Condensing Dryer (drum not spinning) - Repair or buy new?

A long story short, we have a Hotpoint TCM580 dryer (14 months old) and the drum has stopped spinning. When looking on the internet there are various problems that it could be and we'd have to get someone to come out and have a look at it to diagnose and fix.....would it be better to just cut our loses and buy a new one?

Im quite disappointed its failed so quickly tbh and just dont want to go throwing good money after bad if you get what I mean. Any idea what sort of price someone would charge to fix it? (assuming its a new belt needed).

Thanks

I was about 50 quid I think to get the belt replaced on my old tumble dryer. It should be easy enough to take the top off and have a look to see if it is the belt though. On my Zanussi, it's just two screws at the back and then slide the top off - you can see the belt from there. In fact it might even be worth a looksie to see if there's a video on youtube to show you how to do it if it is the belt.

My washing machine stopped spinning, had a look at the obvious first and turned out to be the motor brushes that had worn out.

Easy fix and £10 for a pair of brushes (bough a spare set and taped them to the inside of the washing machine for next time!).

You'll have to weight up the cost of repair vs new if not doing it yourself.

Our new condensing drier was £200 delivered iirc (Indesit). Sold the 12 year old vented one for £40 which was nice!.

unplug from mains, remove the top and see if the belt is on tight or loose. this will eliminate a few faults.
we can then diagnose further.

alternatively spin the drum by hand ( open the door and turn the drum by hand), does it spin easily or is there resistance but does turn relatively easy???

you havent said that you can hear any buzzing or whining sounds so its possible it could be a control board fault.

to be honest I very much doubt its the belt or jockey wheel on a 14 mth machine, most likely motor run cap or control board but they should last longer too but everything is made crap these days.

Thanks for the replies, all really helpful. I have just taken then top off and the belt is intact but its loose. Doing a quick search Im guessing the belt just needs putting back on the tension pully under the drum behind the fan. It looks easy enough on you tube but i think i might get someone in to do it, or atleast get a price!

might be lucky and thats all it needs.

but why has it come off? worn jockey wheel, drum bearing perhaps

if you do get someone in to do the job make sure they check the jockey wheel and rear drum bearing

does the drum feel loose, from inside the drum see if there is any movement up and down, excessive movement would suggest the rear bearing worn

Hit the nail right on the head yardie cheers! Ive just removed the side and as u can see from the pic attached (hopefully lol), the belt is dangling so i managed to get it back on the jockey wheel (didnt know what that was called but do now lol cheers mate) and gave it a couple of turns but yeah, it looks like the wheel has snapped forcing the belt to come loose and fall off. It looks easy enough to change if i take the other side off. Is it worth giving it a go myself?

Thanks again

when ordering/ looking up parts you need to know the full model no. it may end with a 'P' or 'G' and UK

does the black wheel feel loose on the pin? obviously it should spin freely and have some play sliding back and forth along the pin but not have any movement up/down if you know what I mean.

there should be two bolts holding the jockey wheel bracket onto the motor housing, the rear can sometimes be awkward to get to.

a circlip on the end of the pin prevents the wheel coming off.

the wheel has a 'slip ring' in the middle that slots over the pin, these do also wear

it will be the whole assembly needing replacement. i.e bracket and wheel - already assembled

when fitting new jockey wheel fit the rear bolt first but leave loose, hook the belt on the wheel then lever the bracket into position and fit 2nd bolt. tighten both bolts ensuring the bracket is fitted flush to the motor housing, there may be a retaining clip on the back of the bracket that hooks into a hole in the motor housing which makes it tricky fitting it this way but can be done.

or you could fit the bracket assembly first which is much easier but then struggle to fit the belt after.

the 'working space' makes the job harder the 2nd way.

to be honest the wheel itself looks ok, they usually wear, the lip on the edge wears down and the belt slips off easily.

the belt is nice and tight when fitted isnt it? is it easy to get back on, could be too easy? could it be a worn belt?? but then again that rear drum bearing hasn't been checked yet!

sorry missed that bit, the wheel has snapped.

if thats the case just change the jockey wheel assembly but removing the left side panel will not help with access.

Thanks again for your help yardie, yeah i was just looking on ebay for replacement wheel but noticed they all came with the brackets and like you say its a very tight space, even after i get that side off its still small. Hmmm I'll see if i can at least find the part I need and its a step closer lol

Yeah the wheel has definitely snapped somewhere. It moves feely but also up and down like you say and I literally span the drum with the belt on and it just slips down and falls off the wheel after a few turns. Onwards and upwards lol

the part is not expensive, varies between £7 - 20 roughly depending where you get it from and if its an oem genuine part or an aftermarket alternative replacement part.

might be worth getting the old one off first and check it looks identical to the one you buy. suppliers can sometimes list the wrong part and if getting it on ebay will help to find it cheaper by comparison providing they give a photo of the actual part and not a 'photo for illustrative purposes only' picture.

please do also check the drum for excessive play as it will be worth checking and also doing at the same time.

a rear bearing part will only cost around £5 if caught early enough as it will only be the pear drop that needs replacing, they are mostly made from brass and do wear quickly and easily. if it needs doing but is left it will cause irreparable problems

on the rear of the machine is a small metal cover held on by 2 screws, if you remove the screws and the cover it will expose the pear drop bearing. post a close up photo of the bearing and the inside of the metal cover.