Tumble dryer broken

[Dod101]

I have a tumble dryer which still heats but the drum does not turn. DAK if these sites which offer a repair for a fixed price (around £120 ore so) are worthwhile or should I just buy a new one. Cost maybe £200? It must be at least 12 years old so I guess I have had my money's worth but I am loathe to scrap it if it can be kept going.

Dod

[richlist]

It might be a really simple repair......like a new belt.

Whip the back off and take a look. Belts are readily available.

[Gaggsy]

Or buy a new one and recoup some of the costs by putting the old one on ebay for spares or repairs. I got £30 for a washing machine that way. It also solved the problem of how to dispose of the old one.

[Dod101]

I have taken a look and it appears to be a broken belt. The motor is of course at the base but I cannot remove the side panel without deconstructing the whole thing as far as I can see. Many suppliers of new machines will remove the old one for free (or at least it is included in their price). At a push I could get it down to the skip myself because dryers are not heavy.

I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestions though.

Dod

[jfgw]

I have fixed a small number of these. The top and sides normally come off first.

The belts can be extremely tight. If there is a sprung tensioner, the job isn't so bad.

Julian F. G. W.

[Nocton]

Do you really need a tumble dryer?
Can't you do an air dry on the washing line? Make a contribution to reducing global warming. Better for you and the environment.

[richlist]

Do you really need a tumble dryer?
Can't you do an air dry on the washing line? Make a contribution to reducing global warming. Better for you and the environment.

Many of us have tumble driers.

We use ours in the middle of the day when the sun shines........via our solar panels........so it's completely free of charge and there is no global warming.

[Dod101]

Whether I need a tumble dryer is what I am trying to decide (as I no longer have a Mrs Dod. She would have said that it had to be replaced) I use it mainly to soften towels after the wash. I never ever use it to actually dry anything as I have plenty of hanging space in my utility room or of course outside in weather like today. I will probably not bother and just do without but cannot decide.

Dod

[Nocton]

We use ours in the middle of the day when the sun shines........via our solar panels........so it's completely free of charge and there is no global warming.

Yes, but you could still do better by exporting the solar-generated electricity. But what I do not understand is why not put them outside if the sun is shining? They will smell nicer/fresher and get some bleaching/sterilisation from the sun's UV. I quite understand that if one lives in a flat one would need a tumble drier, but otherwise ...

And well done Dod for considering the matter. As time goes on I expect more people to look at their lifestyle and use of doubtfully necessary gadgets.

[Dod101]

I have perforce become quite domesticated and not only is it environmentally better to hang washing outside to dry, it costs nothing and as Nocton has said it smells good too. In fact I know we need the space, but in this summer weather, I can strip my bed after I rise, put the bedding in the washing machine, hang it outside to dry and could have the same stuff back on my bed nice and fresh by 5 pm. In fact I rotate it but it is amazing what can be done as I have discovered.

Dod

[monabri]

Belts are readily available for less than a tenner..typically £6 to £8 free post included.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... t&_sacat=0

Plenty of "how to" on YouTube (example)

https://youtu.be/kNJGHyEPiJA

The "risk" is less than a tenner + time but the "reward" would be a job well done. Watch the pressed edges on the machine , they might be sharp.


( you're right though, belt replacement does seem to mean significant disassembly!)

[richlist]

We use ours in the middle of the day when the sun shines........via our solar panels........so it's completely free of charge and there is no global warming.

Yes, but you could still do better by exporting the solar-generated electricity. But what I do not understand is why not put them outside if the sun is shining? They will smell nicer/fresher and get some bleaching/sterilisation from the sun's UV. I quite understand that if one lives in a flat one would need a tumble drier, but otherwise ...

And well done Dod for considering the matter. As time goes on I expect more people to look at their lifestyle and use of doubtfully necessary gadgets.

Your post suggests that you don't know how the payment of solar generated exported energy works. Because the Government cannot accurately determine the amount of solar energy that I export to them, they pay me for 50% of the energy i produce. It doesn't matter if I use 90% of it myself or even 100%.......They still pay me for 50% of what I produce. In addition my energy supplier pays me a fixed unit rate for 100% of my solar energy generated.

This works well for me and is one reason why my bill last year....for the whole year was just over £50.

Why peg it outside......have to wipe the clothes line, might blow off, risk of bird droppings, extra time and effort.....when you can throw it in a tumble dryer for free, push a couple of buttons and get on with the rest of your day.

[richlist]

Have you tried turning the tumble dryer upside down to access the drive belt ?

[Dod101]

Have you tried turning the tumble dryer upside down to access the drive belt ?

I will take another look.

My clothes line is in a sprung roller so that it disappears after I have used it and frankly the benefit of drying clothes outside far outweigh any effort on my part, not that there is much anyway. I am jealous of your £50 for electricity though.

Dod

[Itsallaguess]

In fact I rotate it but it is amazing what can be done as I have discovered.

And on that specific note, I think it's probably about time you gave us the make and model number of the dryer, and we can then hopefully give you some clearer idea of the disassembly required to access the drive belt on your specific machine....

I changed the belt on my Bosch Classixx by removing the rear heating element cover and the top lid - about 8 screws in all, and a 30 minute job all told, and I reckon if we're able to salvage your current machine and save it from having to go to the local recycling centre, then that must go some way to helping salve the eco-warrior guilt when actually using it..

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Dod101]

If I do get another one (or get this one repaired) one lesson is that they need to be cleaned of lint build up from time to time. I have just removed a huge quantity together with an old £1 coin.

The bottom of the machine has another large metal panel and a feature of my model is the huge number of very small screws everywhere. It is simply called a Creda Sensadry (made in Blyth Bridge, Staffs, a place I used to know quite well) and I think must be about 15 years old. All I think it needs is a new belt because the heating element is still working but without actually taking it apart I cannot see how to fit the new belt. Unlike any of the Youtube vidoes, removing any panels is not easy.

Any help/guidance will be appreciated.

Dod

[Itsallaguess]

The bottom of the machine has another large metal panel and a feature of my model is the huge number of very small screws everywhere. It is simply called a Creda Sensadry (made in Blyth Bridge, Staffs, a place I used to know quite well) and I think must be about 15 years old.

All I think it needs is a new belt because the heating element is still working but without actually taking it apart I cannot see how to fit the new belt.

Unlike any of the Youtube vidoes, removing any panels is not easy.

There should be a model number somewhere, so the following instructions are for two different Creda Reversair Sensadry models, but hopefully there will be enough in there to help with your investigations -

https://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=17160

https://www.justanswer.com/uk-appliance/7td7r-creda-reversair-tumble-dryer-model-37374-panels-remove.html

You're right to note the plethora of fixing screws that you're likely to encounter during a job like this, so it's well worth making use of a digital camera or mobile phone during any deconstruction, and separate different screws into their own separate pots, with notes to help identify where they've come from.

Someone earlier mentioned the sharpness of the metal inside these machines, and you do need to be careful with the pressed cuts of the internal frame, so long sleeves and gloves are a must...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[richlist]

Sell it on Ebay as spares or repair.......put the money towards a new one.

In your shoes I'd avoid Whirlpool.

[Itsallaguess]

I wanted to add earlier, that if Dod does end up going down the new dryer route, then I've recently taken delivery of one of these Indesit vented tumble-dryers from Appliances Direct, and the unit is very good value, with delivery being very smooth and well organised, with a 2-hour delivery slot known in advance -

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/id ... mble-dryer

For an additional £20, they will take away and recycle the previous unit, so just something to think about if repair is either impossible or uneconomical and a separate trip to the tip seems like hard work...

My previous Bosch Classixx dryer had gone through a couple of belts and two new heater elements before it finally succumbed to a melted rear drum-bearing, which couldn't be sourced in the UK unfortunately. The cost of a new bearing from Europe was going to be uneconomical compared to the £150 cost of the new Indesit model, which now installed is proving to be more efficient than the old dryer anyway...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Dod101]

Itsallaguess My model number seems to be 37544 and I think the instructions on the first of your links is what I will need to do. Removing the front panel makes sense to me and will give access to the belt. Fair amount of dismantling though but I think you have cracked it for me. Thank you. Now just need to decide what to do. For this afternoon I am going out to do some weeding and will think about the dryer later.

Dod