Thread Number: 13333
Much Maligned Maytag Halo-of-Heat dryers |
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Post# 230783 , Reply# 1   8/15/2007 at 21:33 (6,069 days old) by rickr (.)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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They are quiet, and WHOOHOO, WHAT A GREAT SET YOU HAVE. Thanks for sharing. |
Post# 230796 , Reply# 4   8/15/2007 at 21:58 (6,069 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 230807 , Reply# 6   8/15/2007 at 23:03 (6,069 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)   |   | |
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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# 230867 , Reply# 8   8/16/2007 at 07:37 (6,069 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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.
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Post# 230906 , Reply# 10   8/16/2007 at 10:15 (6,069 days old) by charbee ()   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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Post# 230966 , Reply# 14   8/16/2007 at 14:43 (6,069 days old) by repair-man (Pittsburgh PA)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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Post# 231002 , Reply# 16   8/16/2007 at 18:19 (6,068 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 231082 , Reply# 20   8/17/2007 at 01:46 (6,068 days old) by pturo (Syracuse, New York)   |   | |
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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# 231128 , Reply# 22   8/17/2007 at 11:10 (6,068 days old) by mrcleanjeans (milwaukee wi)   |   | |
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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!)   |   | |
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Post# 231261 , Reply# 24   8/17/2007 at 22:45 (6,067 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 231327 , Reply# 25   8/18/2007 at 10:16 (6,067 days old) by irishwashguy (Salem,Oregon.............A Capital City)   |   | |
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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!!
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Post# 1059630 , Reply# 28   2/5/2020 at 00:29 (1,513 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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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.
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Post# 1059652 , Reply# 30   2/5/2020 at 11:23 (1,513 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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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
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Post# 1059686 , Reply# 31   2/5/2020 at 19:00 (1,512 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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
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Post# 1059764 , Reply# 33   2/6/2020 at 11:27 (1,512 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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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.
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Post# 1059767 , Reply# 34   2/6/2020 at 11:45 (1,512 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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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
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Post# 1060074 , Reply# 35   2/9/2020 at 11:10 (1,509 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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)   |   | |
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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.
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