My first vintage set.

[delaneymeegan]

"One way I have cleaned out a duct like you have is to use a leaf blower. Just disconnect the dryer and insert the business end of the leaf blower in the hose and let her rip. After a few minutes it'll look like it's snowing outside! "

That is funny AND a good idea.

Yeah, I wouldn't even bother with messing with the sensors. You've found your problem. It's in the walls and attic. You need to do a complete cleaning of those ducts, or pay someone to do it.

You really need to find out for your own sense, where the duct terminates. You may need to climb on the roof. If you have a roof cap and someone had a new roof sloppily put on, they may have damaged the cap, and that is what's caused the problem.

If you have a soffit vented duct, you may have birds or squirrels that have tried to nest in it, and that may be what's caused a jam.

Thanks for the pictures. We really appreciate them.

 

[stevet]

Oy Vey! That duct has got to go!

Whoever installed that rectangular duct did not seem to know what he was doing or what was appropriate. If that was in my house, I would tear it out and replace it with 4 inch metal duct up to the roof cap. That will increase the velocity of the air from the dryer. All that happens now is the air gets pushed into the rectangular duct and loses its momentum and then hangs out in there while trying to make its way to the roof cap
I bet they used that because the wall was too shallow for a 4 inch round pipe. Is there any way for you to duct it thru an outside wall from the laundry room? The shortest distance to the outside is the best way to go. And the best route to the roof is straight up with few if any elbows. Each elbow adds 5-8 feet equivalent length to the total it has to go to get to the roof. Most dryers recommend no more than 20 feet of total duct length.
You may want to remove the old duct and install a "Dryer Box" which will allow you to have a more shallow curve to connect the dryer outlet to it especially if you mount it a few inches higher than floor level. Then repair the drywall, spackle and paint and then your dryer will run like new.

Here is a link to Amazon that shows a couple of different dryer vent boxes. These are now being used extensively here in Florida.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6o5wuu1iw2_b

 

[kenmoreman]

Sensors and exhaust

I serviced the units for years. Great machines. The sensors never need cleaning. Just using the dryer cleans them fine. If the dryer shuts off eventually them your problem is venting. Replace that and then you will be able to diagnose any problems in the dryer. Just run the dryer unvented with wet clothes as a test. If the room fill up with moisture and the exhaust warms up as the clothes heat up then you know you have a bad vent. The moisture is not getting out properly therefore long drying time. Best of luck to you!

 

[vintage1963]

This is the same set my mom bought back in 1986. I loved them! A great set that washed the clothes very well and dried them well too. I hope to find the same pair someday!

 

[strongenough78]

The way the house is set up, the roof was the only option. To the left of the laundry closet is the master bedroom closet and bath. To the right is the entry way. When I get a tall enough ladder I'll climb the roof to see which of the many pipes up there are for the vent. I was thinking of the leaf blower idea too just to get as much out as possible until I can have it professionally done. At which I'll discuss with the landlord. But all the pipes my roomie and I could see in the attic we're all intact and looked fairly new. So Im hoping the mess I pulled out that was sitting at the bottom of the duct will make an improvement for now. Thank you all for your advice. When I picked up the set he had the dryer running and it was putting out a good amount of air. I think they are a few years apart though. I'll post pics of the model labels.

 

[strongenough78]

Washer

 

[strongenough78]

Dryer

 

[strongenough78]

This isn't exactly the set I wanted. I wanted a set with the seperate wash and spin speed options. But what I love about this set is the hot water isnt dumbed down it comes out tap hot and warm is exactly that. All the dryer will need soon are new pullys. After that's said and done, I'm gonna hang onto them for a while. Although the roomies want something water efficient, but then again, they didn't pay for it!

 

[strongenough78]

Whirlcool

I did take the back of it off and there was very little in there. But I did clean out what was in there.

 

[strongenough78]

askolover

The felt around fhe drums seem to be in good shape but I'll get pics for you and get your opinion on that

 

[DADoES]

 
Dryer is 30th week of 1989 per the serial.

Cannot read serial of the washer.

 

[strongenough78]

82873820 on the washer.

 

[DADoES]

 
That's the model, not the serial. 

One or two of the digits in the model reflects the market year (I'm not sure which digits).  The serial number is coded for the manufacture year and week, which is not readable in the picture.

 

[stevet]

Viable option, maybe??

Vern, It is hard to tell from you pictures of the rectangular duct if it is at least 4 inches wide or if you were able to actually remove the bottom portion of it to clean it and photograph it. Would it be possible for you to get some 4 inch rigid pipe and assemble it section by section until you could slip it into the 4 inch hole up at the top? That way you would then be directly connected to the roof cap and the full force of the dryer fan can exhaust right up to the cap? You would need to put the crimped end up into the duct and add additional sections until it is able to be transitioned on to the dryer exhaust with a 90 degree elbow at the bottom. You may have to slit the top section of the crimp so it slides into the top piece more easily.
Think it's do-able?

 

[appnut]

82873820

Making this a 1987 model.

 

[strongenough78]

stevet

The hole itself was large enough to get my phone in. To do what you're suggesting would take a lot of work I dont think I can do.

 

[strongenough78]

So I washed and dried a load of sweaters and it didnt seem to take as long but a bit longer than I was hoping. I may try a load of towels or clothes later in the week and see how she does.