Bad Friday, RIP Miele Little Giant Vented Dryer :(

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Finding a silver lining....I suppose our 100-109F days we have had (and will have until Sunday) are great for my, what looks like The Beverly Hillbillies at my house, line drying in the bathrooms, garage, backyard and behind the house :-O I have no dryer!!

Last week Miele Service came out to reprogram the Software on my PT7136 Plus vented dryer ($300!!). They also, free of charge, ordered new interior vents for better airflow. The machine had been giving messages after EVERY load saying Clear Airways, Check Airways and Clean Fluff Filter.

Miele Service said nothing was blocked, and the machine looks brand new & clean. They reset the Software, and all was good last Friday! Last Saturday...all error messages returned. I called Miele this Tuesday, and they returned this Thurs (6/2). They installed the new vents, replaced a sensor, heater relay and reprogrammed the dryer. All was "good".

Thursday night....I noticed the dryer was running HOT.... like cannot touch the clothes or inside glass hot! Loads were baked, wrinkled and fried.

Yesterday, Friday...the dryer for 4 loads would get so hot, the dryer would shut down mid cycle, leaving clothes untouchable, burning, and looking and feeling just awful.

I called Miele. They said the Tech left notes saying 4-5 parts we need to replace. $500-800!!! :-O

While my Little Giant washer is new and under Miele 5 year warranty, my dryer is 5 years old with no warranty. We paid $1000 for the dryer, and already $300 for Service. It is just not realistic to spend another $500-800 on a 5 year old dryer, that only cost $1000. I feel very sad and upset. I know this is a "high quality problem", and most people in the world would love to have this kind of "problem", nevertheless, I am bummed.

I might, just might have done the repairs...but Miele could not come out for 25 days. 25 days without a dryer!!!! This was the straw, camel's back!! :(

We found an online retailer that has 5 NEW Miele Little Giant vented dryers for sale, same as we have, but the cost is $3000.00 each and NO warranty!! That is almost msrp when new years ago. Insane.

I was just going to order a reverse tumble GE dryer, but AlexChicago and my DH talked me out of it. It was $1100.

SO.....as much as it pained me and my bank acct. I called our local Miele dealer in Beverly Hills yesterday and placed my order for a brand new 2016 Miele Little Giant Stainless Steel Condenser dryer :-O Silver lining.....it will now 100% match our Little Giant Stainless Steel washer ;)

BEYOND nervous to have a Condenser dryer, as I have always had vented. After 457 questions to my beloved AlexChicago...he has quieted most of my fears. Alex and I will now have IDENTICAL Little Giant machines!!!

I'll keep you posted. Miele is set to call me Monday or Tuesday. I did receive an email from West Coast Miele that my order for the LiGi dryer was entered in the Miele database!

Featured Answer

miami mami

7 years ago

Pain in the butt story but you're getting the "stainless steel" lining aka new ligi dryer, darling! Exciting!

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Comments (25)

sandy1616
7 years ago
I'm intrigued by ventless dryers. Sorry for all of your aggrevation but a new toy is always a good thing :). I bet you will love it!
larsi_gw thanked sandy1616
georgect
7 years ago
Ooooohh...it's going to look so pretty having the match set.

Post vids and pics, please.

All the best with the new Miele dryer.
larsi_gw thanked georgect
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rococogurl
7 years ago
Lord what a PITA. So sorry. The idea that a Miele dryer -- and especially LiGi -- would require that many repairs and have only a 5 year life is far from encouraging. You have been patient and brave Larsi! I would have been bouncing off walls.

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larsi_gw thanked rococogurl
Alex Chicago
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ugh. I'm just sick to read this because you had gotten such a good deal on the LiGi vented dryer, and those cannot be had any longer, but I think you're making the right decision. The thing about a sunk cost is that it is just that: sunk. One shouldn't throw good money after bad just to justify a previous expense. You'll now have a brand new machine with 5-years of warranty (reminds me, I need to get on that sooner than later, too!).

The LiGi-C dryer's dry times will, in most cases, match the wash times. This is good. You won't be waiting around with baskets full of wet clothing. I think as long as wash and dry are the same, who cares, right? It's probably the fastest condenser dryer available, so take some solace in that.

I was nervous about going ventless, too: longer cycle times, hotter cycles, and horror stories of clothing coming out damp after two hours. This hasn't been my experience so far. Yes, clothing during the cycle is hot to the touch, but you will still get a nice extended cool down and everything will come out smooth and cool. There is maybe one advantage of condenser over vented, and that's mixed loads. The inside of the drum remains humid right up until the very last article is dry, so nothing is getting over-baked. As such, mixed loads are safer and there's absolutely no static. Hopefully somebody else with a C dryer will be by to back me up on this.

Best of luck, Larsi! We'll compare notes once you're up and running.
larsi_gw thanked Alex Chicago
suburbanmd
7 years ago
Sorry to hear that. It does confirm my feeling that Miele ownership isn't for the faint of wallet.
larsi_gw thanked suburbanmd
linus2003
7 years ago
I am sorry Larsi for what has happened. Does Miele not even sudgest any help what so ever?? I think it is super strange that a pro dryer only lives til it is 5 years old and Miele does nothing, I would be calling the managing director of Miele professionell and giving him a piece of my mind. I have done that in the past and it has helped.

The other thing I thought about were, cant you get help from your insurenscompany?

My big Bosch dryer died 3 years ago and it was the motherboard, 5000 Swedish kronor, 625 dollors and I talked to my insurenscompany and whitegoods are written of in 10 years so I got half of the machines value paid out to me and my machine were 1600 dollars new. I think it is early days to replace even though the warrantys out.

I would not let Miele get away so easy.
larsi_gw thanked linus2003
larsi_gw
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks everyone. It has been a frustrating and expensive week :-O While I know I would prefer to have a vented dryer, I am happy knowing I will be getting a brand new, MATCHING stainless dryer that will have 5!!! years of factory Miele warranty! The nice side of the condenser, is that we do not have to do any venting. It is essentially plug & play!! ;)
boba1
7 years ago
sorry you've had to go through all this, but a "silver" lining in the clouds.
larsi_gw thanked boba1
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Goes to show not to leave the house when running the dryer especially. Hope your clothes are not ruined after all this. Look forward to hearing about the new dryer.
larsi_gw thanked User
whirlpool_trainee
7 years ago
Oh d@mn! I've asked in the German forum about your dryer but never got any response - I guess nobody knew the answer there, either.

Do you still have the LiGi? Have you tried running it with the vent disconnected? It makes no sense for the dryer to overheat like that. I wonder of the fan might be somehow lose and is only running intermittently? I mean, even with the heater on at full blast, the dryer cannot overheat - unless there's something wrong with the airflow.

I'll take another closer look at this thread later on. Am just taking the dog for a walk and am dying from the humidity outside... It's 75°F and there's fog in the air from all the evaporating rain.
larsi_gw thanked whirlpool_trainee
mfrog
7 years ago
I was super nervous about a condenser dryer, but I love the Elux one. It does get hot during the cycle. I like to take clothes out damp & hang to dry, so I'm always opening the door & my glasses fog up it's so hot! I have found that the dry times on the 'lux are shorter than expected. We put the condenser hose into the washer drain so that I never have to worry about emptying it. The only kind of negative thing is the amount of heat being pumped out of the front the dryer. If I lived somewhere really hot, I"m not sure I would like that. But I live on the west coast so I don't mind it. Congrats, kind of, sucks that you were forced into this, but congrats anyway!
larsi_gw thanked mfrog
whirlpool_trainee
7 years ago
"Hopefully somebody else with a C dryer will be by to back me up on this."

That is what I was thinking. The overall humidity inside the dryer decreaes steadily - thick and thin items will dry at the same pace. When I used a vented dryer, some sweaters were still damp, while thin fabric were scorching hot. The steamy environment is also supposed to make towels fluffier.
larsi_gw thanked whirlpool_trainee
Alex Chicago
7 years ago
Yay! I've gotten validation from two people -- Alex and Jane -- who both would know if their C dryers were causing textile damage. Thanks, you two.

Larsi, you're going to be fine.
larsi_gw thanked Alex Chicago
larsi_gw
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Yeah, with vented dryers thicker items would be a little moist still and thinner items bone dry!

Whirlpool....Miele Tech and ourselves ran the dryer disconnected from the venting. Machine behaved the same way. They think the control board and one of the 3 heaters are malfunctioning and staying on and not cooling down. Getting so hot, as the dryer kills itself, but never bothers or is able to cool down. So nothing was dry, but kind of dry, yet HOT, moist and wrinkled!! Wir haben eine schlimme Hitze. 40-45C und heute ist die Feuchtigkeit sehr hoch. Ich hasse dieses Wetter. Tut mir leid, daß, es auch schwül bei Dir ist!

You are all making me feel much better and less nervous about getting a Condenser dryer. Thanks so much!!! :)
whirlpool_trainee
7 years ago
What?! That temp plus humidity? You are living in a heat pump dryer, henny... ;) At least you have air conditioning. It's 72°F and 77% humidity inside. :/

Back to dryers. My Bosch runs at up to 167°F on high heat, 149°F on gentle and 131°F on extra gentle - so far nothing got damaged. Well, a pair of accidentally dried wool gloves shrunk because the tumbling caused felting...

The condenser needs cleaning maybe twice a year - no big deal.

Still... you can return the dryer if you don't like it?
larsi_gw thanked whirlpool_trainee
linus2003
7 years ago
Dont worry about condenserdryers, had different ones my whole life.

Only had a vented since moving to the farm 8 years ago and that one dont get used as much as my Miele condeserdryer.

I got 2 temps on my dryer, dont know the precise temps but can find out.

I dont think my vented dryer is any faster than the condenser one but my vented does only have 3000 watts heater and not that much airflow, miele has 2000 watt heater.

I have my draining via a hoze so no emptying any tanks.
larsi_gw thanked linus2003
larsi_gw
Original Author
7 years ago
Vented Little Giant removed. Vent/ducting sealed up. New NEMA L6-20 plug swapped in. Correct breaker installed for Condenser dryer.

Doing wash today, and then line drying. Ughhhh! It is currently 104F and a little windy :-O , so everything dries faster than any dryer. LOL
whirlpool_trainee
7 years ago
Too bad the dryer can't be connected to a regular power outlet. With those high outside temps, you probably could have just put the dryer in the garage and run it on Air Dry to already remove a lot of the moisture from the clothes - if not dry them fully.
mamapinky0
7 years ago
Oh my darling little chick...to have this happen..I'm sorry.

So now you will get the LiGi dryer, ventless, and something tells me you are going to LOVE it. Were gonna want vids and pictures.. I wish you the best with this new dryer, you deserve the BEST...XOXO
larsi_gw thanked mamapinky0
larsi_gw
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks Mama. It has been a challenging week for us all :-O But, we are all tough and resilient and it makes us stronger!!! XOXO
sashanikki
7 years ago
I'm sorry. But you're getting a beautiful dryer!
littlegreeny
7 years ago
What a frustrating experience, I'm sorry Larsi!

That stainless Miele sure is a beauty! I'm sure you're going to love it.
larsi_gw thanked littlegreeny
fabbric
7 years ago
Late to the party here but the dryer looks lovely! When my Askos die for once and for all I will be getting a LiGi set.
larsi_gw thanked fabbric
rpsinfoman
7 years ago
That is certainly not an impressive life span for a machine that cost a couple thousand dollars. Miele has no answers? Geez a $300 el cheapo will go 10 years. Fairly obvious now it was being sold for a reason. Gotta watch used stuff, especially high end as it's usually being dumbed for a reason. I hope you enjoy your new unit!
larsi_gw thanked rpsinfoman

Bad Friday, RIP Miele Little Giant Vented Dryer :(

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