Dryer woes

[grampahol]

So...we've had this old Roper dryer forever and a day and it works, but runs kind of cool instead of heating sufficiently and you pretty much have to run 3-4 cycles to dry anything. We went on CL to find a decent used dryer for cheap.. EUREKA! $125 for a newer Whirlpool and it got nice n hot, ran great and everything and THEN....The start switch decided to crap out before the first item of wet clothing went in it.. I'm usually pretty good at finding appliance parts, but of COURSE today everyone is closed and it's Saturday so they'll all be closed till Monday. Go figure.. That's not all.. That steenkin switch happens to be about $50 instead of most switches that are about $4.. The old Roper switch is wired differently and the tab that holds it in place is now broken so I can't even start the old Roper..(actually I could if I mickey moused the old switch in place). Now with a new Multimeter (Since my old one gave up the ghost) and a new switch this is turning into a $205 dryer which is still a lot cheaper than a new dryer by any standard.. 
At least I'm now the proud owner of a brand new multimeter I'll probably use once every 5 years or so if I don't lose it first.. 

[Goalpost]

For the weekend I guess take your wet clothes to the laundry mat. Probably can dry things for under a buck at a time. I know when I had a broken washer I did this, for a few, last spring.

[HarleyDog]

We will be buying a new w/d this year probably. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Speed Queen. I’ve had whirlpool and Samsung and have had serious issues with both. We bought whirlpool w/d from Lowe’s and I got the extended protection plan. Usually don’t get the plans but this time I did. Within 2 months, the dryer had to be replaced. In 5yrs, the repair people have been out 4 times to fix the washer. Finally, they deemed the repair on the last call too expensive to repair and just refunded the money I paid for it. It still works but we have to baby it with small loads.

[grampahol]

(01-11-2020, 01:18 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: We will be buying a new w/d this year probably. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Speed Queen. I’ve had whirlpool and Samsung and have had serious issues with both. We bought whirlpool w/d from Lowe’s and I got the extended protection plan. Usually don’t get the plans but this time I did. Within 2 months, the dryer had to be replaced. In 5yrs, the repair people have been out 4 times to fix the washer. Finally, they deemed the repair on the last call too expensive to repair and just refunded the money I paid for it. It still works but we have to baby it with small loads.

Go find a good used set on CL from the 90's backwards..  To me anything "New" with any kind of "extended warranty" means it's gonna break and in fact, intentionally designed to break.. 

[grampahol]

So far continuity checks out on everything except the motor(s) I haven't dug into yet. So I'm probably gonna dig into both machines to swap the motors from the old Roper to the newer Whirlpool.. Roper and a lot of brands were made by Whirlpool so many parts are/were interchangeable.. That's the main reason I like older washers and dryers... Cars too.. Interchangeability.. Things made today come with one of a kind parts that never fit any other item ever made.. other than maybe a few lights and wires and even they seem doomed to extinction. It won't surprise if the humble sheet metal screw is modified to fit only one specific hole.    What I really need is some space to work in.. Garage is filled to the rafters and it's raining outside. The last thing I really want to have to do is drag everything outside on the porch...tear into everything, put it back together then have to drag it all back inside just to see if it works. 

[SunsetBengal]

It's too bad that you already broke the starter switch on the old Roper. Seemed to me like it might have been a simple heating element issue.

[Benton]

My wife and I separated several years ago for about a year. We both bought new w/d sets (as the one we had was shot anyway).

The super cheap set ibought (and gave to my sister In law who runs a salon and puts them through hell) is still going. We have daily problems out of the expensive set my wife bought.

In my experience, go plain. Not cheap, but plain. It's usually peripherals that prevent your stuff from working.

[fredtoast]

(01-12-2020, 03:32 AM)Benton Wrote: In my experience, go plain. Not cheap, but plain. It's usually peripherals that prevent your stuff from working.

This.

My ex bought a W/D set with all sorts of bells and whistles that she does not even use and they have been nothing but trouble.

All of those extra controls/timers/sensors are just more things to go wrong.

[fredtoast]

(01-11-2020, 01:06 PM)grampahol Wrote: The start switch decided to crap out before the first item of wet clothing went in it.

Switches are for girls.

Remove switch and bend hook in end of each wire.

Wires hooked together "ON"

Wires unhooked "OFF"

Your only setting will be "HIGH", but lower settings are for girls.

[grampahol]

I've got the old Roper working fine once more and far better than it used to, but not before utterly mangling a hi temperature thermostat by trying to reinstall it...uhmmm..backwards. It's one of those parts that looks counter-intuitive and you really can't install it backwards even though I tried.. LOL That one took awhile to figure out so I bought a new thermostat, hooked everything back up and the initial problem is now completely solved..for now anyway.
The Whirlpool is set to go back to the original owner or at least he says he's coming to pick it up. I isolated that problem down to the timer which cost $89 + taxes and driving all over hell and half of Georgia to find. I'm passing on the switch even though it would be a simple fix. I did swap the motors so the old Roper now has the newer Whirlpool motor even though they're identical. In fact, everything else is identical except two switches, the timer and the on-off switch..
This has been a learning experience so much that at this point I can pretty much declare falsely or not that I'm an old Whirlpool dryer expert. 
And Fred...those sensors are in even older model dryers. They're actually thermo sensors to regulate the heat. Without them you'd either burn up the dryer every time or burn down your house every time..

So anyway..I may just start buying as many older Whirlpool's, Kenmore's, Ropers, etc., that don't work, repair em then resell them. Almost all the parts are interchangable other than trim and certain switches and no..I'm not going with open wiring except the door switch. I just ran the hot and cold together on it..  I had a friend in Texas who picked up dryers on the side of the road for years to repair and his house was full of them (about 40) till I talked him into selling them. He practically gave them away for around $25 each, but I'm not so generous. I'd probably ask $100 (or more depending on condition) and in this market for used appliances $100 is still dirt cheap. There's only so many things that can even go wrong with them and once you learn to rehang the belts the rest of the process is easy peasy.. 

[grampahol]

(01-13-2020, 01:51 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Switches are for girls.

Remove switch and bend hook in end of each wire.

Wires hooked together "ON"

Wires unhooked "OFF"

Your only setting will be "HIGH", but lower settings are for girls.

Switches are also for people who don't particularly enjoy getting electrocuted or burning their homes down to the ground.. I know..call me a pansy if you must. I did accidentally grab the 240 line yesterday in my haste.. It jump started my old heart. 

[fredtoast]

(01-13-2020, 05:37 PM)grampahol Wrote:  I did accidentally grab the 240 line yesterday in my haste.. It jump started my old heart. 

I just took a shot of 120 the other day.

I was replacing a wall heater my dad had installed in a bathroom.  Turned of the breaker to the bathroom, but for some reason my dad had hooked the heater to another circuit.

My dad actually wired the house during construction but added these heaters a few years later.  I am guessing the circuit for the bathroom was already at max capacity when he installed the heater.

Lucky it was just 120, some of those type heaters are 240.

[fredtoast]

Maybe some of you can help me out with a problem I am having with my dryer.

I dry my cotton dress shirts on the "permanent press" cycle, but they still come out wrinkled.

[SunsetBengal]

(01-13-2020, 07:48 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Maybe some of you can help me out with a problem I am having with my dryer.

I dry my cotton dress shirts on the "permanent press" cycle, but they still come out wrinkled.

Well my friend, I guess it's time to start buying those Stafford Executive no-iron cotton dress pinpoint oxfords from JC Penny, for $15.75 apiece, before they go completely out of business.  

[grampahol]

(01-13-2020, 07:48 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Maybe some of you can help me out with a problem I am having with my dryer.

I dry my cotton dress shirts on the "permanent press" cycle, but they still come out wrinkled.

It's you Fred.. You're too smooth for your own good making everything around you appeared to be wrinkled.. 

[*rfaulk34*]

(01-13-2020, 05:37 PM)grampahol Wrote: Switches are also for people who don't particularly enjoy getting electrocuted or burning their homes down to the ground.. I know..call me a pansy if you must. I did accidentally grab the 240 line yesterday in my haste.. It jump started my old heart. 

(01-13-2020, 07:46 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I just took a shot of 120 the other day.

I was replacing a wall heater my dad had installed in a bathroom.  Turned of the breaker to the bathroom, but for some reason my dad had hooked the heater to another circuit.

My dad actually wired the house during construction but added these heaters a few years later.  I am guessing the circuit for the bathroom was already at max capacity when he installed the heater.

Lucky it was just 120, some of those type heaters are 240.

Running some wire down a chase with 240 once...using a metal rod. Yeah, i touched a live wire. 

The difference between 120 and 240 is enormous. My arms, all the way up to my shoulders ached for hours after that. 

[grampahol]

(01-14-2020, 07:07 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Running some wire down a chase with 240 once...using a metal rod. Yeah, i touched a live wire. 

The difference between 120 and 240 is enormous. My arms, all the way up to my shoulders ached for hours after that. 

..It's ONLY twice 120.. 240 isn't that bad..as compared to 440 for example..  I leaned into a 440 line at work once. It took another guy there with a push broom to get me off it..  I usually worked there alone. Some moron left a wrench in the circuit box directly from the live line to the box itself..I've always suspected it was intentional since i took his job away from him..  Fun times! I'm still surprised it didn't blow my toes out the bottom of my shoes..
The place had several 880 lines as well, but they were locked boxes nobody could access..880 WILL blow your toes out..and your eyeballs as well...

By the way..what made you think chasing a metal rod down a 240 line was a good idea anyway?

Not to change the subject, but I did my first full load of laundry today and it all dried in one single dryer cycle instead of 3 or 4.. WIN WIN!

[*rfaulk34*]

(01-15-2020, 02:57 AM)grampahol Wrote: ..It's ONLY twice 120.. 240 isn't that bad..as compared to 440 for example..  I leaned into a 440 line at work once. It took another guy there with a push broom to get me off it..  I usually worked there alone. Some moron left a wrench in the circuit box directly from the live line to the box itself..I've always suspected it was intentional since i took his job away from him..  Fun times! I'm still surprised it didn't blow my toes out the bottom of my shoes..
The place had several 880 lines as well, but they were locked boxes nobody could access..880 WILL blow your toes out..and your eyeballs as well...

By the way..what made you think chasing a metal rod down a 240 line was a good idea anyway?

Not to change the subject, but I did my first full load of laundry today and it all dried in one single dryer cycle instead of 3 or 4.. WIN WIN!

I didn't have a whole lot of options and i thought i'd "be careful". lol

Plus, all the wire was covered at the top of the chase. I still don't know what i hit but i had to jerk myself backwards so my body weight would pull me off the bare metal wire i was using. With no rubber handle...or gloves...or anyone else around...or smarts...

[grampahol]

(01-15-2020, 04:15 AM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I didn't have a whole lot of options and i thought i'd "be careful". lol

Plus, all the wire was covered at the top of the chase. I still don't know what i hit but i had to jerk myself backwards so my body weight would pull me off the bare metal wire i was using. With no rubber handle...or gloves...or anyone else around...or smarts...

Ahhh..the good ol invincibility of youth approach.. Never fails, huh?   I went through a long streak of making the same stupid decisions over and over and over and over and..... The hell of it is, I still do it even though I should know better. What can I say? I still have some kid in me..  My 91 year old dad still thinks he's a 20 year old Marine and still thinks he can kick my ass.. 

[grampahol]

Well..the old dryer I didn't fix yet is officially mine. The former owner abandoned it. I need about $100 in parts (give or take $25 or so depending on whether a certain switch works or not.) and it's a nice looking dryer so next month (probably) I'll replace all the parts and resell it for about $275 or so..  Thrilling, huh?