Maytag problems

[anonymous]

I have one Neptune (less than a month old) that is giving me problems. The machine will count down and appear to go through all of the cycles. However, when the door unlocks at the end of a supposedly good wash, the clothes are barely wet and still dirty (in other words, Nothing happened). Any idea on what could be causing this?

My second problem involves my new Maytag stack dryers. If one of the two pockets is running, everything appears okay. However, once both pockets get fired up then either both the pockets do not fire up or just one of them fires up (the other one doesn't even try to ignite). Any ideas?

They are both under warranty, but the repairman is useless so if I can tell him what is wrong up front, it will save us both a lot of time and heart ache. Thanks.

[IPSOTECH]

Sounds like you have a bad new style motor controller board which is very unusual for the board as they are much more reliable than the Switch Reluctance Drives unit. Is the basket turning at all? Check to see that you are getting 120 volts AC at the connector to the motor controller board at the bottom right of the washer.

Other possible causes is a bad computer board or a disconnected power connector at the motor controller board. Also check under the top control panel for a loose or disconnected push on terminal next to the large relay to the left.

As for the dryer it sounds like you have air flow problem with the venting. What is happening is the air flow flap is not pulling in when you are running both dryers top/bottom. These dryers are very finicky as to venting and any back flow will cause this situation.
Do you have a shared main vent for all the dryers or each stack running separate?

Does your dryer have 2 locks holding the front panel or 4 screws?
Either way remove the front and let hang at a 90 deg angle. Replace lint draw back in slot and lock it. Cut an exact piece of cardboard the size of the hole below the lint draw and place it in that space. Use a small towel or sock to cover the gap in between the top of the lint draw and the front panel. Do this for both dryers and then start each one and you will be able to see what is going on with the air flow flap.

[anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions Marc. I did exactly what you told me to with the stacks.

The airflow flap is not closing. All stacks are vented individually and were installed by MacGray, the distributor. I started all of the dryers and sometimes only one of the pockets would start, but never both and sometimes neither. However, when I start up both pockets, but leave the top doors open, all of the bottom pockets will fire up and vice versa.

Any suggestions on how to prevent this backflow? The only thing I can think of is I added hardware cloth for three inches above the dryers because I thought I was going to be short on make up air. However, I have plenty of fresh air behind the dryers. Could the venting out into the laundromat be causing the backflow.

As always, any suggestions are appreciated.

[IPSOTECH]

"Vented out in to the laundry" What does that mean? Not sure what you are talking about. Ideally each dryer should have its own vent keeping its length and bends to a minimum. Also be careful with and hoods or flaps of any kind. Basically anything that can restrict or induce resistance to airflow should be avoided. Never vent close to the same opening that is supplying the make up air.

When you disconnect the vent to the dryer does the top/bottom work fine?

Like I said is my previous post this dryer is very finicky about venting. I would have MacGray fix what ever is needed to be fixed or have them take it back and give you a refund. Then go buy the ADG236 or SQ or Huebsch. Really if you follow the factory recommended installation procedure and the dryer does not function accordingly, then you should expect to have them take it back, I know I would.

Since I doubt that is going to happen I would suggest you keep on the dist butt and get them to fix it, under warranty.

Make sure that some smart ass tech doesn't go there and either jump the switch or tape the flap closed and then say everything is fine. The switch and flap is there for a reason. By bypassing it you are setting yourself up for a fire in that dryer if the motor should ever fail while the dryer is running as there isn't any other safeties on that dryer to shut off the gas other than the thermostats. That motor does not have a centrifuge switch for the heat circuit!!!

[IPSOTECH]

LONGSHOT:

There is a damper inside the dryer for each pocket that is located inside the blower housing. Sometimes it gets stuck and doesn't open all the way causing reduced airflow. To access it you have to remove the rear cover and remove all the venting inside the dryer and reach inside the blower housing to see if it is moving freely. I would let them check that if it comes down to it.

BTW: Describe in detail to us the venting setup you have for the dryer.
IE: Size, length, # of elbows, caps/hoods, etc...

[anonymous]

Marc,

Thanks for your kind patience. My exhaust set up is pretty simple. I have 8 inch venting running less than 8 ft straight up (no elbows) to the roof. There is about a foot of venting above the roof line (angled at 45 degrees to prevent water and debris from coming down the vent). No hoods or caps. The vents are clean as a whistle and were just installed last month.

I will try removing one of the vents tonight to see how it goes. I have a call into MacGray to sort these things out. What a hassle they are. I am glad I am doing my remodel in phases. Now I know I will not be going back to them for additional equipment.

[IPSOTECH]

Is not the company per say its the choice of equipment that I have a problem with.

We will all try to help you work it out!!!

[TTLES]

Jag, Mark has given you some good advice. You lost me on the hardware cloth, Please explain what that about. Thanks, Tony

[Duane]

Sounds like not enough make up air.

When you say make up air, do you mean you have a lot of "air" behind the dryers or do you have great big holes cut into the walls behind the dryers so any air exhaused through the roof can be replaced with fresh outside air through the holes in the wall.

Never should you vent into or vent from your mat floor space that is occupied by customers.

For these dryers at least 1.5 square foot, per pocket, of unobstructed air flow from the outside is needed for proper operation.

I have this model of dryer and they work great.

Duane.

[pete f]

have bt a few maytags from McGary and they were great on warranty parts. I think it is the motor board also, I had that problem with 1 neptune. They will ship you a new board, motor the new upgrade. And you don't have to send the old stuff back. My board had a burn in it, something did not agree electrically.

As for the dryers, not sure. You need about 1 SQ ft for every stack for free intake air. If you are short on makeup air it is a problem, The installer should help you on this. I had one mat that shared makeup air with the mat, it was semi open aired.. worked fine.

[anonymous]

To accommodate for the new height of the stacks, I raised my wall by a foot, leaving three inches between the stacks and the wall. I didn't want there to be the 3 inch gap so I installed a strip of hardware cloth (1/8th of an inch mesh screen) to fill the space between the dryers and the wall. I was hoping this would provide plenty of make up air for the new dryers (I have, for the most part, an open air laundromat). Since the dryers vent from the top, I ended up having plenty of room behind the dryers and plenty of make up air.

Is it possible the dryers are not working because fresh air is being pulled from inside the store?

Is it possible there is a vacuum being created that is not allowing the airflow flap to close on both dryers (but it can close either one separately).

Could there be something wrong with my gas pressure?

I didn't get a chance to remove the venting and starting up the machines, but I am planning on doing that today. Any other suggestions oh wise ones?

[IPSOTECH]

Has nothing to do with gas pressure what so ever.

If you or McGray cannot manage to get it to function correctly but you do get it to work with out venting attached you could do the following as a last resort. This will involve removing all venting from dryer except the elbows that connect to the blower housing. You will then have to go an purchase flex metal venting. For the top section it is rather easy. Just attach one side of the flex to the remaining top elbow inside the dryer and route it through the top hole to the existing vent going to the roof. Now for the bottom tumbler its a little more complicated as you need to run the flex to the top left side of the pulley and then keep it from touching the tumbler pulley then have it exit out the back of the dryer to the roof which is separate from the top tumbler. You may be able to join the two tumblers at a point close to the roof as opposed to within the dryer.
Essentially you are running separate vents from the dryer to the roof for each tumbler.

Really this is the best way to run the dryers anyway!!!

Got it?

[Duane]

JAG,

Do you have anyway for fresh air to enter the building?

Duane.

[TTLES]

Most dryer problems are caused by a poorly designed or installed exhaust systems. The problem you describe has all the symptoms of exhaust problems. Make up air, while important, will not cause the symptoms you describe. If there is inaddequate make up air behind a dryer, the dryer will suck air from wherever it can get it. It will usually consume the heated or air conditioned air from your store, Unless your dryers are totally sealed in. Back to exhaust..... disconnect the vents from the top and bottom pocket, and test run the dryer. If they run OK, then re-vent properly. Note that any connection between 2 dryer pockets must be a "Y" not a "T". The vent MUST SHOW DIRECTION !! If the problem persists with the vents disconnected, look for an internal air flow restriction, (stuck damper, dirty lint drawer, slipping impellor, ect.

Good luck, Tony

[CharlieS]

These guys are on the money with their suggestions. I suspect a problem in the vent, due to debris which was dropped into the vent during installation. This is probably blocking or preventing the damper from properly opening.

I had this problem in 3 of the 17 new dryers I had installed 2 years ago. The installers had dropped screws and pop rivets into the vent, and had not bothered to dig them out.

Remove all of the internal venting as suggested below to get to the damper. See if the damper opens freely.

Your problem is definitely in the exhaust venting within the machine itself. Your exit to the roof is perfect, it really doesn't get any better than that. Something in the internal venting is blocking, and the damper is the 90% suspect, either due to a physical blockage or binding. Make sure it is working smoothly, without interference.

Of course, we are all assuming that your fan section is working normally.

Charlie

[anonymous]

Despite showing the MacGray tech y'all's comments and faxing a copy to a couple more Maytag techs in the Northeast, they are all telling me the only solution to my problem is going to a 12" vent!!

Needless to say, I am frustrated since the manufacturer's specs call for 8". The dampers all close with no problem and the fan assembly appears fine.

Despite the machines only being 2 months old, there is a lot of lint in the back of the machine and I am not convinced the 12" vent is the solution. I am going to remove all of the venting from the dryers for the time being so as not to frustrate my customers even more, but if anybody has additional comments or suggestions I can pass on, please let me know.

I am not looking forward to cutting bigger holes in the roof.

Thanks.

[IPSOTECH]

Is there a way you could change it to a 12 inch vent and install it temporarily out the building without permanently altering the building. This way you could satisfy there new requirements. If then the dryers still do not work correctly then you have reason to expect them to take the dryers back or some other drastic action on there part. If they do work then you may just have to change to 12" permanently.

Increasing the vent size may just do the trick!

[IPSOTECH]

So Jag what ever happened to these dryers? We would all like to know!!!!!