I GoT ... TUNED !

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Pic 4. I saw this machine at Martins place about two years ago and fell in love with it.

Because this was the washer not the cabnet, where I first saw a speckle basket and a straght vane agitator.

When I very young at age 4... I put my hat in the washer and turned my Grandmothers wash blue.

So she always told that story to me... she said my bleach water and your brand new shorts and hat

and you pitched that navy hat in my white wash which turned it again navy blue.

I like that story because she raised me and was a strong force in my life.

And I beleave since she no longer is here , strange things has been happening with washers that comes my way.

As you may see in a video I did with this machine.

 

So finally after talking to Martin for about a year or more we got a date to exchange machines.

I had a 1-18 in my brothers home which I got in 1999 with a window I gave that one to Martin.

The only thing wrong with it , is that it has a small leak that I thought was very minor.

And that was not the case, it seems maybe the repair Martin attempted to fix got worse.

And I hope somebody who are the experts on Frigidaire washers can guide him on the repair.

He can chime in on what he did and maybe what he can do to hopefully get it running properly.

I hope it's not a loss... I feel really bad about it because I want him to enjoy the machine as well as I am really enjoying what he gave me.

I want to thank Martin for coming and dropping off the washer, and putting up with my brothers garage which was messy.

He is going through a divorce and she and he are tearing everything upside down half of hers and his it's not good.

She is not the best person right now 
smiley-yell.gif
 

 

I eventually want a straght vane to go with this washer if I can get one It's one of my favs in bakelite.

Here is the portable Kenmore at John's & Toms place in Maryland I put a navy hat on the agitator for my grandmother Lucille.

I thank Robert showed a picture of this machine in his moms kitchen when he was a baby.

 

 

aldspinboy++5-5-2011-12-43-52.jpg
 
Pic 5. Martin got this washer from his brother in laws mothers house, he said that she was very minamal person and kept

everything pretty nice in her home.

I can tell you that the machine is in pretty much in great condition it's a workhorse and it still sounds like it today.

The only Minors are..

 

1. The motor buzzes a little then goes away, when I pull the cardboard paper up top the motor it stops.

So maybe a little tightning will do it ..Then it goes away so more of it breaking in since it sat for awhile will stop that.

Any suggestions well be appreciated.

 

2. Has deep rust and or very stained basket...it is not turning water any color as it had several good cleanings.

And it still shines , Not a real bother at this time but have a back up basket.

For a future restore..but if any one have suggestions would be great because im still working on the 64 Kenmore which is about done.

Does anyone see that basket as a real eyesore...

otherwise for now it washes great !

 

3. Heavy buildup on the tub cap and slight rust spray panting or strong cleaning ...any suggestions on heavy buildup, and what products ?

aldspinboy++5-5-2011-13-33-54.jpg
 
Dirty tub

I always use CLR, and I leave it to soak for a half hour or so, regardless of what the bottle says. Then scrubbing and sometimes Ajax or Comet, and Brillo. And when that's done, I figure it's as clean as a 50 year old machine can get, and I live with it.

I'm still searching for a Rollermatic, my folks had one from about 1973, so congrats on your or Martin's Frigidaire.

I like that whirpool, hopefully you'll throw lots of pics our way when you start work on it. My 1959 is a just-finished project, it would be interesting to see what changes they made in a few years time.

Martin Yogitunes is good to work with, lots of smarts and info and experience, and easy to talk to--he's helped me long distance on a couple of machines, and always a successful repair and a good fun guy to talk to--
 
Pic 8.

Pic 8. This is a great cotton washer .

You can set it at the off area and get an 7 or 8 mins extra wash time.

Totals a 22 to 24 mins wash time great for white clothes or very heavy soiled laundry .

This machine drains longer then the other Kenmores about 3 to 4 mins but the pump is really fast .

Gordon talked about this in threads, but I thought they where later models.

Spins longer after the wash phase then gives its traditional 4 sprays.

Only 2 sprays after the last rinse. 

You can fill it where you want it and wash at the 8 min mark for low and med water levels.

But gives you full water level at the start.

Martin tweak it to a nice high water level

aldspinboy++5-5-2011-14-17-23.jpg
 
Oh, I love that Whirlpool!!  I am sure that there is a product like 'Lime Away' that you can use to clean out that orange residue.

 

Does this model have the tub light??
 
Pic 9. Well there has been a several RCA machines members are restoring and finding lately I'm wishing you guys the best on your work and finds.

 

The washer is fun brings back a lot of memories with BOL models .

I'm happy the washer gods gave me Three pretty outsatnding Whirlpool Products two of which are under the Kenmore badge.

And they all have different personalities and quality.

I'm grateful
smiley-smile.gif


They are three videos to see.

 Starting with The Navy video.

Give me a moment to load them in .

aldspinboy++5-5-2011-14-44-25.jpg
 
Glad its all working out the way you wanted Darren.......it is a workhorse of a machine.....but I think thats is due to what was always told to me, and although I love all the gadgets and bells and whistles of machines I never use, the basic machines last the longest......outside of the stained tub and splash shield, it was kept in very good condition, for its age, very clean underneath too!....and you expect to see cobwebs, or splattered grease/oil, even underbody rust starting somewhere, and there was minimal when I got it, and the shine on the body and top, you would think its a 1962 model, or ever really used.......

I was lucky enough also to get the manuals for this machine.....hopefully Darren will scan them in for you guys to see, inside shows all the different features of other machines for that style........I never knew Whirpool had a filterflo agitator mounted pan, similar to GE's......but never have seen one.....

only thing I realy like about this machine was the MagicMix Dispenser Filter......and I preferred a larger capacity....if it wasn't in such great shape, I would have probably changed the whole top over to a larger capacity base....

Enjoy my friend....this machine will probably last another 20/30 years.....

Many thanks to all members for letting me have the chance to help out where I can, working on these machines is great relaxing therapy!
 
Pic 10. The Navy video...
This is where it gets a little weird took this one fast but I did not see the water turn navy when I Recorded it.
Could be lighting but I think its Lucille if not the joke is still back to me lol.
Robert put his videos of the Surgelator Vers 1-18 Jetcone great videos.
I think straght vane agitators are the best at rolling or can handle jeans very well... for sure the Surgelator is one of them.
Here it is with three pairs and one shorts.
 

 <iframe width=480 height=390 src= frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Pic 11. Washing whites with two grey briefs.
The pump is on continuous sometimes you do here it and sometimes you dont.
You can here it in this one, my friends mom three cycle large capacity
machine did that and was the first time I encounterd that as a young boy.
These is the long cycle you can get on that dial.
Again about 22 to 24 min of wash time.
Martin also put a new belt on.

<iframe width=480 height=390 src= frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Pic 12. The Orange video Rinseing , Drain..Spin.
Yes Whirlpools are not known for high spinning.
Robert says he do's not put towels in his WP or KM machines.
I do and after most cottons or clothes period I spin them in the Bosch or Asko.
Sometimes its great for shirts.
I like how the suds subsides In WP machines after mins of agitation seems clear at the end of there rinse cycles this was longer for video purposes.

Darren k

<iframe width=480 height=390 src= frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
This is one of those machines where a Kenmore Vari-Flex would work great because of the single speed motor, you could change the fins to give you a gentle or vigorous agitation depending on your load.......

you have to admit, this has a strong agitation especially with the jean load...nice rollover on all of the loads.......it is a shame these machines don't have a higher spin speed.....but you can't have everything all in one machine....

Love that waterfall filter.....
 
Darren -

That is an absolutely spectacular machine, and it is even better I think that you like it so much.

I love the agitator and cap - it is the exact configuration that both my grandmothers had in their clone Whirlpools from the same era. I loved those machines as they were a treat to watch for me - similar in sound and operation to our Kenmore, but different enough to be fun for me. There is a real difference in sound and visual performance between a surgilator and an original Roto-Swirl, so I really enjoyed watching these. LOVE that thumbnail cap!!!

About the pump air sounds (cavitation) that some machines make and others don't. My experience has been in general that this noise fluctuates with the amount of air that is allowed into the drain hose once the water is largely out of the machine. On machines with a direct pump to drain hose (meaning from the pump straight out to the cabinet), this is quite easy and air getting to the backside of the pump is direct. On machines with filters in the way, or two-way vales, etc, this gets more complicated.

While using a machine in the garage that I was draining into the yard, I noticed that swiveling the drain hose (which kinked or opened the pump to drain hose inside the machine) I could raise or lower the sound of cavitation. Then I started putting two and two together regarding the machines with self-cleaning filters. Some drain at the top of the cabinet, others at the bottom. Those that drain from the top retain more water in their hoses and are less likely to make audible cavitation sounds. I think eventually as machines exhaust their water during spin, most will make some sort of sound. The loudest are the newer 1980s machines with the high-volume pumps (the newer two port and three port design). These move more water per unit time and thus more air and they produce the most noise.

I have also noticed that recent use of fabric softener will amplify this sound, though I don't know if that is caused by a change in the water itself from the softener or if the softener lubricates or coats the impeller of the pump.

Your machine is cavitating during agitation because the top portion of your pump is running basically dry until water flow is reversed during drain. I strongly suspect that if you put your drain hose into a bucket or tub full of water while the machine is agitating, the cavitation will stop.

Anyway, NEAT machine Darren and I am so glad you got it!!!

Gordon
 
KM VARI-FLEX AGITATOR

The Vari-Flex would have indeed been better suited to a one speed machine, in fact I once sold a basic WP one speed washer with one that I installed in it. If you think about the fact that the VF agitator was first used on Three speed LKMs it was kind of silly as you could have 12 different washing actions by using all four settings of the agitator coupled with the three motor speeds.
 
This was the exact washer my Mom had when I was a kid. That Black area that is marked right before the normal wash time is for suds return (that's why the pump is running in your vid). Mom had a suds save on her machine. It was a great washer. The thing lasted 10 yrs for her of doing laundry for 6 kids and two adults.
 
"TUNED" Indeed !

You guys must have had a blast doing this. Look at that Surgilator go! Stiff jeans don't stand a chance. Such Energy--makes you want to dance.

 

I really like the fast drain, thought you had edited till I read read what you said. And a FOUR MINUTE rinse--all WP/KM's should have one.

 

Thanks for the multiple views.

 

Joke: Maybe the water turned Navy because the Surgilator kicked the blue right out of the jeans.
 
Message from Darren (Aldspinboy)


Darren wanted me to say that he really appreciates all of the responses that you have made to this post.

He apologizes to everyone - he has temporarily lost his internet access, and will respond in person just as soon as the service has been restored.

Mike
 
Darren, that is almost the Whirlpool that started it all for me! The dial is almost identical (Mama's had two small knobs) and the lint filter is spot-on. Ours had the chrome "surgilator" cap, and Mama trained all of us to take it off after every wash, lift the agitator, and put the cap under it "so it could dry out under there." That machine washed thousands of diapers and kept on washing until I was in high school. The matching dryer lasted until 1995 or so, when I bought her a new Whirlpool to replace it. She hated it. Didn't dry fast enough (she only used it on rainy days and in the winter) for her taste.

Ah, the search for a 1963 or 1964 model continues...
 
Vari-Flex and 1-speed

John, Ihad a secretary in the late 1970s/early 1980s who had a keyboard LK.  Her mom had been a home ec teacher all her life in a smll town school district not far from whre I now live (small world huh?) Anyway,  she only used cottons white & colored cycle buttons and simply changed the ettings on the variflex to meet the purpose of her load lol. 
 
Towels in the WP/KM

I have noticed in my 1959 Whirlpool, with towels or blankets, stuff that really holds lots of water, that the spin extraction pulls out enough water against the sides of the tub that it fills the filter pump port and I get more water out the filter once the spin-spray has started. That means that the fabric softener is already in the tube and runs into the filter and through the clothes during spray, then out the drain, and then the deep rinse has almost no fabric softener left. So while I do wash towels and anything in the WP/KM, I tend to add the softener by hand at the right time, instead of using the automatic dispenser.

I have never seen the filter pumping water during spin with shirts, pants, etc, only towels and heavier items, small blankets, that hold so much water in.
It just goes to show, like Yogi said, you can't get everything in each machine, and each different type of load can do better or worse in different machines.
 

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