Dryer vent too long.
What’s a grasshopper to do?
Shorten vent as shown.

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

If your dryer is a Whirlpool/Kenmore, the culprit is this little boogar, the Even Heat Control Board. It’s located in your dryer’s control console, you’ll have to open it up to get to it. This parts breakdown of the control console will help you–it’s item 13.

Awwite, go fix your dryer.

For an electric dryer that runs but doesn’t heat, follow this repair roadmap:

1. Flip the circuit breaker off and then back on. Electric dryers run on a two-pole, 240v breaker. A common problem is for one of the legs to break which cuts the 240v that the elements need to heat up but it still supplies the 120v for the motor. The result is that the dryer runs but doesn’t heat.
2. If the breaker checks out, then it’s time to do some surgery. Unplug the dryer and open it up. Disassembly instructions are here for all common brands.
3. Use your ohm meter to test the thermostats. All should show continuity.
4. Measure the resistance of the heating element with your ohm meter. Normal readings are in the neighborhood of 30 ohms.
5. In rare cases, the centrifugal switch in the motor can fail which breaks the power circuit for the heating elements. If this is the case, then the entire motor must be replaced since the centrifugal switch is built into the motor.

If you need more help, post your question in the repair forum at the Samurai School of Appliantology.

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

Well, one solution is run the dryer inside an airlock chamber. Alternatively, if your goal is to simply avoid using your already-heated household air for primary combustion air for the burner, there is an economical and commonly-employed approach. Run a second 4″ diameter duct to convey outside air to the burner. Typically, this air supply duct would be connected to the dryer at a side port. You would need to cut the side port in the dryer with a 4″ hole saw. You may also want to install a manually-operated flapper inside the duct that you could close when you’re not using the dryer.

At some point during the life of your dryer, you’re gonna need to open it up to do some surgery. Here are basic disassembly procedures for the most common dryer brands and models. And, Hoss, a genuine manufacturer’s repair manual can be a valuable accomplice in your dryer repair odyssey. Come git you some.

• Admiral, Norge, some White Westinghouse, Montgomery Wards
  First, pop the hood on that sucker. Here’s whatcha see on the inside looking in from the top and here’s looking at the guts of the dryer with the drum removed.
• Amana-Speed Queen
  First, remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. After you’ve removed the front panel, you’ll see four screws that hold on the front drum glide bulkhead. Remove the bulkhead and set it aside–be careful about the door switch wires. To remove the drum, first unstring the belt from the tensioner pulley.
• GE/Hotpoint
  • Old Style: First, remove the several screws holding the top down and then the bottom two screws Lift the top and remove the two front panel retaining screws on the inside. Then remove the drum center bearing clip, unstring the belt, and remove the drum.
  • New Style: Remove the top panel retaining screws, pop the top, and then remove the inner front panel screws. Unstring the belt and remove the drum. Here’s what it looks like with the drum removed. There are two variations on this dryer that affect how you restring the belt. Variation 1 has a rear access panel through which you can restring the belt. Variation 2, however, does not have this rear access panel. (Thank you, GE ) To restring the belt on this sorry excuse for a dryer, remove the phillips screw inside the rear exit opening of the blower duct and remove the duct. Then restring the belt from the front.
• Sears Kenmore, Whirlpool, Roper, Kitchen Aid, Estate
  
  • Lint Filter on Top:
    Remove the two screws at the lint filter and pop the top up. Here’s what it looks like under the hood. Remove those two screws inside the top of the front panel. Now, go ahead and unstring the belt to remove the drum. With the drum removed, you can see the drum rollers. If you need to remove the motor, this’ll hepya. You can remove the back panel to get to the blower chute and lots of other stuff, too. This shows how to remove the blower chute.
  • Lint Filter in the Door: Remove the front kick panel to reveal the bottom retaining screws for the door panel. Now remove the top panel to reveal the top retaining screws for the door panel. Disconnect the wiring harness for the door switch and remove the door panel. Now unstring the belt and remove the drum.
• Maytag
  Disassembly is very similar to the Amana-Speed Queen dryer. Remove the two screws at the bottom of the front panel. Remove front panel, and then remove the drum support bulkhead. The front glide set for the drum is shown here. With the bulkhead out, you can access the blower housing. Remove the belt before pulling out the drum. If you need detailed instructions on replacing the belt, this will help. With the drum removed, you can access the rear drum rollers.
• Frigidaire and White-Westinghouse
  Pop the top, remove the front panel screws, unstring the belt, and pull out the drum.

For more information about your dryer or to order parts, click here.

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

I reckon dryers are trickier than I thought for most folks. People seem to have a hard time understanding that the dryer vent is absotootly, posilootly critical to the safe and efficient operation of your dryer! Period. Folks, if your dryer vent sux, then your dryer’s performance and safety will suck, too. It’s just that simple. The idea with a dryer vent is to have as little back pressure as possible. Back pressure retards the flow of moist air outta the dryer and also collects lint in the dryer and vent system creating a fire hazard. And, hear this, poor venting will cause dryers to overheat, too! Another great cause of dryer fires.

The number one thing you should do to make your dryer safer to operate and dry clothes more efficiently is to follow the do’s and don’ts in this chart. Look at this figure carefully. I didn’t put the link there just to look purdy. Examine it, study it, memorize it, print it out and sleep with it under your pillow…well, maybe not. But you get the idea.

In addition to the basic do’s and don’ts above, you shall obey these dryer vent length criteria. You like your overly-long dryer vent just the way it is? Ok, Slick, here’s your future.

Note that white vinyl vent hoses are not UL-Approved and are a great way to start fires in your house. The American Household Appliance Manufacturers Association (AHAM) recommends the use of either rigid aluminum or steel duct or spiral-wound aluminum flex hose–NOT the white vinyl hose. For any dryer, but especially gas dryers, white vinyl vent hose should never be used. If yours has this installed on it, replace it ASAP with UL-approved materials. Examples of UL-approved dryer venting materials are shown here. If you need to upgrade your vent using UL-Approved materials, some recommended items are listed below. Hint: these are links, you can click ’em to see pictures of ’em.

• Basic Dryer Vent Kit – To vent a gas or electric dryer up to 8 feet from the dryer outlet. 4-inch diameter flexible semi-rigid venting up to 8 feet in length. Includes two protector style connectors and foam seal. Instructions included.
• Side/Base Exhaust Kit, Maytag – Kit for exhausting a Maytag dryer either through the side or through the base. Includes exhaust opening plate, exhaust duct with bracket, exhaust duct, elbow and instruction sheet.
• Side/Base Exhaust Kit, Amana – Kit for exhausting an Amana dryer either through the side or through the base. Includes two self drilling screws, exhaust duct, exhaust opening plate.
• Loop Vent Kit – 4-1/2-inch wall clearance. Snap fittings and rotating collars make installation easy. Additional vent can be snapped on for longer runs. Kit includes two close elbows, one 6-foot flexible vent and two 4-inch adjustable steel clamps.
• Flexible Dryer Vent Duct, 6 foot – Flexible 4-inch diameter dryer vent expands to 6 feet. Male to female connections.
• 8-foot flexible dryer venting – Vent expands from 8 inches to 8 feet. Fits most common home installation requirements. Clamps are designed for quick and easy installation. 4 inches in diameter.
• Flexible Dryer Vent Duct, 5 foot – Flexible 4-inch diameter dryer vent expands to 5 feet. Male to female connectors.
• 8-foot Semi-Rigid Dryer Venting – Semi-rigid metal construction is flexible and easy to install. Vent expands from 23 inches to 8 feet and fits most common home installation requirements. 4 inches in diameter.
• Periscope Vent – Use when vent outlets overlap or are offset. Provides 2-1/2-inch clearance between dryer and wall. Extends to 18 inches.
• Elongated 90 degree, Close Wall Elbow (Wall Vent) – Snap-lock, rotating collar. Elbow turns 90 degrees within 4-1/2-inches of wall. Clamp required. Male to female connections (use on wall vent outlet).
• 90 degree Close Wall Elbow – Standard, 90-degree, short radius elbow. Use for 90-degree turns within 4-1/2-inches of wall.
• Elongated 90 degree, Close Wall Elbow (Dryer Outlet) – Use where outlet vent on dryer is projecting outward. Snap-lock, rotating collar. Elbow turns 90 degrees within 4-1/2-inches of wall. Clamp required. Female to male connections (use on dryer outlet).
• Dryer Vent Pipe – Deflecto 4-inch by 24-inch aluminum dryer vent pipe.
• Dryer Vent Hood – Through-the-wall gas or electric dryer tube and vent hood with a removable bird and rodent guard. Louvered self-closing internal damper keeps out drafts and provides efficient dryer airflow.
• Dryer Vent Periscope, 0-inch to 5-inch – Includes uniquely designed periscope to allow close placement of the dryer to the wall. Vent adjusts from 0 inches to 5 inches and pivots 180 degrees. Metal clamps make installation easy with common household tools
• 90 Degree Close Dryer Vent Elbow – Uniquely designed elbow to allow close placement of dryer to the wall. Energy efficient metal construction for safe operation. Simple instructions for easy installation with common household tools.
• 4 inch Clamp – Two 4-inch clamps for use with dryer venting duct. Phillips/hex head screws.

One of the ways that dryers can start household fires is by igniting the excess lint that accumulates around the motor, burner shroud (for gas dryers) and cabinet interior. Y’see, Slick, lint is composed of very small, dry clothing particles which includes cotton and polyesters–both very good fire starters. Polyesters are particularly pernicious fire starters and are very difficult to extinguish once they ignite. Polyesters, vinyl in particular, pose another fire hazard when used as vent hoses, which we’ll talk more about later in this article.

One of the biggest causes of vent hose fires is when this accumulated lint inside the vent hose ignites. Lint gets caught in the folds and creases and sticks there because of the humidity. Over time, the lint builds up to such a degree that the dryer cannot exhaust properly. This results in increased drying times initially and, ultimately, in a fire. Once a fire starts in a vinyl vent hose, the hose itself ignites and burns vigorously creating a fire that is very difficult to extinguish.

Another reason for using rigid, smooth-walled aluminum ducting for your dryer vent is that you can easily clean it out using a vent brush. You need to do this annually to keep your dryer running at optimum efficiency and to ensure that you won’t get any lint fires started inside the dryer vent. Oh yeah, it can still happen even with aluminum duct but the results will be far less catastrophic than a white vinyl vent fire.

Folks, I don’t make this stuff up. I couldn’t make this stuff up even if I wanted to. If you’re having dryer problems like long dry times and overheating, you need to check out your venting in accordance with foregoing pearls of wisdom.

I can’t even tell you how many time I hear Grasshoppers tell me, “My dryer is (circle one) [overheating, runs too long, fires the heaters only briefly, smells hot, blah blah blah] and I checked the vent and it’s OK.” Checked the vent and it’s OK? Checked the vent and it’s OK? Well, just what in the hell does “OK” mean? What criteria are you using to check the vent? Do you even know what to look for? (Hint: the answer to all the above is “I didn’t know but now I do after reading your inspiring and illuminating Appliantology article on the subject, oh wise Samurai.”)

Ok then.

Minnesooooota! My daughter was born there (St. Paul). Nice place. Kinda like a flat New Hampshire filled with tax-and-spend Democrats handing out hot, wet, stinky cash to people of color who took a train ride up from inner city Chicago. On second thought, it’s not really like New Hampshire at all. Don’t get me wrong: we liked living there. We liked leaving it better, though. And, really, is there any other state that can even come close to the endearingly cranky character of the “Live Free or Die” state? My fellow Ameedicans, I present to you the great state of New Hampster, USA!

But I digress. Let’s talk about your dryer. Referring first to my excellent tome on the subject, the much bally-hooed, Gas Dryer Problem Solver, you’ll read that one of the first recommended diagnostic actions is to run the dryer with the vent completely disconnected.

However, based on your description, and bearing in the mind the principle of “garbage in, garbage out,” my vast experience as a certified appliance guru leads me to suspect your valve coils. Oui, oui, come git you some.

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

This sounds like the classic symptoms of a motor overheating and kicking out on thermal overload. You can confirm by measuring the continuity across the motor’s run winding next time it quits on you. If it reads open, then you know the motor’s internal thermal overload protector is open, which means the motor is overheating…

or just replace the motor.

This is one of the most common dryer complaints. The cause is so simple that most grasshoppers don’t believe me when I tell them. Oh, how I valiantly try to explain to them that the problem isn’t the dryer at all, it’s the vent. "But I checked the vent and it’s clear," they reply, incredulously. The Samurai has the cure for your ignorance in his famous dryer venting primer. Knowledge is power!

Ahh, grasshoppers, all is revealed in the oracle of gas dryer repair.

Fun facts to know and tell about interchangeable dryer parts. Thanks for passing that along, Jim!

Listen to me now, believe me later, and hear me next week: your dryer vent sux!

First problem is that you wrote down the model number wrong. Read The Ten Commandments for Reading Appliance Model Numbers. I believe you mistook a ‘Q’ or a ‘0’ when you wrote down your model number–the correct number for your dryer is LGR4634EQ0. With a good model number, you can easily find a parts breakdown diagram for your dryer.

Based on your problem description, the problem could be the drum rollers, a worn plastic bearing ring at the front of the dryer drum, or something caught in the blower chute
. You’ll need to remove the drum to check all these things out. A genuine Whirlpool dryer repair manual is definitely worth a few shekels and will pay for itself over and over again.

Awwite, go whup-up on that bad boy.

--- Julie Land wrote:
> 
> I have a Kenmore dryer-it's brown so it's old. The
> problem I'm having is with the door latch. We've
> secured it with magnets to get it to keep running,
> but now that's not working either. I've price the
> part, but want to know if this is something I can
> replace without a lot of bother. Or should I just
> call in a repairman? Or can you walk me through it?
> I bet you can! Please let me know how complicated it
> is so I'll know whether to order the part. Right now
> I'm debating on buying a new dryer-the husband is
> dragging his feet on that one! Thanks for your
> prompt answer.-Julie
> 
> _______________________________
> The above message was sent when you were offline,
> via your LivePerson site.
>  
> Message sent from IP: 67.195.79.74

You must be kidding–you would seriously consider replacing a dryer that needs a $5 part!? The door latch literally snaps in place–no tools required. Buy it here and spare our over-crowded landfills your otherwise perfectly-fine dryer. Fits most models, too.