Maytag A206 with sluggish agitation - Cold Weather Problem?

[scoots]

I have a Maytag 206 and since the weather's gotten cold (and the unit is kept in the unheated basement) when the machine is first used the agitator crawls along at a full oscillation every two seconds. Shifting between speeds does not help, spin speed is not affected.  There are no unusual sounds. The agitator cannot be brought to a stop by hand.

 

The speed gradually increases with time. With a hot water load the speed is up to normal in about 2 minutes and remains there for as long as the machine is in use.

 

I suspect that what's happening is the oil in the transmission case has gotten too thick when cold, inhibiting free agitation. The belt may be silently slipping, or the motor is being held in check (reduced RPM) because of the extra resistance from the gear box. As the machine is brought up to temperature, the viscosity improves and the problem goes away.

 

As mentioned, the unit is in an unheated basement. Out  door temps right now are in the night time 30s, with the basement probably in the 40s.

 

For my next load, I will fill the tub with hot water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so to see if this improves the situation until the cold weather passes.

 

Comments, quick remedies, and actual solutions are welcome.

 

 

 

[kenmore71]

You are spot on diagnosing the issue.

 

The fact that you cannot stop the agitator by hand tells me that the motor carriage springs and belt are good.

 

The belt is slipping (as it is designed to) until the transmission warms up and can achieve normal speed agitation. If this slipping weren't happening, the motor would overload and eventually overheat and go into thermal shutdown.

 

The quick and easy remedy is make sure that the transmission is warm before you begin. 

 

The long term solution is to pull the transmission, open it up and replace the oil. (BIG job)

 

 

 

[kenwashesmonday]

My Maytag A606 is next to a drafty door in the basement and does the same thing on a cold day. I usually warm it up by washing a warm gentle load first, after which it's ready for the rest of the laundry.

Ken D.

 

[rp2813]

Had the same issue with the 206 that lived in the garage at our other house.   I quickly made the connection between temperature and sluggish initial agitation.  It never got any worse, and only happened during the winter under particularly cold conditions.

 

[yogitunes]

one of those tiny square space heaters would help a lot if placed near one of the rear openings for roughly 30 minutes to an hour before hand...once the machine got heated up, you will be good to go.....

a heat gun or blowdryer can work too....

had this when a machine was in an unheated storage room, where the pump and any water in the machine froze as well.....this worked well during the winter months, also took part of the dryers vented air to heat the room afterwards....

you just have to schedule your wash to a certain day/time...if you have to go through all this effort, make it worth it and do it only once or twice a week...

 

[cleanteamofny]

My Direct Drive washer Spin drains during the first or second load when I was using it but once it was throughly warmed up, everything goes back to normal.
This happens when the temp in the house is around 60*.

 

[appnut]

My DD Kenmore did the same thing Larry's did.  I began wash day with it going through the entire 6 minute final spin, sometimes even the drain segment where it spun too.  then each subsequent load behaved as designed.  So see about putting it through an entire final spin dry before you begin washing and see if that helps.  (fast speed of course).

 

[pierreandreply4]

There is also the option to fill your washer with hot water no agitation of course you leave the hot water in the wash tub so that it heats or warm your washer then you drain the hot water let it go true spin (you set your washer on the final spin of course then wash as normal since the washer will have warm up

 

[lovestowash]

Who knew?...

I have both a Maytag 124, and a Kenmore Series 90...both in the basement...it's finished, but still remains cool in the Winter...
I knew about the sluggish behavior of the Maytag, but had no idea of the temperature affecting the spin/drain in the Kenmore...and mine has behaved as described...
I thought the immediate spin was just a stroke of luck...

Thanks guys...
George

 

[appnut]

And what a huge waste of water filling the machine with hot water and letting it sit and heat up the machine, drain said water, and refill for washing.  Other suggested ideas are far more practical. 

 

[washerlover]

Thank you appnut for your concern for water conservation! As much as we love our water hog washing machines, any way we can save water we should. (I'm a native Californian so this is totally ingrained!) I did the space heater thing and that worked just fine.

 

[combo52]

Sluggish Agitating Maytag Washer

Hi Bill, You are correct that MT helical drive washers don't like cold weather, they also don't like actually washing big loads and doing any real work. This has long been one of my biggest grips with most HD MT washers. When MT introduced this machine in 1956 they did not have this problem, the orignal machines had a proper belt tension system for the main drive belt that would properly power the transmission during agitation and allow a nice gentle acceleration into spin while the water was being pumped out. Problem was they changed to an idiotic belt tension system that allowed the drive to SLIP during agitation and Maytag produced another FIRST in automatic washer design, they built the first and ONLY washer whose agitation slips instead of turning over a load of clothing.

 

No other washer ever did this, NOT WP, Not GE, Not Norge and on and on No one ever built such a lame design and built them for so many years.

 

The good news is that MT finally largely fixed this serious problem after they started building the Orbital Transmission washers and they moved the springs to one side of the motor carriage, it only took them 30 years and millions of lame washers to  fix a design problem that should have not been built for more a year or so.

 

[arbilab]

Yep my '06 did that. To cut wear, I started it on slow speed-- since it only goes that fast anyway when it's cold-- then came back after a few min and switched to high. No trouble, I came back after a few min anyway to check detergent dose.

Speaking of no trouble, I bought the thing used, ran it for 10 years and gave it to a coworker when I got my electro-frigi-white tumbler. Never put a penny in it. Just office clothes which it handled fine.

 

[super32]

Orbital transmission

Add me to the list. Our basement is heated but still cooler than the upstairs. It is also unfinished and the concrete floor radiates cold. Mine will start slow but only for a few seconds then it quickly picks up and is fine from there on.

 

[bajaespuma]

Thanks John

I guess "Dependability" came at a cost of performance.

I wish you had been around to suggest to Consumers Reports that they try testing their automatic washers in a cold laboratory (to mimic conditions of a typical garage or basement in cold weather)for fairer comparisons.

I remember being <span style="text-decoration: underline;">appalled</span> when I realized my long-coveted Maytag couldn't turn over a load for the first five minutes of the wash cycle because of this issue.

 

Our GE's didn't blink.

 

[scoots]

Well, I want to thank everybody for their input.

Some of your answers made me smile, especially John's funny rant about Maytag being industry slackers. I have found that if I fill the machine up with hot water and let it sit for 5 minutes, then do a "warm" wash (after the water's heat is lost to the steel) it does ok for the rest of the session. I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie for now.

 

This only came to my attention recently when I installed a bye-pass switch. As you all probably know, Maytag has an infuriating "STOP EVERYTHING" feature so that if you lift the lid, everything stops. I was getting tired of playing peek-a-boo with the tub trying to see if the turn over and water levels were OK, so I installed a toggle switch on the back of the control board that cuts out the open lid switch so I can watch the machine's performance.

 

God knows how long this slipping has been going on... sigh.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Two quarters with a nickel between them and all taped together with duct take works excellently to allow the machine to work with the lid open. Just slide the device between the lid and the back of the recess in such as way as to depress the lid switch. I always made one when I went home and my mother would take it apart as soon as I left. Women who did not care about watching the washing action were the way Maytag sold all of those automatics, even into the Neptune era.

You could also put a 100 or 150 watt incandescent flood or spot light next to the machine so that it shines on it. People in our old neighborhood with washers in utility rooms did that to prevent them from freezing during cold weather. Not only were the rooms not heated, but there was a gap under the door to provide air for the gas water heater so they got good and cold.

 

[jamiel]

I had an old Maytag in an unheated garage in Chicago--always had to leave the light on to use it so it wouldn't freeze. Ended up replacing it with an Estate (Whirlpool) World Washer--figured that design would be the hardiest in the cold given the design was intended to be uniform the world over...bought it from Plass Appliance at the end of the block and borrowed their hand truck to bring it home