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Thread Number: 47298
Kenmore Soft-Heat GAS dryers |
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Post# 686942 7/2/2013 at 19:50 (3,943 days old) by Kenmore71  (Minneapolis, MN) |
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 Here's a question for the Kenmore experts out there:
Kenmore introduced the "Soft-Heat" concept in about 1963. Initially on their gas models they used a continuously modulating gas valve that actually used a capillary tube and bulb that adjusted the output of the burner to maintain a steady temperature in the exhaust manifold. I have seen one of these in action in Don's (Jet-Action) 1965 model 800.
In their later years did they continue this design or was it "cheapened" somehow?
The reason I ask is that I am about to bring home a 1970 model 70 gas dryer that bills itself as "Soft-Heat". HOWEVER, this is an automatic dryness control dryer that is NOT electronic. It appears to use a thermostat in the exhaust manifold like so many other mid-line dryers did until only recently! I just don't see how a continuously modulating gas valve could be used on this type of dryness control. Now in a week or two I'll be able to report how this dryer actually works, but until then I WANT TO KNOW :) 
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| Post# 687048 , Reply# 2 7/3/2013 at 02:26 (3,943 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
There was nothing "soft" about my ~1990 Kenmore Soft Heat except the bezel text. I throttled the burner valve down so it wouldn't make sheets smell like they had been in a fire. There was no proportioning, the burner was strictly on or off. But it still said "soft heat".
Other than lying to me about "soft", the auto-dry module failing, and the main gas valve failing, that dryer ran for 17 years and was still running when I sold it with the house. | ||
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Post# 687069 , Reply# 3 7/3/2013 at 08:03 (3,943 days old) by coldspot66 (Plymouth, Mass) |
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Current versions of "soft heat" means that the last few minutes of the heating cycle is controlled by the low heat thermo. The bias heater on the 4 wire thermo is in the circuit to shut the heat at the lower temperature, instead of the high heat temp. | ||
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Post# 687074 , Reply# 4 7/3/2013 at 08:51 (3,943 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN) |
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Post# 687078 , Reply# 5 7/3/2013 at 09:17 (3,943 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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2nd Generation KM Soft Heat Gas Dryers When the modulating input gas dryer burners disappeared around 1970 Sears continued to use the name SH on their dryers. I am not quite sure how they justified doing this but I think it was because the old system ran around 165F and the newer dryers just used a fixed 155F exhaust thermostat, maybe Gordon or someone else knows, but I am sure Sears had some justification for continuing to use the SH name to cover a cost cutting move.
Sometime in the 1990s the SH name on KM dryers and the Gentle Heat name on WP dryers referred to the fact on the auto-dry cycles the thermostat temperature setting did reduce as the timer moved toward the cool-down period of the drying cycle. This was done by the timer turning on a little heater in the control thromostat to cause it to trip sooner and therefor reduce the exhaust temperature.
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Post# 687101 , Reply# 6 7/3/2013 at 11:33 (3,943 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC) |
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The moniker "Soft Heat"
I don't have a complete answer about the origin of Soft Heat or how it was conceived by Sears in later versions, but I do have some info that might help.
Having read and re-read Sears catalogs over and over again, both when they were new and recently, I know that Soft Heat was indeed a feature in 1963-ish models, through the 60s, and then it seemed to go away in the early 70s for quite some time, at least as a marketing term. My mother's 1972 dryer was sold as an Auto Fabric Master model --- none of those dryers from that era had adjustable heat switches, at least most didn't and I don't recall Soft Heat, even on the TOLs. The catalogs say the dryers automatically adjust the heat as clothes dry, just as the old term "Soft Heat" would suggest. I do know that our dryer, which was gas, was much less warm late in the cycle vs. early on when things were really wet. It was still heating too, and not in the cool-down phase. Though Soft Heat may have come back at points in the 70s, it made a huge comeback, and for quite a while, in 1983. Models with and without Soft Heat were carefully price pointed and marketed accordingly. In 1986 when I bought my Kenmore pair, naturally I was quite focused on the washer, but because so many machines could interchange with the common panel styling, I had a choice of dryers. There were only two large capacity models on sale, thus that eliminated five or six other options. I bought the same basic dryer as Mom's 1982 dryer, less the adjustable cycle signal. No soft heat. I did not know it, but I got one of the better selling models. There is/was a version of my dryer, which sold about as well, which DID have soft heat, and that was the only distinguishing feature between the two models. These are 70-series models. There was a standard capacity with and without group as well, they are 60-series units. I have not studied them closely in parts diagrams to see what is different, but I do know that in both cases the soft heat "equipped" models do use different timer part numbers vs. those that don't. I have a copy of my dryer with Soft Heat now, so maybe one day I should compare the two side by side. So, in a nutshell, 1980s models anyway use different timers than their counterparts without soft heat. For what its worth... Gordon | ||
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Post# 687149 , Reply# 7 7/3/2013 at 16:45 (3,942 days old) by DaveAmKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI) |
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Seems as if a lot of brands had their own "drying system" and a fancy name for it...!
Not to mention promising the "best performance" over its competition...! Frigidaire boasted "Gentle Heat", while General Electric promised the fewest wrinkles, and don't forget Maytag's "Halo Of Heat", while similar systems & trade names were offered by Whirlpool, Norge, Westinghouse & so on...! -- Dave | ||
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Post# 687250 , Reply# 11 7/4/2013 at 11:50 (3,941 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA) |
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Post# 687278 , Reply# 12 7/4/2013 at 13:26 (3,941 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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Frigidaire used the term "Flowing Heat" in their vented dryers in the 60s. Actually, I think the air-flow Filtrators were also said to have Flowing Heat. I guess it just meant that the heat was moved through the load by a fan. This post was last edited 07/04/2013 at 15:19 | ||
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Post# 688308 , Reply# 13 7/9/2013 at 20:46 (3,936 days old) by electronicontrl (Grand Rapids, MI) |
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Soft Heat & Cushioned Heat
Hey VintageKitchen!,
I agree with you in regards to Soft heat and dryness level. I have a 1992 KitchenAid dryer (which I truly enjoy) but I had to make accommodations for it. When I dry towels or other heavy items I select "very dry", otherwise I have damp clothes at the end of the cycle. Being a Maytag buff and selecting Maytag's "normal dryness" for loads which always came out dry, I was not thrilled with damp towels. But bumping up the dryness setting works just fine. (KitchenAid calls theirs "cushioned heat"). 
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Post# 688321 , Reply# 14 7/9/2013 at 21:33 (3,936 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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