Any Recommendations for a Gas Dryer?

[bagintheback]

After only a year and a half of service, our Genreal Electric dryer has gone kaput. We've had it serviced at least twice, and it's washing machine pair has already been replaced under warrernty.  I really don't want to deal with GE's awful customer service again, so my family is in the market for another dryer. What does the market look like today? We've bought Maytags and Kenmores in the past with no issues, but finances didn't allow for one last time. Do they still make quailty products? Cost isn't a huge issue now; we never want to go through a cheap GE debacle again.   


 


If given a chocie, where should we buy it from? We bought the GEs from Home Depot, which was an okay experience, but if there is someone better we would love to know. The one local appliance store, "Appliance Service Today!!!"(who in the world uses three exclamation points in a company name?) was our GE service guy, and I don't trust him. Will Sears be any better?


 


Thanks,


Nathaniel

 

[bagintheback]

Commercial Whirlpool

Does this look like a good idea? The controls seem super simple and less easy to fail. I notice that the weight is also about 50 pounds heaver than most residential models. I imagine that is a good thing, but I could be wrong. 



http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpoo...ercial-Gas-Dryer-in-White-CGM2793BQ/204100239

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Speed Queen is

very good. Whirlpool is ok too. My sister just replaced hers. My Maytage matching set is 20 years old. Gas dryer only had a little wheel replaced. TOUCH WOOD.

 

[paulg]

A tip to consider.

I cannot advise the best dryer. I do own Speed Queens and am very happy with them.
However I can advise a tip.
You state that you do NOT want to buy another GE again. How to avoid buying a GE? Some would say, "Don't buy a GE." It ain't that simple.
GE makes GE. Other companies make dryers that bear the GE name. And GE makes dryers for other companies.
Confused?
Here's a tip that may help you NOT buy a GE regardless of the brand you are looking at. It is a tip from the Fire Investigation community to which I belong.
It stems from this dilemma: How does one identify who made a dryer after it burned up?
The answer is the drum.
Open the dryer door and look at the rear of the drum of the dryer you don't like. If the air holes have a hexagonal pattern. It is a GE made by GE.
If you see a humongous triangle in the middle of the rear drum, it is actually an Electrolux dryer that is rebadged as a GE.
So when you go out to buy a new dryer, look at the holes on the drum. If it looks like the drum you already own and don't like, it is the same manufacturer and you may not want to buy that model.
This trick isn't 100% accurate but it is pretty close.
Electrolux markets many brands including Frigidaire, Westinghouse and they make department store brands. GE markets GE, Hotpoint and department store brands too. Asking the salesperson who made the dryer will probably net you the wrong answer or a non-answer.
I once asked a salesperson at a popular department store as to who made a dryer. I knew the answer but played dumb. The salesperson said, "We only use the "best in class". I view that as a non-answer.
Have fun!

 

[dustin]

The Whirlpool/Kenmore/Maytag's with the top mounted, pull out lint filter are among the best ever made. Simple, reliable, good performance, and quiet. We have had several over the years, and they have all been excellent (although some were worn out when we got them). We have had GE, (2 actually), and they were ok as far as drying goes, but hot, hot, hot. Even low heat was enough to damage some fabrics. We have had a Frigidaire made by Electrolux, and it had the same problem as the GE's- Extremely hot. We currently have a Speed Queen in the basement, and a Maytag Performa upstairs- The Speed Queen dries well and fast, but the model we have only has one heat setting, which is very hot. The Maytag Performa (pretty sure it was made by Norge, which went out of business) Dries ok, but takes forever. It doesn't get very hot at all, even being a gas dryer, and is one of the noisiest dryers I have ever used. Overall, I really recommend the Whirlpool/Kenmore/Maytag line and not much else. They are all made by Whirlpool, and the ones you are looking for have the lint filter mounted on the top right of the dryer. We have had Gas and Electric versions and all have been great.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Paul! May I call you Paul?

THat was an EXCELLENT statement about identifying GE products. THat's incredibly useful.
WE had a GE washer years ago. We had a Hotpoint gas dryer. Later, Hotpoint was GE. I love a gas dryer over electric. NOT bashing, and I'm NOT saying anything against a company, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
My aunt's sister-in-law bought a new GE dryer. While it was running, she smelled smoke. She opened the dryer and found the clothes on fire! Sadly, instead of closing the door, she ran out of the house. WEll, the burning clothes fell out of the dryer and the fire took the house to the ground. My cousin's husband is the fire chief. THey dryer was taken to a forensics lab and was considered a 'crime scene'. Needless to say, GE was help responsible for it and replaced a LOT .
Would that scare me from buying a GE appliance? NO. But, I still like my Maytag set, bought BEFORE the Maytag/HOOVER disaster.
Tom just bought a new SpeedQueen set and is quite happy with it.

 

[paulg]

Of course you may call me Paul

I am actually sitting next to my training binder for dryer fires. I knew I had that dryer identification data somewhere. Yup, all brands catch on fire from time to time.
I am glad you liked the identification trick. Dustin is also correct that lint filters that pull from the top are Whirlpool. There are other identification tricks but the drum and filter are the most germane to this stream.
Lots of causes for dryer fires - and it isn't always lint. In "lab" we had to set fire to a dryer.
Although I do know of a case of an underwire bra causing a dryer fire.
My father was an engineer for Hotpoint in the home-laundry department. My knowledge doesn't come from him though. It comes from the continuing education I have to do to keep my certifications. One week it was dryers, then furnaces etc. My background is in product safety. Any other CFEIs out there?
Glad maybe someone could use these tricks.
Interestingly, at the "old house" I had a GE dryer which got too hot. The clothes were so hot I couldn't hold them when they came out of the dryer.
I was busy so I called GE service. The tech said I had the temp set too high. I didn't believe him but set the dryer lower and went on with life.
A few months later the dryer quit heating entirely. I went up to the dryer, unplugged it and said "you're outta here". I strongly suspected that the "high limit" thermostat shut it down. The dryer was about 10 years old.
And so I went to a nearby furniture store that was going out of business and had a sale. I bought a Crosley that was made by Norge. Worked perfectly and the clothes did not hurt when I pulled them out!
What was really interesting was after the GE dryer went to the garbage, my gas bills absolutely plummeted. That thing really sucked gas so I bet there was something really wrong with that burner.
And there you go. I have a Speed Queen electric now in the new house. Works great, easy to maintain and their parts depot is nearby.

 

[cocoaboo48]

Gas dryers

I have heard that the Speed Queen washer and dryers are of good quality as compared to the other makers. Take a look at the Speed Queens and see if they appeal to you.

 

[marks_here]

I am going to go out on a limb & say

Check consumer reports to see the repair histories of gas dryers, then base YOUR choice, not theirs on what you've read. They do have both good & bad points, you just have to read between the lines also check out epinions which has real people who have these machines & what they like/dislike about them. Hope this was of some help, best of luck with which one you get. Cheers!!! Mark D.

 

[bagintheback]

I looked inside the drum of our dryer and it does have that signature triangle. That's a fantastic tip, and now I know it's actually an Electrolux!  I opened up the dryer last night and I think I found the issue: the timer gears are stripped.  The dryer itself still works, but it's difficult to get it to turn on. My parents are just fed up with the GE(Electrolux) and still want to replace it, since it's already had issues in the past. 


 


Speed Queens look to be quality made judging by the research I've done. It's too bad the closest dealer is almost 40 miles away. I suppose I could call them, but I doubt they would deliver that far.


 


So a top-mounted lint filter Whirlpool is the way to go then? Here's one at Home Depot that seems to fit all the requirements. 


 


Thanks everyone for your help!


 



http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-7-0-cu-ft-Gas-Dryer-in-White-WGD4800XQ/203003920

 

[polkanut69]

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 12pt;">I too would recommend Speed Queen.  Made in Ripon, WI since 1908.</span>

 

[dustin]

That one looks great, friends of mine have the same model (or very close), and it is excellent. Fast, even drying and very quiet. I do recommend you use the automatic cycles, rather than timed dry, you won't be overdrying clothes and it will save energy. Start out at the "energy preferred" or energy saver setting, and if the clothes don't come out dry enough, go a little farther towards the "more dry" setting. Once you figure out what the "right" setting is for your family's laundry, you can put it on the same setting for every load and it should dry perfectly every time.

 

[super-sweeper]

i love my Kenmore pair!

We have the 90 series. They're GREAT dryers/washers, the only complaint I have is the safety switch shattered in the washer some time ago. They replaced a Maytag pair (also great washers/dryers). My grandmother had a pair of older Kenmores that lasted forever.the dryer became loud and clanky and was thrown out with the still-working washer. Those got replaced by a cheap Admiral pair,and ew! The washer blew the motor after about 2-3 years! If only we kept that working Kenmore!

 

[gusherb]

A little late to the party but...

I've repaired every major brand of dryer and i've noticed certain brands/designs collect more lint inside the cabinet then others.

My absolute favorite is Whirlpools tried and true classic design with the lint filter in the top. The gas models are reliable and easy to repair. I've never repaired an electric model but their design seems good too even in terms of safety. and they collect almost NO lint inside the cabinet over the years.

I DO NOT like the design that GE uses, or anything similar to it. The electric models put the heating element way too close to the clothes IMO, not sure about the gas models.

I've also observed that the designs with the lint filter inside at the bottom of the door tend to leak alot of lint into the cabinet and can create quite the build up in a short time. This seems common with Maytag models. Our Raytheon made Amana dryer did this too, and I fear the Alliance made Speed Queens may be the same as it's pretty much the same machine.

We have a Samsung made Maytag gas dryer that's about 8 years old, drys real fast, and is quiet. It doesn't overheat the clothes at all unlike our Amana that would practically scorch the clothes.