Kenmore Elite Washer and Dryer - $300 (Downingtown)

[ovrphil]

Brent - NIB - of course, what every realistic washer enthusiast would aspire to....they're out there, maybe in a warehouse...like the one at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark ..."we have top people working on it". Now if you do come across NIB and there's a few of them...I'm in Alpharetta. lol. Oh, that mold...had a FL GE and mold was always a problem. Running a bleach cycle and keeping the door open to air out ...simple things that are supposed to solve that problem...are maintenance issues. Most of us have been raised around the non-mold growing, 30-40 gallon vintage machines. To become oriented to addressing mold in our washers? Plus, people are too busy, can't focus, don't have the patience, etc. to keep a washing machine and drier in healthy, good working order. That stacks the cards against finding a good machine, so no wonder you are dreaming of NIB.

DaDoes - So, in my guess...you have the better machine, even though it's not the KQ2, it's still more refined oveall, than the Kenmore's...since Whirlpool, as mentioned, took the design further. Or...

Did I miss something there?

Thanks again, Martin - it's great information...really appreciate your input.

 

[a440]

Oh Phil...
You are a sweet guy to GE and their Air.
We will see.
Let's see what I find. You just never know.
Look out for me and I will you also.
What are you looking for?
I might have it in my cave.
B

 

[DADoES]

 
Phil, Whirlpool of course manufactured the Kenmore models as well as their own-branded units.  All of them got the same engineering updates.  Kenmore models had different control panel layouts and they removed the printed "Calypso Wash Motion" from the panel on the later revision for marketing purposes (and had a different dome on the wash plate) but they are the same mechanism as Whirlpool "under the hood."

 

[yogitunes]

as for the Neptunes....the door boot drain was added early on into the second generation (4000 series), and any replacements got the new drain boot...so was the wax motor updated in that series, whole new door lock system took over in the 5500 series....yes, I have 6 sets of them(5500 series), plus a stacked set(4000 series)...

and yeah, I have a complete set by whirlpool, plus another whirlpool washer, and one kenmore version....all KQ2's

yeah, a quick fix for that bleach inlet is just to put on a thicker rubber gasket, or just a dab of sealant around the outside can take care of that drip.....took a while the first time to figure where that leak was coming from....

factor in, all cycles, every fill, is roughly 3 gallons.....the only exception is WhitestWhites cycle, after the wash period, it drains, and refills with fresh water, but this time about 5 gallons, to make sure it has plenty of water to flush across the load for the independant bleach rinse, in COLD water....an extra rinse is by default for this cycle......works wonders.....

this machines wash process is compared to washing your hands, you add a little water, concentrated detergent, lathered up, and then rinsed away......by the last rinse, that water is clear, everytime.....and I don't use HE detergents.....

basically it adds enough water to saturate the load, plus enough to continue the waterfall.....individual loads may add a little more, depending on the size of the load.....

there are also a lot of spin sprays through out the cycle......

as mentioned by JohnL, which you can too, select the heavy duty cycle, and drop paper towels one by one into the machine, and by the end of the cycle, not one will be torn apart......

there are some really special care cycles about this machine.....

especially for washing pillows and stuffed animals(kids and pets, lol)....

and 'handwash' is beyond delicate care......

but like any machine, you have to be careful of coins, loose items, and things like underwires from bras, if you wear such things....they will get under that wash plate and clog the pump intake!....

every member who ever visits and sees these machines in action want one!...I offer to anyone, if your in my area, stop in, and we'll demonstrate it for you....

one last thing....these machines tend to build up a static charge, it will come on by itself, anytime, day or night.....best fix, leave unplugged for about 3 days......from then on, leave unplugged when not in use, and add a ground wire to the cold water pipe....had them since 2006

my first set I got from Lowes on clearance, it got the static charge, all they did was give me a refund for the full price, they didn't want to mess with it.....the guy still came out, and told me what to do....and its been working ever since...I paid 600.00 for the set on clearance, and they gave me a gift card refund of over 900.00!...the original price of the washer plus tax and warranty....surprised, but didn't argue!...

 

[DADoES]

 
Yogi has mentioned his static charge issue several times.  I don't have any problem with that, no malfunctions have occurred.  My machine has not been disconnected from power since it was put into daily use Nov 2008, except for the few times of a power failure.

 

[appnut]

This reminds me of  a vertical WP Combo unit--filter stream washing to the max.  I wonder if anyone at WP still remembered that when they were conceptualizing this.  It's fascinating to watch. 

 

[ovrphil]

Martin - what haven't you learned about your machines? Outstanding information and despite what Dadoes has experienced, what's a ground wire cost in time and effort? That five gallon cycle for whites is great.

DaDoes - you own a KQ1 and Martin's all KQ2's or you have been just lucky. Interesting, maybe it was model specific or Martin lives in a drier area overall, conducive to more static electricity generation? Anyways...

Thanks for explanation any of the distinctions between Whirlpool and Kenmore models. These use such little water, does anyone use a sud=saver feature(if present) , if you have a tub or do you send it out to the garden?

Brent - thanks for the offer. For me, there is the eye candy sets that I can't really store anywhere(at least here in Georgia) and would hate to just hoard and not display or use, even if occasionally. I've been looking at machines that will do more than our Maytag set and if possible, are visually a little more interesting to look at in style and features. I keep looking at the Kitchen Aid sets (the electronic panels), Calypso's, Crosley(they look like a Calypso...if I remember correctly), and maybe a higher model level in the Maytag line (A806). I should formulate a list, with priority. Brain hurts after trying to pin it all down. lol.

[this post was last edited: 8/31/2014-12:26]

 

[DADoES]

 
Some pics (6 years ago) for water usage reference.

1 = Test load.  I don't recall if it's wet or dry in the basket.

2 = Test load in my F&P IWL12.

3 = Calypso tub from back showing the wash level.  The pump sump is at bottom.

4 = Tub from front.  Keep in mind that the clothes are 100% saturated so there's more water used than appears by the tub level reference.  Top is the level for wash and all rinses except the final.  Bottom is final rinse, which fills higher when the softener dispenser flushes.

5 = All the water from the Calypso cycle (probably Whitest Whites which has an extra rinse by default) drained into a KitchenAid toploader.  Majority of the water use by far is for the rinses.

 

[yogitunes]

I have a few service manuals for them, but anything I can't figure out, credit goes to Glenn and JohnL for all their help....

my first one was a KQ0....and it had issues, replaced under warranty at the time....but then the univeral gave out, and it became a parts donor....

all my wash water goes out on the lawn....you will notice that side of the house having the quickest growing, greenest, thickest, plush grass....I wonder why?

this could be a glitch with just my machine for that static charge.....but if it happens, you now know what to do to fix it...

funny thing, you can't just bypass the lid switch on these, it has to know that the lid actually opened to reset the machine.....so a simple switch on the back of the control panel, wired in with the lid switch, allows this to function like it should, and with a flip, you can watch the whole show with the lid open......this kind of drama we like!

 

[ovrphil]

DADoes - number 5 photo: how many gallons is that? If the white cycle is 5 gallons per cycle, is that about three rinse cycles and another two or three wash cycles....no idea how many gallons were used, but that does prove the whites get plenty of water for cleaning and rinsing.

Martin / Dadoes - I know there are few new topics in aw.org, so I just googled Calypso and found this link where you have made some helpful suggestions to someone who was having problems with their Calypso, including the grounding to prevent static charges. There's always a chance, it could help someone else.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?44355

if the sofener dispenser is filled with just water, does that trigger an extra amount of rinse water, then?

I like a window on the lid, but I guess there isn't an option, w/o making it yourself. I like windows on both machines, even if I might not be watching a whole cycle.

The Calypso came in white and black - any other colors? ( I'm envisioning a black-cherry metallic, which could look stunning in the right lights).

Phil [this post was last edited: 8/31/2014-22:59]

 

[a440]

Phil has caught the bug! Phil has caught the bug!

 

[ovrphil]

I'm a curious type, who has always enjoyed so many things, including working with my hands(creating or repairing). I'm trying to identify what's out there in appliances and sort out what I like and don't like. But you said "bug" and I can't help but comment. The real bug for me is mid-century architecture, cars, music, appliances, and art. But washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, and refrigerators are all part of the appliance bug.

I've been looking and listening to what others like and why so I can better pinpoint what I might like and why. My visual side would just take over if I let it and grab everything that is eye candy - there's plenty to go wild over. There are so many beautiful vintage machines, many I knew about and forgot existed, until seeing some of them here at aw.org. Then there so many I've never seen before and fall over in disbelief that the USA made these incredibly beautiful looking machines. I wish I could list all the examples, but the attached machine is just one example that was not remembered in my former magazine peruses, but one that brings a lot of YES's (fyi, source from : http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?14859). For these vintage machines, the fact that they wash or dry clothes is nearly secondary to me compared to the aesthetic quality(I must have lot of company?).

I'm not equipped in space to take on collecting more than two sets of washers and dryers. For the few Craiglist items that I've turned up for any interested aw.org member or lurker, I'm happy to know they're going to a good home. There's a deep knowledge base here and willingness to help that is greater than the sum of the collections. I don't think any machine is worth more than the spirit that comes from the person who shares.

Whatever the bug, thanks alot for your help and ideas and making the experience of just being here a plus.

Phil

 

[a440]

Nothing wrong with that.
It is what makes the appliance world go round and round.
Thanks for you all of you heads up post!
I appreciate them all.
B

 

[DADoES]

 
I imagine it's 30+ gallons.  I think the KA takes 27 gallons for a full water level, which is several inches lower than the level in the picture.

Smaller or larger loads and different fabric types take accordingly less or more water per how much the clothes absorb.

All cycles have only one wash period.  Adding the (16 min) Soak option still is one combined soak & wash, there is no drain between soak and wash.

Reference the 5-part video which is a full Normal cycle. There's a dilution bleach rinse at end of the wash period (no drain) and 4 distinct rinses with a final spin spray, which I suppose could be considered a 5th rinse being as it's fairly long.  All cycles have four or five rinses (whichever is the right number, and it may vary per cycle), with the Extra Rinse option adding another.  Whitest Whites I believe adds one more rinse by default to help deal with the 1 cup of chlorine bleach that is assumed to be used.

The Calypso has no way to sense whether or not softener is in the dispenser so the softener dispenser flush occurs in every final rinse with the same volume of added water.  Same for bleach, the dispenser is flushed on every cycle, not just Whitest Whites.

As I recall, Whitest Whites at end of the wash period drains some of wash water then refills to top-off the water level again and flushes the bleach dispenser (bleach flush itself is an insignificant amount of water).

Whirlpool available colors were white, pewter/platinum, and biscuit/bisque.  Kenmore had ebony/black.

 

[yogitunes]

mine do a heck of a lot of spin sprays, either at low speed for saturation, and during high speed spins.....

the dispensers(fabric softner/detergent) also do a lot of flushes with fresh water...I figured to keep them clean, and during pump out, it helps rinse any residue located in the bottom of the outter tub towards the drain sump....

which in turn, fill the sump area with clear water, ready for the next fill/waterfall, eliminating suds returning back to the load....

that sump is a unique feature, using a double chamber with two floating balls, and depending on the direction of the pump, can cause negative or positive pressure to open one, or seal another, for the process of draining, or the waterfall...

the belt on these is guaranteed for life, not that Whirlpool would actually honor it...never seen or heard of one breaking yet...

the main reason whirlpool stopped making these was not the board issues alone, it actually cost them more to build it than what they were selling them for, according to JohnL...

it would help the belt drive Cabrios a lot if a waterfall was added to saturate the load while it is washing....yet odd, the direct drive ones have it, and add more water per fill....

 

[ovrphil]

A pair of WP pewter/platinum

Just to add to this thread, here's what I think is the pewter/platinum color. The owner describes washer as dead, needing a board; so, would that mean both boards need to be replaced or is that Kenmore brand only? Cost to do both..from ebay, a new board is $$$$$$$$$ : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-OEM...835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3d2dd3eb
(thoughts of buying another washer come easily, when I see the price of just ONE board..ouchey).

Martin - wow... thanks for adding more details; are the boards prone to failure even after replacement or is the last available replacement board good and not prone to failure?

Is the Whirlpool panel in this model(KQ1, 2, or 3, who knows?) easier to use than the Kenmore panel? I am so used to knobs and having a tactile hands on feeling to activation, how you like the under-the-panel-skin buttons? It looks to me and I can't tell, that the Kenmore panel I've shown above at the beginning of this thread might be easier to use? No basis, just looking at it, to me(or I'm full of more hot air).

Compared to many standard agitator, water-filling tubbed washers, does a Calypso take a lot longer to wash and dry clothes? I can see it would save time if you have a lot of the same color clothing (as you probably do, Martin with your size family). I read that the wash and dry times for these washers are much longer compared to, say, the traditional agitator machines. If one wash cycle is 16 minutes, that's not much different than our early 80's Maytag machine. I might be missing details where the consumer is not mentioning that they had three loads of wash...but from our FL GE W &D experiences, that set took a long time to wash and dry just one load of clothing.

Again, thanks for sharing more about the Calypso. If you all have been using these as daily drivers w/o panel failures, mold buildup, and inordinate wash/dry cycles, that's good news to me. Phoenix ad reads:

Whirlpool GAS Dryer and washer - $100 (glendale):
" Whirlpool Calypso Gas dryer with Senseon works great! Non working Calypso Washer comes along with dryer for free! Control board needs to be replaced on washer. Worth fixing if you have the know-how. Dryer is in great working condition. The washer worked perfectly when operational. Stainless steel tub. Washer will keep turning off. Rather than fix it, I purchased a new set. Dryer alone is worth the price. "

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/app/4638778120.html

 

[yogitunes]

once you get a set of revised boards.....you should not have any problems...

wash times are nominal for the most part....a 'normal' cycle takes about 43 minutes....times can vary if you add extra wash time, or extended spin, extra rinse....also prewash, extended soak treatments....

normal cycle, heavy soil, extra rinse, extended spin.....55 minutes.... it does have that 800rpm spin, and dry times are roughly about 35 to 55 minutes depending on the load....after all, that is a Whirlpool design, theres something about that Soft-Heat that laeves clothes almost wrinkle free....

I have matched sets of the Neptunes and Frigidaires, but given a choice, it would be all Whirlpool/Kenmore dryers.....I tend to favor those over all the others...

that is a super nice set, love the color, and not a bad price as well.....JohnL can help you with parts...
thats way too expensive for that board....shop around....

 

[ovrphil]

DaDoes/Yogitunes/A440 : Were the dryers of the Whirlpool or Kenmore models beset with any problems, or pretty much all the same in terms of drying results and mechanical reliability(?). Thanks for the details of the model numbers to consider, flaws with the panels or u-joint and other caveats. I'm looking for a Calypso set, but not willing to spend more than $150-175. NIB? Brent, I wouldn't be so lucky to find that on CL, but who knows? Anyways - the dryers ...were they problem-free, overall?

 

[yogitunes]

if anything, you can never go wrong with a Kenmore/Whirlpool FSP design in any version they put out, there is something about that SoftHeat step down that no other machine has, it gives great wrinkle free results every time.....

I mainly have matched dryers to the Neptunes and Frigidaire, but preference always goes to the Whirlpool when ever possible.....night and day on how the clothes come out.....

can't say I have seen any issues with the dryers.....

funny you mention NIB.....I got these two sets from staged homes for 100.00 a set, granted not in the box, but never hooked up, just put in place for looks until the model home sold...and really lucked out with two of them...keep looking, you would be surprised at what may be out there when you least expect it.....

 

[yogitunes]

a number of members have found machines, either NIB, never used, or close to it.....

I got this 1974 Maytag, still on the shipping crate, box was torn off before I got there.....and paid 30.00.....now at home with Ultramatic/Louie.....

your treasure is out there waiting for you!....