I know all there is to know about the drying game
11/6/11
Actually that's untrue. Seems I know very little.
Last week I bought me a washer/dryer pair off the local Craigslist. I couldn't use the dryer due to aforementioned lack of gas lines- the laundry room had a 220v outlet for an electric dryer. Soooo... yesterday with my happy newly-installed gas line to the dryer, I did a ton of laundry. I was foiled because the dryer doesn't get hot, at all. This is odd because plumber guy tried it out and it seemed to work when they left (I stuck my own paw in to feel ze heat). Today I will be going to the local laundro-rama and drying clothes while I eat breakfast and hope the derelicts of Vegas don't steal my clothes and Helena-Bonham-Carter-in-Fight-Club-ize my socks and underthingees.
Probably only two possibilities: the igniter is broken in the dryer (that which makes the gas initially combust), or the gas itself is off. I can test this by sticking my mouth over one of the inlet lines, or more safely, by turning on the central heat in the house. I have a feeling it's the dryer, in which case I'll dig up the number of the guy who sold it to me (who's kind of a broker of this stuff), and listen to him politely tell me to go blow.
Update on Sunday, November 6, 2011
After futzing with the start knob, I realized that the ignitor is intermittent (my dad's favorite word). Haven't figured out the secret to making it go consistently, but if you mess with it, you eventually hear the "FWWWPPP" sound of the flame starting. So that's sort of fixed for now.
Update on Sunday, November 27, 2011
In case anyone is bothering to read my old entries, the dryer stopped heating altogether soon after, and it dawned on me that I have a Home Warranty (!) with the house. So I called those guys, and for a mere $55 flat rate claim, they fixed the dryer. The coils that somehow turn the igniter on and off to maintain heat were bad. Which I actually determined on my own from watching a dryer repair vid on YouTube. But I couldn't figure out how to get the dryer apart, and it seemed like getting the parts was gonna be a pain anyway. Fine with me, as I suspect the parts would've cost $20-30 anyway.