LG Washer Dryer FWV685WSE not drying properly

[washingmachinewoman]

Went to an LG washer dryer FWV685WSE today, which left me stumped. The customer wanted the drain hose replacing because it was a bit squished, and he somehow thought this was the cause of the dryer side not working properly. They had moved the appliance and damaged the drain hose slightly (on inspection, it wasn’t that bad), and that coincided with the dryer starting not to dry properly.

First of all, in all the years I have repaired appliances this is the first time I encountered security Torx screws. Time to invest in a security screwdriver bit set, fortunately they appear to be cheap.
Secondly, it weighed a ton and I don’t know why but people with big houses tend to put their appliances in the pokiest of rooms, it’s ridiculous there was hardly any room to work on it.

I checked the dryer operation. It heated up and the fan came on ok, heat also going into the drum fine. However, although some water went in the drum, I noticed the 3rd inlet valve goes directly into the condenser unit via what looks like an overengineered series of hoses held by clips. The clips on one of the joints were rusty, making me think there is a pressure leak. I checked the valve operation and no water seemed to be fed through there whilst I was watching. Anyone know what the purpose of this is, and at which point water should be fed in those hoses and into the condenser? Unfortunately, I forgot to check the valve resistance, the house was chaotic and I didn’t want to stay there too long…

I’m hoping it may just need a service. The condenser unit is separate from the drum. Wondering if it is a good idea to dismantle or just stick to fishing out as much fluff with a piece of wire? I don’t want a repeat of the time when I spent hours trying to fit a condenser unit back on, it was quite traumatic!!

I also noticed most of the drum paddles (there are 6 small ones) were loose, some only just, others were swivelling around. I can’t see there being a link with the loss of drying performance, but there again the customer has only just noticed them. Does anyone know how to remove these? Push toward or away from me? I assume they are not screwed in, otherwise I’ll leave well alone.

[washingmachinewoman]

washingmachinewoman wrote: However, although some water went in the drum, I noticed the 3rd inlet valve goes directly into the condenser unit via what looks like an overengineered series of hoses held by clips. The clips on one of the joints were rusty, making me think there is a pressure leak. I checked the valve operation and no water seemed to be fed through there whilst I was watching. Anyone know what the purpose of this is, and at which point water should be fed in those hoses and into the condenser? Unfortunately, I forgot to check the valve resistance, the house was chaotic and I didn’t want to stay there too long…

Checked on some videos and of course it’s what the usual setup is. Obviously going on holidays has addled my brain. So I need to rephrase my question. At the start of the drying cycle, some water goes into the drum though not via the dryer inlet hose. I think this is partly what has thrown me. Then I would expect some water to trickle from the dryer inlet hose in order to condensate the hot water from the drum, but this is not happening. So it looks like the valve is faulty (why oh why did I not check its resistance). Why would it put some water in the drum via wash inlet hose first though?

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