autowasherfreak
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I found this on our local online classifieds and was wondering if it is a BD or DD model. It's only $75.00.
Belt Drive or Direct Drive
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It is a Design 2000 machine - meaning it is an early Direct Drive.
Ben
Ben
autowasherfreak
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I was guessing it was DD. I wouldn't mind getting it anyway.
nmaineman36
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That would be a direct drive Design 2000 washer. From the mid 80's when they first came out.
autowasherfreak
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Were they a good machine for being DD?
autowasherfreak
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I tried to enlarge the picture, so I could read the control panel, I see where it says Design 2000. I might offer him $50.00 and see what he says.
chaskelljr2
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Whirlpool Design 2000 Washer......
"autowasherfreak"
The washer in question that is in your picture LOOKS LIKE a Direct-Drive.
This was one of the VERY FIRST Direct-Drives to hit the market. So...... we're talking 1984 or 1985 here. That was during the time when we still had Belt-Drives on the market.
Both Whirlpool and Kenmore did not go completely Direct-Drive until about Fall 1986.
But we won't know for sure until you open the lid and show us that infamous "money shot".
--Charles--
"autowasherfreak"
The washer in question that is in your picture LOOKS LIKE a Direct-Drive.
This was one of the VERY FIRST Direct-Drives to hit the market. So...... we're talking 1984 or 1985 here. That was during the time when we still had Belt-Drives on the market.
Both Whirlpool and Kenmore did not go completely Direct-Drive until about Fall 1986.
But we won't know for sure until you open the lid and show us that infamous "money shot".
--Charles--
autowasherfreak
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Thanks for the info guys, I'm going to call tomorrow and see if he will take $50.00.
A couple I.D. suggestions
In addition to the "Design 2000" i.d. mentioned above, here are a couple ways to pick-out a Direct Drive from a Belt-Drive:
-- The belt drive washers never had those dual indentations on the sides. They were/are there in DD machines to add some rigidity to the cabinets, which were made of considerably thinnner gauge steel. This was allowed because the cabinet on a DD machine is just there for show basically, whereas the cabinet on a BD is the machine's support structure.
-- Whirlpool belt drives, to my knowledge anyway, always had some sort of lid handle, either metal or plastic.
-- The lids are wider in the DDs, and the cabinets narrower by two inches, at least in the full size machines, so if the lid seems to take up a significant proportion of the top, it's a DD.
I hope those suggestions help. The machine in this photograph is interesting though because it has a console styling which was shared with belt-drives in the 85/86 time frame. Oddly, I recently saw a Whirlpool belt drive that was built in the 10th week of 1987! Must have been one of the very last.
Gordon
In addition to the "Design 2000" i.d. mentioned above, here are a couple ways to pick-out a Direct Drive from a Belt-Drive:
-- The belt drive washers never had those dual indentations on the sides. They were/are there in DD machines to add some rigidity to the cabinets, which were made of considerably thinnner gauge steel. This was allowed because the cabinet on a DD machine is just there for show basically, whereas the cabinet on a BD is the machine's support structure.
-- Whirlpool belt drives, to my knowledge anyway, always had some sort of lid handle, either metal or plastic.
-- The lids are wider in the DDs, and the cabinets narrower by two inches, at least in the full size machines, so if the lid seems to take up a significant proportion of the top, it's a DD.
I hope those suggestions help. The machine in this photograph is interesting though because it has a console styling which was shared with belt-drives in the 85/86 time frame. Oddly, I recently saw a Whirlpool belt drive that was built in the 10th week of 1987! Must have been one of the very last.
Gordon
autowasherfreak
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Thanks Gordon, I will have to remember for the future.
autowasherfreak
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Here the description of the machine, I probably should have included in the original post.
Whirlpool large capacity washing machine. Design 2000, Stylemaster, 9-10 years old. Used modestly, in fine condition. . Can be seen in Hampton, IL.
Whirlpool large capacity washing machine. Design 2000, Stylemaster, 9-10 years old. Used modestly, in fine condition. . Can be seen in Hampton, IL.
70series
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Yes this looks like it must have come out in the 1987 time frame. The console style right down to the knobs matches those of the last BD Whirlpools.
Gordon: Thanks for clarifying about the indents in the cabinets. I never understood why they were there. It seems that this is a staple on machines of most brands from the 1980s to present. Also, I am not too surprised about the 1987 built Whirlpool. Although the DDs took over inventory in the stores by 1987, there must have been a few belt drives being built beyond that point. My neighbors across the street had bought a BD Kenmore in the summer of 1987. In addition, I saw a BD Imperial Seventy model Whirlpool for sale in a local appliance store, and this was in September 1988. However it must have been sitting there a couple of years. There were several GE Filter Flos on sale that had console designs from the 1985 time frame. The store was better known for selling television sets, not as much for washers. It was always empty when I went in there, which was a lot.
Have a good one,
James
Gordon: Thanks for clarifying about the indents in the cabinets. I never understood why they were there. It seems that this is a staple on machines of most brands from the 1980s to present. Also, I am not too surprised about the 1987 built Whirlpool. Although the DDs took over inventory in the stores by 1987, there must have been a few belt drives being built beyond that point. My neighbors across the street had bought a BD Kenmore in the summer of 1987. In addition, I saw a BD Imperial Seventy model Whirlpool for sale in a local appliance store, and this was in September 1988. However it must have been sitting there a couple of years. There were several GE Filter Flos on sale that had console designs from the 1985 time frame. The store was better known for selling television sets, not as much for washers. It was always empty when I went in there, which was a lot.
Have a good one,
James
James -
I do know that Kenmore BD production wrapped up in fall or late summer 1986, BUT it is not at all unusual for items to linger in inventory, especially after they've been taken off the floor display. There is a Sears outlet here that recently opened which had a floor full of 18-month and two year old DDs, just a couple weeks ago. Before outlet stores, sales people wanted to sell what was on the floor and didn't always know what was sitting in a forgotten corner of the warehouse until a stock review found the old stock, made sales people aware of it, and put it on sale.
Kenmore was always first with changes and innovations in WP's production, so it does not surprise me either that I found an early 1987 Whirlpool BD home washer. WP did tell me more than once that commercial machines were BD for some time after the end of household production.
I do know that Kenmore BD production wrapped up in fall or late summer 1986, BUT it is not at all unusual for items to linger in inventory, especially after they've been taken off the floor display. There is a Sears outlet here that recently opened which had a floor full of 18-month and two year old DDs, just a couple weeks ago. Before outlet stores, sales people wanted to sell what was on the floor and didn't always know what was sitting in a forgotten corner of the warehouse until a stock review found the old stock, made sales people aware of it, and put it on sale.
Kenmore was always first with changes and innovations in WP's production, so it does not surprise me either that I found an early 1987 Whirlpool BD home washer. WP did tell me more than once that commercial machines were BD for some time after the end of household production.
everythingold
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Keep in mind too that the early DD's did not have a neutral drain. They might have been built better to withstand the added stress, but a neutral drain is a good idea. You can tell the difference because the transmissions look different. Matt
appliancedude16
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That Whirlpool is one of the first direct drives ever made.
I'm pretty sure my parents had that same machine or something very similar. It was equipped with the same or a very similar dryer to the one in the link here:
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?35877
I'm pretty sure my parents had that same machine or something very similar. It was equipped with the same or a very similar dryer to the one in the link here:
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?35877
