Thread Number: 13333
Much Maligned Maytag Halo-of-Heat dryers
[Down to Last]

automaticwasher.org's exclusive eBay Watch:
scroll >>> for more items --- [As an eBay Partner, eBay may compensate automaticwasher.org if you make a purchase using any link to eBay on this page]
Post# 230777   8/15/2007 at 21:19 (6,069 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)        

I have seen some posts(not from here) about halo-from-hell, etc, and how hard they were to repair, and how slow they are to dry.
I have a DG906 from 1971(from a good member in Michigan),that I put in new belts, pilot tube and pilot light assembly, but not bad maintence for a dryer that is 36 years old. The thing is a German Tank, no rust and a cabinet that you could stand on, and fix your basement pipes.
The automatic dryer settings are easy,and take the guesswork out of drying, saving money, and blah, blah.

I have a 1995 Maytag dryer and a Kenmore dryer at my Dads place and nothing, I mean nothing compares to the lint free and wrinkle free drying that the Maytag halo-of-heat gives on T-shirts,knits and socks, despite the limited capacity compared to todays bohemoth dryer drums, with which I will point out, not an increase of lint filter design or exhaust capacity.

Halo-of-Heat was a really good design from the standpoint that the heat came from the front and it was vacuumed through the clothes to the back in a really big lint filter, in the drum, not on top of the drum. My black t shirts come out immacualte in the Halo-of-Heat, wheras on the Kenmore and Maytag 1995 dryer, they come out with lint.

While not the biggest capacity, the Halo-of-Heat did a good job of vaccuming the clothes due to its on the spot lint filter in the drum compared to the drums that are much larger without an increase of lint filter capacity or even exaust size capacity.
Seems to me that Maytag had the balance right of drum size and exhaust as well as heat entry.





Post# 230783 , Reply# 1   8/15/2007 at 21:33 (6,069 days old) by rickr (.)        
I really like mine....

rickr's profile picture
I restored this set from 1958 a few years ago. I do not use the washer that much. Usually only 1 or 2 loads per week. But I use this dryer more than the others that I own. It works very well, and I like the bell chime at the end of the cycle.
Halo of Heat models are a very well made dryer, and they run super quiet.


Post# 230785 , Reply# 2   8/15/2007 at 21:35 (6,069 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)        

They are quiet, and WHOOHOO, WHAT A GREAT SET YOU HAVE. Thanks for sharing.

Post# 230789 , Reply# 3   8/15/2007 at 21:45 (6,069 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)        

I had a 1969 DG806 Maytag Halo dryer. It wasn't the fastest or have a huge capacity, but you could hardly hear it run. It really did do a good job of removing lint, and was superb at handling permanent press items. And guess what? The darn thing is still in use as its companion washer. (My ex-wife has them. Damn!)

The two have needed only minor, normal wear & tear repairs over the years and very little rusting has taken place.


Post# 230796 , Reply# 4   8/15/2007 at 21:58 (6,069 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
That's a truly beautiful, classic set! I'm a Maytag neophyte---did all the Halo-Of-Heat dryers have a lint filter on the back wall of the drum?

Post# 230805 , Reply# 5   8/15/2007 at 22:56 (6,069 days old) by maytagbear (N.E. Ohio)        
The HoH I knew best

a DG502, had the lint filter at the back of the drum. It looked a bit like a round waffle. Ours ran and ran and ran from 1967 to 1981.


I had a love/hate thing with the controls. 4 buttons
Regular, Permanent Press, Damp Dry, and Air Fluff. I hated the fact that the Air only ran for about 10 minutes. I either had to stay in the basement, or run down. I did love the little amber panel lamp, and the Maytag chime......


The next one had the right hand dial, and the dark panel, white buttons. I guess it is called the Big Load. I loved the up front filter, but that was about all. Ma economized (even though I chipped in), and got the thermostat, instead of the sensor. It had a nasty buzzer, instead of the chime. It was still running in 1996, when we sold the house. It went to a friend's mother, along with the (sob!) A208.



My current Maytag dryer is the (highly) Dependable Care of my dreams. LDG9806AAE. Variable tempertatures, drum light, sensor drying, the chime.....the burner firing is the only noisy aspect.


I've used other brands of dryers, and they're all ok, but there's just something about a Maytag dryer.



Lawrence/Maytagbear


Post# 230807 , Reply# 6   8/15/2007 at 23:03 (6,069 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)        

The Maytag dryer was as strudy,smart and reliable as the washers, and at the time, not recognized for thier brillant and uncomplicated design, IMHO.

Post# 230863 , Reply# 7   8/16/2007 at 07:06 (6,069 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA)        

Whats the big deal with the HOH's? The only negative comments I ever heard were in regards to the gas version. Evidently the placement of the burner was a bit too close to the clothes for comfort, and I remember some discussion about controlling the heat so the clothes wouldn't scorch.

I always thought these were great machines.


Post# 230867 , Reply# 8   8/16/2007 at 07:37 (6,069 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
On the down-side, the HOH dryer was a small capacity dryer in a cabinet large enough (earlier models pre-'06) to accommodate a drum at least three inches larger in width that would have helped decrease wrinkling in larger loads. Many people (and CR) did not like the bending and reaching to access the filter at the back of the drum. The machine is, as mentioned, a pain to work on - if you need to do anything more than change belts or work on controls at the top, the entire cabinet had to come off the machine. The electric dryers had only a 4800 watt heater which makes them slower by comparison to other makes with more powerful heaters. The smaller heater was due in part because it was located so close to the clothes and the outside front panel at the front of the drum. In addition, the location of the heater coil made it susceptible to small items like coins, etc. falling into the heater and shorting out the coil. In an odd departure from Maytag's earlier gas dryers with electric ignition, the HOH gas version was only available with a standing-pilot ignition and over time, the combustion by-products tended to corrode and eventually rust the entire inside of the cabinet. This was also true for the wiring and even discoloring the glass panels on TOL models. If the dryer wasn't installed correctly or in less-than ideal leveling conditions, they grumbled and were noisy.

Despite all these detractions, they are among my all-time favorite machines - I have two electric models (DE950 & DE806) installed now. YAY HOH!!


Post# 230904 , Reply# 9   8/16/2007 at 10:08 (6,069 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        
Ahead of their time but nobody cared

bajaespuma's profile picture
IIRC Maytag's pitch for these dryers (and it was a little ahead of its time) was how gentle they were on the clothing. I even remember how CR criticized the automatic versions of the dryers for leaving the clothing a little on the damp side (and there were no adjustments you could make on those models). If you look ahead about 20 years later that's exactly what CU and others recommend for using a dryer with less wear and tear on fabrics: gentler heat and taking the clothes out on the wet side.

Post# 230906 , Reply# 10   8/16/2007 at 10:15 (6,069 days old) by charbee ()        
All very good news...

Can't wait until we can start using our DE-606!

Post# 230911 , Reply# 11   8/16/2007 at 10:46 (6,069 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
Gas vs Electric HOH

rp2813's profile picture
Philip, the best dryer I ever owned was a gas HOH model like yours with the automatic settings and lint screen in rear. Easiest thing in the world to use and it was quiet and efficient. I cannot say the same thing for the electric HOH model that my gas model replaced. That one tended to take forever to dry a load of towels and would end up nearly burning them. The front of it would get hot to the touch. One day the element shorted out and nearly caused a fire. The difference between that POS electric and the beautiful little gas model was like night & day. Enjoy your great dryer! It's unavoidable!

Ralph


Post# 230914 , Reply# 12   8/16/2007 at 10:50 (6,069 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        

toggleswitch's profile picture
~In an odd departure from Maytag's earlier gas dryers with electric ignition.

A) Were these chatter-box sparkers that lit a pilot light that in-turn ignited a main burner?
B) A glow-bar/coil
C) None of the above / other.


Post# 230922 , Reply# 13   8/16/2007 at 11:23 (6,069 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

The dryer the HOH replaced had a huge drum. The HOH was long overdue for a redesign; the pulley/blower system at the back took up much needed drum depth. If the regular dry did not dry things enough, you could always use the Wash 'n Wear or Permanent Press cycle for dryer clothes. The revolving Dynamic Disk lint filter was pretty small and being so close to the fan, a lot of lint was pulled through it instead of staying on the screen, probably more so with the old, metal filter than the newer mesh one. A customer came into the store in the mid 70s with a nylon bath rug that had a funny waffle pattern in the pile. She said that it came out of the dryer that way. I told her first of all, I could see that she had a Maytag dryer. She gasped and asked how I knew that. I told her that was the pattern of the cover of the lint filter. She had dried it alone and it got sucked against the filter and there was nothing else in the drum to tumble past and knock it loose. I think a wash in some very warm water would pull the permanent set out of the nylon pile. The deluxe HOH dryers had some very nice features, two of which were the porcelain drum and porcelain top. I bought my DE806 still bolted to the shipping pallet in 1975. It was in the Davison's clearance section maked down from $359 to $199. I took that as a sign that it was meant for me. Maytag ran into trouble when they came out with the time/temperature HOH models. If the vent was too long or slightly blocked with lint, the thermostat cycled the heat off (and consequently the timer motor on) so much of the time that customers sometimes had to use two full extra dry normal heat cycles to dry a load. And, yes sometimes the felt front drum seal did catch fire. The HOH dryers were clearly made for the smaller capacity Maytag washers. When they were paired with larger capacity washers, results could be less than satisfactory. The dryer would shut off with very damp items that became moved against the drum between the baffles and were not tumbled into the air stream or past the sensors. In extreme cases, the clothes pressed against the heat inlet holes at the front could be scorched. Clothes could be scorched and synthetics could melt at the back of the GE and Westinghouse dryers also, but it took a huge overload to cause that to happen.

Post# 230966 , Reply# 14   8/16/2007 at 14:43 (6,069 days old) by repair-man (Pittsburgh PA)        

I don't believe I have ever seen the inside of a "pre" HOH
model. I just assumed they where all HOH designs up until 1976. Was the blower and heater in a different place ?

Ed


Post# 230972 , Reply# 15   8/16/2007 at 16:10 (6,069 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

rp2813's profile picture
Ed, it looks like neighboring thread #13309 might have a partial answer for you.

Ralph


Post# 231002 , Reply# 16   8/16/2007 at 18:19 (6,068 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)        

goatfarmer's profile picture
Maytag HOH dryers were fine dryers, until, as Greg says, you had to get to the element, or even something simple like the door switch. Then you found out how much work was involved to service those items.

I do like the lift off door on the earlier ones, though.

kennyGF


Post# 231015 , Reply# 17   8/16/2007 at 19:11 (6,068 days old) by washertalk ()        

Why does this dryer sound like a something from a cartoon.

Maytags have a good reputation, I will give you that. personally I don't have that much experience with them. The ones that I have had were smooth operating and quieter than other brands.

I have seen this dryer and had to replace a burnt felt seal on a gas model once, myself. It was an avacodo maytag that worked otherwise.

Still, I don't know if it is the phrasing or the fact that in general unplanned fires tend to concern me.
Is it:

"And, yes sometimes the felt front drum seal did catch fire."
or
"the clothes pressed against the heat inlet holes at the front could be scorched"
or
"That one tended to take forever to dry a load of towels and would end up nearly burning them."
or
"In addition, the location of the heater coil made it susceptible to small items like coins, etc. falling into the heater and shorting out the coil. ...the HOH gas version was only available with a standing-pilot ignition and over time, the combustion by-products tended to corrode and eventually rust the entire inside of the cabinet. This was also true for the wiring and even discoloring the glass panels on TOL models."

and

" If the dryer wasn't installed correctly or in less-than ideal leveling conditions, they grumbled and were noisy."

Truth is truth, I appreciate that.

I know what you mean by the cabinet completely rusting out. Rarely is it the dryer that does the rusting. And you know that if there is a standing pilot it is constantly giving off a flow of heat. It doesn't matter what brand it is.




Post# 231029 , Reply# 18   8/16/2007 at 20:02 (6,068 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)        

One of the repairs that my ex had to have done to her gas HOH dryer was a result of her kids (not mine) roasting hot dogs on the burner assembly, which was completely exposed when one opened the pilot access door. It worked like a charm, but one caught fire and burned the felt drum seal. (no kidding)

Post# 231074 , Reply# 19   8/17/2007 at 00:29 (6,068 days old) by lightedcontrols ()        
The HOH...

....dryer was always my favorite. Very easy to restore. I've never seen one catch anything on fire, including the felt in the front, and I've never seen one scorch anything either. (even if the venting was not ideal) Those dryers were better made than anything else on the market at the time (and today too) and as usual, CU was full of shit in their testing report. I know of at least 9 of these dryers being used today as daily drivers and you couldn't pry them from the owner's cold dead fingers! They are easy to repair and are one of the quietest running dryers that I know of. Mark

Post# 231082 , Reply# 20   8/17/2007 at 01:46 (6,068 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)        

HOH is great, but modern people boast about their huge capacity dryers that in fact dry clothes, but extract lint poorly. You can't expand the size of the the dryer drum by 20% with the same exhaust and filter size and expect the same results for drying time and lint extraction.

Post# 231118 , Reply# 21   8/17/2007 at 09:21 (6,068 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Maytag service people have admitted to John and me that the dryers were not as well enigneered as the washers and often required more servicing, generally not for major things, but for things like coins falling onto the heating element. Maytag's electronic dry control was the simplest design and less expensive to replace of all of the other brands who came to electronic controls later.

Nothing Greg or I have said was in any way directed at anyone's dryer nor was anything meant to dampen enthusiasm over finally having the dryer of your dreams. We stated some facts about the dryer's design and things that happened because of that design. Maytag, as has been sadly demonstrated by its demise, was a conservative company that traded on their name and evidently did not watch the trends of other home laundry manufacturers. They were late to bring out a larger tub that held a whopping 2 gallons more water than their standard tub, but they did not try to make an actual large capacity washer like most others. The dryer was mid 1950s technology with speed reducing pulleys when other makers had found that a belt around the drum and an idler pulley worked and saved a lot of steel and one extra belt. The dryer was not updated until 1977, I think.


Post# 231128 , Reply# 22   8/17/2007 at 11:10 (6,068 days old) by mrcleanjeans (milwaukee wi)        

We had a HOH gas dryer for 20 years,replaced by a *#!^*GE dryer.Although the Maytag had a very small drum,the clothes came out FAR,FAR,FAR less wrinkled.But it was slow.Loved the quietness.

Post# 231260 , Reply# 23   8/17/2007 at 22:44 (6,067 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Here is my DE806 - I've used it rarely this summer as most washing goes on the clothesline.

Post# 231261 , Reply# 24   8/17/2007 at 22:45 (6,067 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
All buttons - in PANK!

Post# 231327 , Reply# 25   8/18/2007 at 10:16 (6,067 days old) by irishwashguy (Salem,Oregon.............A Capital City)        
I love the Halo of Heat Maytags

irishwashguy's profile picture
I grew up with one,and remember it well. The warm blankets that would emerge from it on a cold and rainy night, there is nothing and I do mean nothing like it, even the new set my mom bought in the 80's to replace the old set,it is nothing like the old one. Everything was always dry.I hope to own another one someday. It will give the Miele a run for its money, believe me!!

Post# 231479 , Reply# 26   8/19/2007 at 06:31 (6,066 days old) by washertalk ()        

That pink set is just, sweet enough to eat.

Your museum looks great. love the detergent collection.

What flavor would those maytags be, I wonder. Strawberry, Raspberry, tutti-fruity, tropical punch (too lite), ahh, CottonCandy.


Post# 231512 , Reply# 27   8/19/2007 at 10:35 (6,066 days old) by maytagwc401 ()        

We had the little portable one when I was a kid. So small. But I liked it. My friend's parents had the Harvest Gold gas model. With electronic control. I was always amazed at how quiet that dryer was. The only way to know it was on was by the amber orangy light on the control panel, over the center dial.

Post# 1059630 , Reply# 28   2/5/2020 at 00:29 (1,513 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        
This is a old thread but...

maytag85's profile picture
I’ve had nothing but good luck with my Maytag DG306, and even though it does take longer to dry it is still pretty gentle on the clothes. It is a lot quieter too, and despite a couple of rattles I can barely hear it running, and my laundry room does have tile so the sound does reverberate a little but even then it’s quiet. Will service the DG306 this spring for the annual lint clean out, and I plan on making any necessary adjustments when I have it apart.

Post# 1059647 , Reply# 29   2/5/2020 at 10:07 (1,513 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Sorry to take this off the tracks, but if you want to hear a really quiet dryer, listen to an old Hamilton. With anything else in the basement going, you have to check for the light coming out of the window in the door to be sure it is on. The drum bearing is so perfect that if you remove the belt and give the drum a twirl, it will turn slowly for around  a quarter of a minute before slowing to a stop.


Post# 1059652 , Reply# 30   2/5/2020 at 11:23 (1,513 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

maytag85's profile picture
There are other quiet dryers out there, but I think the HOH is one of the better known quiet dryers out there. I will say the Maytag DG306 is quieter than my Maytag DG810 is, and is definitely quieter than the 2006 Kenmore front load gas dryer that proceeded my vintage Maytags. About the only thing I can hear on my Maytag DG306 is the gas valve cycling on and off and that’s about it, can’t really hear anything else on it

Post# 1059686 , Reply# 31   2/5/2020 at 19:00 (1,512 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)        
Quiet Dryers

I have an 806 maytag dryer and it is very quiet.I also have a beautiful TOL 1960 Hamilton and that is whisper quiet so the Tomturbomatic dude is indeed correct.

Post# 1059689 , Reply# 32   2/5/2020 at 20:34 (1,512 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

maytag85's profile picture
One dryer I did see in person last summer was a mid 50’s Whirlpool Imperial dryer, and it’s the old school Whirlpool 29” dryer with the belts and pulleys on the back, and it’s definitely louder than a HOH but isn’t too loud if that makes sense. Not sure how loud Norge positive air flow dryers are, but I’ve read in other threads that they get lint EVERYWHERE inside

Post# 1059764 , Reply# 33   2/6/2020 at 11:27 (1,512 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        
Minor gripes

bajaespuma's profile picture
I have a bunch of HOH dryers and they all work.

Reasons I don't use one anymore as a DD include the stingy porthole requiring older-me bending down way past comfort, the need to then do something like a challenging Yoga Asana to then reach into the drum to dismount, disassemble and then re-assemble the lint filter and the lack of a good drum light focused on the load and not my corneas.

I think my favorite HOH dryer model was the D702 which had all the bells and whistles and gave the user more options than 4 automatic cycles.


  View Full Size
Post# 1059767 , Reply# 34   2/6/2020 at 11:45 (1,512 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

maytag85's profile picture
You do have to reach into the back of the drum to get to the lint filter, but one trick that might make it easier deal with the HOH dryers is to remove the lint screen and just put the lint screen cover back on so it’ll exhaust the lint outside like many of the early WP/KM 29” dryers in the early 50’s that didn’t have a lint filter at all. Definitely will speed up the drying process since the air flow isn’t being restricted by any lint :P

Post# 1060074 , Reply# 35   2/9/2020 at 11:10 (1,509 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

You risk the strong air stream pulling fabrics against the lint screen cover grid. Better to put a small kneeler in front of the dryer to ease the access process.

Post# 1060092 , Reply# 36   2/9/2020 at 15:59 (1,509 days old) by rinso (Meridian Idaho)        

The thing I liked most about the HOH dryers, is that their dampness sensing design was so very accurate, especially if one used the Permanent Press cycle. It would work well with any size load. The newer "strip" type sensors in many brands, are at a loss with small loads.


Post# 1060106 , Reply# 37   2/9/2020 at 18:36 (1,508 days old) by Washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai’i)        

washerlover's profile picture

I agree with Rinso, the automatic sensing feature in these dryers is extremely accurate and I believe superior to any other manufacturer.  And I concur with Bajaespuma’s comment about the drum light.  Kind of a dumb place to put it behind the lint screen so when any lint accumulates, it obscures the drum light even more.  And it is a bit of a stretch for us older folks to crouch down and reach into the back of the drum to access the lint filter.  Much prefer those like Frigidaire and GE that have the filter right in front in the door as they are so easy to clean.  Other than that, however, I love my HOH dryers!


Post# 1060113 , Reply# 38   2/9/2020 at 20:51 (1,508 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

maytag85's profile picture
I’ll admit I don’t have decades of experience with the HOH dryers, but since I got my Maytag DE306 and A606 and DG306 I haven’t had any bad luck with them so far and I find the HOH dryers dry more evenly even with the 306 timed drying HOH dryers. Only repairs I’ve made to my HOH dryers is making a new wire that goes from the heating element to the high limit thermostat on my DE306 because it burnt out on me and wasn’t heating, and the DG306 I have is a different story. I basically converted a Maytag DG606 to a DG306 timed drying dryer, and did somewhat of a restoration since it had some rust from the standing pilot and the electronic dry control worked the first couple of times I tried it on damp dry but then stopped working, and I honestly didn’t feel like spending hours going through it so I ended up putting a 306 timer in it to make it simpler. One thing I do want to do to Maytag DG306 is wiring up the neon pilot with the burner so it will indicate when the burner is off or on.


Forum Index:       Other Forums:                      



Comes to the Rescue!

The Discuss-o-Mat has stopped, buzzer is sounding!!!
If you would like to reply to this thread please log-in...

Discuss-O-MAT Log-In



New Members
Click Here To Sign Up.



                     


automaticwasher.org home
Discuss-o-Mat Forums
Vintage Brochures, Service and Owners Manuals
Fun Vintage Washer Ephemera
See It Wash!
Video Downloads
Audio Downloads
Picture of the Day
Patent of the Day
Photos of our Collections
The Old Aberdeen Farm
Vintage Service Manuals
Vintage washer/dryer/dishwasher to sell?
Technical/service questions?
Looking for Parts?
Website related questions?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Our Privacy Policy