Gas dryer - safe to tinker?

[SavinMaven]

I should preface this by saying neither my spouse nor I is what you would call 'handy'.

Our gas dryer, a Whirlpool somewhere between 12-15 years old, suddenly stopped heating up. The drum will rotate, but the inside never gets hot. The lint outlet/vent is wide open. The appliance repair guy wants $175 trip charge just to come look at it, and, the new model I'd replace it with is $900.

I'm impressed with those here that use YouTube to learn to fix things, but leery of messing with a gas appliance if I have no idea what I'm doing. My goal is to avoid throwing it out over something that was a small fix. So I have two questions:

What are the odds this is a small fix? and

How likely am I to blow the house up if I try to diagnose the problem with youtube?

TIA!

[Dancin'Dog]

We have a gas dryer too but I've never needed to fix it. 


I'm sort of handy, so I'll give you my opinion about what I think the issue might be.  Since it's not getting hot it obviously isn't firing up.  Either there's no gas or there's no spark to ignite the gas.  If it's not getting gas I'd expect a faulty solenoid valve.  If it's not getting a spark I'd expect a faulty ignitor.


Google the model of your dryer and to get a parts diagram and parts list.  That will give you an idea of what these parts look like, where they're located, and how much they cost.  Look for a YouTube video about checking & replacing these parts.  (Might be smart to find a video first.  It could give you additional info about diagnosing & testing the dryer.)


Your problem could easily be a $10-20 part that's a simple swap.

[sonofsven]

They are pretty simple. It's likely the igniter as mentioned above.
Unplug the machine, it's just a 120v circuit. Turn off the gas, there will be a small shutoff valve between the gas line and the flex line that leads to the machine.
Pull the machine out to get access if needed. My front load gas machine has a small panel under the door that is removable so I can replace the igniter without moving the machine.
While you're in there clean out all the lint that gatheres past the lint screen.
Also, sometimes the exhaust hose is difficult to re-attach due to age and deterioration so just get a new one if needed.

[Ron Scott]

Watching a YouTube video is usually safe. If the fix looks complicated to you or potentially risky, hire the guy.

[rothwem]

I’ve never messed with a gas dryer—do these have thermal switches/fuses like electric dryers? I had the same symptoms on an electric model and it was because the fuse had popped and cut the power to the coil, basically it thought it was overheating even though it wasn’t. $7 later I was back in business, I’ve never felt so smug in my life. I could see something similar being implemented on a gas dryer but there might be a different solution on those.

[Sibley]

My dryer did the same thing, though I called the repair man before it it stopped heating entirely. It was a very small part, I forget the name. It was one of the parts that interacted with the gas I believe. I am not comfortable messing with gas so I would not touch it, even if I had known the problem.

Since you are not handy, I would not mess with it. Gas can blow up your house. If you were experienced with mechanicals or other things, that might be a different answer. If it were an electric dryer, then absolutely give it a shot.

[EchoStache]

Wouldn't closing the gas valve near the dryer make working on it safe?  I think it wouldn't hurt to see if it is something simple.


If you end up needing a new dryer, I wouldn't purchase a new fossil fuel burning appliance on purpose though.

[FINate]

Start with this YouTube video: Top 5 Reasons Gas Dryer Is Not Heating

Assuming this is a fairly modern unit, there are a ton of safety mechanisms to ensure you don't blow up or burn down your house. As long as you unplug the dryer and turn off the gas there's very little risk checking/replacing the parts in the video.

IMO it's really more of a question of if you're able to understand what you're seeing on your specific dryer when you start looking around inside, finding the right parts online, and the exact sequence of steps for your model.

[Sibley]

Wouldn't closing the gas valve near the dryer make working on it safe?  I think it wouldn't hurt to see if it is something simple.


If you end up needing a new dryer, I wouldn't purchase a new fossil fuel burning appliance on purpose though.

Yes, while you're working on it. But if you don't get it put back together right and there's a slow leak? I'm not willing to risk that.