I have a Maytag Neptune GAS Dryer and it is taking a long time for clothes to dry. (long enough that I have two loads of wet clothes waiting to be dried). I checked air flow by checking the outside vent and there is plenty of barely warm air coming out. I also made sure the lint trap was clean as well. Also, I'm getting wisps of gas when I open the dryer door. It's not an overwhelming amount of gas, nor is it constant. Any ideas?

Check to be sure the burner in the lower panel on the front of the machine is burning. If not the glow ignitor should be glowing. If not glowing it is probably defective. As always test to be sure voltage is reaching the glow ignitor. NOTE: NEVER touch the black/dark gray part of the glow ignitor with your bare fingers!!

Make sure the vent is clear. Slow drying can be caused by a blocked vent.

Thank you for your answer, but I need to clarify something... There is heat in the drum, but not enough to dry the clothes normally. Not sure if this matters and/or if it changes what I should be looking for... Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by rmollway

Thank you for your answer, but I need to clarify something...There is heat in the drum, but not enough to dry the clothes normally. Not sure if this matters and/or if it changes what I should be looking for... Thanks again.

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There are only 2 reasons, low heat output or poor airflow. Check the outside vent good airflow.

These driers will do that when the lint builds up like concrete on the inside of the air ducts. Halfway doing it will not work. You need to totally tear it down and scrape out and wash all of the parts except the motor, which you vacuum out. You can go to YouTube to see videos on how to take it apart, but do a very good job or it will fail again quickly. I would get a new belt and change it while you have it apart and get some white lithium grease and grease any bearings you find. You need to clean out a drier every two years, at least, according to the manual. You just unplug the wires from the sensors and remove ductwork that they are attached on and clean the entire thing with soap and water. Make sure you go all through the dryer and get all parts like the blower fan and housing, vacuum out motor well and clean exhaust. Mark all wires you unplug so you know where they go. This is an easier job than you would think. Make sure to clean around all of the sensors, too. See: Dryer vent cleaning prevents fires - YouTube and: Cleaning out a dryer with top lint cleanout - YouTube
Cleaning out a dryer: By a woman 2 of 2 - YouTube
Here is a manual: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8010163/May...r%20Manual.pdf

After doing some research and performing some of the remedies suggested, I still have the same problem. This is what I've done to this point:

Checked vent outside, result... a strong push of luke warm air
I vacuumed out the dryer
Removed the exhaust from the back of the dryer


What I observed:

I ran the dryer with the door off and viewed the glow plug. The glow plug was glowing, and then ignited the gas. I timed, when it ran while there was a flame... about 10 seconds.
I timed it again until the glow plug came back on and the gas ignited again... which took about 45 seconds.
I then put a damp towel in the dryer, put the door back on and turned the dryer on. I observed the glow plug come on, the gas igniting and the flame remained on
For approximately 4 minutes.
I then waited for it to come on again and about 90 seconds later the glow plug came on, though it didn't seem to burn as bright as it had before, and the was no ignition. I watched this go on a couple more times, maybe about 30 seconds went by between each attempt and still no ignition, and at this point I began to smell gas and I turned it off completely.

This is where I'm at at this point. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If it has not been cleaned in the last six months, make sure to clean it and wash out parts. It's clogged somewhere.