17 replies to this topic

[occidental tourist]

wondering if this is a particularly magnificent iteration of the good ole whirlpool dryer or . . .

 

have to get the wife a dryer for valentine's day  - better than a vacuum cleaner right?  talk amongst yourselves.

 

I service a fleet of tenant operated dryers but they are all good OLE whirlpools for the most part.  speed queen here or there and the occasional GE which I don't like as much.

 

Never been inside anything made in this decade so I'm wondering if there really is any such thing as a better mousetrap.  There is one of these, looks like a first gen Cabrio on craigslist.  It is 7.0 cu ft. and has standard whirlpool lint filter location but the new style door.  I reckon this is maybe 10 or 15% bigger capacity than the standard whirlpools on a guess. It claims to be more efficient, but I don't know how you work that out, other than maybe by putting the same size loads from the old dryer in there and there is a little more space to tumble and for air to flow through so you get a little more efficient evaporation and exhaust.  Not rocket science but maybe nice if you have extra few inches.

 

Any trade off in box stability or construction or maintenance access/difficulty with the door extending into the top of the machine.

 

I can't find any threads about any cabrio dryers which means that  maybe they have been reasonably reliable and they are mostly in the under 6 or 8 years old category. but I generally take that as a good sign.

 

any thoughts appreciated - i'm probably balancing this against something like a frigidaire 

FEQ332ES

 

that matches our washer style.  (and I regularly sing the praises of these washers on these threads).  It is a little out of character for me to get anything that matches but  . . . it is valentine's day - and there is a propane one on craigslist.

 

I love the washers but have never been inside the matching dryer.  Can't tell if inside it relies on one of the mainstream drum mounting approaches and parts or has its own approach.  Imagine it's not a huge departure from the standard approach, but wondering if anyone has had this apart and how easy they are to dismember.  any pitfalls like high wear and or unusually expensive parts.

 

Thanks for helping with my valentines dilemma (and valentine's day will actually be on Saturday here in RI so you got a little time to help me figure this out.

 

Brian

[RegUS_PatOff]

... and there is a propane one on craigslist.

more important may be,
Electric / NG / Propane usage costs

[occidental tourist]

cost of operation around here is still much cheaper on propane (thank god for shale gas, when it comes in wet it stabilizes and lowers propane prices as well as natural gas.  of course not to the extent that natural gas is down, but I've never know propane to be consistently cheaper than fuel oil and that has been the case in the northeast for the last couple years and I don't see it changing.

 

Now with dryers the comparison is to electricty which is mostly generated by natural gas around here and coal elsewhere.  I got no issues with coal and wish they had built more but the notion the environmentalists had of driving us all to natural gas, driving the price up and getting us all to live in yurts with windmills didn't turn out like they planned thanks to shale gas.

 

That said, they have salted the wounds of our electric bills with all kinds of social and envrionmental programs having nothing whatosever to do with the most cost effective electricity so our prices are around 15 cents/kwh including transmission.  They aren't going to inflate a lot, but the politicians have a love of throwing stuff on the electric bill and esp. if there is not cost pressue from the basic fuel they will be glad to make sure that we don't see cheaper electricity despite falling natural gas prices.  just paying the transmission alone almost equals the cost of propane.  It takes about 27kwh , I believe, to equal a gallon of propane at about 91,000 btus.

 

So no problem with propane but interested in servicability of platform because we run a lot of stuff through there.

 

Also interest in whether the larger cabrio style has heavier running gear that might last better in heavy use, or whether it is just the light wheels and bushings they put on the standard whirlpool.  I don't like to pay a lot for that muffler and those cabrios run twice the others, new or used,  so I'm just trying to see if you are actually getting anything for that besides hype and whether, when they do actually have worn parts, they are as easy to service as standard whirlpools.

 

thanks for the thoughts on btu cost, because that does make a bit of a difference, but since I have to fix whats broken and don't have to fix the electrical generators I'm retentive about having seen the inside of anything I buy, or at least heard from folks in this line of work with me what they think of the units.

 

brian

 

I'm paying 2 bucks a gallon and and I converted boilers last year so I've got propane ready to go and it is no piping issue so I am leaning propane.

[RegUS_PatOff]

I don't know the advantages / disadvantages that much (maybe someone else does)

but the (2) model numbers you posted are Electric Dryers

[occidental tourist]

you are right about that.  don't have a model number from the propane one.  just googled around for the style. will try to get one, but propane maintenance, i.e. valve, ignitor, etc. doesn't generally worry me.  more concerned about wear parts that are similar on gas and electric from most manufacturers.  So I would believe the running gear in that electric frigidaire is pretty similiar to the gas.

 

brian

[Scottthewolf]

You should avoid both dryers. the only dryer I would ever buy is the one I own, a Whirlpool or Maytag dryer with the lint screen on the top with a mechanical dial you turn by hand, NOT the Cabrio.  All  gas dryers come set for natural gas from the factory. There is a kit you have to buy to convert them to propane, which should only be done by a professional appliance techncian.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

I own, a Whirlpool or Maytag dryer with the lint screen on the top with a mechanical dial you turn by hand, 

 

 

This is the exact dryer we use (Whirlpool, electric), 35 years old.  Over the years, I've installed the maintenance kit once or twice, door closing latch, and a heating element.  Runs great.  Best dryer ever built!  

[occidental tourist]

no question that the old whirlpool design is solid if stolid. but there is at least an early cabrio with lint screen on the top.  i can see it in the picture. they were using the typical whirlpool system.  the later cabrio's don't seem to have this.  I have no idea othert if it is anything other than a couple inches bigger.  is it a bigger motor?  does it apply more  btus  to the heat side? etc.

[Scottthewolf]

The Cabrio dryer uses a different motor, a different blower set up and too much electronics needed for a dryer.  It will NOT last as long as a regular Whirlpool built dryer with a mechanical timer with the lint screen on the top because it has 2 electronic control boards that are prone to fail, and the blower set up is not as sturdy.  In my opinion, the Cabrio dryers are just fancier to match the Cabrio washer, and it was a poor attempt to sell  a dryer for $800 when a normal $300 or $400 dryer will do just fine.

[occidental tourist]

scott,

 

this was a suspicion I had.  i won't buy laundry appliances with unnecessary electronics so that puts the cabrio right off the table.

 

Know anything about the frigidaires.  I prefer good ole whirlpool for dryer, but I buy only the frigidaire washer that pairs with the dryer I noted.  So I could maybe see giving my wife a matched set.

 

The whole reason I buy this part of the frigidaire line is standard timer, no electronics.  But I've never taken one of the dryers apart.

 

I'll see if I can find a parts diagram on the site here to get an idea about the drum suspension system.

 

but if anybody has had any experience taking one of those frigidaires apart, love to hear about it.

 

thanks

 

brian

[occidental tourist]

Does anyone know how to use the parts link to get a parts diagram.  I always have trouble finding the parts diagram.  I don't know why it isn't obvious to me, but all that ever happens is I get a list of parts and I'm usually wanting to look at a diagram.

 

thanks,

 

brian

[Scottthewolf]

Trust me on this, you do NOT want anything made by Frigidaire.  The blower housings in their dryers are plastic and known to crack. Whirlpool still uses a metal blower housing in all their dryers. Frigidaire  makes the cheapest built dryer around, it's design is actually a White Westinghouse design that dates back to the early 1970s and they've found ways to make the dryer cheaper and cheaper over the years. For example, they've gone to a metal blower housing to a plastic blower housing.

 

The lower and mid level Frigidaire dryers uses a single drum bearing  (ball and socket) in the rear  and an upper and lower front felt seals to support the drum.  It does NOT hold up as well as Whirlpool's 2 drum rollers in the rear and a teflon front bearing  in the front to support the drum.

 

ftp://ftp.electrolux-na.com/ProdInfo_PDF/Webster/5995427175.pdf

Edited by Scottthewolf, 15 February 2013 - 11:14 PM.

[jb8103]

I actually have a spare Whirlpool dryer. That's how good these dryers are, I'm not going to be without one. A friend of mine has one from 1974, matched with a belt drive washer when he bought his mobile home new. I've replaced the roller set in one and the wig wag in the other. That's it.

 

In my limited experience, a GE is also a tough bird, but packs in lint like it was value added. I had one customer couldn't get her lint screen back in right anymore - that was what she told me on the phone. I was expecting to find a kid's toy in there but what I found was lint. Yards of compressed lint. I stripped the machine down and packed a trashcan full of the lint I got out.

 

For parts diagrams, I always take the model number to the Sears parts direct site. I never buy appliance parts from there, because they don't have RepairClinic's warranty, but they have nice diagrams. I don't feel guilty because I do buy tools and lawn machine parts from them, the arrogant little so-and-so's. But don't get me started.

[occidental tourist]

scottthewolf,,

 

thanks for the heads up on frigidaire dryers.  i feared this might be the case. oh well. not destined to have a matching set.  always used to be you wanted maytag washer and whirpool dryer.  now, as I mentioned, I'm a devotee of the entry level frigidaire front loader.  had horrible luck with the whirpools imported from italy.  and now can't find anyone else (except some relabel GE stock of the frigidaires)  that uses a standard timer on a front loader.

 

And I love the separate electrical pump design.  and had the frigidaire washers in service for 6 years now at multiple locations and quite happy with them.

 

but not going to get one of their dryers, even to make my wife's laundry set match.

 

off to find a whirlpool LP dryer.

 

thanks,

 

brian

[Scottthewolf]

You might have to get it converted for LP.

[occidental tourist]

You might have to get it converted for LP.

do the whirlpool NG models just have a flip pin in the regulator or  . . .

 

much more likely to find, in fact I probably have a NG sitting in our storage garage.  just gotta go dig it out.

[Scottthewolf]

Some do, some require a kit you have to buy to convert it, it all depends on the model.

[occidental tourist]

Some do, some require a kit you have to buy to convert it, it all depends on the model.

got  it. i'll go turn one over and get a model number.

 

thanks,

 

brian