I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I
spent a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the
house with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent
brush all the way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the
lint together from each side. Then when I jammed rags around an
electric leaf blower nozzle and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta
trail 20 feet into the yard. At this point the exhaust vent honestly
seems pretty clear. When I go outside the airflow feels practically as
strong as it does straight out of the dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it
used to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com
I see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor
tells it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might
have run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when
it stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that
might help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Tom McQuinn wrote:
I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I
spent a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the
house with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent
brush all the way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the
lint together from each side. Then when I jammed rags around an
electric leaf blower nozzle and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta
trail 20 feet into the yard. At this point the exhaust vent honestly
seems pretty clear. When I go outside the airflow feels practically as
strong as it does straight out of the dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it
used to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com
I see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor
tells it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might
have run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when
it stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that
might help me get this machine working well again.

Tom

It is hard to make out the components without the key relating to the
numbers, but from your description I would look to see if there were two
heating elements paralleled. One of them opening up might very well
give you the results you describe.

yes to one of two elements failing.

another issue is how dry is the washer spinning them out? if they come
out of the washer too wet drying will take forever.

Yesterday I fixed a friends moms electric dryer, never workied on a
electric one before. geez in comparison with gas its a empty box

from the photo drawing looks like just one element

Tom McQuinn wrote:

I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I
spent a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the
house with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent
brush all the way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the
lint together from each side. Then when I jammed rags around an
electric leaf blower nozzle and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta
trail 20 feet into the yard. At this point the exhaust vent honestly
seems pretty clear. When I go outside the airflow feels practically as
strong as it does straight out of the dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it
used to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com
I see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor
tells it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might
have run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when
it stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that
might help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

That sensor electrode is basically two metal bars, when wet and
therefore conductive laundry rubs against them the control senses this
and retards the timer to allow more drying time. If the contact bars
have become dirty so that there is an insulating film over them then the
dryer could cycle too quickly. It's also possible for there to be a bad
connection in the wiring from the sensor electrodes or a bad control,
but simply cleaning the electrodes is an easy thing to try.

It's a fairly "creative" war to sense the moisture content of the
laundry, but it works reasonably well. I think only some of the very
newest dryers actually have "real" sensors to measure the moisture
content of the exhaust air.

Pete C.

Look for more lint clogs inside the dryer. Most often they exist after the
lint filter but before the vent output pipe. Usually need to take the front
off the dryer to access the inside air path. Given what you found in the
external vent, its a safe bet you have a restriction inside the dryer as
well.

Reduced airflow will cause increased drying times. Clean it all out now
before the (non resettable) thermal fuse blows and you have to replace it at
extra cost.




"Tom McQuinn" wrote in message
...
I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I spent
a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the house
with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent brush all the
way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the lint together from
each side. Then when I jammed rags around an electric leaf blower nozzle
and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta trail 20 feet into the yard. At
this point the exhaust vent honestly seems pretty clear. When I go outside
the airflow feels practically as strong as it does straight out of the
dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it used
to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com I
see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor tells
it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might have
run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when it
stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that might
help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

PipeDown wrote:
Look for more lint clogs inside the dryer. Most often they exist after the
lint filter but before the vent output pipe. Usually need to take the front
off the dryer to access the inside air path. Given what you found in the
external vent, its a safe bet you have a restriction inside the dryer as
well.

Reduced airflow will cause increased drying times. Clean it all out now
before the (non resettable) thermal fuse blows and you have to replace it at
extra cost.


Wilco. Just took about a gallon of very moist, dense lint out of this
area. In fact, it was keeping the lint screen from fully locking down.
There's a load of towels drying as a test right now.

hallerb - I got a look at the heating element and it looks like a single
element, just as you saw in the drawing.

Pete C. - I wanted to smack myself when I saw how simple the 'moisture
sensor' was. Once I understood what I was looking for all I had to do
was stick my head through the door to see them. The contact bars show
no sign of corrosion but I will certainly explore this further if the
latest clean out doesn't cure the problem.

I went on line and reserved a couple of appliance repair books from the
library when I started this. I may not need them with this kind of help!

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Did you check both fuses? You may only be getting 110V. This will allow the
dryer to run but at a lower temp.
"Tom McQuinn" wrote in message
...
I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I spent
a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the house
with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent brush all the
way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the lint together from
each side. Then when I jammed rags around an electric leaf blower nozzle
and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta trail 20 feet into the yard. At
this point the exhaust vent honestly seems pretty clear. When I go outside
the airflow feels practically as strong as it does straight out of the
dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it used
to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com I
see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor tells
it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might have
run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when it
stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that might
help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

"Tom McQuinn" wrote in message
...
PipeDown wrote:


Pete C. - I wanted to smack myself when I saw how simple the 'moisture
sensor' was. Once I understood what I was looking for all I had to do was
stick my head through the door to see them. The contact bars show no sign
of corrosion but I will certainly explore this further if the latest clean
out doesn't cure the problem.

I went on line and reserved a couple of appliance repair books from the
library when I started this. I may not need them with this kind of help!

Tom

As Pete C mentioned, dirt is a common problem with these sensors. The usual
"dirt" is a waxy buildup from using dryer sheets. If you use them, need to
wipe off the sensors with something like alcohol every three months or so.

Tom G.

In article , Tom McQuinn
wrote:

Just took about a gallon of very moist, dense lint out of this
area. In fact, it was keeping the lint screen from fully locking down.
There's a load of towels drying as a test right now.

Quit messing around and just buy a NEW dryer, fer pete's sake.
--

JR
Whirlpool stockholder

(just kidding)

john lawrence beat me to the punch... i have two 110 flip style circuit
breakers for my dryer. i will occasionally have the same lack of drying and
it is always that the switch doen't trip fully and runs on 110. sop is to
switch both off fully and back on. this always happens when the kids
overload the dryer. good luck
"John Lawrence" wrote in message
...
Did you check both fuses? You may only be getting 110V. This will allow
the dryer to run but at a lower temp.
"Tom McQuinn" wrote in message
...
I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I spent
a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the house
with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent brush all
the way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the lint together
from each side. Then when I jammed rags around an electric leaf blower
nozzle and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta trail 20 feet into the
yard. At this point the exhaust vent honestly seems pretty clear. When I
go outside the airflow feels practically as strong as it does straight out
of the dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it
used to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com
I see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor tells
it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might have
run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when it
stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that
might help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

If you need more help with the vent cleaning, go to
http://CleanYourOwnDryerVent.com
Alisa

Jim Redelfs wrote:
In article , Tom McQuinn
wrote:


Just took about a gallon of very moist, dense lint out of this
area. In fact, it was keeping the lint screen from fully locking down.
There's a load of towels drying as a test right now.


Quit messing around and just buy a NEW dryer, fer pete's sake.

I want to apologize to the group for my wife's impersonation of JR in
the previous post. She has agreed to never do it again in exchange for
a new house. vbg

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

One pole and neutral run the motor and timer at 110V and both poles (w/o
neutral) make the 220V to run the heating element. If the breaher that
dosen't have the motor across it trips, the motor will run but the heat
won't fire. If the other breaker trips, it will stop alltogether.

More seriously, there should be a 220V dual breaker with a tie bar in that
location not two 110V breakers. It creates a shock hazard when someone
trips the breaker with the motor and leaves the other one hot. Touch the
heater terminal and the grounded chassis (while you think it is off) and
someone is doing CPR (well, duh, you shoulda unplugged it ayway).

At least try to get a tie bar to connect the 110V breakers if possible



"tom&kel" wrote in message
. ..
john lawrence beat me to the punch... i have two 110 flip style circuit
breakers for my dryer. i will occasionally have the same lack of drying
and it is always that the switch doen't trip fully and runs on 110. sop
is to switch both off fully and back on. this always happens when the
kids overload the dryer. good luck
"John Lawrence" wrote in message
...
Did you check both fuses? You may only be getting 110V. This will allow
the dryer to run but at a lower temp.
"Tom McQuinn" wrote in message
...
I have a Kenmore electric dryer. It was starting to take a long time to
dry a load of clothes. After searching Google groups for answers, I
spent a torturous afternoon cleaning the 4 inch vent (from middle of the
house with two 90 degree turns). I never did get the flexible vent brush
all the way through but I do believe I finally crushed all the lint
together from each side. Then when I jammed rags around an electric leaf
blower nozzle and blew out the clogs they left an ejecta trail 20 feet
into the yard. At this point the exhaust vent honestly seems pretty
clear. When I go outside the airflow feels practically as strong as it
does straight out of the dryer.

It is working a whole lot better but still doesn't work as well as it
used to. It seems to get hot enough. But the timer advances before the
clothes are dry. If not for this I think you could put a full load into
it and come back to find dry clothes.

Thankfully, Sears has exploded drawings available:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M25D12DDC

And the legend:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V58D21DDC

In reading through the dryer troubleshooting section of repairclinic.com
I see a reference to the timer only advancing when the unit reaches the
proper temperature (seems hot enough to me) AND the moisture sensor
tells it that the clothes are drying.

When I look at the exploded drawing, item 34 (very top of the drawing,
center of the page) is called 'electrode sensor'. Does anyone know if
this is a moisture sensor and, if so, do you think it could be worn out?
Dirty? Time to cough up the cash for a service call?

I do know that the timer did not used to advance this way. It might
have run a long time if you were drying something big and heavy but when
it stopped the load would be dry.

If I'm on the wrong track here, thanks in advance for any ideas that
might help me get this machine working well again.

Tom
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth