Belt drive Kenmore with Roto swirl

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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THAT is a 1972 70 Series.

One of those lives in the basement and it's just about the best washer we've got! Versatile, quiet, well-performing, and pretty. That's a twin of ours down to the color. If it were closer, I'd grab it just to have another one.

This will make someone very happy.
Dave
 
I love it too!

I have one of these too.  A really versatile washer; many temp & cycle options though I've never used the soak-to-wash feature.  Most loads get 12 min. wash time so I can watch the dispenser, a favorite since I was a kid!  An then there's the light...

 

Don Shier (jetaction) and I saw this same washer (in gold) at a thrift store 10 years ago or so, we both drooled for a long time but left it behind.  We've since commented several times since that we should have brought that home - it was MINT!

 

The CL version above looks like a bit older version than I have - dispenser lid is older? style -  and a wrong but serviceable knob.

gansky1++5-22-2012-23-05-41.jpg
 
Wrong but serviceable knob indeed....

I saw that too, but the machine looks like it is in great shape. I like wastern washers. Unless they are near a shoreline/beach area, they aren't prone to rust as much as we sometimes see on the east coast.

Many machines from this period into the mid 1970s have received multiple replacement knobs, and the original to this model is long ago NLA. These machines were built with the first generation of quick-disconnect timers. These were not the best design, as many had two switchbanks, especially when second rinses and electricly operated dispensers were involved. The two switch banks coupled with aggressive plastic cams make the timers very stiff to turn. As these wear, they seem to get worse. The coppertone version of this washer I have has a stripped knob in fact for this very reason.

Factory replacement timers were quickly redesigned model by model, and the newer generations were typically much easier to operate without self-destructing the plastic knobs. Eventually the knobs were beefed-up a little bit as well.

Our 1974 Kenmore had this problem. When I was at school one day the timer locked-up, probably when the machine was about 8 years old. My Dad fiddled with the machine for some time before he got it unlocked and made the timer useful again. From that point forward, the machine would only fill with rinse water temps, thus I presume the timer locked and broke in a rinse cycle. It broke either the cam or the cam follower, and I could hear the piece rattling around in the timer after I replaced it (which I did before selling the machine to a friend of mine when we moved to Charlotte).

I hope someone wants this cool machine!

Gordon
 

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