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Question

Steam dryer gives error in cold weather?

by Jan 28, 2014 1:36AM PST

Has anyone been able to use Steam Refresh in cold weather? I have an LG DLEX5170 that keeps malfunctioning and giving me error tE2 when I try to use the Steam Refresh. I works sometime and doesn't sometimes. The repair men replaced multiple parts and finally said the drum needed to be preheated. But I've tried that it is still doesn't work. It's been cold here (Washington DC) since I first got the machine last month (Dec 2013), but no colder than people who live up north deal with all the time. Does this dryer's steam functions work for anyone in cold weather?

Discussion is locked

7 Posts
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Answer
A quick look around the internet finds this to be true.
by Forum moderator Jan 28, 2014 2:03AM PST

If the unit is in a cold place then I expect trouble. Why this is would be explained by the maker or a science teacher. Let's just say the cold air would cause the amount of moisture in the air to plummet to the point where we should see the unit refuse to use this feature.
Bob

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Where are on the internet?
by SteamLover Jan 28, 2014 3:02AM PST

I've been looking on the internet and have not found anyone complaining about their steam not working on cold days. The people at Lowes had not heard any complaints, and neither of the the LG repair men had ever heard of this problem. It took three service trips, two dryers, two new parts, and a call to Korea for them to even come to the conclusion that the drum needed to be warmed up. But that doesn't even work. I would think that if this is an actual problem, that everyone living in cold areas has a quarter of the year, that there would be some documentation about it. I would have thought that there was some technology built into the machine to keep the steam working all year round, or the consumer should be made aware that this will only work when the temperature outside is above 50 degrees (or whatever.) If you can point me to somewhere on the internet that lists this problem, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks!

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Sorry no.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jan 28, 2014 3:21AM PST

It appears I was unclear. While I see this issue from a scientific viewpoint you want more than that. Good luck in your quest but as the temp gets lower, it's a scientific fact that air can't hold as much moisture to the point that any good design should not add steam as it would just fall out of the air or collect in the exhaust area to create other issues.

I wonder if you are trying to make a case but I see I was unclear. Hopefully you can chat with the maker about this but from my view nothing seems wrong yet.
Bob

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PS. Where.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jan 28, 2014 3:29AM PST

It was a more generic search on steam use, delivery and issues in cold weather. The same scientific principles apply but once in a while a member wants to build a case against a maker. I can't guess why the maker didn't explain how things work but find that most makers don't put engineers on the phone to explain how things work.

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Answer
Official LG Answer
by Jan 29, 2014 3:52AM PST

I finally got the official LG Documentation. Steam Sanitize DOES NOT WORK in cold weather. Steam Refresh does, but only with a workaround that keeps the drum spinning and the heat on the entire cycle, so it doesn't really work the way the Steam Refresh cycle is supposed to work. It makes me so mad that I had to have two machines delivered, my machine opened up and parts replace, hours of researching this issue on the web (because no one else is mentioning it) and dozens of tests using the machine....just to find out that in fact LG knows these things don't work when it's cold outside and cold air is coming in though the exhaust duct. This should be told to everyone before they buy it. How can they sell this machine to people who live in cold parts of the country/world in good conscience?i
Why is this not in the instruction manual? Why did I have to go through all this trouble to find this out? I feel like my machine is already a used machine and I've had it 2 weeks.

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My answer to why.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jan 29, 2014 4:00AM PST

Companies have downsized support to lower costs. And manuals are laughable today for most products. Consumers play a part in this as who wants the manual to explain all this and the scientific reasons as well?

The moment you told your story I thought that it was working as expected. It does not explain why a maker can't explain the physics.
Bob

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Answer
UPDATE....
by Feb 7, 2014 3:14AM PST
Back to LG forum

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