My first vintage set.

[DADoES]

 
There's gold text "Electronic Sensor" above the start button.

Damp clothes making contact across the sensor bars causes the timer to stall ... so the timer won't stall if there's residue on them preventing completion of the circuit, which will make the cycle shorter, not longer.  The clothes will come out damp due to insufficient drying time.

Regards to needing 60+ mins to dry a load, both the auto-dry cycle and timed take comparable amount of time?  The load fully dries, it just takes more time than reasonable?

This is the same exhaust duct on which you previously had a dryer?  Did it exhibit the same characteristics?

The "swelling" of the flexduct during operation perhaps is a clue confirming there's an exhaust outlet restriction.

 

[strongenough78]

The hose is brand new. I have it looped in weird ways to it wont kink. I wanna pull it out and check the duct. I may even crawl into the attic to see whats going on up there.

 

[a440]

Nice find!

I have the natural gas version of this dryer.  Don't use it right now.  It is in the garage. 

This is a great dryer.  On the "Cotton Sturdy" setting this dryer is fast!  Of course I can't

speak for the electric version.  It would dry a huge load of towels in 45 minutes.  The gas dryer

is very hot and fast on this setting. 

I am sure it is nothing major that could not be fixed.  

Great score.

 

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>The hose is brand new.</blockquote> The hose between the dryer and the wall is probably not the problem, unless it's too long and gets kinked/restricted when the dryer is shoved into position.  A clog may be in the ducting past that point, between the wall and the outdoors.
<blockquote>I may even crawl into the attic to see whats going on up there.</blockquote> Exactly, and find where is the outside end of the ducting to check the airflow there.

 

[strongenough78]

I pulled the dryer out and stuck my hand in the wall duct. Yeah it was nasty. I used my brush set to get as far up as I could and pulled out more. I tried to get pictures but they didnt come out that great. I shortened the hose some and got out as much lint as I could. There was quite a pile. After that the opening seemed to be pretty large. Im running a load now to see how it does. I noticed the heating element stays on a bit longer than before and when I reached in just now, it was pretty hot in there. Hotter than before. I hope this fixed it. I also noticed the timer isnt advancing as fast as before on the automatic setting. Once I get this fixed, a new set of pulleys will be next.

http://before

 

[strongenough78]

After

 

[strongenough78]

Oh and what do you guys recommend to use to clean the sensors?

 

[strongenough78]

[No message]

 

[strongenough78]

About 2/3 of this I pulled out by hand. The rest I dug out with the brush set.

 

[DADoES]

 
I'd bet there's more if you haven't yet reached all the way to the exit hood outside the house.

Restricted airflow causes the heating element to overheat and cycle (shorter) via the limit thermostat on the heater box which results in taking longer for the drum, clothes, and exhaust air to reach the target operating temperature per the thermostat on the blower housing ... plus the impact on moving the moisture out of the load.

 

[whirlcool]

I would use some plain od white vinegar to clean the surface of the sensors and then wipe off with a moistened(with water) towel. That should do it.

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!

I have also seen the inside of dryers so clogged with lint that the lint has become hard like concrete and no air at all will move through them. You really do need to take the internal duct work apart and clean it all out. Those dryers are very capable and do a good job. They usually aren't slow to dry. Sears sold millions of them.

 

[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.

Loading…

www.amazon.com

 

[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.