Speed Queens

[mrb627]

Gas Dryers

I thought most all gas dryers behaved in the same manner. On when cool, off when hot. Perhaps the btu capacity is higher on your SQ dryer than on the Westinghouse.

Malcolm

 

[mtn1584]

@steve

Did you get your SQ at Atlantic Appliance in Mt. Kisco, or Yorktown? Did you get a front loader or a Top Load washer?
Mike

 

[yogitunes]

The on/off is normal......just panic when you don't hear it, then its time for service...

it should be only a click or two, and then the flare up of the flame, and then click off....same solenoids as a washers inlet valve....how loud can that really be?

not like someone's tossing in a grenade each time it fires up is it?...

 

[combo52]

Gas dryer burner cycling

If you put a large load in this or any gas dryer that will take say 45- 60 minutes to dry, the flame should come on and STAY on for at least 20-40 minutes before it even thinks about cycling off. If it starts cycling on and off before the clothing is mostly dry there IS something wrong. The same thing is true on electric dryers but you may not be aware of the heater cycling on and off. If the heat source starts cycling any sooner than this the dryer will be very slow when drying large or heavy loads and is NOT operating as designed.

 

This type of behavior indicates that the heat source is cycling on the safety thermostat and the dryer is not performing properly and safely.

 

[cleanteamofny]

 

 

 

 

With newer dryers, the heating at the beginning is usually the longest but with the new sensor technology,

the cycle becomes frequent because to prevent clothes damage from over heating and in theory less energy used to dry a load.

It's easier in the garment to heat to the recommended setting then let cool and do the process over again, for each time it cycle, less gas is used. 

The older dryers would heat and heat and heat before it recognized that the temp been reached causing over drying and deemed energy deficient! 

If you noticed that dryers are not HE rated because the technology is the same over the last 40 years with minor changes with no major break through except dual sensor temps.

It helps keeping garments looking their best but still not much of a change in drying a load of clothes.....

 

[combo52]

Heating style of newer dryers

Hi Larry some of what you are explaining is true about new computerized dryers. Some electric models have duel heating elements and most have thermistors to sense exhaust temperatures more accurately. But I am not aware of any that allow the temperature to go up and way down during the heating phase of the cycle [ the thermistors actually keep a much steadier temperature than the simple disk thermostats did ] as this not only wastes time but would be harder on the clothing, new dryers are not slower than older machines. Maximum drying temperatures on newer dryers are differently reduced from older machines and many dryers offer a low temperature that is often getting down below 130 degrees.

 

But all that said the new Speed Queen in question has no computer, no thermistor and no dual level heating system. As soon as the heat cuts off on the auto dry cycle the timer motor stars advancing and if the heat is cutting off too soon with a heavy load the machine will stop before the load is dried. Remember this is basically a commercial dryer designed to quickly dry big loads of clothing out of plain old style top loading washers. I cannot tell if anything is wrong with dryer or not from the owners description as I don't know a lot of the possible variables such as load size, room temperature, load temperature and how fast is the dryer completing the drying process.

 

[mrb627]

Burner Adjustment

Wondering if the burner can be adjusted to a lower flame to reduce cycling. Maybe the incorrect orifice has been used. Isn't there a different size depending upon the fuel source?

Malcolm

 

[jetcone]

John

could it be that his thermostat has failed and this causes the heater to run on the safety thermostat? Steve are you getting long drying times or damp clothes out of her?
My electric SQ purrs right along, it is almost as quiet as my 1957 Charcoal Filtrator and that is almost silent!

 

[jocks54]

Hi guys,
Gee! Thanks to everyone who answered, being a newbie here I appreciate all your replies. To Mike: in NE I bought my SQ Fl from Atlantic in MT Kisco why???????????????
You know them??????? I may have sent you a pm on another issue.
I have had very good luck with these folks. I hope I did good?? They came highly recommended. I bought my Hotpoint gas stove and DW from them too. Can't wait until the Maytag fridge craps out after 2 relay problems. No fire thank goodness. LOL
Anyway the SQ gas drier seems to be drying ok. Even when new (only 4 yrs old now) 6 large bath towels does take a full cycle to dry. It seems to cycle on and off very frequently. Almost like it ignites only every other time the glow plug comes on.
Oh and on to the washer>>>>>>The detergent drawer bleach and softner compartments are always full of water at the end of the wash. I took the drawer out and cleaned everything really good with a toothbrush and it did not help. Not that it was dirty or gunked up. I do 4 loads a week med. to large size. These are the supposed commercial machines. What a beast it was to get in as they are bolted together and not side by side.
Thanks guys!!!!!
I want my Maytag wringer back!!!!!!!!!

 

[yogitunes]

THERE could be your problem!......the glow tube should not cycle on and off without igniting the flame.....if the glow tube is comming on, it's because the dryer is telling it that it requires more heat......once it gets red hot the gas valve is opened and the flame starts.....again, the igniter does not just cycle for the heck of it.......

I had this with a Maytag Neptune gas dryer......the glow tube would come on, but the valve would not always open.......using a screwdriver, once the glow tube got red, at the time the valve should have opened, I pushed on the solenoid, and it fired up....once I let go, the fire went out........replacing the solenoids fixed the issue......for a load of towels, it used to take up to 90 minutes to dry, now were back down to about 40 minutes......

 

[combo52]

Fast Cycling SQ gas dryer

It sounds like the hi-limit thermostat is detecting too much heat and causing fast cycling of the gas burner. When the hi-limit does this it will often cycle back on before the gas burners flame sensor has cooled and reset which causes a click but no ignition. Bottom line something is wrong, most likely a vent problem, you should disconnect the vent completely and see if the dryer still behaves this way as you dry 4 or 5 loads. As I said before when you put a large load of clothing in a dryer Gas or Electric the heat source should not cycle off at all for 20-40 minutes for a one hour drying cycle. Question which cycle are you using? timed or auto dry, you should be using auto dry and if you do and the dryer cuts off before the clothes are dry this also indicates a problem.

 

[jocks54]

Hmmmmm.......Is it possible the dryer vent is to long???
We have a rigid pipe with 2 elbows, It is long but it sure blows a good amount out of the vent. The appliance tech suggested it may be to long. He did test the solenoids. And said they were ok. My problem is I do not want the dryer to vent into the crawl space under the home. Trust me when I say there is no way to shorten it except allowing it to blow into the crawl space.
I do use the time dry cycle. I have found the auto dry cycle leaves everything damp at the end of the cycle. Maybe I will crawl under and shorten the hose temporarily to see if it helps.