What I did on my summer ‘staycation’ – Part 2 – Kenmore dryer matchmaking

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Not long after I got the 1951 Kenmore washer earlier this summer, I was sure that I had seen the matching dryer for sale somewhere within my driving limits. I was convinced I had seen one in the warehouse at Hansen’s (Appliances Unlimited) in Queensbury NY when I picked up the GE V-12 set. Well, I was right! I’d sent an email to inquire about it and the pictures I got back confirmed it!
So on Friday the 31st of August, Phil and I set out on another road trip.... We had a brief visit with Roger (firedome) in Vermont then hit the road down to Queensbury.
The dryer was indeed what I was looking for and while at the shop, I inquired about some much-needed GE parts and learned something about GE refrigerators (more about that in Part 3 which will be in the Super Forum!).
We got the dryer back to Ogden safely, despite getting drenched in a downpour as climbed our way through the mountains of Vermont.
I wasn’t too worried about the dryer, because, well, it’s in need of a total restoration!

 

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This poor dear has seen a long and hard life – I think this may have been used in a garage or shop until it finally gave up the ghost.
The cabinet is scratched and splattered with paint – surprisingly the chrome name plate and door handles seem to be in decent condition.
Notice the jewel in the middle of the top cover – a pilot light – wahoo!

 

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Timer control is simple enough, but someone added an arrow to clearly illustrate the concept of ‘clockwise’...

 

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Three temperature selections for all your fabrics! But whether it will eliminate sprinkling so that one can iron damp-dried clothes right from the dryer will have to be tested at a later time... LOL

 

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Inside the drum is not too bad, but yeesh! Look at the lint accumulation in the back of the drum...

 

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Inside door is pretty rusty, but the gasket is still remarkably flexible. The door catch seems solid, too.

 

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Date of birth – March 5, 1951! I had seen a couple of date stamps indicating May 1951 for the washer’s ‘birthday’ – hope it won’t mind a slightly older suitor...

 

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Mechanically, the machine is pretty simple. When I first tried turning the drum and fan pulleys, they wouldn’t budge, though.

 

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Here’s the reason for that – the motor is totally seized! I am pretty sure that I can find a replacement motor locally.

 

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I took the top off – I wasn’t that surprised, but there is an impressive amount of lint build up!

 

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The top cover shows evidence of a short or burnout of a component... Not a happy thought...

 

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Two vacuum bagfuls later....

 

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Don’t like the look of this either... I fear that the ‘cause of death’ for this dryer was some heater malfunction that caused it to seriously overheat...

 

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With the lint gone, I was able to identify other components. This transformer was (I guess) used for the germicidal lamp.

 

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The timer motor looks as if it had been replaced – it works, so I am not complaining!

 

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I suspect that the burn mark on the dryer top cover came from here – note how one thermostat lead seems to have been replaced.

 

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I unhooked the drive belts from and tested the fan and drum pulleys. To my utter amazement, they both turn smoothly! They will be getting a good re-oiling as part of the restoration.

 

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Now this scares and puzzles me.... It also makes most of my wiring look safe and up to code... LOL
I believe the heating element was also replaced at some point, given the spliced wires. But there are two extra wires hanging around and it wasn’t immediately obvious what they did.
I inspected the heater assembly on the 66 Inglis and a spare assembly that I extracted from a parts donor Inglis dryer and I wondered if maybe the disconnected wires should have been going some kind of a thermostat....

Overall, this is looking like a winter project for me. I would like to rewire this machine completely and get the drum out to give it a good cleaning inside.
Not knowing much about machines of this vintage, does one remove the cabinet to be able to remove the drum?
And if anyone happens to have a wiring diagram for this machine, please let me know!

 

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My parents

had this exact same set when I was a kid. I thought they bought them in 1952 but it might have been 1951? Once when we were playing hide and go seek, I turned it on with my little brother hiding inside. Not to worry. The dryer was unharmed!