Speed Queen Dryer Lint (exhaust) problem. HELP!

[danmantn]

OK. I have enjoyed my new 2009 Speed Queen dryer. It's quick, hot, and does the job well. About a month after I started using the dryer, I noticed some lint buildup PAST the screwed down lint filter screen. Thinking it may be just some very fine 'pass thru' lint, I didn't think much of it, removed the screw, cleaned, and life went on.

Month #2, same issue, but I noticed considerable build up in the attached housing that routes to the blower motor. I spent an hour cleaning it and phoned Speed Queen. Of course, super friendly and not only sent me the screen to have replaced, but also included the attached blower housing in case I wanted to call service and have them put that on--the folks at SQ thought there may have been a problem with how the plastic came out of the mold.

I received the pieces (mistakenly in Imperial grey), but that was OK as I was just going to test and if that solved call and have them replace in white. It worked for the first few days, but as the plastic began to flex with the heat, the same problems arose.

I'm in month #4 and have put it in the back of my mind as something to address. I spent the good part of this morning cleaning this for the THIRD TIME. Review the pictures--all this lint that you see if from 2 loads per week! Last month I got so tired of it that I taped everything down with shiny tape that would seal out the air from the edges and withstand the heat...but even THAT didn't work as the tape eventually caved in.

Speed Queen has been using this design for an extremely long time. Surely I'm not the only one with the problem. The design (plastic touching plastic) certainly doesn't lend it's way to create a good seal...I would imagine a rubber or felt material should be here. Anyone else having this problem? I will call SQ on Monday to check as the next step. I just really hate having service people work on really new stuff for some reason. I'm am particularly concerned/pissed because I spent a fortune in time and money in cleaning the 18 foot exhaust pipe before I got the dryer as the fact that the pipes are in the wall and in a condo concern me for lint buildup.

Any suggestions? Pictures to follow.

 

[danmantn]

Pic 1 - notice the bits of green (thanks to a beach towel) around the edges and left.

 

[danmantn]

Pic 2 - notice around the edge of plastic (where the filter is removed) the buildup in various places (where the plastic of the housing is gapped with the filter).

 

[danmantn]

Pic 3 - Corner seems to be the worst (direction of airflow I would assume)

 

[danmantn]

Pic 4 - dirty! I would hate to see this after washing for a family of 5 or something. THIS IS USED 2X a week!

 

[danmantn]

Pic 5 - Close Up

 

[danmantn]

Pic 6 - Cleaning Up the Mess

 

[danmantn]

Other than getting out a glue gun, or insta-foam seal stuff...I don't know what to do. Seems if they replace this screen, I'll get the same result.

 

[surgilator_68]

That is really odd. I've never seen this before. Mine doesn't do that and I dry 5 or 6 loads a week. I haven't cleaned anything below the filter in 2 years although I do check it all the time. I've never seen this in any of our customers dryers either. It's almost indicative of a clogged exhaust, but you said you cleaned it.

I would call SQ, see if you can email or fax the pictures to them. They are always very willing to help and want all problems solved.

 

[fjg1973]

Speed Queen Dryer Lint

I have a 26 year old Speed Queen Washer and Dryer. Since the day I bought the Dryer I have had this problem. I am one person and I do an average of 4 loads a week, but if I do heavy cotton towels or cotton scatter rugs, I would not only have to clean inside the dryer, but take apart the door because the lint builds up in a space behind the front door. Once every six months I would have to clean out the exhaust pipe going outside. My dryer is electric, but I tend to think it is a design issue with the filter screen. I have noticed that the screen is not as fine as other dryer screens and it doesn't snap in to a slot where there is a rubber gasket or seal surrounding the filter, it just sits on top of that space. I just bought new cotton towels and in the middle of the drying time I had to clean the filter and take apart the door and vacuum out the inside where the filter sits. I long since stop using the dryer because of energy consumption so now I hang them in the basement, I can do that because I live in a house. The dryer works just like the day I bought it, no problems with the operation only the one stated. You can try to get a thin rubber seal or weather stripping and place it around the space and then snap the lint filter back. I just so used to cleaning it. The washer I only change the pump, water intake valve and the brake pads last year, not bad for 25 years of use. Speed Queens are great well built machines, very reliable. I would most likely buy another one because of the reliability and the quality.

 

[rapunzel]

I use a big bottle brush with a long stem...

every couple of months. Mine is an older model with the slide-in screen and, when I remove it, the interior of the air duct leading to the blower looks just like the above pictures. All I do is brush the lint off the sides and down towards the bottom of the duct. Then I turn on the dryer for a few seconds and all the lint is expelled through the exhaust vent to the outside.

I've been doing this for years now and it works fine. Last year I had to have a drum roller and the blower motor replaced. This afforded me a good look at the dryer's interior, which was very clean. The blower is very powerful and able to expel the excess lint once it is brushed off the sides. Only thing I've got to not do is accidentally let go of the bottle brush when I clean out that area.

Olav

 

[danmantn]

I guess the visible stuff is the lesser concern...what concerns me most is how much is building up in the 17' of pipe that leads to the roof. That was a PITA to clean, and I would rather not increase the number of times it a year I have to clean that--of course the warnings of dryer fires concern me too.

Should I get the caulk out now? :

 

[rapunzel]

The lint that builds up around the blower duct is only fine and sticks to the condensation that occurs during drying, then keeps catching and building on what has already accumulated there. You will find that the inside of the venting pipe also develops a coating of this fine lint over time.

Mine is a flexible 5' pipe that only extends from the side of the dryer to the window. I can pull it off the dryer outlet and check for accumulation without much trouble and there is never anything much to worry about.

Anyhow, when I do what I've described in my previous post, I can see the lint blowing out of the vent.

The blower is probably powerful enough to push small wads of lint all the way up a 17' venting pipe, but you probably have mesh covering the pipe exit on your roof.

In your situation I would pull the dryer out in six months or so, to see if there is major accumulation building up inside the pipe. Is it easy for you to check the pipe where it exits your house? I would probably do that once in a while as well, just to make sure.

 

[danmantn]

In addition to the 17' dryer vent, I also have to use this device (periscope) to get the exhaust to the left of the dryer, then another piece of hose to get it to the wall. The idiots that built this townhouse did not even make the closet large enough for my Whirlpools, and the deeper SQs made the problem worse by 2". I had to remove the doors and readjust the tracks for the bi-fold doors. Would this cause any issues? I had to duct-tape the seams in the periscope as it would allow lint to fly all over the place with a gap here or there.

 

[circlew]

Too many turns

are probably contributing to the problem. Each 90 degree bend is equal to 5' of straight duct run, and 45's are equal to 2.5'. You have 4 90's within view (in just a few feet of run), and I'm sure more that are concealed in the wall or ceiling. Most codes restrict dryer ducting to the equivalent of 25' of straight run, unless the dryer specifically states it can have longer. You've used up your alotment just in the bends. Plus the flex duct is not smooth like sheet metal would be, and that just adds to the resistance in airflow.

 

[danmantn]

What would a solution be? I have 2" of space between the dryer and the wall. Not 2.1, 2.0" exactly. From the other posts, sounds like this is happening to other models without any restrictions such as mine.

 

[circlew]

A tough situation

The vent connection being on the side makes me think that the wall behind the dryer is probably solid masonry, precluding going up through it. I'm assuming this model dryer has no provision for side venting (there would be a knockout on the side like my Maytag DE406 has), but cannot tell from the pic. If not, I truthfully cannot think of anything you could do that doesn't involve doing demo and quite a bit of construction, something I seriously doubt you want to do in a new place. I would imagine the other units in the complex are built the same. Have you talked with any of your neighbors about how they dealt with this issue? Wish I had a solution for you.

 

[jeffg]

If you put the dryer against the other wall you could do away with the side vent altogether.

 

[fjg1973]

Speed Queen Dryer Exhaust

I don't know how the new Speed Queen dryers are made if there is a knockout on the side, however, on mine there is on both sides including the back where I have the exhaust. In my instruction manual when I bought the dryer, there was a kit that I could have ordered to do a side connection. I wouldn't worry about a dryer fire at this point. That usually happens when you never clean out the dryer for years and the lint comes in contact with the fire box if it's a gas dryer. I had a Hamilton Gas dryer many years ago and I remember cleaning out the pipe going outside which took years to build up with lint. As long as you maintain the dryer every so many months cleaning out the lint buildup, you will not have a problem. I still think it's a design flaw with Speed Queen dryers.

 

[danmantn]

I had originally bough the side vent option...

...and was terrified to find out that SQ recommends removing the entire dryer drum to install it (otherwise, it's very difficult to install). Probably not a huge deal to someone familiar with doing such work, but the appliance store (mom 'n pop) was going to have her installer guy (can you imagine) do it. I expressed my concern (after speaking to SQ on how it's done), that she was kind enough to have her repair shop install it for me.

After waiting 2 additional weeks for her suppliers to get the 90 degree elbow to her, I decided to just install it the way you see it. In addition, if you will look at the picture above, the dryer vent (left side exhaust) would not have lined up with the hole in the wall, skewed by 3"...not aligning would have created another issue to which I did not have a solution (slider pipe things don't align close enough (not far enough from the wall). I threw my hands up at that point and did the best I could and taped up the periscope that I had been using with the 1999 Whirlpools.

The wall behind the dryer is probably fire-code wall as the neighbors are on the opposite side.

 

[danmantn]

Jeff G, it's a closet installation...only fits one way...dryer left, washer right, facing the doors (it's a rectangle).

 

[circlew]

Dan,

I think the only suitable thing would be to go ahead and set it up for side vent. As for it not lining up with the hole in the wall, use a short section of flex metal duct to accomodate the offset. See the link below.

This may not totally solve the lint problem (if it's caused by a design flaw), but should certainly help by reducing some of the back pressure caused by the existing convoluted run.

http://www.buildersbest.com/pdf/v530spec.pdf

 

[surgilator_68]

There are actually 5 90's from the dryer to the wall. And a lot more that can't be seen. Use the side vent kit, it's very easy to install. Have the vent system in the wall cleaned by a professional.

 

[danmantn]

Have you ever installed on in a Speed Queen? Do I really need to remove the drum? Can I do it from the bottom somehow?

 

[surgilator_68]

If you are going to do the left exhaust you don't need to remove the drum, but it is easier. And it's very simple either way you do it.

 

[rapunzel]

When I got the dryer

it vented out the back. I had the 90 degree elbow installed at home and do not recall the service tech taking out the entire dryer drum. Even if he had to, taking out the drum shouldn't be difficult or time-consuming for someone who knows what they are doing. When I had to replace the roller and blower, all the tech did was remove the front of the dryer and the venting assy that leads to the blower. The drum just lifts out.

Another suggestion, looking at your venting pic, why don't you shorten the flexible alu-tube by a foot and take that bend out?

 

[danmantn]

I would want to install the elbow myself...would you access from the front, back, or underneath? I've never really inspected the dry.

I could shorten the length, but it was very difficult to install in the closet. I left a bit longer to ease in fastening the Periscope to the back of the dryer.

If installing the elbow won't be too difficult, I may re-order it and give it a shot. IIRC, it was about $40, which sounds like a rip for such a simple metal duct. Has anyone installed one of these on a SQ, or would know how to do so?

 

[danmantn]

Originally when I was going to do this, SQ sent me the instructions. They were obviously written for someone familiar...little pics and written more for someone familiar with all the parts. I would imagine it to be difficult. The SQ tech said it's very tight to do without removing the drum, but if you do remove the drum (like I can/would do that) to be extra careful around getting the felt back in place exactly correct.

 

[surgilator_68]

You can buy the kit from SQ or go to the hardware store and buy a length of dryer exhaust pipe, some aluminum tape and 2 elbows.

Pull the dryer out, remove the 2 screws at the lower bottom of the front panel, remove panel. At the back of the dryer there is a clip that is screwed to the cabinet that holds the last section of duct in place. Remove that screw. Remove all the metal exhaust ductwork from the dryer. Knock out the left vent hole in the cabinet. You should be able to take it from there. If not let me know and I'll talk you through it or send you some picts of mine. Make sure you unplug the dryer first. You will also want to get 3 or 4 worm gear hose clamps, 4in.

Tape the section of pipe that meets the blower housing. Use clamps or pop rivets NOT screws to secure the elbow to the other two sections of pipe in the dryer. The pipe will go directly in front of the heating element and I think it would be too hot to use aluminum tape there.

 

[surgilator_68]

You'll need to cut cone section of duct about 7 1/2 in long. This will go from the blower to the elbow.