Saturday is my day to do laundry. Especially this week -- I've got to fill in at work on Sunday. So it had to get done today.
First load, tops and delicates, a surprising amount of which can go in the dryer on low. Which is where I put it. I loaded the air-dry stuff onto plastic hangers and started the washer filling for the week's worth of work slacks that follow.
H'mm, the old dryer's sounding a little rough. I decided to check the outside vent as soon as I got upstairs.
It didn't look too bad, but what was clunking around? I did have three hooded sweatshirts in there....
I took the slacks down and loaded the washer. The dryer sounded worse. It seemed to be varying in speed as the drum turned. Was it a drive-belt issue? Overloaded? Motor failing?
Most dryers have synchronous motors. They need to be extremely unhappy before the speed starts to vary, and they usually don't last long after that. And the noise was getting worse and worse, with occasional banging sounds.
I decided to put everything on hangers and let it air-dry while I had a look at the dryer. Not great, but it's winter and a pretty cold day: the air in my house is plenty dry and a little extra humidity wouldn't hurt. A fair amount of messing with damp clothing later, I opened up the dryer.
It still didn't look too bad. I found some lint balls in the exhaust vent, and maybe the belt is wearing faster than I'd like, but that was all. In a spirit of trying things, I got my portable vacuum and started cleaning the squirrel-cage blower; the machine has been taking longer and longer to get clothes dry recently, and it did have some lint build-up on the vanes.
In the process of cleaning the fan, I eventually realized the impeller was turning independently of the drive shaft. Oh, it would turn if the shaft was turning, too, but it's supposed to be rigidly coupled. And it was wobbling quite a bit. That's the kind of thing that would account for the racket the dryer was making.
Double-checking the drawings online, it looks like the motor shaft is D-shaped and the fan is clamped to it, with a matching opening at the hub. I've ordered a replacement impeller, clamp and circlip. Replacing it is probably going to be a fussy project, down at floor level, and until it arrives, we're out of the dryer business.
In the meantime, my load of work slacks was done -- two pairs of medium-weight cargo slacks, a matching pair with a warm winter lining and three pairs of heavy double-front dungarees. I improvised an indoor clothesline in the basement and plugged the dehumidifier back in. I'm checking the progress of my tops and some time before bedtime, I'll move the dry ones to storage and bring the slacks upstairs, to dry where it's warmer.
When it comes to clothes dryers, I have a skewed view: my Mom used the same 1949-vintage one well into the 1980s, getting it repaired as needed, and on some level, I may believe they're supposed to last forever. I'll see how the repairs go. The parts sites show a lot of the components for my dryer as "unavailable," so the clock is ticking.
We were gifted a 1970's vintage electric dryer early in out marriage (44 years, for those keeping score). I replaced everything in that dryer over a 25-year period except for the timer assembly. The worst part of it was not slicing your hands open on that thin sheet steel! The dryer that replaced it has been humming merrily along with only cleaning needed.
ReplyDeleteMy dryer has some sharp edges on the metalwork, too. Amazingly, four spring clips, two #6 sheet-metal screws and four locating pins hold the chassis together -- you pop two clips free at the top front, flip the top back, undo the two screws and the whole front swings forward and lifts off. A little more work frees the drum and belt, allowing access to the motor and heating element.
DeleteI am hopeful I will be able to replace the fan impeller without removing the drum. The front of the fan housing will have to come off for sure.
Good writeup. :-)
ReplyDeleteOff-topic . . . I have always wondered: what the heck is a dungaree?
I'm glad you asked that! See Sundays blog post for the answer -- or an answer, anyway.
DeleteDryers are so simple there is little to go wrong. The only work I've done on dryers is to clean out the lint and, before first use of a new dryer, disconnecting the wire to the dinger/buzzer that signals shut off. I dislike the noise!
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time I was gifted with an electric dryer that had been sitting unused for awhile, functionality unknown. I took it home. But to make sure it worked before horsing it down the cellar hatch stairs, I hooked it up to an outside outlet (for my backup generator) and ran it . Worked fine but laid out a smokescreen like a WWII destroyer in maneuvers. And such a stench. Mice had set up a hotel colony in the tube with the heater element. Roasted mice shit, bedding, oh my. Much bleach and scrubbing later, I had a working dryer. Thank God I hadn't run it first inside.
ReplyDeleteMy old Maytag of many, many years has had the moisture sensor die. It's an early design, the sensor is buried, not readily accessible and no longer parts available. Sigh, now I use the timer. At 79, you kick things down the road.