Thread Number: 39835
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Post# 589916 , Reply# 1   4/16/2012 at 10:15 (4,393 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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On the dryer and smoke...
The front drum seal is made of felt and eventually disintegrates, starts to break off and fall directly on to the heating element. This needs to be fixed before you run it again. The actual seal is still available but replacing it is a rather involved project as you have to remove the entire cabinet to get at it. I just did this on a HOH dryer that found its way into my basement recently. Actual replacement of the seal - 15 minutes, disassembly of the cabinet, cleaning and reassembly - total of 4 hours. As to the electronic control on these machines, there really is no way to make it more modern. You basically have two levels of dryness that are ultimately controlled by the capacitor. Regular was originally designed to get most things dry, PP got things quite dry. You can mess around changing out the capacitor to see how the dryness levels work for you. Factory spec. was an 8 uF. I currently have a 10 uF in my electric HOH and a 7 uF in my gas HOH. |
Post# 590002 , Reply# 2   4/16/2012 at 17:45 (4,393 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 590014 , Reply# 3   4/16/2012 at 18:41 (4,393 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Post# 590016 , Reply# 4   4/16/2012 at 18:49 (4,393 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Also...to add a bit more to my post from above:
There is no way to add additional heat settings to these dryers without a MAJOR amount of redesign. These were 1 heat dryers by design and to modify that would require some very creative mechanical and electrical engineering. There are two thermostats mounted in the blower housing. The cycling thermostat maintained an exhaust temp of about 155 degress. The "cool-down" thermostat kept the drum tumbling and the fan running after the heat turned off until the exhaust temp dropped below 120 degrees. |
Post# 590019 , Reply# 5   4/16/2012 at 19:13 (4,393 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)   |   | |
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"In 1975 the "big door" Stream-of-Heat dryers were introduced."
This is interesting, I have 2 dryers made in 1976. One is a CDE407 and the other is a DE408. Both made in 76, one is a big load and one is a halo. Did the 2 types overlap for a period of time? I can vouch that the HOH DE407's ran until April 1976, the DE408 is newer, I think October. Both have the gold escutcheon.
-Tim |
Post# 590033 , Reply# 6   4/16/2012 at 19:50 (4,393 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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The newer dryer design did come out in 1976 and it was a very fast change over however the new design dryer had been used in the commercial machines for several years. I always remember what my MT representative said when I asked him how he thought the newer design would work out, to which he replied [ if it works as well as WPs dryers we will have it made ] and while the new design was light years better than the HOH dryers it was never as durable or as fast as the WP built dryers. |
Post# 590039 , Reply# 7   4/16/2012 at 19:57 (4,393 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)   |   | |
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"it was never as durable or as fast as the WP built dryers."
Things I can honestly say from my standpoint on these dryers: The timers seem to be fickle and the machine is slow outright. I've been pleased with the overall performance, and maybe it's the fact that these units are getting on in years, but when it comes to dryers, WP has this beat. That said I love the look of the pair, and the quality in construction materials and feel is certainly there and I LOVE the porcelain top, a WP top wouldn't last long in our house.
-Tim |
Post# 590409 , Reply# 8   4/17/2012 at 20:28 (4,392 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 591847 , Reply# 9   4/24/2012 at 16:14 (4,385 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)   |   | |
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WP may have offered them but they are pretty rare around here, I've only seen one whereas all of the Maytags of the 70's I think had them. My Highlander does not have a porcelain top, but it's the only Maytag I have seen like that.
I've often wondered how well powder-coat would hold up on the top of a dryer.
-Tim |