Another weekend road trip to NY, another Kenmore for the collection

[turquoisedude]

Despite an incredibly busy work schedule, I MADE time to head to Schnectady, New York this weekend to pick up something that I have been working on and waiting on for over a month now...

 

Phil drove down with me and when we saw this sign, we figured we'd drop in and say Hi to Jon (jetcone).   But the security guards said he wasn't there, so we pushed on to the address where we were picking up an old Kenmore washer....

[this post was last edited: 6/17/2012-23:07]

 

[turquoisedude]

Well, we picked the washer up, had a lovely but short visit with Steve (steved from Albany), drove back to Ogden, and had dinner. 

Needless to say, I didn't get to check out the washer until to today.

 

Well here she is!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

Oh, right, the REST of the washer...

 

If this looks familiar, it is indeed the Kenmore that turned up on the Albany craigslist in May.  It was late May before I firmed up my offer with the seller, but I got it!!

 

[turquoisedude]

The dials are probably the only part of the washer that show any sign of use!

 

[turquoisedude]

There aren't a lot of controls here - just a water temperature selection!

 

[turquoisedude]

The upper tub is so clean and beautiful!  The filler strip between the tub and the lid is something I have never seen before.

 

[turquoisedude]

The tub lid is just incredible!

 

[turquoisedude]

The Money Shot

The tub and agitator are just beautiful!  I don't think the photo does it justice - the agitator is shiny, just like new and the tub is unmarked, no rust stains and no water scale buildup.  Just incredible!

 

[turquoisedude]

The cabinet is in great shape too, considering its age!

 

[turquoisedude]

Motor access hatch on the right hand side - not used to seeing that either.

 

[turquoisedude]

The rear access hatch and hose connections all look good.   But wait, are there TWO drain hoses?

 

[turquoisedude]

Yes, indeed, 'cause this washer is a suds-saver!   Looks like I might have one working suds-saver in the collection at last...

 

[turquoisedude]

Under the hood, the pump looks incredibly clean and undamaged!

 

[turquoisedude]

Ditto for the transmission!  I only noticed the partial date stamp when I loaded this photo, so I'll have to get a better look at that next weekend.

 

[turquoisedude]

Vintage 50s wig-wag looks good, too!

 

[turquoisedude]

This looks like an Emerson motor - really nice shape.

 

[turquoisedude]

This had me stumped... Looks like some sort of a sump for the pump which I assumed was required for the suds-saver.    Take note of this componet,  you'll see why later....

 

[toploader55]

OMG Paul

Huge Score.

I wish I had more room. What a beautiful Machine.

Best of luck with that one.

 

[turquoisedude]

Time to test it out!

Well, I just had to try the washer! The seller of the machine told me it came with the house they had bought. The house dated back to the late 40s and the former owners were a couple with no children. So,what were the chances that this machine still worked??
Pretty good, it would seem!

 

[turquoisedude]

So, feeling confident enough to 'just add water', I did!

 

[turquoisedude]

And that's where the wheels fell off....

OOOOPS! Looks like we have a bit of a leak here... Thank heavens hubby was not near the garage to witness this!

 

[turquoisedude]

The culprit...

Remember why I mentioned the sump?? LOL

So, I am guessing the gasket has gone bad here - when I pumped out the water that had accumulated in the tub, I noticed no other leaks and suprise, the spin noise was no longer there...

 

[turquoisedude]

Next steps...

Well, after I get that gasket fixed, I still think I should try to lubricate the machine somehow.
I will post the model and serial number next week (I took a photo, but you can't read them... D'OH!)

I have a lot on my plate (or in the garage, if you prefer) but dang, I think I know where I can find the matching dryer to this washer!!
In the meantime, if anyone has information about this machine and its approximate age, I'll be happy to hear from you!!

 

[philr]

That leak should be an easy fix. And after we got the Kenmore, we were lucky to meet SteveD who invited us for lunch while we were around and he had a few interesting surprises for us too! Just to meet Steve was well worth the trip!
I'll have to start another thread on that...

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations!

That is like my parents' first KM, except theirs had the Roto Swirl agitator. The suds valve, which was just pot metal but is now more durable plastic started leaking. That filler strip was because the mechanism was set so low in the cabinet.

 

[jetcone]

Paul

That gasket is cork and it will leak when it dries out and now that you have wet it I'd wait a couple days and try again you might find it will start sealing again.

That cast Iron Emerson motor is the BEST! Just lube the bearings.

Nice find!! Steved found my BOL Duomatic - they are a real nice couple!

Love the Schenectady pics, the place is looking good! Did you go to Morette's for a steak sandwich??

jon

 

[philr]

We didn't go to Morette, we went to Latham '76 Diner.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

YAY Paul!   Congrats on this newest find!

 

All the best with it!

Kevin

 

[northwesty]

Congratulations.

Glad to see another one of these saved

 

[combo52]

1950 KM Automatic washer

Congratulations Paul, looks like another machine to ship down to the restoration center in Beltsville LOL.

 

Some thoughts on another great find, Suds-savers were very common on KMs at this time as a SS was a standard feature  and it was considered a  special model not to have one.

 

The old Black motor is a Packard not Emerson.

The picture where you said the wig-wag looks good is actually the solenoid to engage the suds return pump.

The leaky gasket around the suds pump cover may have frozen at some time and because of he amount of water that sits in this pump it will do this, you will notice that they even have a drain plug on the porcelain sump to drain the sump if the washer was going to be exposed to freezing temperatures.

 

Hopefully you can get this washer running without too much trouble, but it is really best to do a complete tear down and renew and replace many parts as trying to use a machine this old will end up damaging many parts and make doing it properly some day even more difficult. It about the same as taking a 1950 car that has been stored in a garage for 30 years and trying to put gas in it and trying to actually start driving it.