Maytag 806 Gas Valve

That's what I initially thought. I replaced the cycling thermo thinking it was bad or weak (it was original). No change. Tore the machine all the way down to the A frame and did a complete rebuild. Found nothing wrong. Replaced the high limit thermo, just for kicks. Front seals were in great shape, so they were replaced at least once, probably less than 10 years before I got my hands on the machines. My infared temp gun displayed proper temps. The flame from the burner was the proper blue-ish color. Even after all of that time and effort, same results. I really wanted to like that little BOL DG306, but 2 hours to dry a load out of the 806 was totally unacceptable.

Ridiculously long drying times are NORMAL for DG HOH's! Tom Stiyer (tomturbomatic) confirmed this with the following info:

"If you want to spend lots of time savoring the clothes drying experience, go for a gas HOH dryer; they are slow. The 18,000 BTU burner is crammed into the lower front of the cabinet so the HOH effect is not quite as good as in the electric models with the heating element in a circular pattern. It can't be a higher BTU burner because of its proximity to the felt seals and the holes around the door that let the heated air into the drum. You have to be careful about keeping the load size down, too. If tumbling room gets too reduced as the clothes dry, they press up against the inlet holes. When you are lucky, this trips the high limit thermostat. If the fabrics are heat sensitive, they can scorch. While the same damage can happen to things pressed against the back of the drum of older GE and WH dryers, their drums were a little larger to begin with.

You will also want to replace the standing pilot with an electric ignition system, something Maytag eliminated when they went to the HOH design. If the pilot has been burning for many years, the inside of the cabinet is going to be a mess also, often with the insulation on the wiring having been turned sticky by the by-products of the burning pilot which are not pulled out by the fan when the dryer is not in operation.

Keep the vent short and the lint screen clean. Reduced air flow can cause the heat above the burner to char the felt sealing at the front of the drum."

Since Jim's 806 has electronic moisture control, he may be able to get by with a little less drying time than my timed dry 306. Also, if he has shorter vent piping with less turns than I have, that may squeak a little less drying time. But I'll guaran-damn-tee you it's going to take AT LEAST an hour and a half to dry a full load of clothes out of that 606 washer!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO qsd-dan's LINK


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Post# 474640 11/12/2010 at 13:34 (4,906 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes How hard is it to remove the gas valve on the 806? The Maytag dealer told me if I removed the gas valve they could test it, and find out why I can't get the pilot to light.

Post# 474644 , Reply# 1 11/12/2010 at 14:29 (4,906 days old) by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes If you need another gas valve, let me know. I have a spare one you can have for free that I pillaged from a DG306.

Post# 474646 , Reply# 2 11/12/2010 at 14:38 (4,906 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes Thanks Dan, the dealer told me the valve was no longer available. I just have to figure out how to remove the old valve.

Post# 474750 , Reply# 3 11/13/2010 at 03:02 (4,906 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes *Purge* Are you sure you just don't have air in your gas line? It takes a long time to purge the air through that little tiny tube that feeds the pilot light. I went through the same thing recently and had to hold down the button for over 10 minutes to get the new length of pipe that leads to the dryer to be free of air so the gas was flowing. I hate to see you go to all the trouble of removing the gas valve if there is nothing wrong with it. Good luck.

Post# 474770 , Reply# 4 11/13/2010 at 07:22 (4,905 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *MT STANDING PILOT GAS VALVE* The question is does the pilot light then go out when the red lever is released or will not light at all? as Patrick suggested. If its the first problem you probably need a new pilot safety sometimes it can be adjusted but that should only be done by someone with knowledge and experience because the wrong adjustment can make the dryer very dangerous. The complete valve assembly is very easy to remove from the dryer through the little access door. Just turn off gas and unplug dryer then loosen and unscrew large nut on the hand shut off valve near gas burner assembly, unplug the wires from the valve assembly at the white nylon connecter and remove the three or four 5/16" screws that hold the valve and burner assembly to the base of dryer and left the whole assembly out through the access opening. At this point you can either replace the whole assembly or take it to a repair shop to have it tested and repaired.

Post# 474938 , Reply# 5 11/14/2010 at 03:24 (4,904 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes When I was at the old house in Bettendorf, I couldn't get it to light at all. I held the red lever for several minutes, and nothing. Gas is not something I want to mess with.

Post# 475061 , Reply# 6 11/14/2010 at 13:10 (4,904 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)
Checkrate/Likes Nor should you if you have to ask how hard it is to remove the valve.......

Post# 475075 , Reply# 7 11/14/2010 at 14:40 (4,904 days old) by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes Nor should you if you have to ask how hard it is to remove the valve....... I think he was referring of gaining access to the valve for removal, not the difficulty of removing the valve itself. I can't remember how hard it was to remove when I pillaged the HDE306 since I pulled the entire cabinet to access other parts as well as the valve. I do remember disassembling the unit and thinking to myself that a couple of the screws that held down the valve would be next to impossible to get at through the access door itself. I'm thinking that the cabinet will probably have to pulled in order to gain proper access to the valve for removal.

Post# 475088 , Reply# 8 11/14/2010 at 17:37 (4,904 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *MT HOH GAS DRYER GAS VALVE* The valve is easily accessed through the access door. Dan why would you suggest putting some one to all the extra work of disconnecting a gas dryer and pulling it away from the wall and completely dissembling it for what is only a 15 minute job? If you don't know just look at the MT repair manuals. Pulling out the gas valve is easier than changing the belt on a MT helical drive washer. I do suggest however that the valve should be taken for professional repair if one is leery of working on gas valve assemblies.

Post# 475150 , Reply# 9 11/14/2010 at 23:15 (4,904 days old) by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Dan why would you suggest putting some one to all the extra work of disconnecting a gas dryer and pulling it away from the wall and completely dissembling it for what is only a 15 minute job? Calm down there, skippy. Re-read my post. I never suggested that cabinet removal was an absolute must. I don't have much experience with gas HOH's 'cause I don't like 'em. 2+ hours to dry a regular load of clothes (that only takes 30-45 minutes in a an electric HOH) doesn't fit into my time schedule.

Post# 475173 , Reply# 10 11/15/2010 at 07:20 (4,903 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *MT HOH GAS DRYERS* Dan while its true that the MT HOH gas dryers weren't the fastest gas dryers they are not noticeably slower than the electrics if they are in proper working condition. Way back when CRs did comparison drying speed tests with both the gas and electric versions of the same dryer they did find that the MT HOH gas dryer did take 1 or 2 minutes longer than its electric counter part, which is unusual as gas dryers are almost always a little or even a lot faster. You shouldn't let your bad experience with your gas dryer dampen other peoples desire to have a more economical and ecological way to enjoy automatic drying in a vintage dryer. Overall the HOH gas dryer is much safer than its electric counterpart where you have a heating element running at over 1600 degrees less than 2' away from dry clothes. On the gas HOH dryer you have a 11-1200 degree flame heating the air thats more than 1 foot away with no risk of a coin or bobby pin falling on the heating element and sparking an instant fire. I am in the process of restoring a 1958 pink high end HOH gas dryer [ its in the wash-in pictures ] I am converting it to electric ignition by using the gas valve from a MT big load dryer but other wise it will be all original. I may sell this dryer after I am sure its working properly and I have fun using it for a while.

Post# 475190 , Reply# 11 11/15/2010 at 09:41 (4,903 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes *I am converting it to electric ignition by using the gas val* John, I didn't know this was even possible. How easy is it to do? PS: Does the DG806 really take two hours to dry a load of clothes?

Post# 475202 , Reply# 12 11/15/2010 at 10:41 (4,903 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *HOH GAS DRYERS* The drying times are almost identical to the electrics unless the electrics are operated on 208 volt power in which case the gas would be about 20% faster. The one Dan had was clearly broken MT sold hundreds of thousands of HOH gas dryers I am surprised he would mean mouth a very satisfactory product from MT. Its not that easy to convert to electric ignition as MT never made the HOHs with it. It takes some creativity and experience to do it safely I will let everyone know how it turns out if you want more information get in touch with me tanks John.

Post# 475207 , Reply# 13 11/15/2010 at 11:38 (4,903 days old) by autowasherfreak ()
Checkrate/Likes Thanks John, let me know how it turns out. My Frigidaire Gallery gas dryer is working pretty good, but I would really like to have the 806 up and running in case anything should go wrong with the Frigidaire, plus I would have a matching set, which I'm kinda picky about, LOL.

Post# 475318 , Reply# 14 11/15/2010 at 17:46 (4,903 days old) by qsd-dan (West)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *The one Dan had was clearly broken* That's what I initially thought. I replaced the cycling thermo thinking it was bad or weak (it was original). No change. Tore the machine all the way down to the A frame and did a complete rebuild. Found nothing wrong. Replaced the high limit thermo, just for kicks. Front seals were in great shape, so they were replaced at least once, probably less than 10 years before I got my hands on the machines. My infared temp gun displayed proper temps. The flame from the burner was the proper blue-ish color. Even after all of that time and effort, same results. I really wanted to like that little BOL DG306, but 2 hours to dry a load out of the 806 was totally unacceptable. Ridiculously long drying times are NORMAL for DG HOH's! Tom Stiyer (tomturbomatic) confirmed this with the following info: "If you want to spend lots of time savoring the clothes drying experience, go for a gas HOH dryer; they are slow. The 18,000 BTU burner is crammed into the lower front of the cabinet so the HOH effect is not quite as good as in the electric models with the heating element in a circular pattern. It can't be a higher BTU burner because of its proximity to the felt seals and the holes around the door that let the heated air into the drum. You have to be careful about keeping the load size down, too. If tumbling room gets too reduced as the clothes dry, they press up against the inlet holes. When you are lucky, this trips the high limit thermostat. If the fabrics are heat sensitive, they can scorch. While the same damage can happen to things pressed against the back of the drum of older GE and WH dryers, their drums were a little larger to begin with. You will also want to replace the standing pilot with an electric ignition system, something Maytag eliminated when they went to the HOH design. If the pilot has been burning for many years, the inside of the cabinet is going to be a mess also, often with the insulation on the wiring having been turned sticky by the by-products of the burning pilot which are not pulled out by the fan when the dryer is not in operation. Keep the vent short and the lint screen clean. Reduced air flow can cause the heat above the burner to char the felt sealing at the front of the drum." Since Jim's 806 has electronic moisture control, he may be able to get by with a little less drying time than my timed dry 306. Also, if he has shorter vent piping with less turns than I have, that may squeak a little less drying time. But I'll guaran-damn-tee you it's going to take AT LEAST an hour and a half to dry a full load of clothes out of that 606 washer! CLICK HERE TO GO TO qsd-dan's LINK

Post# 475963 , Reply# 15 11/17/2010 at 21:19 (4,901 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *HOH GAS DRYERS* Dan the HOH gas dryer you had was not functioning correctly, MT never sold gas dryers that took two hours to dry clothes. !8,ooo BTUs equals aprox 6000 watts of heat energy a HOH electric dryer has a 4800 watt element. One of two things was wrong with your dryer 1 either it had been converted to LP gas and was being operated on natural gas, or the flame was cycling on the safety thermostat. When a large load of clothing is placed in a gas or electric dryer and the timer set for say 60 minutes the flame or heater should not cycle even once for aprox 45 minutes. IF the flame is cycling something is wrong its that simple. It would be impossible for the flame to stay on the whole 45 minutes at the proper size and not have the clothing dry in aprox an hour.