Tumble driers

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Anyone know much about tumble dryers? I've fixed our old one countless times but it's so old it's dead simple.

 

Our daughter has a Samsung condenser dryer which she says isn't running. Her description is that it makes a buzzing noise but it won't turn. If she tries to turn the drum by hand it feels stiffer than usual.

 

My guess is it's a seized bearing. They keep it in a shed outside. I'm going to take a look tomorrow when I can drive over but just wondered if there's any wisdom before I start on it. 

 

Ta. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

A bit of Youtubing suggests it might be the start capacitor. I'll have to take my multimeter and check that bit.

[Bender]

Disconnect  motor see what moves or not, don't electrocute yourself  

[Gerontious]

I don't understand. she has a condenser tumbler.. outside!!

these things are specifically designed for use in rooms that have no easy way to vent the damp air outside, and are a lot more expensive to run due to how they work.

Do her a favour.. tell her its broken and irreparable and get her to buy one that can be vented through the shed wall.. it will pay for itself in a year or two in lower bills.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

8 hours ago, Gerontious said:

I don't understand. she has a condenser tumbler.. outside!!

these things are specifically designed for use in rooms that have no easy way to vent the damp air outside, and are a lot more expensive to run due to how they work.

Do her a favour.. tell her its broken and irreparable and get her to buy one that can be vented through the shed wall.. it will pay for itself in a year or two in lower bills.

The reason is that it was bought for indoor use but when they had their kitchen done they wanted more space so the drier got moved outside.

 

I've already told them that if it's not repairable then buy a vented machine.

 

The fly in the ointment is that apparently they built the shed specifically for this drier and it's not a standard size. It's narrower than the usual 600mm for some reason so the cheap vented driers won't fit. 

 

They've not long had a baby so I'm hoping I can fix it and keep it going a bit longer.

 

My multimeter is an automotive one so doesn't measure uf, I can only test the capacitor with resistance. I bought it to measure dwell angles on classic cars with proper distributors. I think I need to invest in a new one.

[Bender]

8 hours ago, Gerontious said:

I don't understand. she has a condenser tumbler.. outside!!

these things are specifically designed for use in rooms that have no easy way to vent the damp air outside, and are a lot more expensive to run due to how they work.

Do her a favour.. tell her its broken and irreparable and get her to buy one that can be vented through the shed wall.. it will pay for itself in a year or two in lower bills.

You will struggle to buy a vented dryer now if at all, they are condensing or heat pump,  heat pump are more expensive to buy but are much cheaper to run than conventional. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

41 minutes ago, Bender said:

You will struggle to buy a vented dryer now if at all, they are condensing or heat pump,  heat pump are more expensive to buy but are much cheaper to run than conventional. 

Argos still sell them - and they happen to be smaller size which might fit into the shed space they've got. Probably won't last long but so long as it does them for the time being it will do the job.

[fastbob]

[S-Westerly]

Difficult when it's pissing down in the usual UK winter.

[Bender]

58 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Argos still sell them - and they happen to be smaller size which might fit into the shed space they've got. Probably won't last long but so long as it does them for the time being it will do the job.

Will forward argos details to Greta  

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

2 hours ago, fastbob said:

Have you seen how many outfits a day a 6 month old goes through?

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Drier fixed! The capacitors seemed to be ok so I just cleaned everything and freed up and lubed the front drum bearing. Starts on the button every time now.

 

[husoi]

5 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

Difficult when it's pissing down in the usual UK winter.

Or you do as I do, watch the mrs walking in and out all the time with the laundry basket 

I could say that Scotland and drying clothes outside don't go together, but what do I know about it...

[Tiggie]

A few years ago I was called out to my eldest daughters house to fix her tumble dryer ( it was just the thermal cut out so nice and simple)

 

While taking it apart I said to her it looks pretty new, how long have you had it. She said " you bought it for me last September " 

 

"Did ?!!!!!   "

 

That was an interesting conversation with the Wife when I got back home 

[Tiggie]

Also I find it really annoying (though I'm sure there is some safety reason why) that on my old tumble dryer (and others of same age) you could reset the thermal switch via a push button at the back of the tumbler. On the newer ones I've had to fix ( all of two!) the switch is inside so you have to take machine apart, locate the part and then use a small screwdriver or similar to prod around and reset it. 

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

27 minutes ago, Tiggie said:

Also I find it really annoying (though I'm sure there is some safety reason why) that on my old tumble dryer (and others of same age) you could reset the thermal switch via a push button at the back of the tumbler. On the newer ones I've had to fix ( all of two!) the switch is inside so you have to take machine apart, locate the part and then use a small screwdriver or similar to prod around and reset it. 

 

That's to stop people fixing them. Most of the time people assume it's broken and go buy a new one.