Kelvinator from the 80's????

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1980s Kelvinator wsher

This is a Franklin design owned by White Industries by this time. Of all the TL washers out there from this era this is the last one I would add to my collection and I don't think that even my collection will get this large LOL. It works like Frigidaire TL washers of the past 20 or so years, lots of wash tub indexing OK cleaning if not loaded too heavily, but no real exciting virtues. It is a washer for people who don't care about washers.
 
A friend of mine had this washer and I abolutely loved it. I like the console and especially care for the indexing tub!!! I remember my babysitter back in the early 80's had a White Westinghouse washer, and my godmother had the White Westinghouse washer with the blue agitator. I wish they still made the washers with the indexing tubs. To me, they cleaned really well, if they were properly used. This new stuff that is out, can't compare to the washers from the early 80's!
 
We had that washer in Gibson livery when we first bought this house. That thing was so loud, you thought it was marching up the basement stairs!

 I went out and found a harvest gold Maytag 806 on a trade in pile. Got it going, replaced the Gibson with it, and never looked back.
 
Kenny -

That is a cool story. There is something that "gets" me when talking about taking a machine from a trade / haul-off / junk pile and getting it going again. People send their machines off thinking they're going to the junk yard, and here someone else is paying the utility bill and buying detergent for the machine for years to come. I LOVE IT!

Gordon
 
Gordon, that 806 lasted us for 7 years or so, until we replaced it with another Maytag off of a trade in pile, an A 511. The 806 went to my sister in law, who used it for several years. Then I got it back, and sold it for $100.00.

 

I'm sure it's still going somewhere.....
 
I have 2 of those Kelvinators from the same era, a BOL and a MOL. Though they're nothing special, they are fun to play with! The angel wing agitator and indexing tubs do create some drama. I use them primarily for dog bedding and shop rags. Cleaning the bed o' nails filter is a pain, however!
 
When my cousin and her husband built their home in 1978 it came with WCI Kelvinator appliances.  The washer lasted until the mid 80's, and the range and fridge until the late 80's.  The dryer was replaced in the mid 90's because my cousin lives out in the country and hangs alot of laundry outside to dry.  This probably helped it last as long as it did.  The washer actually washed quite well, especially given that alot of dirty clothes from the barn & fields went through that machine.
 
Kenny -

I just saw your reply to me on making good use of a machine off a "pile". That's very cool. So, between you and your sister in law, you got maybe 10 years use out of the machine, then sold it for decent money to boot. Can't beat that!

It's kinda like the Kenmore set that I bought for my sister in 1989. She wanted to borrow my '86s which were in storage, and I knew if I let her, they would not return as I left them, so I bought her her own set, used which also came from the proverbial pile. That solved a dilema I had at the time, so the money was already well spent. In so doing, I met my washer mentor who got me started in the rebuilding and selling, and we became friends and I enjoyed the hobby/business for many years. My sister got 11 years service from the Kenmores, and they weren't broken when they were replaced then stored with my others. Later, I found this site, got the Kenmores out of storage as the first AW-inspired machines I worked on, and I have been using them for 4 years. The washer is one of my favorites to this day.

Gordon
 

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