Kenmore Elite Washer and Dryer - $300 (Downingtown)

[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!....

 

[ovrphil]

wow, Martin, nothing sweeter than getting a NIB or close to it. That Maytag was such a great find. If I hear about more stories, I'll be dreaming too much of NIB...lol! But thanks for the encouragement and your feedback on the Calypso dryer.

Phil