Inglis Model IGD4400SQ0 Some heat but not drying

[Steve68]

Hello,

I have an Inglis gas dryer that is taking two or three dry cycles to get clothes dry.  It seems to be getting some heat, but not as much heat as it should.

This dryer is about 10 years old and I have repaired it before.

What I know are good are the:   Thermal Fuse (has continuity), Gas Valve Solenoids (ohm values seem ok), Igniter has continuity, dryer vents are ok & clean, circuit breaker is ok, dryer timer counts down as normal.  The front panel is one solid piece so I can't really check for gas flames with it off. The Dryer Blower wheel spins and is clean - no clogs.  I changed all the drum wheels and the rib belt recently - there is no squeaking noise coming from that. The vent to the outside is clear.

The Cycling Thermostat has continuity at room temperature, but  I don't have a good way to test it at higher temperatures, so I don't know if it's cutting off too early.

I'm not really sure what I can try next.  There is some heat and it tumbles and counts down normally, but it just doesn't get hot enough.

Thank you in advance for any ideas.

 

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

There is a flame inspection port on the front panel of your dryer - this is just a standard Whirlpool built top filter dryer.

The little square plastic plug on the left of lower front panel pops out so you can watch the flame.

If you are sure the vent is clear there is a good chance you need to change the gas valve coils, (it appears from the parts diagram this dryer was manufactured sometime in 2006), if the coils have never been changed then they are 14 years old and this is the way they fail.   They will operate and let the dryer heat for anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes then when they are heated up from operating one of the coils will fail open and they dryer will stop heating.   If you let it cool down for awhile and then start it up again it will be heating.

Remove the flame inspection port plug set the dryer on a hi heat setting on a 60 minute cycle and watch thru the inspection port after you start it up and watch for the ignitor to glow and flame to light.   Let it run for about 30 minutes and come back and watch thru the inspection port again and see if you see the ignitor glow then go out and no flame then turn back on and glow again after about 30 or 40 seconds - if it is doing that and no flame lighting you have bad gas valve coils, replace them as a set.

Part number: 279834

[Steve68]

Hello - thanks for your reply.  I replaced both coils but there still isn’t a glow from the igniter. What would be the next possible part to try? 
Thank you!! 

[Steve68]

Sorry - my mistake - there is a flame, I guess I kept missing it. But the dryer still doesn’t get hot enough to dry a load. 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Try to run a load with the vent off and see if it drys OK - it sure sounds like you have a venting problem

Check inside the drum on the right side back, (the lint duct inlet opening), make sure you don't have a dryer fabric softener sheet stuck to the inlet opening blocking it.

 

[Steve68]

Hello again... thanks for your reply.   (We only do laundry on weekends so it take a bit of time to troubleshoot).   We ran a wet a load with the vent off, and it dried pretty well.  I cleaned out the duct inlet opening and replaced the duct hose with a new one (there was a lot of gunk in there).   It's definitely better but it's still not drying like it should. I did install new the gas valve coils.  It now take about two dry cycles to dry a wet load.

Not sure what to try next.

Thanks for all your help!  It's been much appreciated!