Kitchen Aid Quiet Scrub

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Joy

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Hi, Please forgive me if I am in the wrong forum.....

I am looking to buy an older direct drive top loader and I have found a KitchenAid Quiet Scrub for sale.... Unfortunately, I don't know anything much about KitchenAid washing machines (I have always had an old Maytag) and the person selling it does not know how old it is :(

Would anyone know when the KitchenAid Quiet Scrub washing machines were manufactured please? Oh, and if they were a good machine?

Thank you!

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KA Top Loading Washer

This is a WP DD washer with several quality improvements, it is from the 90s, if you can give us the model and serial #s we can tell you when it was made.

 

Performance wise this is a better washer than any MT TLer ever made, if it is in good working shape you will be very pleased with its performance.

 

If it needs repair now or in the future it is easier to repair in most respects that a real MT.
 
 
The console appearance (black/gray color and shading) is the same as the set my parents bought in 1994 so it may be of similar age.  As mentioned above, the serial number will tell.

Most KitchenAid washers of this vintage had 3-speed motors (some of the lower-end models had 2-speed).  3-speed machines used the medium motor speed for high agitation speed, coupled with larger fins on the KA-style agitator base provided gentler care to the clothes.  This model is kind of between upper and lower features but even if this is a 2-speeder it probably shifts to slower agitation partway through the wash period on both the Regular/Heavy and Permanent Press cycle. 

The lowest water level will fill the tub about 1/2, to slightly above the large lower agitator fins.
 
I had this model for 23 years, averaged six loads a week. It finally died of a leak that couldn't be fixed. The only issue it had was the coupler needed to be replaced. Very happy with this machine, sorry to part with it but getting a new Speed Queen FL helped with my grief.
 
 
<blockquote>It finally died of a leak that couldn't be fixed.</blockquote> That's intriguing.  What was the nature of the leak that made it non-fixable?  All the parts potentially related to leaking should still be available -- water valve, main tub seal, tub support base/bearings, pump and hoses, etc.
 
Best top-load agitator washer I've ever had or experienced using, even above a belt-drive Lady Kenmore. It was a 1990 mid-line model, but had the full sized tub and agitator, and the three-speed Gold Seal motor. The only thing I think it had missing as far as features was the Extra Rinse Option. Lasted 14 years before the coupler needed replacing and my parents ignorantly decided to just buy a new machine. I'd give my entire appliance collection right now to find one just like it in good condition.

Don't dare let anyone call it a "shredmore". While it was of the Whirlpool DirectDrive design, it was, in a lot of respects, its own animal. The lower agitation speed with the wider vanes was much gentler and could rollover an oversized load with no problem, and while I don't know if this is a true assumption, I'd imagine the stepped spins helped reduce stress to the drivetrain in the long run.
 
I had an afternoon alone with one

quite a few years back.

Negatives: It's a Whirlpool design, so expect to replace that rubber puck every few years. Built in obsolescence.

Positives: Too long to list. This is (except for that stupid puck) everything which Whirlpool got right. I really liked the high-speed spin and the multi-speed wash. Lots of turnover and I thoroughly agree with varying speed about the middle (only ran two full washes, so that might be a bit off) to a lower speed. 

Everything felt better put together and just plain clicked into place nicely.

I do not like Whirlpool past the belt-drive era, but would be happy to have one of these. Maybe in the back shed and I wouldn't admit to owning it, but if I had to have a Whirlpool, this would be the one I wouldn't mind replacing that stupid puck on every few years.

 
 
 
Joy, don't be concerned about the drive coupler.  It's a $15 to $20 part, takes minutes to replace.  The parents' machine had the coupler replaced once in 18 years.  My 1992 unit never had a replacement on it, although to be fair it was in-use for only 12 years.  My grandmother had an early Whirlpool direct-drive, no repairs of any kind for the 15 years she had the machine, then she segued to my KA which ran flawlessly for the duration that she used it.
 
John theorized that the heavier 3 speed motor made the coupler vulnerable if the machine was set down roughly in shipping which would pull it out of perfect allignment with the coupler and the coupler was sort of a sacrificial part between the motor and the rest of the motor-powered components. John always replaced the factory original with the commercial part which was built heavier but I don't know if it is still available.

These are wonderful machines and the only WP washer I would have.
 
couplers

Having been given a thorough head washing by a fellow collector who pointed out how much I like one particular DD Whirlpool in our collection, I now publicly admit that their design was, indeed, improved upon over time.

I'll go so far as to say - in reference soley to the commercial coupler - it's not a bad design.

Still, there's something about the BD Whirlpools which just satisfies me more. Whether we're talking about the vintage or the current plastic-fantastic drive.
 
re; old DD design

My folks was a 1988 Sears Kemnore 80 test program set. My dad may have done a repair or two, but they were running until a flood of sewer water ruined them in 2014.
I never liked the clunky sound they made, but in my opinion, were better than the subsequent belt driven Splutcherators are.
I fail to see what you see is fantastic about it. Or, were you being sarcastic?
When I need to replace mine, I'll get a DD Samsung top loader.
 
Thank you!

Wow, thank you so much!

You are all a virtual mine of information :) Who knew that there were people out there who love washing machines like I do?

Thank you once again!
 
Joy, G-day!

You're very welcome. What happened to the Malley's Whirlpool company?
Those were nearly identical to the US belt drive Whirlpool washers of the 1960's.
 
and another type.....in either case, always go for the one with the metal insert...

had great luck with both, once replaced with one of these, never had to do it again....

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yogitunes-2016022611383607473_1.jpg
 
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Vacerater,

I was being a bit sarcastic - 'plastic-fantastic' is not exactly a term of praise. My background in IT makes me comfortable with (good) electronics, so that part doesn't bother me. The way they are put together, however...yikes.

Still, the basic concept is sound. Had they used proper synthetic composites (ball filled nylons) and metal where needed, it would have been better.
 

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