Much Maligned Maytag Halo-of-Heat dryers

[maytag85]

There are other quiet dryers out there, but I think the HOH is one of the better known quiet dryers out there. I will say the Maytag DG306 is quieter than my Maytag DG810 is, and is definitely quieter than the 2006 Kenmore front load gas dryer that proceeded my vintage Maytags. About the only thing I can hear on my Maytag DG306 is the gas valve cycling on and off and that’s about it, can’t really hear anything else on it

 

[bendixmark]

Quiet Dryers

I have an 806 maytag dryer and it is very quiet.I also have a beautiful TOL 1960 Hamilton and that is whisper quiet so the Tomturbomatic dude is indeed correct.

 

[maytag85]

One dryer I did see in person last summer was a mid 50’s Whirlpool Imperial dryer, and it’s the old school Whirlpool 29” dryer with the belts and pulleys on the back, and it’s definitely louder than a HOH but isn’t too loud if that makes sense. Not sure how loud Norge positive air flow dryers are, but I’ve read in other threads that they get lint EVERYWHERE inside

 

[bajaespuma]

Minor gripes

I have a bunch of HOH dryers and they all work.

Reasons I don't use one anymore as a DD include the stingy porthole requiring older-me bending down way past comfort, the need to then do something like a challenging Yoga Asana to then reach into the drum to dismount, disassemble and then re-assemble the lint filter and the lack of a good drum light focused on the load and not my corneas.

I think my favorite HOH dryer model was the D702 which had all the bells and whistles and gave the user more options than 4 automatic cycles.

 

[maytag85]

You do have to reach into the back of the drum to get to the lint filter, but one trick that might make it easier deal with the HOH dryers is to remove the lint screen and just put the lint screen cover back on so it’ll exhaust the lint outside like many of the early WP/KM 29” dryers in the early 50’s that didn’t have a lint filter at all. Definitely will speed up the drying process since the air flow isn’t being restricted by any lint

 

[tomturbomatic]

You risk the strong air stream pulling fabrics against the lint screen cover grid. Better to put a small kneeler in front of the dryer to ease the access process.

 

[rinso]

The thing I liked most about the HOH dryers, is that their dampness sensing design was so very accurate, especially if one used the Permanent Press cycle. It would work well with any size load. The newer "strip" type sensors in many brands, are at a loss with small loads.

 

[washerlover]

I agree with Rinso, the automatic sensing feature in these dryers is extremely accurate and I believe superior to any other manufacturer.  And I concur with Bajaespuma’s comment about the drum light.  Kind of a dumb place to put it behind the lint screen so when any lint accumulates, it obscures the drum light even more.  And it is a bit of a stretch for us older folks to crouch down and reach into the back of the drum to access the lint filter.  Much prefer those like Frigidaire and GE that have the filter right in front in the door as they are so easy to clean.  Other than that, however, I love my HOH dryers!

 

[maytag85]

I’ll admit I don’t have decades of experience with the HOH dryers, but since I got my Maytag DE306 and A606 and DG306 I haven’t had any bad luck with them so far and I find the HOH dryers dry more evenly even with the 306 timed drying HOH dryers. Only repairs I’ve made to my HOH dryers is making a new wire that goes from the heating element to the high limit thermostat on my DE306 because it burnt out on me and wasn’t heating, and the DG306 I have is a different story. I basically converted a Maytag DG606 to a DG306 timed drying dryer, and did somewhat of a restoration since it had some rust from the standing pilot and the electronic dry control worked the first couple of times I tried it on damp dry but then stopped working, and I honestly didn’t feel like spending hours going through it so I ended up putting a 306 timer in it to make it simpler. One thing I do want to do to Maytag DG306 is wiring up the neon pilot with the burner so it will indicate when the burner is off or on.