Dryer stopped heating


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Old 01-23-17, 11:20 AM
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Dryer stopped heating

and I know it was my own fault because the venting is filled with lint and clogged. I'm lucky I didn't have a fire. The run is awful, 20 feet or more under the house in an crawl space about 12" high.

I used to have an appliance guy come out and clean it out but he retired, life races by and before you know it, dryer was taking longer and longer to dry until it finally stopped heating up yesterday. I knew it was coming but it's so hard to reconnect the dryer vent, almost impossible, in a tiny closet that is in a tiny hall with no where to pull out the washer and dryer. I will have to disconnect the washer and pull it out just to reach the back of the dryer and so I put it off until now I have a bigger problem.

I have to pull the dryer out, clean the duct run and change the fuse that probably broke when it overheated. Changing the fuse looks so easy and the part is so cheap. I ordered the vent brush thing with the extensions that hooks to a drill and will use that to clean out the vent. That costs much more than the $4 fuse but I will have it on hand to do yearly from now on.

My question is that I can't take off the back of the dryer to get to the fuse without taking off the gas line. Is this something I should NOT do myself? The gas line is flexible and attaches to a rigid pipe with a shut off valve. I know that I can do it but I was reading how dangerous it is to reattach the gas line to the dryer myself and that the soapy water test is not "good enough" for a gas dryer.

What are my options and what do you think I should do? Can you walk me through step by step? I'm confident with everything except hooking the gas line back up to the dryer after the rest is done. Thanks in advance for always helping me!
 
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Old 01-23-17, 11:35 AM
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Of course you can do it yourself, all you need are proper fitting wrenches.

Technically, you are supposed to replace the flexible pipe when moving appliances but that little bit of information is from the makers of the flexible piping so use it as you may. My personal opinion is that IF you take care to not bend the pipe any more than necessary in removal it should be fine to re-use in the same location.

You CAN buy a proprietary leak detection solution at the homecenter or well-stocked corner hardware store. Probably a bit better than home mixed soapsuds solution. A small bottle is just a few dollars and will be enough to last your entire life even if you pull the dryer out every year.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 02:00 PM
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Thank you, Furd!

My dryer is LGR5636PQ0 Whirlpool Dryer and I ordered Parts 3387134 & 3392519 Cycling Thermostat & Thermal Fuse for Whirlpool because one video said to replace both parts and it was only $7. I hope they are the right parts. The vent cleaning tool and parts will come Wednesday so I hope I can get it up and running quickly. I use my dryer every single day so I am mad at myself for neglecting it and I knew when I started having to run it twice to get the clothes dry, it was a sure sign that I needed to do the vent-grr.

There are lots of "generic" videos that show how to take the back of the dryer off and that looks simple except for the disconnecting the gas line. However, there is one video that shows taking out the drum and having to replace the part from inside the front. How do I know for sure if mine is the easy, take off the back and pop in the parts one? Do you know? If I have to take out the drum, I couldn't do it, too heavy!

I wonder if I had a helper just hold the back up while I change the fuse, if it would be possible to not even detach the gas line? If not, do I need to use pipe tape when I put the gas line back on the dryer? I will just detach it at the dryer and leave the other side intact. It looks so simple but I will pick up some of the leak detector just in case.

Thank you again for your reply!
 
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Old 01-23-17, 03:46 PM
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The gas connection is a "flared" fitting. Absolutely no tape or sealant necessary.

As for the dryer itself I cannot help. We have a member (Pugsl) that worked on home appliances for many years who may have more information. Hopefully he will be able to help you.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 03:57 PM
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Whirlpool dryer thermal fuse WP3392519 is replaced if the entire unit dead.

Whirlpool dryer thermal cutout fuse W10480709 is replaced if just no heat.

Whirlpool dryer cycling thermostat WP3387134 doesn't usually go bad from overheating.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 04:27 PM
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When I replaced my thermal fuse last year all I did was remove the top, remove the drum, then remove the front, you do not have to remove the gas line to replace the fuse.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 04:29 PM
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PJmax is right except on that dryer the thermal fuse just cuts out the heat. (Had to look at my dryer wiring diagram to refresh me) This only happens on gas dryers.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 05:11 PM
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Uh-Oh, so I just ordered the wrong parts? I read that if the dryer still runs but is not putting out heat because of a clogged dryer vent, it would because the thermal fuse cut off to stop overheating for safety purposes to prevent a fire. Once open, it could not be closed and had to be replaced.

Is there any hope that replacing these two things I listed above will fix the problem? It runs, just no heat. The other part that Pjmax listed is considerably more money~$25. Should I order that today, too? I really don't want to be without the dryer for very long.

Marq1, I am crossing my fingers that I don't have to do what you did! I am counting on just removing the back to access the fuse.

Thank you all so much!
 
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Old 01-24-17, 04:27 AM
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On your dryer the thermal fuse is behind the back Just take the back off, leave gas line on an fuse is on left side with 2 blue wires. The thermostat that goes bad is the top one on the right side. Both thermal fuse and thermostat must show continuity to be good. usually one or the other is bad. No need to take top or drum off on your model. Thermal fuse is the right one but this is the part# I get for thermostat 280010. just checked PJmax kit also good.
 
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Old 01-24-17, 10:20 AM
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pugsl, Thank you! I finally found a video that showed how the back comes off and no need to take off the gas line. Since I can't see back there yet until I pull everything out, I just assumed that the gas line went through a hole in the back panel. That makes things so much easier.

I will just try to change the thermal fuse and if that doesn't do it, I'll order the more expensive thermostat. At least now I know exactly what to do, thank you so much!

I should have purchased a multi-meter first, then I could see exactly what circuit was broken but this was the cheapie way to go and I'll just cross my fingers that the fuse fixes it but know that I'll probably have to get that thermostat, too.

I'm really dreading the cleaning out of the vent never having done it before. I ordered a kit that hooks to my drill and spins a brush to clean the vent. I actually had to order 2 kits to have enough rods to reach all the way through but at least I can reuse it again each year. I'll be lucky if I can actually get the thing through the long run without any disasters. Changing the fuse looks like a piece of cake in comparison!

Everything is supposed to be delivered tomorrow so I plan on doing it all on Thursday if I can get help pulling out the washer. Wish me luck and I will report back to let you know how it goes. Thanks again for all of your help and generosity with your time!
 
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Old 01-24-17, 10:33 AM
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I don't know about needing a drill to spin the brush. Must are hand operated.
 
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Old 01-24-17, 11:05 AM
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It's called Deflecto Kit and I looked again at the video and directions. It says use with or without drill. Since the vent is that flexible foil kind (fragile!) I'll try it first by hand and see if that does it.

I've lived in this house a long time. The dryer vent has ALWAYS been an issue. There are actually 3 different vents. The first one went through the roof and was rigid steel kind. It never worked and the previous owners had another one put in going under the house with rigid steel. That one didn't work either so we hired someone to crawl under the house and they put this flexible vent in as best they could. Because the crawl space is so tiny, it took two guys at each end, one outside and one under just to feed it though. That was a fortune and it worked as long as the appliance guy cleaned it out every time he came. Even if he was fixing the dishwasher, he would do the vent. I cried when he retired! Like I said before, I knew when I started having to run the dryer twice to get the clothes dry that I was in trouble but I also knew that simply hooking the dryer to the inside vent hole is a nightmare. Even the "pros" struggle so I am not looking forward to that part. Again, changing the fuse will be the easy part. I wish I could just hire someone.

Wish me luck! I can't wait to get this done. I already have a mountain of laundry. It actually broke on Thursday night so we took that load to the laundry place to dry it and the laundry mountain has been growing ever since. If our local stores had the parts and vent cleaner, I would have already done it but had to order online and wait. I just checked the delivery and it says arriving by 8pm tomorrow. Maybe I will get lucky and it will come earlier, crossing fingers.

Thank you again!
 
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Old 01-24-17, 01:27 PM
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2 main problems with flexible vent are they are dangerous (subject to fire) the second is that lint gets stuck in them and than builds up moisture. The moisture will get heavy and than a dip will form and you will end up with a dip with a large water blockage. I have been underhouses and poked a hole in the dip and got a couple of gallons of water out of them..
 
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Old 01-24-17, 01:42 PM
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OMG! I hope that doesn't happen to me. I was trying to figure out if there was anyway to feed a new piece under the house without actually having to crawl part way through. When I move the dryer out of the way, I'll have a better picture if that's possible. I was thinking if I could attach the new piece to the old and possibly pull it through to the outside, that would be the way to go. Those flexible vents are cheap (for a reason) and if I could figure out how to replace it each year instead of trying to clean it out it would be so much better.

Trying to get someone to crawl under the house is almost impossible. If they agree to do it, they charge a fortune so that's not really an option and they don't do a good job anyway based on the fact that I have the flexible vent right now, grrr.

I will confess now that we've actually already had a dryer FIRE! The lint under the dryer caught on fire about 6 years ago. I didn't know back then that I had to take off the front panel of that particular model and clean all the lint. The fire department came and by the time they arrived it was already out but it could have gone the other way and been much worse. That dryer was the worst! When the fireman opened that front panel to make sure it was all out, he said that he sees it all the time and no "normal" home owner knows to take that all apart to clean it. The amount of built up lint in the front and bottom of the inside of the dryer was shocking to me. In any case, I'm glad the dryer just died this time instead of catching on FIRE! Yikes.

I'll let you know what happens! Thank you again.
 
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Old 01-26-17, 05:43 PM
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YAY, back to say thanks to all of you for your help! It took me 4 hours to clean the vent and change out the two parts of the dryer but it all works. I'm so happy. I only needed the cheap $7 parts-whew.

I had to do it all by myself. If I waited until Sunday, someone would have helped me move the appliances and take off the doors but I really needed to do laundry. Washer is much heavier than I thought so I put furniture cup things under the washer legs and pulled that as far out as I could. We have hardwood floors in the hall so I had to be really careful because they scratch so easily. Then I did the same to the dryer after unplugging everything. I wanted to just move the washer totally out of the way but the hoses are screwed in so tight, I couldn't get them off and had to settle for blocking the tiny hallway and moving it each time I had to get through.

I used the dryer vent brush without the drill and started inside. I could only go about 2 feet before the brush wouldn't go anymore. I'm not sure if there was a bend or a blockage. I went around to the outside and also got stuck at about 6 feet. This run is about 20 feet so it felt like instant failure.

Then I got the blower. Between the blower and the brush I was able to get it clear. I set the blower up inside and while it was running, I used the brush and pulled all the lint outside. There was a lot of lint but also some beads and darn collar stays, really guys?! Don't you have to take those out to wash your shirts?

Then the dryer, hardest part was pulling the wires off the parts. It looks so easy to just slip them off the stick part and put the new one on but I had to use tools to get them off gently bending them apart and then back together. There must be a trick to it. But the absolute hardest job of the day was putting the back of the dryer back on. The holes wouldn't line up and it kept slipping off the little ledge and I was scared about the gas line but I finally got it.

There was about an inch deep of lint inside the bottom of the dryer! We are really lucky there was no fire and while I didn't have to disconnect the gas line, I also never turned off the gas which I guess wasn't very safe but I realized that I don't know how to light the pilot so it all worked out.

It works now and it's SO clean. Thank you, thank you! I don't come here than often but I have been a member for what seems like forever and every single time I come here, you guys help me and are SO generous with you time and efforts. I love you ALL!
 
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Old 01-27-17, 11:07 AM
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trick to get the wires off is to put a screwdriver under clip edge and turn screwdriver. Will pop off spade. Thanks for the update.
 
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Old 02-01-17, 10:47 AM
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Thanks pugsl! I tried everything until finally I had to bend each little piece. Never thought to do the other side, that would have been too easy.

Dryer is working great, best it's ever worked. Loads are dry in such a short time I can get so much more laundry done in less time. Now, however, I think the washer is not draining properly. It was full of water when I moved it but I though someone had just stopped the load in the middle of washing but now I'm not too sure. Clothes seem spun dry enough but I can hear it sloshing around when I tip it up and am pretty sure it's supposed to drain all the water out. That line is probably clogged up and on the verge of overflowing. I bet it's never been cleaned out. I'll try snaking it just to see but it's just a hole in the wall, have no idea where that drains or what it's hooked to.

My new vent cleaning tool has come in handy for so many things, bathroom vent fans, just a ton of things I neglected for years and it was a good investment.

Thank you again for all of your help!
 
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Old 02-01-17, 12:22 PM
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Post model # of washer, Some washers have fluid in balance ring that can slosh. Whirlpool or Kenmore model # is under lid in back. There will always be a little water left in washer.
 
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Old 02-01-17, 12:46 PM
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Washer # SM 8525147-A, pretty sure that's the right number, under the lid at the top but if I have to look on the actual back of washer, can't do it without moving it.

Yep, pretty sure something is wrong. When I opened it just now to look for the number, it smells bad! Usually I do at least one load a day but now that the dryer works so well, I haven't had to do a load since Sunday so the smell is very obvious. It must be stinky water sitting in there, right? What else would make that smell?
 
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Old 02-01-17, 01:45 PM
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What is the make I do recognize that number. Whirlpool or Kenmore numbers look like this XXX XXXXXXXX
 
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Old 02-01-17, 01:57 PM
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It's Whirlpool, matches the dryer exactly but I probably have to look on the back to get the correct number. This time I'll wait though for someone to help me pull it out. I'll update when I get the right number. I was searching online for smelly washers and found a lot about front load HE but this is just an old top load, no HE.
 
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Old 02-01-17, 04:58 PM
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No model # on the back. Only place to find it is under lid in back. Will be on a stick on tag. If matches dryer I know about which washer you have. I have same washer and will shake tub in a few minutes, Have to finish load. Load finished , I heard no sloshing but what you have sounds normal to me. As long as clothes are coming out dry enough I would not worry about it. There will always be a little water left in washer and I think that is what you hear.
 

Last edited by pugsl; 02-01-17 at 05:17 PM.
 

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