i have a heavy duty one. the longest i can put the timer on is one hour. for
some time now one hour usually doesn't dry a heavy load , i end up putting
it through another 20 mins... it's about 6-7 yrs old, is it time to replace
it? what can i check ?

WHoME? wrote:

i have a heavy duty one. the longest i can put the timer on is one hour. for
some time now one hour usually doesn't dry a heavy load , i end up putting
it through another 20 mins... it's about 6-7 yrs old, is it time to replace
it? what can i check ?

The vent pipe. It's probably building up with lint, obstructing the air
flow. The vent must be kept clear.
I recently moved my gas dryer which had been in the same position for 19
years. The original dryer vent was out the back of the dryer within 4
inches of the outside wall. There was a couple of inches difference in
height between the dryer's vent outlet and the vent tube through the
wall, and the flexible tube between the two openings made a very sharp
dogleg to mate with the tube. This reduced the amount of air that passed
through the tube because of that height discrepancy. When I changed the
vent outlet on the dryer from the back to the side, and then routed that
to another opening in the outside wall some 6 feet away, the timing to
get dry clothes went from 45 min per load to 30 min per load.

The vent pipe. It's probably building up with lint, obstructing the air
flow. The vent must be kept clear.
I recently moved my gas dryer which had been in the same position for 19
years. The original dryer vent was out the back of the dryer within 4
inches of the outside wall. There was a couple of inches difference in
height between the dryer's vent outlet and the vent tube through the
wall, and the flexible tube between the two openings made a very sharp
dogleg to mate with the tube. This reduced the amount of air that passed
through the tube because of that height discrepancy. When I changed the
vent outlet on the dryer from the back to the side, and then routed that
to another opening in the outside wall some 6 feet away, the timing to
get dry clothes went from 45 min per load to 30 min per load.

yep, that's EXACTLY what it was! thanks for the tip Willshak :-))))

"WHoME?" wrote in message
...
i have a heavy duty one. the longest i can put the timer on is one hour.
for
some time now one hour usually doesn't dry a heavy load , i end up putting
it through another 20 mins... it's about 6-7 yrs old, is it time to
replace
it? what can i check ?

Assuming it is an electric dryer? The following may be pertinent?
Helped neighbour fix their dryer recently; a motor problem. While doing so
we also found that half of the double coil electric heating element was not
working. Joined it together and so far it's still working. Mrs Neighbour's
comment was "I had noticed it was taking much longer to dry clothes; much
better now".
Please post again describing what kind of clothes dryer it is.
Just for the record our Kenmore dryer is 44 years old which just about
proves they can be fixed almost indefinitely. The single coil heater element
in ours has only been replaced once.
If it's a gas heated dryer, sorry not familiar.

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 14:15:58 -0700, "WHoME?"
wrote:

i have a heavy duty one. the longest i can put the timer on is one hour. for
some time now one hour usually doesn't dry a heavy load , i end up putting
it through another 20 mins... it's about 6-7 yrs old, is it time to replace
it? what can i check ?


Clean out the ductwork. I use a garden hose (not hooked up of course)
with a wad of rags rubber-banded to the end. It works great. Also,
unplug the dryer, open the bottom part and vacuum out accumulated
dust. Be careful not to bump any of the components--some are
delicate. I clean mine once or twice a year (4-6 loads of clothes per
week). My dryer is going on its 15th year.