Time to go?

[earthlyamy]

Our c. 1977 avocado Maytag dryer DE308 and matching washer came with our house in Northern Vermont when we bought it in 2003. Now I've moved on, to Washington, but the W/D are the only daily drivers left to my husband and child (19). He messaged me the other day to say the dryer's got no heat. Which doesn't surprise me. Something is up with the high-heat thermostat, the high heat wire or the heater coil. I fixed it myself about 4 times, and made sure the latest heater coil assembly allowed the coil to be replaced. But when is enough enough? My husband's not the slightest bit handy, asking my son to suddenly become adept at large appliance repair seems like a big ask. The washer washes, but requires fiddly pre-soaking and dial-turning - which might be something with the timer, I'm guessing. Is it time to replace them for something more (ahem) modern?
Photo posted is the latest fix 01/31/2020, second time the high heat wire shorted out.

 

[turbokinetic]

In my humble opinion...

... it's great to have your son learn to do this type of repair. It will benefit him greatly to get the hands-on experience. The dryer repair shouldn't be too difficult, I would expect.

 

Sincerely,

David 

 

[goatfarmer]

Those are all very easy repairs, even to the mechanically challenged.

 

[tomturbomatic]

If you are losing heating elements this often, check for an obstruction in the vent. Check for lint buildups or blockage of the cap on the outside of the vent.

 

[earthlyamy]

Not the vent

I replaced the awful foil accordian-type vent tube with 4" aluminum tubes and elbows myself so I know that's not it. I've been told that metal conflicts can cause these kinds of shorts. As a "hopeful" preventative I coated these connections with a high-heat goo on the last repair - obviously that did not do the trick as the latest repair only lasted 6 months. Sylvan has not got the dryer opened up yet to send me a photo so I could do some distance diagnostics, SMH.
Anyway, I am returning to Vermont for "vacation" in June, I'll order parts in advance and hopefully get them - the washer and the dryer - functional again.

 

[cadman]

Another vote to check venting, both in the wall and where it exits the building. I wouldn't give up on the old girl, in fact you'll likely have the same failure on a new dryer until the problem is resolved.

 

[spinout]

If the heating element keeps failing or it's cycling on the high-limit thermostat then check your drum seals. Leakage past drum seals is a common cause of problems.