Clothes dryer question

[Tom7227]

My daughter has called about her gas clothes dryer.  Older rig that was in the house when she bought it two years ago.  Gas.  The filter, exhaust duct and outlet have all been cleaned and there are no obstructions.  Despite that she has to run it a couple of times to get the towels dry.   The weak point in the system is the fact that the outlet is about 2-3 inches off the ground on the outside.  I got to wondering if there is some sort of buildup of pressure because the exhaust can't get out efficiently.  I know that the thing should be higher off the ground but the setup is what the setup is.  If folks think that's the problem is there some sort of kit that lifts the system up higher?

Other ideas?

Thanks for your time.

Tom

[bobbymalone]

Why does it matter if the outlet is 2-3 inches off the ground?  

Did it always take a couple runs to dry towels?

Does it make any weird sounds?

Could be the coil going bad.  That's when I knew it was new dryer time at my house.

Edited February 12, 2016 by bobbymalone

[Tom7227]

I am just wondering if somehow that isn't enough clearance.  There's a lot of air coming out through a 3 or 4 inch duct trying to get out of a 2x3 inch rectangle (the outside hood jobberdo) and only a couple inches of clearance to get the air out.

It's my daughter.  She said it's never worked well.  But for some reason this is a problem that needs to be solved by noon Saturday.  Daughters don't have to be logical I guess.

[bobbymalone]

I wouldn't think it would matter if it's only a couple inches off the ground, as long as it's not blowing into an enclosed space.

Can you pop the hood off and give it a run?

My dryer vent is about 4 inches off the ground, but it looks like this rather than a hood.

I'm no dryer expert, but I'm thinking your problem is not that exhaust vent.

[delcecchi]

My outlet is not very high over the floor of my deck and it has never been a problem.  

Could be one of several things.   Dryer is a pretty simple thing.   Belt could be slipping so drum doesn't turn fast and not enough air is blowing through.  Should be able to tell by looking at plume of steam in this cold weather.  

More likely it is the thermostat thing that turns the flame on and off.  Or perhaps the igniter, although when mine went, the dryer worked ok until it quit totally.

What kind and model of dryer? 

Oh and how well does her washer spin the towels?  If the washer is old and for some reason not spinning well that can make them extra wet and hard to get dry. 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2016 by delcecchi

[RebelSS]

Do this...Have her open the door, hold down the door safety switch, turn heat setting to High, and see it it gets hot in there. Can also check for the drum turning properly. If it's not hot, therein lies your problem......can check electric ones the same way. I do. Duct work shouldn't make a bit of difference if it's clean. You can disconnect it right at the back of the unit, and see if it's blowing hot air out. If not, it's not heating.

[RebelSS]

Tom, please let us know what happens......

[Bobby Bass]

Sometimes it can be as simple as to many towels in the dryer. Just because you have a super capacity washing machine does not mean the dryer can handle the load. If the dryer is packed it will not allow enough air movement to dry the load. Seen it before.

[leech~~]

Have her go outside to make sure her vent like Bobby showed above is not clogged with lint. If the little flippers are not opening or if it just has one flipper like ours. It can get clogged up and just not open or enough not letting the wet air out like it should. Also like any gas thing she may have someone come in and check the burner to make sure it is clean and putting out enough heat.

[highlife4me]

One more thing you will want to check is the blower wheel.  Most of them are made of plastic and they can break or they can become so dirty that they will no longer blow enough air through the dryer to dry the clothes.  The thermal fuse should blow if the inside of the drier becomes too hot from a blower wheel that quits working completely.

[Tom7227]

14 hours ago, RebelSS said:

Tom, please let us know what happens......

The brat isn't going to be reasonable and check all this great advice out and fix the problem, she is going to buy both a new washer and dryer.  In a mild defense of her I will point out that both were in the house when she bought if from the proverbial little old lady and so they could be 1,000 years old.  Also said little old lady was a cat nut and so it is very possible that one or more of the disgusting creatures could be embedded in the dryer some place boogering things up.

Thanks for the help.

[leechlake]

in that case you may want to snag both of them.  Some guys in the cooking forum will make smokers out of them

 

[RebelSS]

12 minutes ago, leechlake said:

in that case you may want to snag both of them.  Some guys in the cooking forum will make smokers out of them

 

Ya, and wait 'til ya get the free advice bill!!!!  I see a new smoker in Boar's future.....

[Tom7227]

Not interested in making a smoker.  Someone over in Mpls can grab them from the alley and have all the fun they want. 

[RebelSS]

We meant there's a couple guys on the food thread that want one to make a smoker...in other words, they might take them off your hands.

 

[Ufatz]

My first wife started whining about new dryer......clothes not coming out nice and fresh and dry.

I put up three lines of wire between two poles and gave her three dozen clothes pins so she could hang things in the nice warm sun I thought it was a wonderful and simple solution to her problem.

She was gone one morning and my damp fishing clothes were laying in a pile on the back porch.

Don't know what ever became of her.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Ufatz

[delcecchi]

9 hours ago, Tom7227 said:

The brat isn't going to be reasonable and check all this great advice out and fix the problem, she is going to buy both a new washer and dryer.  In a mild defense of her I will point out that both were in the house when she bought if from the proverbial little old lady and so they could be 1,000 years old.  Also said little old lady was a cat nut and so it is very possible that one or more of the disgusting creatures could be embedded in the dryer some place boogering things up.

Thanks for the help.

Oh, we figgered you would be doing the checking and fixing.  Never Mind.  Don't worry, the new washer will be much more efficient and save the planet from global climate change. 

[RebelSS]

Plus, he can throw any missed cats in during the spin-dry cycle.

[Cicada]

Would have been nice to make sure it wasn't a venting problem.  If it was, a new dryer will do the exact same thing.  To see if it is venting, disconnect the venting from the back and then turn the dryer away from the wall.  This is very important, otherwise you'll push that hot moist air against the wall and be sucked back up into the dryer simulating clogged venting.  If the dry time is normal, then it was a venting problem.  If it still takes too long, either a clogged blower wheel or bad stat.  Another thing that can restrict air flow is if you have flexible venting and the dryer gets moved so the flex isn't a 4 inch round anymore.  Make sure she isn't using the flexible venting that looks like a white plastic covered slinky.  Not UL approved and a fire hazard.  Hard vent is best, but a short length of flex venting that has, what looks like, foil on it will be ok.

[RebelSS]

As he stated in OP:

  The filter, exhaust duct and outlet have all been cleaned and there are no obstructions.  

Looks like she's getting new ones, as he said.

[leech~~]

On 2/13/2016 at 5:04 PM, RebelSS said:

We meant there's a couple guys on the food thread that want one to make a smoker...in other words, they might take them off your hands.

 

If she has a 20" box fan that may help a lot for someone to pick them all up in the alley!

[RebelSS]

Does it need a KC sticker on it?!     

Edited February 15, 2016 by RebelSS

[Cicada]

10 hours ago, RebelSS said:

As he stated in OP:

  The filter, exhaust duct and outlet have all been cleaned and there are no obstructions.  

Looks like she's getting new ones, as he said.

I caught that, but we get that all the time at work and yet, it still can be a venting issue.  I was just cautioning that if she has the same problem with a new dryer, it needs further investigation and some things to look for.

[RebelSS]

Gotcha. Good to check that vent and line twice a year...I yank mine in Spring AND Fall. And don't use those corrugated metal or stretchy plastic hoses! Lint grabbers! Smooth metal duct pipe....better safe than sorry. 

[Tom7227]

I have been replaced apparently and the new squeeze must be multi-talented.  She did a trifecta at the appliance store.  The one that could be most interesting is the dish washer that is going to be installed on the wall opposite the sink.  Water and waste should be interesting.  But what do I know.  When I wrote and asked about it she said it was his problem.