Avocado Maytag KA606 / KDG606 Parts Machine Pair

[lowefficiency]

A while back I came across a posting on Craigslist that caught my eye... I don't need any more projects, but classic Maytags have been thin on the ground since the pandemic, so this posting stood out. I checked again last week - and still there at three weeks since the original posting, I figured their days were numbered before they got sent to scrap, so I scooped them up. Turns out I was the first person who had even inquired about them.

The story as I recall - these might be second-owner machines? The washer was used up until recently, when it started putting oil spots on clothes, so I suspect the agitator shaft seal or shaft/bushing is shot. The gas dryer hadn't been used in some time - I didn't catch how long. Both are complete, but in poor condition in their own ways, so I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with them yet. But I needed a two-speed motor for my A408/A806 conversion, and the rest basically came along for free. If nothing else, it'll be great to have some spares of some unobtainable parts (carbon brush assemblies, the solenoid/chime mechanism, etc).

 

[lowefficiency]

The undersides are clean and remarkably rust-free - a welcome surprise after the rusty shipwreck of our A408.

 

[maytag85]

Looks just like the Maytag A606 and DG606 I picked up back in 2019. The Maytag A606 worked fine but the dryer however needed quite a bit of work to get it up and going again since the clips that held the motor down snapped from corrosion and I presume that’s why it was taken out of service along with it’s companion A606 washer. Pretty much had to do quite a bit to get it up and going again and not long after I got it back together the electronic dry control wasn’t working and that’s when I decided to put a 306 timer in and haven’t had any issues with it since and I think you might remember that debacle from 2019. So far the only repair I needed to make to it was replace the cycling thermostat since the high limit thermostat kept on kicking the burner off and that’s the only repair I’ve had to make to it so far in the 3 years it’s been a 306 dryer.

 

[lowefficiency]

A look at the consoles...

The blue shading is gone over most of the panels, and there is damage to the white paint too. I'm not sure what would have caused the damage and shading in this pattern - perhaps something was taped or draped over the top for a long time?

I was also surprised at how different the color shades were between the porcelain and the paint. Is this an age effect, or were they always like this?

 

[lowefficiency]

The inside of the washer has significant rust / hard water staining on the inner tub. Lint filter was clean though!

 

[repairguy]

I believe the paint difference was a defect due to time. I have a 1969 KA806 where the paint on front and sides of cabinet almost appears gray compared to the avocado porcelain top.

 

[lowefficiency]

Behind the washer console - things look pretty good. The timer is a Mallory "2-4476".

The washer has a "KM" serial number, so it was made in June of 1970 according to this chart:
"My Maytags Birthdate"
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?41918_13


The spare motor is a "2-1666-8", a two-speed unit, which spins freely.

 

[lowefficiency]

On the dryer - inside the drum is clean. The white plastic of the lint filter assembly is distinctly yellowed - I don't know if being a gas unit accelerates this, but it's significantly worse than our DE806.

On that same point, ALL of the white plastics of these machines are more yellowed than any of my other machines. Buttons, dials, etc. So perhaps its just because they are older, or had more UV exposure... I might try some retrobright experiments on them and see what happens.

The rear shows upward rising rust from the air intakes, I presume this is/was the escape path for fumes from the standing pilot?

The dryer has an "HH" serial number, which dates it to April 1969 - one year and two months prior to the washer.

 

[lowefficiency]

Under the console cover on the dryer, things take a turn. I've never seen it before in person, having only had electric dryers, but I presume this is what you folks have been describing - the long-term corrosion effects of a standing pilot light. Almost everything metal is lightly rusted.

The main selector switch was frozen - I was able to get it to move with some force - but it had been stuck in that position for some time. The detent mechanism on the dial seems to be missing - the knob can be turned to a setting and pushed, but as soon as you let go it just snaps back to one position instead of staying where you put it? That's odd to me, because I don't recall our DE806 having a spring that rotates the knob...

The bell / switch solenoid was also locked in place. I was able to free that up too, but it's clear that this hasn't been used in a while, and would need to be fully rebuilt before it could be used/trusted.

Sean, this is probably what your electronic control looked like? I'd be shocked if this was making good electrical contact. I do think it could be revived - with new connectors and careful cleaning of the PCB. But I'll learn more when I take it further apart.

 

[lowefficiency]

>> I believe the paint difference was a defect due to time. I have a 1969 KA806 where the paint on front
>> and sides of cabinet almost appears gray compared to the avocado porcelain top.

Thanks. I wonder if there is an environmental (perhaps UV exposure) component of it? Or maybe they improved the paint formulation over time? I've seen others that still look great... such as this example:

"For Sale - Avocado Green Maytag Washer and Dryer"
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?16127

The paint color (or condition) on these machines obviously wasn't a factor for me, but like I said, I was surprised how far apart they were.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Have you thought of selling off the parts on ebay?

There are people doing that and I've done it a few times.

I recently took an electrolux vacuum I got for $7 and made over $200 by selling it off in parts.

Different collectors need different parts.

Most of this washer will break down into parts that can be readily shipped via UPS and the like.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #8

Mine was in pretty much the same condition when I got it home back in 2019. As soon as I got it back together with a new carbon brush installed, it literally only worked 3 times when I tested it on damp dry setting and after that it just stopped working all together. Spent hours doing everything I could to get it to work, even tried soldering the wires to the board and that didn’t really help either and after that is when I decided to put a 306 timer in. There was some upfront effort but had payed off since I haven’t had any issues with it in the 3 years it’s been converted to a DG306. That’s another reason why I am going about putting a customized Maytag dryer to go with my A806 I picked up earlier this summer since I didn’t feel like putting up with the pesky electronic dry control and it works great when it’s working but is a rail pain when it decides to stop working properly or at all.

 

[lowefficiency]

>> Have you thought of selling off the parts on ebay?

I hadn't before, but these might push me to it! The large parts (cabinets, etc) are the hard part of course... Otherwise, how bad are the fees for small value sales on eBay?[this post was last edited: 11/7/2022-18:11]

 

[good-shepherd]

how bad are the fees

Ebay fees aren't the problem and pretty damn reasonable considering you're getting access to the entire US market and beyond.

The shitty part is Ebay now wants a SSN and bank account number.

Also, sales over $600 will generate a 1099 sent to you and IRS.

 

[qsd-dan]

Taxes on top of taxes, it's the American way.

 

[maytag85]

I don’t know if you have a gas hookup in your home here’s one thing you could do if you wanted to get the electric dry control, you could simply use that Maytag DG606 you picked up to air dry certain fabrics like shirts with vinyl decals or certain types of delicates around the house. That’s what I did with my Maytag DG810 when I acquired it back in 2016 since I didn’t have a gas hookup in the garage and surprisingly got everything dried despite only air drying.

 

[bpetersxx]

the set look like what I have and had

washer looks like my 606s in white and the avocado on my 806s

but I lost my DG 606 HOH gas dryer

 

[lowefficiency]

Today was my lucky day - I got a call back from the seller, and he had found a few more parts for me. Included is a complete control panel (A208 I believe?), and a couple used water valves, fill level controls, and used hoses.

The control panel is complete and in great shape, which now has me thinking about "upgrading" our A209... but I know they changed the shape of the top of the cabinet when they changed the control panel styles...

 

[lowefficiency]

Ok, finally had some time to look into the washer...

The agitator was tough to get off, but with rope through the core, a heavy weight, and a lot of yanking, it came free.
Under the agitator was... this.... So I'll have to do some cleaning to get to the tub nut. The agitator shaft itself doesn't look too bad though.