How Dryers work. Whirlpool, Inglis, Kitchen Aid, Kenmore, Admiral, Roper

Hello to all members.

This is a thread to continue my teachings on dryers.
I'm not done the tips thread because they will keep coming as I remember more.
But this post is to show everyone the parts that make a dryer work. And I will show how they work together.

First here are a few pictures to show what type of vent is the best and how is should be installed.
You should always have a 90 Degree elbow coming off the dryer. Then run this
solid piping all the way to the outside termination.
AND REMEMBER AS I SHOW IN THE PICTURES WITH MY FINGERS I AM SHOWING THE ELBOW HAS TO GO INTO THE VENT PIPE THEN THE VENT PIPE GOES INTO THE OTHER ELBOW. THIS WAY THE VENT IS SMOOTH INSIDE.
Now sometimes the outside termination is right behind the dryer in this case only the elbows should be needed. If you need a better explanation. Send me some pictures of your set up and I will be able to give you advice on what will work for you. Because all houses are slightly different.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522313
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522345
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522371
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522398

Now lets start with the timer.
The time normally has One, two, or three automatic cycles, One two or three timed cycles, And one air Fluff Cycle. Now this can be different from one brand to the other. But for now I have a whirlpool dryer to fix so we'll start with the WHIRLPOOL, INGLIS, KITCHENAID, ADMIRAL and SOME KENMORE. IF the kenmore is built by whirlpool.

If your dryer has an automatic cycle by all means, USE it.
It will perfectly dry your clothes everytime.
When the start switch is pressed Two things happen.
The motor starts and kicks from start windings to the run windings with the centrifugal switch.
And the element turns on.

Now if you look at this timer.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522619
You can see the AUTOMATIC CYCLE. And it says MORE DRY. (*) and LESS DRY. What is meant here is that if you put it on MORE DRY the dryer will run longer to dry the clothes more. IF you put it on the * then it's supposed to be the manufacture Specified spot and should work well on most loads. And if you like to hang your clothes in case of rinkles in the clothes then put it on LESS DRY but you will have to be there to take the clothes out when it's done because it doesn't always take all the moisture out of the clothes.

Now the element is not on all the time. This thermostat is what controls the temperature the dryer will reach.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522679

The dryer will heat until it reaches temperature then the contacts in this thermostat change and send power to the purple wires.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522701

The Purple wires go back to the timer and give power to the timer motor and so the timer will advance when the element is shut off.
This way if your clothes are dry, the element will stay off longer because of no moisture and the timer will advance much faster and eventually shut off.
This is what makes the automatic cycle work!
Some models of dryers have more than one thermostat but whirlpool has a Variable Temp Thermostat that can sense different temps because different temps gives different resistance and yeah I wont get too far into that right now because it's not needed.
So now you know what makes the element turn on and off.

Now I'll show you where the air flow goes and how that works.
The air starts by coming in from the back through the element. Thus heating the air. http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...68269_4526.jpg

Then comes into the dryer through this hole.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522753

From here it heat the clothes and then the moisture is sent in this vent.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522809

As you can see half the holes are clogged. This should be checked often just to make sure.
I use a round brush like used to clean the inside of tubing.

Which is going down to the blower housing. Here is a picture of the blower housing from the back.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522928
Now if you look inside the dryer and see some of the holes are plugged you will want to clean those out. If the holes are plugged, the moisture will be trapped and clothes will not DRY.
If the holes are fine then everything is good in the drum.

Now I will show how badly the blower housing can be plugged. AND this is VERY COMMON with OLDER dryers.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230522515
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...68289_2472.jpg
This housing always has 4 screws at the back and two on top. Then it pulls out like this and you can see the hole is full of lint. This particular dryer had a problem with no heat in the dryer. So the plugged vent caused a safety switch(high limit thermostat, Safety Thermostat) to open.

Here is the element housing and those two safeties.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230523063


The top one is called the high limit and it is the most common part to change on these dryer when the PROBLEM is NO HEAT BUT THE DRUM TURNS.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230523105

This is because this safety opens and doesn't allow power to the element.

The bottom Safety does not fail as often but here is a picture anyways.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230523130

The two safeties on the element come in the same kit and should both be replaced at the same time.

NOTE
REMEMBER TO UNPLUG ANY APPLIANCE BEFORE SERVICING IT
The easiest way to know if it's one of these parts that are the problem is to Join the Wires together and tape them and see if the dryer heats up. By Bypassing the safety you can eliminate it as a problem or figure out that it is the problem. BUT DO NOT RUN THE DRYER FOR MORE THAN 1 MINUTE THE ELEMENT SHOULD COME ON BY THAT TIME.

This is the most common parts to change over any other for any brand.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...g?t=1230523192

The reason we're changing so many is because most of the houses have a partially plugged vent and that causes too much heat in the vent and this THERMAL FUSE cuts out at a certain temp and shuts the dryer off.
So IF THE DRYER SHUTS OFF AND WON'T TURN BACK ON THIS IS PROBABLY THE PROBLEM AND ONLY COSTS 15$.
You wouldn't believe how many dryers I've picked up on the curb that just needed 10 to 20$ in parts to get back up and running so do not throw it out if it's one of these problems.
Now we'll get to the possible problems that are very easy to fix and very easy to miss.

NOTE
REMEMBER TO UNPLUG ANY APPLIANCE BEFORE SERVICING IT
Just like the high limit safety could be bypassed. The same can be done with this one. If the Dryer is not starting and there are no noises coming out of the dryer when the start switch is pressed or turned. Then join the two wires together and see if it starts.

I hope this clears a few things up for at least a few people because I know when I first started This would've been something good to have to learn from.
If anyone thinks that I missed something let me know!


Thanks For Reading.