Gas dryer problem

[Max]

Any Maytag repair men out there?

I have a Kenmore gas dryer...about 5 years old. The gas fires on heat cycle but won't stay on for long...10 minutes maybe. I checked the exhaust, end to end, for lint and there was little. Some research tells me it may be due to faulty gas coils...relatively inexpensive fix. Just wondering if there's anything else I should be checking before buying the coil replacement parts.

If it ain't one thing; it's another 

[FLOOB]

Any Maytag repair men out there?

https://www.maytag.com/contact-us/

[ROC]

Not sure of the model, or if this applies to yours or not.  An old gas one I fixed a while back had a sensor on it that was in the flame.  Tells if the fire is lit or not, if it can't sense the heat it shuts off the gas.  Pulled the sensor, wiped the oxidization off with a light brillo pad, put it back in.  Worked fine for years.  Same thing was done to my heater last winter.  Same principle. 

[RTR]

Yep ROC beat me to it. Most gas furnaces and appliances should have a sensor. Looks like a small probe. I am having to clean the one on my furnace a couple of times each winter.

Make sure you unplug the dryer before you clean the sensor!

RTR

[Max]

Is the sensor vs coils separate parts?

[RTR]

Here Max,

http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/blog/dryer-repair/gas-dryer-not-heating-properly-14/

 the sensor looks  different than the ones I am used to seeing, but the info here seems pretty spot on.

cheers,
RTR

[DaveBB]

The sensor is called a thermo-couple.

[morfiend]

The sensor is called a thermo-coupler.

 Fixed that for you!    Actually if you can pull the flame sensor,take some emery paper and give it a good clean then re-install and see if that does the trick before you replace it.

  I pull mine in my furnace at the start or the season and give it a quick clean and the furnace runs fine all winter,my buddy does this stuff for a living and always gives me tips and DIY advice and he told me it's whats in the gas that causes a build up and as a safety feature it shuts the system down.

   If that doesnt do the trick unfortunately you will need to replace the themo-coupler. If you're handy it's fairly easy to do but please check for gas leaks after you do the job and before you fire up the dryer,water and soap mixed will show bubbles if you have a leak!


   

[Bodhi]

Unplug it for 15 minutes and then plug it back in and try it again.

My GE does it from time to time and I do that and it works again....   

[DaveBB]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocouple 

Fixed that for you!    Actually if you can pull the flame sensor,take some emery paper and give it a good clean then re-install and see if that does the trick before you replace it.

  I pull mine in my furnace at the start or the season and give it a quick clean and the furnace runs fine all winter,my buddy does this stuff for a living and always gives me tips and DIY advice and he told me it's whats in the gas that causes a build up and as a safety feature it shuts the system down.

   If that doesnt do the trick unfortunately you will need to replace the themo-coupler. If you're handy it's fairly easy to do but please check for gas leaks after you do the job and before you fire up the dryer,water and soap mixed will show bubbles if you have a leak!


   

[68valu]

I am not totally sure on the gas dryer, but my commercial gas range has a pilot light that stays lit all the time. That is what heats the thermo-coupler and allows the gas to flow to the heat element. If you have a pilot light that stays lit, and the heat element (where the big flames are) runs normally, then just the heat element stops, you may have a bad gas valve or a bad safety switch inside the valve. I would recommend having a qualified technician check it, as gas valves and the subsequent surrounding fittings can be extremely dangerous to tamper with. Just a bit of safety advice.


                                                                                                         68valu                                       

 

[Max]

Thanks for the advice guys.

For the fact that I do get heat when the dryer's initially turned on, I don't think it's the thermo-couple..but I will try the emery cloth fix after Bodhi's power reboot idea.

[TequilaChaser]

Depending on the model of gas dryer, which you said is 5 yrs old, I doubt very seriously that your's has a standing pilot with thermocouple, Max

You probably have what is often referred as a glowplug/ignition sensor or electronic ignition...

I, could be wrong, but in any case, you say it lights and heats for roughly 10 minutes then shuts off...
This is where the problem is which could be anything from a bad sensor ( or high temp limit switch/sensor ) to a bad primary gas control

If you don't know gas, call a certified technician, make sure they check that your gas appliances have the proper incoming gas pressure, etc..

Don't want to get to technical or in-depth here

Good luck

TC

[Butcher]

I would honestly call a certified appliance repair tech. I have 3 commercial gas maytag dryers, all run on Propane. From my experience, if the Thermocoupler isn't working then your clothes would not be dry period, if you have your clothes on for 10 minutes and they are "luke warm" then its possibly the thermocoupler is failing (if its not fully heated then it will not open the gas valve) - however I've seen them last 6 months on a failing thermocoupler.

Now here's the tricky part, replacing it - I have some extremely delicate tools to clean the gas lines, because once you take apart the thermocoupler, you have to disconnect the gas lines as well. Its easy to change the thermocoupler, however depending on how old the screws are sometimes this can be a challenge and you have to buy entire new set of parts. Which by the way, commercial is NOT cheap.

Basically the delicate tools come in for cleaning the orfice out, problem is 1 speck of dirt is enough to stop the gas from flowing and pretty much you having to rip everything back out.

It can be done on your own, its not entirely complicated (as I've done it a few times). Think of a gas waterheater, it works along the same principal.

Also take my advice, if you are going to rip out the thermocoupler, might as well take the gas burners out for cleaning as well, any old rust/dirt in those can cause them to burn up quicker or not dry correct (I had one burner crack once, it basically tore up the Drum inside the dryer pretty much melting it and ruining a set of clothes).

[Max]

I agree. Will call a repair guy out tomorrow. With my luck I'll wind up burning the house down.