fact you can pour oil on them and it just will just burn off without any harm. Dave I think you are thinking of not touching halogen light bulbs. Dryer ignators are the same as gas oven ignitors and the broiler ignitor in many gas ovens gets splashed with grease and never causes a problem. I don't know where these crazy ideas get started but this is the first time I ever heard this one LOl.

 

[3beltwesty]

Touching the element makes it fail quicker

the do not TOUCH comment is all over the place in consumer and industrial ignitors. Some are fragile. Others warning to avoid Goober from being shocked. Some fail quicker due to oils on ones hand.

"Under normal conditions the Silicon Carbide Igniter should last for 3-5 years and the Silicone Nitride Ignitors will last about twice as long. However, it
will eventually crack and need to be replaced...quicker if the oils from your skin get on the element by improper handling."

http://www.preferredhomerepair.com/HotSurfaceIgnitorTroubleshooting.html

 

[3beltwesty]

For making service calls, Trane and others have found that once an ignitor is first replaced; then tend to replaced more often. Folks touch them and they fail quicker.

The do not touch warning if ignored can be lucrative in field service!

http://www.preferredhomerepair.com/HotSurfaceIgnitorTroubleshooting.html

 

[3beltwesty]

Here a Carrier warning is only about Fragility of the ignite

The murky part is there are many different types of igniters and the common theme of do not touch them gets repeated with little references.

In this Carrier pdf they mention fragility.

I others manuals and parts houses descriptions; the oil on the hands causing a life drop is a common blurb.

The themes of getting burned, fragility, or hand oil causing degradation are all over the web; thus if one is replacing it yourself just avoid touching it or wear thin disposable gloves.

The same thing was known with projector bulbs 1/2 century ago too.

With CFL bulbs; many folks over tighten them by the glass an they fail quicker; in early mid 1990's CFL's that had a removable socket; they stressed tighting the ballisted part first; then plugging in the pinned CFL bulb.

http://www.xpedio.carrier.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/58m-98si.pdf

 

[combo52]

GAS DRYER IGNATORS

Yes 3BW and others I should have said that the ignitors are extremely fragile and they can be easily broken with just finger pressure. But I still maintain that finger oils will not hurt them, years ago I dipped one in old transmission oil and reinstalled it on a dryer to see what would happen and as one might expect it made a cloud of smoke and went on working perfectly. Gas dryer ignitors have a very long life well in excess of 20 years of very heavy use is the norm. In fact I drought that 1 in 20 gas dryers will ever need a replacement ignitor in thier lifetime.

 

[rb]

Fixed!

To all:

I fixed the problem. It was indeed the ignitor. After the feat it was to get to it, I ordered the part, it came in, and I installed it today. The dryer now works! Not too bad for an English teacher and a child of the 90s, I say! Thank you all for your help--it helped so much.

 

[westingman123]

Never underestimate the power of an English major! To think, they said we'd never do anything practical--FEH.

Keith
<grin>