Kitchen Gas Appliances - Gas Dryer takes very long to dry clothes

I have a Whirlpool Gas Dryer thats ~3yrs old. It recently started to take a very long time to dry clothes. Loads that usually take 30 minutes now take 3 times as long. When dryer is set to use the Humidity Sensor, the Dial never advances, but eventually the clothes do dry. When set for timed drying, the dial moves properly and the clothes do eventually dry. When I open up the dryer mid-cycle, the dryer is not as hot as I remember it being when it was working properly.

I suspect the problem started when our new cleaning lady did several loads(about 6 loads) of laundry for us in one day. When we went to do another load after that we noticed the lint tray was packed with lint - I'm not sure if the cleaning lady knew to remove and clean when load was complete.

When we started the next load I checked the vent hood from outside - there was little air coming out. When I disconnected everything there was a whole lot of build up in the vent - I took a shop vac and blew out all the clogs in the flex duct. At this point I decided to replace the entire flex duct with hard duct. After installing hard 4" ducts for the vent, there was plenty of warm air coming out the outside vent cover, but this did not change the dryer's performance.

I then disconnected the back panel of the dryer to see if there was any clogs inside the dryer. I did find a whole lot of lint build up in the dryer and removed as much as I could. Again, this did not change the dryer's performance. I'm not sure I removed all clogs inside the dryer - just got as much as my hand could reach.

I've also checked the gas connection and everything seems fine - the flame ignites shortly after dryer is turned on.

What is wrong with the dryer? Anything else I could try before calling someone?

Hello jaspers95 and Welcome into the Gas Appliances topic.

Despite what may seem to be a lot of warm air discharge at the exhaust vent may not be. The dryers internal fan blower may be restricted with a lot of lint. You'll need to access the blowers fan cage and clean it out also.

The idea here is to eliminate as may other possibilities before suspecting any part failures. Such as the timer control, moisture/humidity sensors, etc. What you have already done is good...:thumbup:

Read Gas Dryer Sticky Note For Additional Advice:
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=159481

Use the reply button to add additional information or questions. Using the reply button keeps or moves the topic back up to the top of the list automatically and keeps all communications on this subject in this thread.

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How do I access the blowers fan cage to clean it out? I have a Whirlpool LGR8648LW0.

Hello: jaspers95

Not familiar with how to access blower specifically with that model. Each model differs to some degree. Basic access methods below.

Look for two screws at the base of the front panel. If there are screws there, remove them and lift panels lower end up wards and out wards.

Some models have screws in the door frame. While some have both of the above. Others have none. These types use two clips between the front panel and the top panel.

If there are no visible screws, the clips will be in from the ends about two to four inches from each corner end. Use a thin blade or old credit card card.

Slid in either the card or thin blade to un clip each clip, then lift machine top. Then look along inside front ends of the panel for two more screws which must be removed.

Hi J:

Parts breakdown here:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=502970

You'll also want to ensure that the exhaust hose and ducting are cleaned out.

I was able to remove the lint assembly to expose the exhaust blower fan. It was pretty clean. So I'm sure now that exhaust ducting is clean and probably not the cause of the problem.

I noticed that during the last load we did the inside of the dryer was not warm at all, but the clothes did eventually dry - again it took about 3 times longer than it usually did.

What's next to try? Or is it time to bring in a technician?

Hello: jaspers95

After all that has already been done...:thumbup: and the condition is still the same, next attempt imo is to replace the two solenoid coils. They are located on top of the gas control valve.

Disconnect the electrical to the machine. Turn off the gas supply to the control valve using the tiny shut off lever on the gas supply pipe. Tiny lever should be located on the right hand side of the gas valve.

Then remove the two wire disconnects attached to the solenoids. Remove the solenoids hold down bracket and lift off the two solenoids. Replace them both with exact OEM replacements.

Reverse the procedures above and re-test the dryer. If the solenoids where defective, the new ones will resolve the problem. Solenoids are not expensive nor to difficult to replace.

The sticky note has more details pertaining to solenoid replacement, if you need more details and care to read it.

Well I took your advice and replaced the two solenoid coils. That was it and now it's working great again. Wonder how much I saved by fixing this myself? Is there anything that would cause the solenoids to fail? So I could avoid that again in the future? Or is it common for them to fail?

Thanks for all the help!!!

Hello: jaspers95

Glad you also where able to fix your own dryer. The problem is very common. Solenoids deteriorate with time and wear. The burner then cycles on for short times spans. Increasing dry times. Until one solenoid fails totally and the burner never lights at all...:wall:

There is preventive measures to be taken for solenoid failure. Just happens with time and usage. A very common condition but one that is usually easy and inexpensive to fix as a do it yourself repair...:thumbup:

I think this may be my problem as well. I don't think I could have described it any better. Approximately how much did it cost to replace the solenoids?

what is the brand & model # of your dryer?

Model is the whirlpool 110.74602300

The part # is 279834. I found numerous ones on Ebay from $4 and up.

Sorry, right model number but it's actually a Kenmore.

Same parts, Kenmore made by Whrilpool