Comparison of agitation - RotoSwirl vs. RotoFlex

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Issues, issues, issues....

It is very elementary, my dear Watson. An agitator washer beats clothes clean. The straighter the vanes, the more beating occurs. Beating causes damage, maybe not visible to the eye, but it is there. There is also chemical damage from additives, but we're not discussing that here.

Every time you clean your dryer lint screen, you are cleaning the damage that occurred in the washer that did not get flushed away or caught in whatever lint filter may be inside the washer. Some washers will cause more linting depending on their agitator/speed/time. More heavily loaded machines will cause more linting as the load has less room to move and remains in contact with the "thrashing blades".

Therefore, a heavily loaded Roto-Flex machine will probably cause more lint because the 6 vanes thrash away while the load struggles to roll over and get out of the way. The Roto-Swirl has the built in ramps which helps roll over, along with its flat paddles to do the cleaning. My guess is that more lint will be found in the dryer after drying a Roto-Flex washed load than a Roto-Swirl washed load. But IMHO the Swirl is just as damaging because of its size.

So when we look at ALL agitators, we probably find that the ramp agitators of Hotpoint, GE, Easy and Westinghouse are quite gentle with their suck down/burp up action, while the straight vanes of Maytag, Speed Queen, GE and Norge thrash up a good amount of lint.

Last, why do you think us aficionados don't like direct drive WP/KM Thrashmore washers -- straight vanes, faster agitation speed, auger forcing the loads down?

Frontloaders may be a scam, in your humble opinion, but if you have one that uses the right amount of water and tumbles at the right speed, it beats all.

Except for Frigidaire pulsators, but all knew that already...
 
Agitator Comparison......

After watching the video twice..... it's hard for me to declare a winner.

In my opinion, both, the Roto-Swirl and the Roto-Flex had the same amount of turnover, with the Roto-Flex having JUST A NUDGE more. But not enough for me to declare it a clear winner (I'm talking about a game of centimeters here). But I guess just like others have already said here, each agitator has its advantages and disadvantages due to the differences in their design.

But right now, I'm going to say that it is a virtual draw.

HEY LEBRON!!!!! WHERE'S YOUR 1971 LADY K (or Jon1077..... maybe your 1970 Kenmore 900 will do)???? WE NEED TO BRING A VARI-FLEX AGITATOR INTO THIS EQUATION.....

Then and only then, maybe I can declare a winner. Because right now, I can't.

@ Gordon...... What do you think??? Which is better??? The Roto-Swirl??? Or the Roto-Flex???? And do we need to bring in a Vari-Flex???

--Charles--
 
Thanks for this RCD!

Okay, this is lenghty, even for me, but I'm thinking that perhaps this opens the door to a larger test of standard capacity Kenmores & Whirlpools. As far as I've counted, we've got 9 different agitators in these machines. What comes to mind are the original bakelite versions of the Surgilator and Straight Vane, the plastic later versions of both (the straight vane is considerably different), the original Roto-Swirl (pregnant) and the Super Roto-Swirl, the Roto-Flex, the Vari-Flex, and the Dual-Action. Yes, there was a version of the Dual-Action used in standard machines that has a different auger than the large cap. versions.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have machines with all these, so I am thinking this would be a cool test to do on an identical laundry load. Perhaps this summer...

Anyway, to answer RCD, since he asked my opinion....I have mixed feelings about the two agitators and I'm not sure I'm as well informed as some of the other responders on here. From a visual perspective, the Roto-Flex in Andy's test seems to be rolling-over the load better than the 'Swirl does, and I have seen much the same results in one of my machines at home which came standard with a Straight-Vane but I but I have swapped in a Roto-Swirl for fun once in a while. The action with the Straight Vane is very similar looking to that in the Green 900 machine. The ramp in the 'Swirl clearly does a lot to alter the 'flow' of the clothes, but I debate whether that's good or not.

I will offer this two-part conclusion - The Roto-Flex was heavily advertised and Sears apparently had a lot invested in it from an image standpoint. Claims of 15% cleaner wash are in several two-page adds in 1965 and 1966 catalogs. Within a few short years, the agitator was gone. There must have been something wrong (maybe a design flaw?) because Super Roto-Swirls, which debuted in 1963 were in production through the end of the belt-drive machines, unchanged. That's about 24 years. If the Roto-Flex was a success, it would have hung around more than four or five years.

The low-end Straight-Vane, which had similar agitation to the Roto-Flex, was introduced in 1967/1968 and lasted in production until 1984 or so, also a long run. BUT, that agitator was not used in anything other than BOL to MOL machines (except 24-inch) so Sears must have known it had limitations, and the Roto-Swirl picked up where the Straight-Vane ended in the line. Until the Dual-Action came out, the Roto-Swirl was the top dog in standard agitators. My conclusion basically is that even though the visual roll-over of the Roto-Flex and Straight Vane are fun to watch, Sears knew what they were marketing enough to leave the Roto-Swirl higher on the heap than those two, long term.

One thing perhaps worth noting - one of the '65 Lady Ks I owned until recently had scrape marks on the bottom of the basket just like the Avocado 900. That can't be good, possibly that sheds light on what caused the demise of the 'Flex?

Gordon
 
Super Roto-Swirls, which debuted in 1963 were in production through the end of the belt-drive machines, unchanged. That's about 24 years.

If that fact doesn't indicate a clear winner, nothing does.

For a lot of people it wasn't about maximizing rollover or capacity, but rather performance vs. gentleness for reasonable sized loads. The Super Roto-Swirls had a lot of cleaning power yet were very gentle on clothes.
 
Videos

I've been thinking about hooking the '70 Kenmore again. I have it off to the side since I was tinkering with the GE. I'll try to pull it back out this next week and do a comparison video using the vari-flex with a queen sheet set and a couple of towels thrown in. I will say that a sheet set alone turns over very quickly and I would imagine the additional towels wouldn't slow it down much. Tangling would be an issue with towels and sheets perhaps.

I do have the one video on youtube of my Kenmore doing a permanent press cycle and the vari-flex on one click lower than maximum.

Thanks to my friend Austin down in Texas, I now have three different agitators for the Westinghouse TL that I want to do a comparison video of. The blue ramp, straight 5-vane, and the straight 3-vane. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me!

Great videos of the Kenmores by the way!

Jon
 
Yes, every old '65 era LK with Roto-Flex I've ever seen had those scrape marks.

Just as a reminder---the Vari-Flex is a straight-vane agitator. Also, I do believe the marketing people would stop at nothing to create some/any gimmick that might provide an edge in sales over a competitor. So I don't think that just because the plain Whirly/Kenmo straight-vane agitators were found on BOL or MOL models means that they had lesser cleaning ability or limitations. However it can be said the Roto-Swirl design is not as likely to stir up quite as many sudz as a straight-vane at full water level. And especially in the old days when detergents (and all soaps) were mostly VERY high-sudzing this may have been a consideration -----and all you had to do was wave a box of the old Tide, Cheer, Fab, Duz, Super-Suds,Wisk, etc. over the top and they would sudz-lock!

I have always had the opinion that the Pregnant Roto-Swirl was more aggressive than the Super Roto-Swirl. Could it be because it took up slightly more area? And I've always believed that any straight-vane was more aggressive that any Roto-Swirl.

PeterH-----that is a great assesment. I would add to that, that I am of the opinion that the ramped-agitator in the old Westinghouse machines was brutal. It was great for heavy cotton fabrics, all kinds of denims, etc. But, I think not very easy on Delicate fabrics even on the Gentile cycle. I always thought it to be the most aggressive ramped-agitator ever. The three ribs along the edge of each fin added plenty of friction I'm sure!
 
Thank you for yet another fantastic video:

Awesome video Andy! I love agitator comparisons especially within the Kenmore family. Although the Roto Flex, from what I have seen before, has appeared to be less effective with a full load than a Roto Swirl, in this video it seems to move the load around just a tad more. Otherwise I would say they are neck and neck. Whichever agitator wins in this comparison should compete next with the Surgilator Whirlpool you have. My bet's on that one.

Have a good one,
James
 
We'll probably need the suddenly unemployed Olympic Judg

It looked like a draw till the lights went out and then the mauve towel in the Swirl stayed on top, while the pumpkin one in the Flex went under.

And then the ever honest Drew revealed that the Swirl was handicapped in having towels removed which were added to the Flex in addition to MORE clothes. So the Flex is taking down a considerably larger load which the film does not reveal. We'd have to have equal loads to see the truth.

Andy, the fifth pic, "Washing by the pale moonlight," is liquid ice and I love it to death.

Thanks so much. Amazing.

Greg, the agitator beauty pageant is fabulous. First the talent show, Andy; then the swimsuit contest, Greg. Wonderful!

AND IT"S WARSHDAY IN AMERICA. Anyone old enough to remember Monday washdays? Well, I've heard about them but I wasn't really there. ;'D
 
First the talent show, Andy; then the swimsuit contest, Greg

Truth be told, it's better for Greg to do the swimsuit contest than me. After all, there are young people who view this stuff, too... LOL!!!

Greg, nice choices for the backdrop. The Lady K. dryer looks just like the green 900 dryer and that stunning Kenmore 700 is the EXACT copy of the one in my video only your's looks so much better. That may change, tho, as soon as Gordon gets his hands on them... Now you have me wondering, what's the difference between that Lady K. and the 900? Gordon?

RCD
 
Audio Shot?...

No offense intended, but the classical music background is of no benefit to me (being 20/20 blind). Do these agitators sound differently or not?--Laundry Shark
 
whirly/kenmore agitators

Great video!! IMHO, i think WP/KM agitators were the best oscillating agitators of any maker. I think my two favorites are the original versions of the straight vane and surgilator.
 
Andy... the pix are GREAT and the video is even better! Excellent job! Thanks so much for doing this! AND the KM 900 set looks absolutely SPECTACULAR with a working light bulb in place! *drool*

I say the ROTO-FLEX was moving the clothes BETTER then the ROTO-SWIRL... ESPECIALLY when you consider (by Andy's own admission) the Kenmore 900 with the ROTO-FLEX had two MORE towels in the load then the white 70 series washer with the ROTO-SWIRL did!

Yes... it looked like the load was moving / rolling over THE SAME in both machines, BUT the ROTO-FLEX machine had a heavier load!
 
Kevin -

I have had much the same conclusion when I did an agitator swap comparison (per YOUR suggestion one night when we were on the phone together) in the Straight-Vane equipped 1976 Green Beast (now known simply as the G.B.). The S.V. takes up less room and moves laundry similarly to the Roto-Flex. I washed a load with a Roto-Swirl, and then rinsed it with the S.V. The Straight-Vane allowed for noticeably more room in the basket and there was more 'to the business' turn-over.

BUT, Steve/Gyrafoam and PeterH770 are right too - the Roto-Swirl is superb in handling regular loads while being a bit more gentile for things that require this. In the cases of most folks, perhaps that is a better all-around agitator? My laundry is largely sturdy cottons, gym clothes, towels, knit shirts, etc. but not every household is like that. I will say that on a less than full load, which is rare for me in a standard machine, I use delicate on a straight-vane equipped machine otherwise they are absolutely brutal in the thrashing department. Water goes everywhere - it's highly amusing if you're OK with drying the machine off head to toe when done.

Gordon
 
Yes Gordon, I agree....

My comments above were based soley on the amount of roll-over I saw in Andy's video.

Yes I also think the Roto-Swirl is a better all around agitator (and better looking too!) when compared to the Roto-Flex.

So Gordon, would you like me to send you my video camera so you can record your 9 way agitator test for posterity (and us here on AW) when you do it this summer?? *wink*
 
Kevin -

I am a ways away from doing such a test, but I may take you up on the camera offer. Actually one of my good friends here runs our IT dept. at work and he always has the latest and greatest in phones, cameras, and other devices and he's made the same offer. He's local so you're probably off the hook, but I'll keep that in mind!

One great hurdle to get over: deciding which machines to use. Do I use 9 different ones? That would be a hoot but also a logistical nightmare. I don't have a machine to use at this exact moment that has a drive block agitator, but that's going to change fairly soon. I also don't have a standard capacity DA machine ready. This though could change as well.

If I use 9 different machines, which was my original intent, here's what I have in mind:

1965 Whirlpool - Standard Surgilator in bakelite
1980 Whirlpool LHA5300 for the Super Surgilator
196? Kenmore 70 - Pregnant Roto-Swirl. This is the biggest challenge as I have a few candidates but no finished machine yet.
1963 Lady K OR the Green Kenmore 70 that Robert gave me for the Super Roto-Swirl.
1976 Kenmore 60 for the plastic Straight Vane
1972 Lady K in coppertone for the Vari-Flex
1965 Lady K OR the Green 900 for the Roto-Flex representation
1979 Kenmore 90 TOL machine for the DA

I do not have a standard machine with the bakelite straight vane, however I have a 24-inch machine with it and will install the agitator in one of the other washers, so I guess we're talking 8 different washers.

Gordon
 
Gordon...

Talk about having your own wash in... LOL! Have you ever considered buying a closed down laundromat just so you can have all the hook ups for all the machines at once? You could charge admission by calling it a Kenmore museum (although, you'd have to get rid of that Whirlpool - Uugghh!) LOL!!

RCD
 
Humble Apologies for My Lack of Patience

I had to listen through the musical intro. Eventually, the awesome sounds of those classic Kenmores came into "view." Many thanks for sharing this video.--Laundry Shark
 
I think we all took a peek, inside every Kenmore, just to see what the family had. RedCarpetDrew thank you for making the vid/ pics and the comparison, thats a lot of work. alr2903
 
I think the huge straight vanes would have no problem,...on top of that any surgilator...talk about tidal wave washing!
 
Thanks to you tube...i miss how powerful these WP/KM agitators were... and i do mean the original straight vanes and surgilators were.
 
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