Kenmore History

[bobbins]

I was surfing the net and came accross this neat Sears time-line......

1957 "Sears introduces Kenmore Turbo-Matic, the first washer-dryer combination. An all-electric model is $379.95, and an electric wash/gas dry model is $419.95"

Bob

http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/detail/kenmore/1920s.htm

 

[Unimatic1140]

Great Picture, but...

Kenmore is probably the worst with stretching the true. I've seen them claim in a few different "time-line" style write things like :

"Kenmore introduces the first agitator automatic washers". WRONG it was Blackstone 6 years earlier.

"Sears introduces Kenmore Turbo-Matic, the first washer-dryer combination". WRONG it was Bendix 4 years earlier.

"Kenmore invents the very first self-cleaning lint filter". WRONG it was GE, and 11 years earlier.

I could go on. I suspect these writers are not purposely lying, they just have absolutely no idea of what they are talking about.

 

[bobbins]

You have to admit...the pictures are cool......

 

[roto204]

I think...

...it's contextual. I get the impression that there is an understood "our" being applied in such statements.

So, in terms of the Kenmore brand, the date is a first, but it's not an absolute first bar-none.

Of course, if they'd improve the phrasing a tad, it'd be more obvious.

 

[toggleswitch]

Can't tell if this one has dispensers. Don't see a hatch on top.

 

[alr2903]

cousins?

Robert is this the Kenmore cousin to that big WP combo you own? arthur

 

[appnut]

Arthur, yes it is!! I remember seeing this first-year model at the 2002 convention in the awrehouse where we had dinner. It didn't have a window.

 

[mixfinder]

Sears not Truthful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robert, Oh Great Swamhi, say it ain't so! Anyone who believed anything Sears offered up as forthcoming and truthful, wouldn't have been buying their products in the first place.
Kelly

 

[alr2903]

dual action

the dual action agitator late 70's didnt make the cut. oversight? IIRC that truly was a Kenmore 1st. Hey Bob thanks for your reply.

 

[mixguy]

What about other agitator designs

What about the "pentavane" and "pentaflex" that Kenmore washers employed? Where do they fit in the agitator timeline? Was their design first with Kenmore? GE had a self cleaning lint filter? Was it a filter-flo washer?

 

[anon8888]

Electronic Controls

wasn't Kenmore the 1st washer to have the electronic controls? If so, what year?

 

[westytoploader]

There was no Penta-Flex agitator

The two 5-vane belt-drive agitators that Kenmore put out were the Penta-Vane and Penta-Swirl. I'm not sure of the exact year, but they were introduced sometime in the mid-1970's.

 

[jasonl]

The electronic controls came out in 1978.

 

[Unimatic1140]

GE had a self cleaning lint filter? Was it a filter-flo washer?

No it wasn't a Filter-Flo. GE first used a self-cleaning filter system from 1947 thru 1949. The didn't introduce the manual clean Filter-Flo system until 1955.

GE's self-cleaning filter system was more effective than the WP/Kenmore design and easier on the plumbing because it doesn't dispose of the lint all at once in one big clump like the WP design does. After the lint pieces are thrown off the top of the lint screens they are dispersed in the outer tub into many pieces where they are then sent down the drain slowly.

See this old thread for more info...

http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/ARCHIVE/VINTAGE/2006/4484x43.htm

 

[cehalstead]

no penta-flex....???

there was a penta flex....my great aunt's 67 Lady K has one...she's still using it...it's a great sheet shredder, but she wont' replace it...is her first and only automatic. it has no base...the vanes are open to the bottom of the tub...

 

[gansky1]

No Penta - Flex

Roto-Flex