Trouble in Lady Kenmore land

[moderncleveland]

Hey everyone! For the past four years, we've been enjoying our dream system: a 1974-75 avocado green Lady Kenmore matched pair.

It's been absolutely flawless, and we treasure this set. Something just happened to the dryer and I'm trying to figure it out.

There's three settings for heat: AIR which is an air fluff without heat, KNIT DELICATE which is warm air, and REGULAR which is full heat.

Since most of my clothes are as old as this dryer (or older!), I always use KNIT DELICATE on them.

Last night I went to check a load and it seemed like it was taking forever to dry ... and the I realized that there was no heat at all!

I put it on REGULAR and that warmed it up and I finally finished the load.

Today I tested it out, and can confirm that KNIT DELICATE stays cold.

I always clean out the lint screen after every session. Today I moved it away from the wall and checked if there was any vent issue. The vents were pretty clean, but I gave everything a good vacuuming nevertheless. (There's always dust on a dryer!)

Anyone have any ideas what this could be? I wonder if the heat element is starting to go.

 

[turquoisedude]

I think you're right that the heating element is the problem. If this is the 'soft heat' style of element, there would be two elements - a lower wattage one for the knits/delicates cycle and a higher wattage one for the regular fabrics cycle. If you are also noticing that the drying time is taking longer on the regular cycle setting, that would be another clue. It may be that the low-wattage element has disconnected due to vibration over the years - it may be possible to reconnect or resolder it. I'd suggest pulling the dryer out and testing the elements with a multimeter to see if there is an incomplete circuit with the low-wattage element.

 

[maytag85]

Not extremely versed with the Lady Kenmore dryers of this era, but my guess is it could be the low heat thermostat which has failed. If it heats up perfectly fine on all the other temperatures, could mean that particular cycling thermostat has failed.

 

[Marky_Mark]

More than likely a very easy fix. As Sean said, it's probably just the low-temp thermostat that needs replacing. It won't be a problem with the vent or with the heating element (this dryer only has one heating element). It could be a loose thermostat wire or a problem with the temp selector switch, but I'd start with the thermostat. Unplug the dryer and take off the rear panel. You will see two thermostats like the ones in this photo. Assuming there is nothing obviously wrong (like a wire disconnected), you can easily replace the low temp one. You could test them with a multimeter -- they should pass current when cold. Replacements are widely available. You can replace the low temp thermostat with one that cycles the heater off/on at a lower temperature than your current one if you like. Then you'd have the option of normal temp and extra low temp.

Just to be clear, the heating element in your dryer is either full on or completely off. There is no in between. The drying temperature is controlled by either the low or high temp thermostats (depending on if you select delicate or regular temp), which cycle the heater on and off to maintain your chosen temperature.

That's a nice set you have!
Mark

 

[maytag85]

More than likely a very easy fix. As Sean said, it's probably just the low-temp thermostat that needs replacing. It won't be a problem with the vent or with the heating element (this dryer only has one heating element). It could be a loose thermostat wire or a problem with the temp selector switch, but I'd start with the thermostat. Unplug the dryer and take off the rear panel. You will see two thermostats like the ones in this photo. Assuming there is nothing obviously wrong (like a wire disconnected), you can easily replace the low temp one. You could test them with a multimeter -- they should pass current when cold. Replacements are widely available. You can replace the low temp thermostat with one that cycles the heater off/on at a lower temperature than your current one if you like. Then you'd have the option of normal temp and extra low temp.

That's a nice set you have!
Mark

The older Whirlpool/Kenmore 29” top filter dryers have multiple thermostats for the various temperatures. Later on, they went to a bias thermostat which has it’s own internal heater (two resistors) to trick it into thinking it’s hotter than it actually is for the lower and medium temperature, with a bias thermostat it will either heat or not heat up at all.

I tend to prefer individual thermostats since there seems to be actual temperature regulation, bias thermostats work but can be somewhat hit and miss since the heat can be cut off at a higher temperature which may not be desirable for certain types of items and clothing.

 

[combo52]

Hi Mark and Sean have the right idea. It’s either the thermostat or the temperature switch, don’t forget you can call Bob he’ll come and fix this for you.

John L

 

[moderncleveland]

Wow, you guys are fantastic! Thank you all!

Mark, I'm so relieved to know that these replacements are out there. We are at the point now where we have all of our dream systems in place, the only way to expand would be to create a sort of mini museum (which interestingly is not 100% out of the question), so now our big concern in life is how to keep all of these wonderful mid-century mechanics going. Hubby fixed a loose wire on the range last year, and what we maybe worry about most are the refrigerators.

John, I did give a call to Bob last night. He's the best and simply indispensable. Without him none of this we have would be possible. We do want to start learning all of this stuff, like the basics of using a multimeter.

 

[maytag85]

Hi Mark and Sean have the right idea. It’s either the thermostat or the temperature switch, don’t forget you can call Bob he’ll come and fix this for you.

John L

Whoops, forgot about the temperature selector switch, that could be a source of the problem as well.

More than likely it’s the low heat cycling thermostat which has failed causing a no heat condition on the low heat temperature setting.