BD Lady Kenmore Portable - Teardown

[macboy91si]

Well after a few months of very faithful service, things need some attention on the BD Lady K. The motor is making a strange sound, like something is caught in the shaft or pulley, it comes and goes and the tub is listing forward. There is some rust under the top panel (not terminal though) and the transmission has been going from neutral to wash with a loud clunk. So many little things. I've been working on my kitchen and purchased a new fridge and stove, both apartment sized (20" range and 24" fridge) so I'm using what used to be the fridge wall nook for the washer and dryer. I'm buying a stack kit for the Lady K set and I'll be using the Lady K as my main washer. It still works, but before I put it into heavy service, I'd like to iron out the issues.

What's the easiest was to get inside this thing, it has a full cabinet. I think after 28 years a new belt and maybe a few adjustments may be needed

I've never worked on the KM/WP style machines before so any advice or how-to is greatly appreciated.

-Tim

 

[norfolksouthern]

You will have to remove the cabinet

First, you will need to run a putty knife under the front, where the snaps are that hold the top down. Tape the lid so it won't fling up when you pop the hood up. Then, you have to unplug what ever hoses are attached to the cabinet, as well as any wiring. Of course, that means disconnecting the mixer valve and the drain hose fitting. The cabinet is held down by several Phillips head screws in the base. After removing them, you lift off the cabinet so you can get to the belt and other parts. Good luck.

NorfolkSouthern

 

[launderess]

Wishing You The Best of British Luck!

On your tear down.

Saw your snaps on Flicker of the LK set, and it almost made one go out and find a similar washer. However the capacity is too small for my needs, and though fun at this stage function must surpass beauty to make it pass the door. Since one wanted the unit to do overflow of mainly linens when the Miele is either otherwise occupied or too slow, the 1.8 cUfT capacity rated to hold one king sheet or perhaps one queen sheet and two pillow cases just didn't cut it.

Perhaps one day when space allows.

 

[macboy91si]

Capacity

You know, I thought that too when I got this set, but it washes a lot of clothes for that little tub. You'd be amazed. If you're washing t-shirts or socks or other lighter items you can can get about 10+ t-shirts and other garments on HIGH water level with decent rollover. I can usually wash 3 or 4 pairs of pants on HIGH depending on the thickness of the material. I can also wash 3 twin-sized bed sheets and pillow slips at a time. LOW and MEDIUM settings aren't very useful I've found, more splashing than movement and the clothes billow a alot. The machine has a lint filter which is great and I don't have to handle my hot whites. I also have 5 temp combos if I hook it up perm. like I have it, it's nice having a warm rinse for HOT and WARM washes. I don't use the feature much, but it has a 2-speed motor as well. All in all I love this little machine, which is why I want to get her up and running. Also the spin cycle is ridiculous in this thing, clothes come out plastered to the sides of the tub and not much damper than the Hoover. I have the matching Lady K dryer and it does a full load from both in 50-70 min depending on the type of clothes. That's not shabby for a 110v dryer either.

I'm moving it from the basement up to the kitchen for a daily driver. I live in a small duplex, I have a basement with washer hookups, but the trip down there is obscene with the rickety narrow stairs and the kitchen door that opens 1/2 way before hitting the counter. The kitchen is tiny, but since I had to get my own appliances anyway, I bought smaller ones and reserved a spot for the laundry. My Hoover 0510 has been my daily driver for a few now in the kitchen as it holds the most at one time and it's a brute. The Hoover is also very quick if one chooses the spin-rinse method. Sometimes there just isn't enough of me to to get the wash done though, so an automatic that would fit in the kitchen would be very nice. I'll keep the 0510 in the dining room and use it as a cart since it has the serva-top on it and use it when I have time, sometimes I just want to Hoover it up.

On a side note, the Kenmore uses jus a TAD more water in it's tub as the Hoover, which amazed me, I figured it would use much more water. on HIGH water setting, if you drain the tub in the LK into the Hoover the water comes up to the shelf where the drain hose comes out. The machine does 2 spray rinses (1 after wash during spin and one after rinse during final spin) and a deep rinse as well and soap in the clothes has never been an issue even with 1/2 scoop of Gain, which is a relatively high-sudsing detergent.

-Tim