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I think this was an A702... it was in the house when my parent's bought it in 1966. I've been saving this panel since 1977, hoping to make a lamp out of it.

My mom was never much for appliances, she was/is a great cook, but never really embraced the modern stuff. She grew to love her automatic washer and dryer, and today loves the microwave. The rest od the stuff(dishwasher, disposal, mixer, blender, electric can opener ect...) she could probably do without.

5-10-2007-16-55-54--hoover1060.jpg
 
Jeff ... YES; I believe that's a 702. It has the pre-wash and soak period, right? Also, is the "Maytag" written in gold and there are gold dots on the glass?

The 702 was introduced in mid 1964 and those were the 2 features that made it more unique to the 700.

It's funny; but they didn't incorporate the cold rinse dial onto the control panel until they introduced the 06 line.

OH BOY ... save that; that would make a great lamp!! :-)
 
Oh, Jeff; NICE!

You want to hear a "horror" story? Well ... when I was cleaning the control panel on my A700S, I "lightly" took a damp paper towel and wiped it across the back of the glass; look what happened to the "Maytag" isgnia when I did that.

Needless to say, I'm sick about that.

So ... be careful if you clean the back of your glass!!

5-11-2007-07-47-34--geoffdelp.jpg
 
Jeff ... here's my timer dial; no pre-wash or soak and the features were "round".

Your timer dial looks like they were designing the dial for the "06" machines.

You have a great looking control panel AND the machine was in "Coppertone" no less!!!! :-)

5-11-2007-07-50-11--geoffdelp.jpg
 
yes coppertone...

That A702 was a snappy looking machine, I STILL like coppertone to this day!

Sadly the A702 didn't have a very long life. Mom kinda treated it like it was a wringer(she could never just put clothes in it and leave it go thru a cycle) so it died young from LOTS of use!
In addition to the control panel, I also have the chrome lint filter and black fabric softner cup, as well as the "M" emblem off the front of the machine.

I see what you mean about the letters, I will be very careful handling mine!
 
Jeff ... Ooooh ... you've got the stainless steel lint filter and black dispenser cup along with the "M"; very nice!!

I bought a new polypropylene agitator and they "threw in" a turquoise lint filter/dispense cup. Looks a little different; but will work.

Not sure how I can fix that gold lettering; probably can't! BUT I will make sure I don't do that again!! :-) All I used was water on a paper towel; strange ... you'd think it'd be stronger than that.

How did your Mom use it like a wringer? Did she take the clothes out before it spun to reuse the wash water?
 
she was always messing with it...

Maybe things have changed, but I doubt it. Mom never could leave the washer do its thing by itself.

The lid switch on the A702 was disabled. She was always opening/closing the lid checking to see if there was enough detergent, or stopping it to soak(the A702 washed the tail end of diapers for me, and all of them for my sister) or she was taking something out if she'd felt it washed enough or adding more stuff... She was always afraid of overloading, and most of the time washed 1/2 loads using the full water setting...
She always felt she had to watch it for something!
A couple of times our A608 went off balance and didn't shut off, instead it came walking out of its place right into the middle of the kitchen, the fill and drain hoses stretched tight...
Maybe thats what she was afraid of?
 
David ... Thank you!! I jumped on their website; their product might be a possibility. I know I don't want to touch it any more than I have to!!

Jeff ... well; it sounds like your Mom is like us!! :-) Lids up!! :-) I don't pull any clothing out, however, and I let everything go the full cycle.

That's the "wringer" user talking! :-) That's the "neat" thing about wringer washing; you judge amount of water, length of wash time, etc. It's all the rinsing that's the killer!! I now "cheat" and use the automatic for the deep, final rinse; so much easier.

The 608 didn't shut itself off? Oh boy; I bet that scared everyone; it would me!! When my LAT is out of balance; you know it ... I'm usually right there before it even shuts off.
 
A608 and shutting off...

Geoff,
our A608 didn't always stop when it went off balance, I think maybe because it was off balance alot, and towards the end of its life it had a very difficult time balancing. I always thought there was something that could have been tweaked in the suspension that may have helped it. The off balance switch was also probably worn out.
Of course mom's washing habits probably caused the issue in the first place. She'd fill the tub 2/3 full of clothes, and use the "extra large" water level. When the washer would spin, all the clothes would pile up, causing it to go off balance and sometimes walking across the floor.
I've had my A608 for just over a year now, and never had it go off balance once.
I'm still amazed that mom's A608 survived 19 years with her!
 
Jeff ... My mom, too, has a thing about overloading the machine. The LAT capacity is (I think) about 20 gallons on the "Super" setting. She uses that setting a lot but I never hear the machine go out of balance when she uses it. She'll check out the machine when I'm using it sometimes and if I've got my queen-sized flannel sheets and king pillow cases in the LAT for a rinse she'll say, "That's a lot of clothes in there; don't wreck the machine!" :-)

I'm the one who takes care of all the throw rugs from the breezeway and bathrooms. I now use one of the wringer washers for that and deep rinse with the wringer, too, because I "might damage the automatic."

I do, on ocassion, use the final spin on the LAT for squeezing out the rest of the water from the rugs but now that spring/summer is here, I can just throw them out on the clothesline instead of the dryer.

Does your mom still have the A608?
 
Gary ... I bet on the 806 you do bypass the off-balance switch; guess that's why it wouldn't shut off!

You know what? On the A700, you can lift the lid and pull the dial back out and you have then "bypassed" the switch! Also, when you lift the lid with the machine running, it pops the little switch back in which activates an arm and it actually pushes the timer dial back in.

On the 700, the switch has to be "out" instead of "in". There's an indentation in the lid instead of the little bump! I was so surprised. When I took the control panel off, I can see the the arm that pushes back on the timer dial.

I wonder how many homemakers figured that one out?

I only discovered it because I was trying to use the "clothespin trick" on the lid and it kept shutting off the machine. Of course, the clothespin would push the switch in thus pushing the dial in.

I guess, in this instance with the 700, the unbalance switch would still work with the lid up; it would push the dial in.
 
Geoff, my A700 was the same way - lift the lid while holding the dial out and it would bypass the switch. My grandmother would have loved that - her Highlander switch had to be held with one hand while feeding clothes in with the other. (or playing in the water as I did) She used her automatic like a wringer to save the wash-water again and again.
 
Mom's A608's

lasted til 1996 and were replaced with a dependable care set.
The DE608 dryer was working fine, but the washer had some issues, the previously mention balance problems, as well as a sticky timer.
The set was not junked, but sold to someone I was working with at a summer job(I was in college at the time)
 
Sigh of relief from LA that the double tubs are staying! You may be my only chance to once again do a wringer washing the way the good Lord intended!
 
Greg ... I was reading the Helical Drive service manual this weekend and it made no mention about bypassing the safety switch with the dial; I thought that was strange. I guess Maytag didn't want anyone to know that it could easily be done! Safety First ... for both the homemaker and those inquisitive children! :-)

Jeff ... is your Mom still using her dependable care set? That's what I have; they are very nice and the tub on the washer is really big.

Scott ... yes; there will be double tubs. I just can't get rid of them; I use them for a lot of other things, too. They are perfect at Thanksgiving and Christmas for the roasting pans, etc. Also, for cleaning and rinsing mops; so much easier to use two tubs.

It will be a little ingenious to use them with the A700S next to them; I think I've got it figured out though.
 

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