1960's Kenmore combo
- Thread starter travis
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Bolts.
Whatever you do, make sure the shipping bolts are in place to secure the suspension. If you don't something will break. There are other threads on what that is and why it is extremely bad.
Good luck,
Dave
Whatever you do, make sure the shipping bolts are in place to secure the suspension. If you don't something will break. There are other threads on what that is and why it is extremely bad.
Good luck,
Dave
KM COMBO
Dave thier are no shipping bolts on 29" KM combos as there is no suspension. There is a balance system thumb screw that you tighten behind the lower front panel [ to the right of the wash filter ] before moving this machine to prevent damage to the balance machoism. Please everyone if you don't know something don't make something up just to say something. I know several very capable appliance repair experts who are saying away from this site because of this nonsense.
Dave thier are no shipping bolts on 29" KM combos as there is no suspension. There is a balance system thumb screw that you tighten behind the lower front panel [ to the right of the wash filter ] before moving this machine to prevent damage to the balance machoism. Please everyone if you don't know something don't make something up just to say something. I know several very capable appliance repair experts who are saying away from this site because of this nonsense.
That's right.
I knew there was a bolt or something similar that needs to be tightened. The only reason I mentioned it is because it's one of those obscure and easily-missed details that can have severe consequences if missed. Although I've never had my hands on one, I know it has been mentioned before and the best I can do is to say the issue exists and try to refer to a more knowledgeable source. The last thing I want to see is a machine getting damaged unnecessarily because of something small but essential being missed.
Dave
I knew there was a bolt or something similar that needs to be tightened. The only reason I mentioned it is because it's one of those obscure and easily-missed details that can have severe consequences if missed. Although I've never had my hands on one, I know it has been mentioned before and the best I can do is to say the issue exists and try to refer to a more knowledgeable source. The last thing I want to see is a machine getting damaged unnecessarily because of something small but essential being missed.
Dave
macboy91si
Well-known member
Coppertone Combo
Now that machine is a real beauty! Even if I DID come across one of these, I'd be forever in debt to Combo52 on it because I've never seen such a complex washer in my life! That said things like that intrigue me greatly and I learned more at the DC wash-in about these machines than I've even been able to gather on my own from general reading and posting. Seriously you need to see one in action. The balancing system on these is very neat, it makes you wonder how someone thought up such an elaborate system. And of course, the smaller cabinet 29" models have that classic Kenmore look to them. Is that a 67 or 68?
Beautiful machine, be cool to have even if it didn't work...
-Tim
Now that machine is a real beauty! Even if I DID come across one of these, I'd be forever in debt to Combo52 on it because I've never seen such a complex washer in my life! That said things like that intrigue me greatly and I learned more at the DC wash-in about these machines than I've even been able to gather on my own from general reading and posting. Seriously you need to see one in action. The balancing system on these is very neat, it makes you wonder how someone thought up such an elaborate system. And of course, the smaller cabinet 29" models have that classic Kenmore look to them. Is that a 67 or 68?
Beautiful machine, be cool to have even if it didn't work...
-Tim
This is a great looking combo Travis.
I would hint around and find out what they are looking for as far as price goes.
Then you figure out what you think is fair.
See if they go for it.
I am sure they just want it gone.
Looks to be in very good cosmetic shape!
Brent
I would hint around and find out what they are looking for as far as price goes.
Then you figure out what you think is fair.
See if they go for it.
I am sure they just want it gone.
Looks to be in very good cosmetic shape!
Brent
I love mine if I can ever get it
working again! Mine was heavily used so it has a lot of issues as John can attest too! Together we have been working on that machine for close to 20 years now! That's how many parts there are inside these!
If that's electric go for it at all costs, they are FUN to watch and they DO Everything to the clothes; there are so many dispensers onboard!
With an extra tranny thrown in it's a no brainer,although I would ask why he has one of those on hand! Just how much use did it get really?
working again! Mine was heavily used so it has a lot of issues as John can attest too! Together we have been working on that machine for close to 20 years now! That's how many parts there are inside these!
If that's electric go for it at all costs, they are FUN to watch and they DO Everything to the clothes; there are so many dispensers onboard!
With an extra tranny thrown in it's a no brainer,although I would ask why he has one of those on hand! Just how much use did it get really?
It looks earlier than 67 going by the control panel styling; more mid 60s before they restyled the panel to have the full width fluorescent light and took the chrome face away from the buttons and timer. I thought 67 was the year of the redesign, but I could be and probably am off by a year. I could also be misinterpreting a small photograph.
From my experience with several, getting it to spin will be the biggest challenge if everything else is OK. There is an air pump on top of the tranny housing driven off an eccentric on the transmission. The leather pieces in the bellows dry out or something and it won't pump air to the air-driven clutches to push the machine from tumble to either intermediate spin or the higher speeds. We worked on mine a few years ago and tried soaking the leather in brake fluid to restore it. It made it work for a day, but after that it did not work properly. Maybe some of those Oil of Oy Vey preparations that promise to turn sun tanned leather back into youthful skin would help. John says the poly-v belt that runs from the back of the tranny to power either the pump or blower is NLA, so if the one on that machine is intact, please handle it with care.
From my experience with several, getting it to spin will be the biggest challenge if everything else is OK. There is an air pump on top of the tranny housing driven off an eccentric on the transmission. The leather pieces in the bellows dry out or something and it won't pump air to the air-driven clutches to push the machine from tumble to either intermediate spin or the higher speeds. We worked on mine a few years ago and tried soaking the leather in brake fluid to restore it. It made it work for a day, but after that it did not work properly. Maybe some of those Oil of Oy Vey preparations that promise to turn sun tanned leather back into youthful skin would help. John says the poly-v belt that runs from the back of the tranny to power either the pump or blower is NLA, so if the one on that machine is intact, please handle it with care.
Some photos I received from the seller....
That does have the newer dial shape, sort of an inverted saucer. Mine had the terminology "Enzyme Super Wash" and the newer sort of tortoise shell control panel. They also went to the term "Wash 'n Dryer" instead of Washer-Dryer on my control panel.
Sears was smart about getting Perma Press clothes clean. When you pressed that button, the dial stopped just before the 10 minute mark, giving a one minute purge of hot water and then a hot fill for the 10 minute wash. Unless the machine was hot from just drying a load, the hot water lost heat to the heavy cylinder and tank so the water was not too hot, but it cleaned permanent press well. Of course, the button gave cold rinses. Later Lady combos had a thermostatically controlled cool down and they could easily run 15 minutes or longer after the heat shut off. When the heat shut off, the timer advanced an increment into that thermostatic cool down but then it held for a long time trying to cool down all of that hot steel.
I see that this machine has a nice buildup of lint behind the cylinder. One of the many neat design elements was that the inlet hose from the water valve became two hoses after the air gap and it filled through two sides of the blower to keep it washed free of lint.
Sears was smart about getting Perma Press clothes clean. When you pressed that button, the dial stopped just before the 10 minute mark, giving a one minute purge of hot water and then a hot fill for the 10 minute wash. Unless the machine was hot from just drying a load, the hot water lost heat to the heavy cylinder and tank so the water was not too hot, but it cleaned permanent press well. Of course, the button gave cold rinses. Later Lady combos had a thermostatically controlled cool down and they could easily run 15 minutes or longer after the heat shut off. When the heat shut off, the timer advanced an increment into that thermostatic cool down but then it held for a long time trying to cool down all of that hot steel.
I see that this machine has a nice buildup of lint behind the cylinder. One of the many neat design elements was that the inlet hose from the water valve became two hoses after the air gap and it filled through two sides of the blower to keep it washed free of lint.
I've got a '65 version of this in "doeskin." I'm still in the process of replacing the wash filter hose (hard to find something comparable) but other than that, the machine works fine. Yes, there is a bolt behind the lower panel door to tighten before moving. I bought mine a couple years ago on craigslist for $100. Good luck! It's a fun machine!!
Travis: Yeah, she's dreaming of paying some bills with that machine or taking a trip someplace warm for the winter. It's more than 40 years old, was well used (30+ years) before it was taken out of service if it has not been used for 10 years, is a very complex machine and most parts are NLA. Before I discussed any price, I would ask to see it run. If she can't show it operating, it must be considered non-operational. From the lint buildup behind the cylinder, it was not maintained by Sears (not that they had a tech who even knew what these were after maybe the early 80s). They probably ran it until it failed in some way. The scratches on the machine show that it was not babied.
Washerlover: have you tried looking at automotive radiator hoses for the filter to pump hose?
Washerlover: have you tried looking at automotive radiator hoses for the filter to pump hose?
The seller just called me about 30 minutes ago...
... and YES she says she does want $1500 for it! Yowza! It would seem that she thinks that because #1 it's old and #2 it's so unique and rare, it's worth $1500.
I'm sure many of us here will disagree.
I nicely explained to her the only way this machine COULD possibly have a value approaching 4 digits, was if it were unused and still in the original box with all the original documentation.
She told me , as Travis said above, its been sitting for 10 years, but worked perfectly when she took it out of service (when she moved).
Her boyfriend at the time worked for Sears as an appliance repair tech and suggested she buy the spare transmission before they became NLA.
I would LOVE to have this combo, but for me it's only worth a fraction of her price. Not to mention I'd have to drive 15 hours round trip to go get it!
Kevin
... and YES she says she does want $1500 for it! Yowza! It would seem that she thinks that because #1 it's old and #2 it's so unique and rare, it's worth $1500.
I'm sure many of us here will disagree.
I nicely explained to her the only way this machine COULD possibly have a value approaching 4 digits, was if it were unused and still in the original box with all the original documentation.
She told me , as Travis said above, its been sitting for 10 years, but worked perfectly when she took it out of service (when she moved).
Her boyfriend at the time worked for Sears as an appliance repair tech and suggested she buy the spare transmission before they became NLA.
I would LOVE to have this combo, but for me it's only worth a fraction of her price. Not to mention I'd have to drive 15 hours round trip to go get it!
Kevin
kenmoreman
Well-known member
$1500.00
To know a combo is to move a combo. They were heavy!!When I was a Sears tech you could see them in the corner because nobody could figue out how to get them out of the basement. You were right about Sears techs because the majority didn't even know where the balance mechanisn was located.
To know a combo is to move a combo. They were heavy!!When I was a Sears tech you could see them in the corner because nobody could figue out how to get them out of the basement. You were right about Sears techs because the majority didn't even know where the balance mechanisn was located.
Well, if it's really that valuable she should probably hang onto it for her old age. As Dolly told Horace, "On those cold winter nights, you can snuggle up to your cash register. It's a little lumpy, but it rings." May she find similar comfort by plugging it in, pushing the "Dry Only" button and enjoying the heat.
Wow, $1500 is pretty steep. Mine just had a couple of leaky hoses but works like a champ. (Tomturbomatic: thanks for the idea on the hose...I tried one auto parts store already but will continue the search!)
Washerlover, you need to access a hose catalog, online perhaps, like if you Google radiator hose so that you can see all of the sizes available: length, diameter, gauge, etc, you know like a personals ad to get exactly what you want or need. Or, you could search a Graingers catalog.
laundromat
Well-known member
Lady Kenmore Combination washer/dryer
This is the exact combo we got delivered to our home in Baltimore the day president JFK was assassinated (11/22/63)the day before my 7th birthday.Ours was the gas model in turquoise. It washed and dried clothes for a family of 12 and was repaired only twice.It left and was replaced by a bol W'pool top loader.That was 8/17/81.
This is the exact combo we got delivered to our home in Baltimore the day president JFK was assassinated (11/22/63)the day before my 7th birthday.Ours was the gas model in turquoise. It washed and dried clothes for a family of 12 and was repaired only twice.It left and was replaced by a bol W'pool top loader.That was 8/17/81.
