Tumble Dryer broke - worth fixing?

[Deleted User]

Got an old whiteknight one. Few years old - its a bit noisy and I think it was only £100 or so to start with.

Currently not going around too well so it sounds like belt/motor.

Is it even worth bothering fixing?

Wondering whether might be chance to get a decent low-power usage one? Its on all the time...

Any recommendations?

Jonesya

Have you had a look on Youtube or some of the spares websites - there's quite a lot of videos on there on how to repair household appliances.

drusilla

We use our dryer a lot. It has broken down twice in the last 18 months. Both times I thought it was a no hoper. My other half, who is very handy fitted a new jockey pulley and a new belt. Total cost £40. If it had been up to me I would have bought new so in theory he saved me a couple of £100.

On the other hand I had to be without the dryer for 2 weeks whilst he got round to sorting it.

You have to balance the risk I suppose. Can you cope without if and when it does die on you? It might be worth getting a second opinion on it if you can't do it yourself. At least you will know and you might save yourself the cost of a new one.

Hope this helps.

Nikkisun

My white knight dryer did the same thing last year - I thought it was the belt so unscrewed the back (5 min job) but the belt was fine!
A bit of googling showed it was possibly the capacitor - got one on amazon for under a fiver - easy to fit and solved the problem!
Dryer going strong a year later.

Alias_Omega

They are very simple..

Not Turning - Remove the lid, and spin the drum with the dryer on. If the dryer turns once you've spun it, then stops when it goes into rewind. Its the Start/Stop Capacitor.

Slow Turning - Probably the bearings, newer dryers have like skid panels for the front of the drum, and the rear has a tear drop bearing. Both can be replaced by yourself for £20 with genuine parts. Older models a strip between the drums instead. Very easy to lay dryer on its front, and remove the drum. Just take lots of pictures as you dis-assemble.

Ive repaired an old Hotpoint CTD001 which had burnt through the tear drop bearing, new front skid pads, new rear bearing and its still going strong for a family member. Something that would have been disposed of...

[Deleted User]

Turns out drum had sheered away from fixings. You can see inside. So I guess this would mean new drum at very least?

Bought new one now. £150 so not bad. Seems much quieter.

notanewuser

[quote=[Deleted User];64993943]Turns out drum had sheered away from fixings. You can see inside. So I guess this would mean new drum at very least?

Bought new one now. £150 so not bad. Seems much quieter.[/QUOTE]

That big yellow thing in the sky is even cheaper.

27col

No such thing as a low power usage tumble dryer. Whatever its age, a dryer will use the same amount of energy to dry a wet load of laundry as any other dryer.

[Deleted User]

27col wrote: »

No such thing as a low power usage tumble dryer. Whatever its age, a dryer will use the same amount of energy to dry a wet load of laundry as any other dryer.

True enough. Gas powered sounds interesting with gas being (generally) cheaper than elec.

Ben84

[quote=[Deleted User];64993943]Turns out drum had sheered away from fixings. You can see inside. So I guess this would mean new drum at very least?

Bought new one now. £150 so not bad. Seems much quieter.[/QUOTE]

Doesn't sound like a great quality appliance, but you may have been overloading it? Generally, dryers have lower capacity than similar size washing machines.

notanewuser wrote: »

That big yellow thing in the sky is even cheaper.

The only trouble is that layer of wet grey things between us at it

27col wrote: »

No such thing as a low power usage tumble dryer. Whatever its age, a dryer will use the same amount of energy to dry a wet load of laundry as any other dryer.

It's more about the user. They shouldn't be overfilled as it blocks air flow, and the clothes should be well spun out before going in. The simplest way to ensure this is to do smaller loads in the washing machine, the spin cycle works far better and you have a smaller volume of wet clothes to put in the dryer too. The difference in time it takes in the dryer when I do this is very noticeable and I expect outweighs the extra cost of washing with a less than full load.