Kenmore 62102 Dryer Review

Design & Usability

You can't always get what you want...

But—with apologies to the Stones—if you buy this Kenmore, you'll get what you need. The 62102 comes with no extras, but on the whole the design is functional. The door feels a little flimsy, but it clicks into place firmly.

If you're upgrading from a decades-old machine, you'll recognize the lint trap. Unlike most modern dryers, this Kenmore's lint trap sits on top of the machine rather than inside the door. To clean, you have to pull out the filter, which is long and skinny. Be gentle though—pulling too hard can cause the lint to fly everywhere.

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Overall, the design of the Kenmore 62102 is bland. Nothing new or special, but everything is functional and clean. And with a street price of around $500, that's good in our book.

Performance & Features

Good, but has a few issues that need ironing out.

For the most part, the Kenmore 62102 is satisfactory. Lacking all features except for an end-of-cycle signal, this dryer is essentially a white metal box that gets hot. It's somewhat refreshing to use a machine so simple.

However, the Kenmore's sensor-based cycles were a bit indiscriminate. Most of the time the 62102 got test loads completely dry. But sometimes, it would stop too early and barely dry at all.

When this Kenmore did behave, work got done. Mixed loads finished drying in about an hour and came out completely dry. The 62102 had more trouble with bulky items like comforters, but running two Auto Dry cycles set on high did the trick. And Quick was really impressive. It got a four-pound load dry enough to wear in just 30 minutes.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

Conclusion

Focuses on the job at hand

Like a piano with one working key, the Kenmore 62102 is rather one-note. That's okay, since that means it can focus on drying your clothes. Carrying no features allows for a clean, uncluttered experience.

It did well with Normal loads most of the time. It also did well with bulky items like comforters. Although it aced most of our tests, over time we found that the sensor was not always reliable. Still, the dryer has what it takes to get clothes dry, and it costs less than $500 on sale. For that, we're pleased with its performance.

By the Numbers

Science is the foundation of all our reviews. On this page, you'll get a chance to delve into the numbers. For dryers, it's all about the moisture removal ability. Our testing focuses on a dryer's ability to deal with Normal, Delicate, Bulky, and Quick loads. The Kenmore 62102 did well most of the time, but when it stumbled, it stumbled hard.

Normal & Delicates

Everyone wants a dryer to be the very best on Normal. Normal is good. Normal is what's applicable in most situations. Most of the time, the 62102's Normal cycle was good. However, more than once, we had issues.

To test the Normal cycle, we wetted an eight-pound load to 1.7 times its weight, then tossed in the for an Autodry cycle set to Normal. There were a lot of inconsistencies with this cycle. At the extremes, it sometimes took an hour and fifteen minutes and resulted in overdried laundry. Or it finished after just nine minutes, leaving laundry soaking wet. We'll have to chalk this up to an indiscriminate sensor.

The Decliates cycle showed more discretion. On average, it took about an hour and got our test laundry completely dry. Our temperature sensors picked up a max temperature of around 115°F, well within the tolerance of most fabrics.

Bulky & Quick

On this machine, we tested the Bulky cycle by wetting a test comforter to 1.5 times its weight and selecting Autodry set on More. After about 50 minutes, the comforters came out 70% dry. That's not bad, considering that it's common practice to flip a comforter and dry it again. Therefore, anything over 50% is considered acceptable.

The fastest cycle on the Kenmore 62102 is a 30 minute time cycle. It cycle removed 93% of all moisture from a four pound load. That's pretty impressive.