Is anyone able to identify what this model and year might be? Was it a good dryer? rare? Is there anyway to tell if it’s electric or gas? Thanks!
Anyone recognize this Kenmore dryer?
- Thread starter delco1946
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Frog Eye. Early to mid 50's
Unfortunately, not a very efficient dryer with the perforated drum back which allowed some of the heated air to travel behind the drum and not be forced through the drum. Consumer Reports dinged it for having a timer with the maximum setting of 60 minutes which was not sufficient to dry heavy towels unless the electric model was connected to a 50 amp circuit.
1957 sunburst timer frogeye Kenmore dryer. My other mother had this dryer from new through early 1970s with a family of 6.
“Unfortunately, not a very efficient dryer with the perforated drum back which allowed some of the heated air to travel behind the drum and not be forced through the drum”
Are you sure about that? The glass window on my 1963 Whirlpool dryer would get hot to the touch in operation on the high heat setting. Replaced all the cycling thermostats in October as a preventative measure since the originals weren’t that accurate and definitely were a little weak after many years of use, definitely sped up the drying time and is on par with a newer Whirlpool 29” dryer. Even dried a load of towels and observed the glow from the heating element in the upper left hand corner (the drum light was burned out so there wasn’t a UV light to give me a tan), the heating element stayed on for a good 40 minutes before cycling off vs with the old thermostats it would cycle off in about 10 minutes or less. I used to have to set towels between 4 and 5 but now is between the 3 and 4 mark.
I can see the incoming air bypassing the drum if you were to overload it but since I never overloaded my Whirlpool dryer, never had issues with long drying times.
Another thing too is you are pulling a large amount of air through a 4” circle where the heat inlet enters the rear bulkhead, the air won’t have much of a choice but to go through the drum, only way the incoming air will bypass the drum is if it’s overloaded or a restricted vent which will cause the incoming air to scoot behind the drum and out the exhaust since the air won’t be able to move as freely.
Are you sure about that? The glass window on my 1963 Whirlpool dryer would get hot to the touch in operation on the high heat setting. Replaced all the cycling thermostats in October as a preventative measure since the originals weren’t that accurate and definitely were a little weak after many years of use, definitely sped up the drying time and is on par with a newer Whirlpool 29” dryer. Even dried a load of towels and observed the glow from the heating element in the upper left hand corner (the drum light was burned out so there wasn’t a UV light to give me a tan), the heating element stayed on for a good 40 minutes before cycling off vs with the old thermostats it would cycle off in about 10 minutes or less. I used to have to set towels between 4 and 5 but now is between the 3 and 4 mark.
I can see the incoming air bypassing the drum if you were to overload it but since I never overloaded my Whirlpool dryer, never had issues with long drying times.
Another thing too is you are pulling a large amount of air through a 4” circle where the heat inlet enters the rear bulkhead, the air won’t have much of a choice but to go through the drum, only way the incoming air will bypass the drum is if it’s overloaded or a restricted vent which will cause the incoming air to scoot behind the drum and out the exhaust since the air won’t be able to move as freely.
Oh My God!You posted without a picture of your 1963 Whirlpool dryer!
The window getting hot means nothing about efficiency. Eventually the whole dryer gets hot. Thank you for your "expertise."
The window getting hot means nothing about efficiency. Eventually the whole dryer gets hot. Thank you for your "expertise."
1954 through five Kenmore electric dryer
You can tell it’s electric because there’s no removable access panel below the loading door for the gas burner equipment.
These were slow and inefficient dryers the gas versions were often high BTU so they actually drive pretty fast.
Not all electric ones were able to be connected to 50 A to speed them up, Only the models that said high speed on the control panel generally.
Whirlpool never really had a highly rated dryer until they came out with a newer design in 1966.
These old whirlpool built Kenmores we’re pretty reliable and fairly easy to repair so it might actually make a good dryer if you want a vintage machine and you’re gonna pair it with a new machine that spins at 1000 RPMs or more .
John
[this post was last edited: 2/26/2023-19:40]
You can tell it’s electric because there’s no removable access panel below the loading door for the gas burner equipment.
These were slow and inefficient dryers the gas versions were often high BTU so they actually drive pretty fast.
Not all electric ones were able to be connected to 50 A to speed them up, Only the models that said high speed on the control panel generally.
Whirlpool never really had a highly rated dryer until they came out with a newer design in 1966.
These old whirlpool built Kenmores we’re pretty reliable and fairly easy to repair so it might actually make a good dryer if you want a vintage machine and you’re gonna pair it with a new machine that spins at 1000 RPMs or more .
John
[this post was last edited: 2/26/2023-19:40]
John, please spell check you voice activated input. Please check your second sentence to make sure it says what you were thinking.
Also, the 1966 and later Whirlpool 29” dryers can suffer airflow issues once lint starts to accumulate at the bottom of the lint screen plenum right by the blower wheel. The 1965 and older Whirlpool dryers have no real chance of accumulating lint in the blower housing or plenum since it pushes air through the lint screen, yes a small amount of lint can build up but isn’t enough to restrict the airflow at all though.
50s KM Dryer
Reply #7, Thanks Tom
The 1966 and later Top Filter WP built dryers almost NEVER are affected by the lint that accumulates inside the filter housing.
The action of pulling the filter in and out keeps the upper part of the LFH keeps it clean enough to function at peek speed and at the blower inlet you never get enough lint to slow the air enough to affect drying speed.
The only time I have ever had to clean out the LFH on these dryers is when something drastic happens like a bottle of liquid laundry detergent being spilled down the chute or I have also seen the lint filter lid break off and get dropped down the chute and that will do a pretty good job of blocking airflow.
In a years time of working on hundreds of 1966 and later WP dryers we don't have to pull out and clean these LFHs very often, I may pull one out a year which is pretty good when you consider this design is about 1/2 the dryers in the US and many we work on are well over 30 years old.
John L.
Reply #7, Thanks Tom
The 1966 and later Top Filter WP built dryers almost NEVER are affected by the lint that accumulates inside the filter housing.
The action of pulling the filter in and out keeps the upper part of the LFH keeps it clean enough to function at peek speed and at the blower inlet you never get enough lint to slow the air enough to affect drying speed.
The only time I have ever had to clean out the LFH on these dryers is when something drastic happens like a bottle of liquid laundry detergent being spilled down the chute or I have also seen the lint filter lid break off and get dropped down the chute and that will do a pretty good job of blocking airflow.
In a years time of working on hundreds of 1966 and later WP dryers we don't have to pull out and clean these LFHs very often, I may pull one out a year which is pretty good when you consider this design is about 1/2 the dryers in the US and many we work on are well over 30 years old.
John L.
The 1966 and later Top Filter WP built dryers almost NEVER are affected by the lint that accumulates inside the filter housing.
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[/COLOR]This design is one of the the most, if the most, clog prone one out there. LOTS of youtube vids display the evidence. I had one for decades and can confirm.
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I feel like I’m getting some mixed feedback haha, but generally no resounding “yes this is amazing” , “you need to get this/save this etc”. This may also be somewhat of a basic model? Also guessing the odds of finding a matching washer are low, and perhaps it might not even spin clothes enough to dry well enough. I still might go check it out but I appreciate the feedback.
repairguy
Well-known member
I’d go for it. It looks like it’s in decent shape and you’re not going to find too many machines from the fifties these days. Yes the washer will probably be hard to find but I’d go after that dryer if I had the opportunity.
Reply #10
This is why I am partial to the 1965 and older Whirlpool dryers. Never had lint build up in the blower housing on my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer and what little there was, was not enough to choke down the airflow at all.
Only reason why I can see Whirlpool switching to the current design they basically have been using since 1966 is because of the savings in manufacturing cost. Whirlpool probably figured it would save them hundreds of thousands if not millions since they wouldn’t need to have a blower with a separate belt, perforated drum back which required a additional stamping press and welding, a bulkhead that required it’s own various stamping press and so forth.
This is why I am partial to the 1965 and older Whirlpool dryers. Never had lint build up in the blower housing on my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer and what little there was, was not enough to choke down the airflow at all.
Only reason why I can see Whirlpool switching to the current design they basically have been using since 1966 is because of the savings in manufacturing cost. Whirlpool probably figured it would save them hundreds of thousands if not millions since they wouldn’t need to have a blower with a separate belt, perforated drum back which required a additional stamping press and welding, a bulkhead that required it’s own various stamping press and so forth.
