Kenmore 800 dryer, which year.

[philr]

Today, I saw a Kenmore 800 dryer at a thrift store and it grabbed my attention as it had timed-drying only. I know it must be from the early 1960s but can someone give more details about this model. Were US 800 models similar back then or did they already have auto-dry?

 

[philr]

The model number tag.

 

[philr]

The old-style drum.

 

[philr]

A closer view at the timer.

 

[philr]

And another picture of the control panel. I think it looks rather nice but seems low on features... Is there a fluorescent behind this panel?

 

[tomturbomatic]

One immediate difference between US and Canadian models of that time is that you did not see US Sears dryers with a side-swing door. Also note that it is rated at 6000 watts. That is possibly the "Hi Speed" feature of the dryer's Soft Heat. If it worked like newer electric Soft Heat models, it would have had two heating elements, one at higher wattage and one lower. The operating thermostat only cycled the higher wattage element so that heat was being supplied constantly and the drying temperature did not have the great dips that usual disc thermostats caused when they had a 15-20F swing between cycling off and cycling back on. A dryer that drew 6000 watts would have been hard on its circuit breaker over the years because 6000 watts is running right up against the limit of a 30 amp breaker. It won't trip it immediately, but over the life of the dryer, it can affect the temper of the metal in the breaker and cause it to start tripping for no reason involved with the dryer or the circuit so the breaker will have to be replaced.

I remember that control panel from the early 60s.

 

[kenmore71]

Screams 1964 model year to me!

 

[swestoyz]

Mark is right - 1964 model year for sure. Love the maple leaf next on the control panel!

Ben

 

[whitetub]

Which thrift store ?

I would like to pay her a visit. I don't want to buy it, just take a look at it.

thanks,

 

[turquoisedude]

It's in Sherbrooke... The store is called Estrie-Aide, 345 Wellington Sud. It's a been an interesting source for both myself and Phil over the years. I think they were asking $50 for this one...

 

[Unimatic1140]

Yes it totally seems like a 1964 model, except being from North of the Border we don't know for sure.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

I love the little maple leaf on it!

 

[petek]

I can't recall ever seeing that dryer. Anyone got copies of the Simpson catalogs..

Is the lint door missing or just needing reattaching?

 

[philr]

It's missing but I don't think these are very hard to find.

 

[jetcone]

That Maple Leaf is cool

did all Canadian Kenmore products have the leaf??

 

 

 

 

[combo52]

Kenmore Soft Heat Dryer

This style panel was first used in 1964 here in the states on the 64 LKM and on a KM 800. The 64 LKM was also built with a full electronic dry control system during 1965 with the same styling.

As Robert mentioned we don't know when this dryer was sold in Canada, it would not surprise me if it was built after we had this style here.

These were good solid durable and easy to repair dryers, but they were not all that fast, in fact the Hi-Speed designation would probably get them into trouble for false advertising today. Even a MT HOH dryer with only a 4800 watt heater would dry as fast as this dryer, as would a GE and most other dryers built during this time period.

John L.

 

[philr]

John, I have seen those 1964 Lady Kenmores with the electronic sensor built in 1965 in other threads but I don't remember all the details about them. Did some 800 series still had timed-dry only with one no heat settings in the States in 1964-1965?

Also, were the 1964 models produced in 1965 still fitted with the old-style drum or with the new style? I guess if they originally designed the sensor strips to be installed in the old-style drum, the design that requires brushes used in the early models like the one you and Jeff converted to electric would have made more sense!

 

[70series]

To my recollection the Canadian models were sometimes out of sync with those in the US, so this style may have been used later. If the Canadian Kenmore model numbers read the same way as their US counterparts, the two digits after the decimal point signify the model year. The numbers here appear to be a 68 which would mean this is a 1968 model.

 

[whitetub]

I found this picture that I took in the mid-eighties at my friend's aunt house. It was a Harvest Gold Kenmore dryer. Canadian model. Don't know which year, and also a picture of the inside, using a semi-fish eye lens.