Question for the Experts:

[bajaespuma]

The first dryer we ever owned was a GE WA 720W; it was essentially this machine:

 

[bajaespuma]

...now GE claimed that the automatic portion of the cycle "automatically preset the proper drying temperature and shut dryer off and correct time". Being a button-pusher by nature, I always felt cheated by the fact that everything was controlled (supposedly) by the dial--especially when I discovered that the higher-end TOL's featured buttons to control the heat. But after studying GE's it seems that the TOL dryer tended to feature LESS controls rather than more ( I think they were right, women like my Mother didn't want buttons, they wanted simplicity). But with GE, as usual, there were always two trains running.

My question is: how did this dial control system work? I know that the drying time was controlled by measuring the temperature of the air exiting the dryer--the timer would advance when the preset temperature(s) is reached. But did this dial also control the heater?

 

[coldspot66]

If it works like todays "automatic" cycles, it depends on the cycle. This particular dryer seems like only one heat setting, that is cycled on and off by a thermostat at a preset temp. GE , back then, used a compensated control (their words). I think it works the same as auto dry; cycling heat also cycles the timer motor on and off. Timer stalls on heat rise, and runs once the thermo opens. Some dryers today do have more than 1 "auto dry" cycle that is tied to a temperature.

 

[bajaespuma]

What I'm asking is this: in 1960 and 1961 the TOL GE dryers had a contol panel that looked like this where one presumably set one dial to any variable setting between Delicate and Heavy. According to the marketing literature, the Dryer would set the heat according to the fabric and the correct amount of "dryness" would be reached.

 

[bajaespuma]

Then three years later, they market the same TOL dryer, with few changes only now, on what looks like pretty much the same panel with the same dial, now there are buttons to contol the heat. What, if anything,was controlling the heat before? Was this all a lie or did they simply transfer the heat control away from the dial to produce some buttons so the unit would appear to have more bells and whistles?

 

[coldspot66]

Sounds like a little white lie....there is no variable temperature tied to that first console..delicate just means less dry time and heavy means more dry time...temperature is not any different anywhere on the dial.

 

[neptunebob]

I hate to say this, but maybe all those settings are just hype!?

 

[bajaespuma]

Coldspot:GE very emphatically stressed in the literature that there were different temperatures. All I remember was that that dial setting was infinite and continuous--there were no "clicks" or stops at each setting.

Neptune: that's what I'm wondering.

 

[fa_f3_20]

Well, they might have been "different temperatures" in the sense that the target shut-off temperature depended on the dial position.

 

[jeff_adelphi]

The temp of the clothes is kept lower then the air temp by the evaporation, as you can see the delicate cycle is very short, so the dryer stops before all the moisture is evaporated, so the clothes never reach the air temp.

 

[rolltideroll]

I do consider myself an expert. haha, but anyways, on some of the newer dryers you have the (more dry/less dry) setting. this setting operates like this, you have humidity sensors that sense how dry the air in the dryer actually is and these sensors speed up the timer when the air becomes dry. If you put in dripping wet towels from the clothes line after they just got rained on by a Summer shower, you may think your timer isn't working since it doesn't move. Well, it will eventually move when the air gets dry inside the dryer. But one problem I have seen with these humidity sensors is this... a lot of folks that use fabric softeners get a gunky gooey buildup of softener residue on these sensors and they become rather useless or at best they become less effecient in doing the job they were designed for. Some may argue with me on this but I promise you this to be true.

 

[neptunebob]

Actually, I thought that problem was caused by those evil dryer sheets - There is a plot with the dryer sheet makers and the dryer manufacturers to get people to think their dryer isn't working anymore and get people to buy new dryers.

 

[pturo]

To take it further, the Mayatag DG906 I have has electronic drying, which is another level: It advances the cycle by the decreasing amount of time the sensors "short circuit"and discharge the shutoff charger switch due to feeling moisture on the metal tabs on the tumblers. It does have two different limit switches for drying: a lower one for permanent press and a higher one for regular fabrics, so I assume it dries permanent press at a different temp than regular. Also, there is damp dry button, which works, but must let the sensors still discharge, a little bit, so the clothes are not completely dry. (The high limit switch in the burner assembly is a different story, for fire safety) Wouldn't a dryer with multiple heat settings have multiple cycling switches, or at least one that could adjust? I am assuming that the Maytag dries the regular clothes to a 150 degree limit till shutoff, and the permanent press button at 135, till shutoff, with and extended cool down period, as labeled on the limit switches. Othewise, why have two cycling switches with different temperature limits?