I would like to introduce you to Harold and Madge

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Back in May 2010 I answered a call for help and did a repair on the beautiful Whirlpool washer this very nice couple had.   They were really please it was working again and really loved this beautiful set.   (link to the original thread - below)

 

Now today, Natalie & Pej have a quickly growing family with 2 year old twins and a 5 month old.  Needless to say, the amount of laundry they were doing on a (daily) basis increased dramatically.   

 

The washer started leaking again and the dryer was making noise.  They didn't have time to deal with repairs, so as much as they really hated to do it, they decided to replace them with something new.

 

They put them on Craigslist but weren't willing to sell them to just anyone, they were looking for a loving home.   I made contact and agreed to wait until they found a dryer... and I brought them home yesterday.

 

So this, ladies & gentleman, is Harold and Madge (named by the previous owners)! 

A Top of the line, 1976 Whirlpool Mark 18 set.

 

This mornings visit with Lovepuppy and her WP Mark 18 set

So.... This morning I went over to Lovepuppy's house as promised, to check out a water leak and no regular speed operation (low speed only) on her beautiful Harvest Gold Whirlpool Mark 18 set. By the way.... THIS is Lovepuppy and she is 10 months old. Isn't she cute?? Awwww!

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[revvinkevin]

Controls

 

 

The control panels for the washer & dryer.

 

Note that each is a 2 Speed!

 

[revvinkevin]

Original info stickers

<div>The original information stickers are still in tact.</div>

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Interior of the washer.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Interior of the dryer.

 

[revvinkevin]

LIGHTS!

 

 

The obligatory lit control panel shot.

 

After getting them home Saturday, I unloaded them and decided to check them out.   The water leak is the pump and I discovered another problem, once the motor came on to start agitating, the tub also started to spin.   Hmm, that's not good.  I reset the timer to a drain position and same thing.   OK, time to check the wig wag and cam bars.  I remove the access panel and sure enough, the pin in the plunger (which moves the cam bar to engage or disengage agitation and spin) was broken.   Not big problem though as I have replaced plungers before.

 

The dryer desperately needs new rollers and makes a helluva racket.  But again, not a big problem.

 

So there you have it... the latest additions to my ever expanding collection!

 

Kevin

 

[philr]

That's a nice set! I'd like to see pics of them with the fluorescent lights turned on!

 

[philr]

Strange coincidence!

It seems you were still adding pics while I sent my previous post!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Whirlpool Custom

Congratulations Kevin on saving another vintage set, look in fine condition, how many spray rinses does this washer do before the deep rinse?

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Right on, Kevin!

A super nice set, and pretty at night to boot! Very cool! Lots of nice features and (to me, anyway) rare or at least uncommon models. Can you refresh my memory on the 2 speed aspect? I forgot how this was achieved exactly. Different sized motor pulley? Bonus for you that it's gas! That's just too cool!

Seems to me that I remember (and still have copies of in my in box...) a email exchange where someone who will not be named said he was full and laughed at those who hinted he'd get them anyway... LOL!

RCD

 

[frigilux]

They're a beautiful couple! It's rare to find on-dash agitation/spin speed selection on Whirlpool/Kenmore machines. The previous owners took great care of Harold and Madge.

 

[akronman]

Speed

The label on the dryer says 49 RPM for larger loads, 45 for normal loads, not much differene. This looks like a pretty unique model for sure, very nice.

And the washer has separate buttons for hi versus low speed agitation and spin, but also has a gentle cycle. I wonder which know overrode which selector buttons?

Nice equipment!

 

[pulltostart]

Kevin,
I'm not ordinarily a WP fan, but that's a beautiful pair! Love, love, love the console lights. Congratulations on a fabulous addition.

lawrence

 

[DADoES]

This is my absolute all-time favorite Whirlpool pair. Love the color highlighting on the consoles.

The dryer tumble speed is achieved by shifting the belt along a tapered motor pulley. This model is the last Whirly dryer to feature multiple tumble speeds. The previous LAE/I series (and maybe one more back) had three tumble speeds. The LAA and several previous TOL washer series had three agitate speeds.

 

[gansky1]

Very nice, Kevin. I remember the thread with this set, a couple of years ago now. Glad you're able to save them - you've been very lucky with the Whirlpool TOL sets!

 

[akronman]

Pics

Inside shots would tell more-----with the speed lever in that corner, and the motor and belt pulley straight down below that same corner on the base of the cabinet interior, I'm guessing it's a mechanical shift lever on the console, not an electric switch? Pictures please. Sorry to bug you, but this set is fully TOL and cool, we don't see this too often.

 

I have heard of, but have no knowledge of, other multi-speed tumblers from the fifties. Was it a worthwhile feature? Big difference in speed or pretty minor variations, like this?

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Kevin -

A big CONGRATULATIONS to you, and Harold and Madge too for the re-uniting. I think I remember the e-mail that Andy refers to, but was there really ever any question as to who would end up with these? They're where they belong if you ask me, and Greg is right - you do have good luck with WP TOL models.

It will be fun to see you get the work done on these machines and enjoy them.

Gordon

 

[combo52]

Whirlpool Mark-18 Pair

Great pair Kevin glad you were able to save them. Whirlpool TOL models were fairly rare machines as WP was usually sold by independent dealers so almost no dealer anywhere in the country ever displayed WP TOL laundry, where as Sears had a pair of LKMs in every major store and they promoted them as well. In the 70s when I worked at the MT-WP appliance dealer I think I sold one pair of this cool washer and dryer to someone that ordered them. Usually the WP distributor did stock these TOL models and in fact when I would go out on a service call and see a TOL WP laundry product I would ask the customer how they got these machines and they usually had a story that they knew someone that worked at the WP distributor or some other similar connection.

 

But on to these great machines, as Bob already mentioned this was WPs last dryer with the variable tumble speed control. With a clothes dryer even 1 or 2 RPM difference in tumble speed can make a HUGE difference in drying performance, too slow and clothing will just ball up and roll in the drum, a little too fast and the clothing clings to the drum and as you can imagine neither one  of these conditions promotes fast wrinkle free drying.

 

This feature really worked well but there were a few minor issues which is probably why it never appeared on KM dryers. You had to carefully change the tumble speed control when the dryer was running as it was a mechanical system that pulled the belt on a cone shaped grooved pulley with a shifter fork. These dryers tended to go through more belts than the regular WP built dryers because of this and the fact these dryers used the narrower 4 rib belt the the regular capacity dryers used instead of the HD 5 rib belt that all other Super Capacity WP built dryers used.

 

The other really cool thing about this dryer is that because it is a Gas Model it has a 30,000 BUT burner when you use a high heat selection. This would IMEO make this one if not the fastest drying clothes dryer for home use EVER, great save Kevin we will all be waiting to see performance test results, this should become your favorite everyday dryer.

 

And don't worry about actually using this dryer everyday it uses the most poplar belt ever used on a clothes dryer, 341241 and the motor, rear rollers, blower wheel are still in production about the only two or three parts that would ever cause you any problems and are hard to find are the timer and timer dial-knob and maybe the over sized idler pulley.

 

 

 

[golittlesport]

Nice score!

Love the chrome cap on the surgilator.