Clothes dryer help
#7
I replaced the rear felt drum seal on my clothes dryer 2 days ago. Yesterday I tried the first loads through and it worked fine. Today my wife try to catch up on the kids laundry and she has problems. The problem is the drum feels tight. Now with laundry in it the motor can't start it spinning. Unloaded it starts. I did an unconventional loading by holding the door switch closed and started the dryer. I then slowly added the clothes and closed the door fast. Once it is started it stays running. Any tips on how to loosen up the drum?
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#8
After it did that cycle will it start now.  You could try spraying the felt with dry lube also
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#9
You're going to have to take it apart and find out why. Perhaps the drum is out of alignment- too low or high in the rear or front. Could be a drum roller needs lube. The gasket adhesive may have come loose and the felt bunched up.
Depends on your make and model.
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#10
It is a 23 year old Kenmore. It blew a thermal fuse which is why I originally had it apart. Since the rear seal had never been changed and there wasn't much left of it I thought I wold change it while I had it apart. It seems to be getting worse because now it takes a couple seconds for it to start empty and putting a heavy item in stops the drum. 

To top it all off I hd to move the washer to get behind the dryer to hook up the vent. Of course the water lines started leaking right at the end. The seal couldn't take the stress of moving around. So I fixed that but now there is a puddle of water under the washer. It is a front loader and it looks like the front seal on that drum is leaking. Not the door but the drum itself. Now I have to find our if that is fixable or just get a new one. The washer is about 13 years old.
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#11
My biggest regret in the laundry department was replacing a 10 year old machine.  Should have fixed it...which would have cost half as much as a new one (well, that was the theory when we started, but not by the time she picked a Speed Queen).  Older washers (at least the top loaders) just do a much better job of washing clothes than new ones that seem to be more interested in getting energy star approval than they are in getting dirt out of clothes.  I'd fix an old washer as long as you can.  A dryer...more than about $200 in parts and I'd replace it.  The new one will never last 23 years...but they just aren't all that expensive unless you need a fancy one to match a fancy washing machine.
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#12
(04-05-2018, 08:00 PM)JosephP Wrote: My biggest regret in the laundry department was replacing a 10 year old machine.  Should have fixed it...which would have cost half as much as a new one (well, that was the theory when we started, but not by the time she picked a Speed Queen).  Older washers (at least the top loaders) just do a much better job of washing clothes than new ones that seem to be more interested in getting energy star approval than they are in getting dirt out of clothes.  I'd fix an old washer as long as you can.  A dryer...more than about $200 in parts and I'd replace it.  The new one will never last 23 years...but they just aren't all that expensive unless you need a fancy one to match a fancy washing machine.

Absolutely!!!  When our front loader goes toes-up, we're getting a plain vanilla top-loader with no bells or whistles.  Since even those are not being made like they used to, according to the repair guy at least, then I'm not spending extra coin on fancy electronics that add perceived value but don't actually contribute to cleaning.  So I should be way ahead of the game with a plain Jane top loader vs the over-priced, under-cleaning front loaders out there.  

Bope:  As to the dryer, ditto the exploration of the bearings in the rollers, which are probably Oilite bronze bushings, and will get stiff sooner or later.  But they're cheap to replace, as well as the belt tensioning roller.  And a new belt, while you're at it.  Did that to my matching overpriced dryer and it runs like new again.
Tom

“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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