1970s WP Imperial 80. Three-speed dryer.

[Marky_Mark]

$100 in Visalia, California.

 

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I originally posted this in the Imperial forum by mistake.  Oops!  I see now that I could have corrected that without deleting the post.

 

[maytag85]

Looks to be a to have multiple tumbling speeds. Believe the thinking was to reduce larger loads from being balled up, letting the suction from the fan pull items tow the exhaust outlet to make for faster drying times with a slower tumbling speed, the normal tumbling speed was for smaller loads to increase the drying time as well.

 

[DADoES]

 
Three tumble speeds, yes.  Lever at the right edge of the console.  Set the speed after starting, do not move the lever when the machine isn't running.

 

[powerfin64]

I have

the same model in gold.

 

[qsd-dan]

"Set the speed after starting, do not move the lever when the machine isn't running."

What carnage happens if it's speed shifted when off?

 

[DADoES]

 
Some undue stress on the drum belt.  Speed variation is via shifting the belt position on a tapered motor pulley. 

 

[maytag85]

Once I get mine operational, will demonstrate what the multiple tumbling speeds do.

 

[combo52]

1972 whirlpool three speed tumble dryer

This dryer may also have the dual heat input when you set the variable thermostat above medium it may go to a higher BTU input, gas burner or on the electric to higher wattage dual heating element.

Later whirlpool changed this tumble speed selector only give you two tumble speeds, it wouldn’t hurt anything if you turned it while it wasn’t running the control just won’t move smoothly. It’s better to change the speed setting while the belt is turning.

Hi Sean, I don’t think you’re gonna be able to convert Your dual belt 64 whirlpool dryer to a variable tumble system. The parts don’t just bold in and there’s no correct belt to do that with for that older dryer.

John L

 

[maytag85]

Reply #7

Hi John, I closely examined everything, all you need to do is drill a hole in the motor carriage to mount the tensioner. I’ll create a thread to resurrecting the Whirlpools this summer.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Nice dryer and will be nice to see demonstrational videos on it...

Looking forwrd to see it operating...

We already know that the lint filter should not be pulled out when it is running...

-- Dave

 

[combo52]

1972 whirlpool three speed dryer

Reply number eight hi Sean, what are you going to do for a belt on this converted dryer?

Reply number nine hi Dave why wouldn’t you remove the lint filter when the dryer is running? That’s the only way I ever clean a lint filter on a 29 inch dryer that way you don’t get dust all over the house and all over the top of the dryer.

John L

 

[maytag85]

I believe Dave is referring to the older Whirlpool dryers made before 1966 which has positive pressure at the lint screen pushing air through it as opposed to the 1966 and later models.

Since I’ve studied the design of my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer, the main reason why it was changed in terms of the design was more to do with cost more than anything else. It took a stamping press to make the stationary bulkhead, another for the perforations in the rear of the drum, the blower bearing/blower housing/blower belt was another area of manufacturing cost, the heating element plenum which required even more stamping processes since it’s two separate pieces, UV bulb, many other things which increased the manufacturing cost.

With the 1966 design, there’s just the bulkhead which only required a single stamping press, a drum, motor with the blower wheel mounted on the back, lint screen plenum, heating element plenum which is one piece (welding done for sure at the factory), other areas which had a lot less complexity.

Some of it had to indeed do with efficiency etc, but more than likely were noise and reliability issues which led Whirlpool to do a complete redesign.

 

[DADoES]

 
Every model from the early design era wasn't equipped with a UV bulb.  Ours didn't have one and I recall a couple childhood family friends' dryers didn't.

 

[goatfarmer]

I had a similar 3 speed WP dryer in Avocado. It went to a good home in Texas.

 

[combo52]

Why whirlpool changed dryer designs in 1966

Of course cost was one of the reasons there’s nothing more important than making a great product more inexpensively any cost savings meant that millions more Americans could eventually have a clothes dryer.

The other reasons are obvious much larger capacity, much quieter, better efficiency, and easier to service much more reliable, there was absolutely no advantage to the older design compared to the newer one. Who would want to dryer that takes longer to dry clothing and uses 25% more energy and leaves your clothing wrinkled up less evenly dried.

Our family‘s first dryer was 1957 Westinghouse space mate with a 4800 W heating element in it, it would consistently dry full loads in about 35 minutes.

It was not a very reliable dryer. It was repaired more times than I can count so in 1963. My parents went and bought a Kenmore 70 high speed electric dryer to replace it with a 5600 W element. It took 50 minutes to dry the same loads. It was disappointingly slow but very reliable, in 1972. I found somebody that was moving and I got their Kenmore electric dryer with Wrinkle guard And electronic dryness sensor. It was amazing how much faster that 1970 Kenmore was I gave the 1963 dryer to somebody else that probably used it for a long time.

I converted that 1970 Kenmore dryer to gas when my parents moved to Minnesota in 1977. That dryer was used until about 10 years ago when I gave my mother a better new whirlpool gas dryer my youngest brother Phil gave it to somebody else who’s probably still using that dryer.

John L

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

An appliance that's very well-built!

Well, nice for how much a dryer is cost-wise and how a reluctance to purchase one, goes to sudden relief, from the time and effort of hanging and taking down wet laundry...

 

Of which the length of drying time line-drying time vs. a machine doing a bulk of work for you, is needed for will do for you...

 

All this, in-turn makes a dryer the most-sole survivor of old appliances a household will typically have, making it the last in a set of both kitchen and laundry to go bad...

 

 

 

-- Dave

[this post was last edited: 4/22/2025-18:25]