Maytag helical or orbital transmission?

[stuftrock1]

Which of the two Maytag trannies do you guys think is better? Helical has a slow 180 degree stoke, while the orbital has a fast 90 degree stroke. Helical is a traditional tried and true design, while the orbital is extremely simple, only has two gears, and uses less oil.

Unless someone has done so already, I plan to test the effectiveness of these two transmissions on different load sizes using Maytag's four main agitator designs (Power Fin, Shark Fin, Shark Fin II, and Load Sensor) once I am able to expand my very limited collection, which honestly won't be anytime soon.

 

[DADoES]

 
To be accurate, both types are helical drive, which refers to the helix/spiral cut into the input/drive shaft which allows the pulley to move up/down on it.  What is commonly referred to as the helical transmission is better called the pitman transmission.

 

[stuftrock1]

I have also seen people call them Newtonian transmissions. I've never seen people call them pitman transmissions until just recently.

 

[rp2813]

Long stroke rules!

 

At least in my rule book it does.

 

[stuftrock1]

My Dependable Care with the orbital tranny and Shark Fin II agitator kinda struggles with large loads. Out of the three Maytag single piece agitator designs, I firmly believe that Shark Fin II was the best and I'm willing to bet the reason it struggles with large loads is the short stroke of the orbital. Has anyone ever tried this agitator with the long stroke pitman tranny?

 

[nmassman44]

Well that agitator is not called a Shark Fin 2...that is a PowerFin/Flex 12 I can't remember which Fin or Flex...my instincts say Flex...

 

[stuftrock1]

Not called Shark Fin II?

Are you sure? I've seen a few people call this thing a Shark Fin II, but I guess they could be wrong. Did Maytag actually make an agitator called Shark Fin II that I confused for this?

My guess would be Power Fin 12, but I'm just gonna call it a 12 vein from now on until a Maytag expert comes and gives a solid definite answer.

I can't find a picture of what I presume to be the Shark Fin I agitator to confirm if I got that right. From what I can remember, it is very similar to the blue Power Fin but is white and has four triangular fins on the shaft that get longer towards the bottom. I've only seen like two or three pictures of this agitator and it's been quite a while so forgive me if I'm just completely wrong.

 

[qsd-dan]

Power Flex 12

Pictures I downloaded years ago courtesy of gadgetgary. The next pic is the early version agitator which I prefer using in orbital machines. The Powerflex 12 makes a racket which is personally annoying and I find the wider fins impede rollover and are harsher on materials being washed. The early style agitator is quiet in operation, like its older granddaddy Powerfin.

 

[stuftrock1]

Oh ok, thanks for the cool info! That older agitator on the second picture is what I'm referring to when I say Shark Fin I.

I personally love the noise the Power Flex agitator makes, probably because that's the noise I grew up with. Have you tried it in a pitman tranny?

 

[qsd-dan]

Have you tried it in a pitman tranny?

Sure did. The clothes floated in place without moving and inch for 10 minutes, lol.

 

[stuftrock1]

Clothes didn't move for 10 minutes

Seriously?? That is not the result I was expecting at all. Are you sure you didn't overload it by chance?

 

[qsd-dan]

Are you sure you didn't overload it by chance?

Underloaded the heck out of it.

This was in my 806 with the water level at full capacity. I even drain some water out multiple times and it was still as intriguing as watching paint dry.

A Powerfin coupled to an orbital transmission is quite entertaining though.

 

[nmassman44]

I knew it was called PowerFlex 12 and the agitator before that was just called PowerFin. They never called their agitators "SharkFin". The agitator that was in the 6 gear Pitman transmission washer was called PowerFin as well. Now the agitator that came after the PowerFlex 12 was called LoadSensor and it was dual action. Now you want to talk about turnover of a load.

Now I agree a PowerFin agitator that was used on the 6 gear Pitman transmission when put into an Orbital transmission washer will turn a load over rather quickly because of the larger vanes at the base. I have tried using a PowerFlex 12 in my 613 when I had it and the results were interesting but not spectacular at all. Your milage may vary.

 

[stuftrock1]

Well I might be acquiring an 80's Fabric-Matic soon. No idea what year or what condition it's in atm. All I know is it's been sitting in the corner of the basement my friends are renting with a newer he machine hooked up to the only washing machine hookup there is and that it has the classic blue PowerFin. Hopefully it has the Pitman tranny so I could experiment.

As for that newer PowerFin with the four triangular veins on the shaft, thank you for correcting me. I know this isn't the correct name but I'll just call it PowerFin II for the sake of differentiating the two designs.

 

[qsd-dan]

Hopefully it has the Pitman tranny so I could experiment.

Orbitals made their debut in Aug of '89 so your chances are pretty good.

 

[stuftrock1]

Orbitals made their debut in Aug of '89

Oh ok. I'm not very familiar with the black control panel Maytag's, but it looks to be around early to mid 80's if I had to guess. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show you guys.

 

[tolivac]

I will go with the Pitman transmission-hate the fast short stroke versions-like trying to wash clothes in a blender.

 

[vacerator]

I had both and

didn't notice a lot of difference in stroke, but there was a two year lapse between
having them. They both washed well. 28 min. for normal cycle large loads.
Inrerim from early 1994 to late '95 I had a Whirlpool 24 inch 5 cycle world compact washer. My dad told me not to buy it, but the apartment I lived in always had a solvent smell in the coin op. washer. So I got that and the 120 volt dryer for my kitchen. I sold them for at least half retail, so not bad.

 

[combo52]

Oribtal Vs Pitman Maytag Transmission

There was a thread about this recently, One member had both types SXS in his home laundry and said the Orbital did a little better job turning over a load,

 

Clearly the winner for performance is a orbital with a load sensor agitator for best cleaning, least wear on clothing and largest capacity, If you want a better performing washer than that get a WP built BD or DD machine.

 

John L.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

I like the ruggedness of the pitman trans but I wish they had put a drain plug in it so the oil could get changed when needed. But I guess they didnt plan on people talking about changing the Kahlua in the trans after 40 years because the washer was still going strong LOL

 

[helicaldrive]

I had all three and WP belt and DD too....

The original Pitman tranny with Powerfin did the best job, IMO, but if overloaded could be hard on clothes. People often criticize these machines for languid agitation, but IMO they were quite vigorous, more so than WP belt or direct drive. However, all agitation was at the bottom of the tub where it’s not visible. IMO the lack of side fins on the agitator resulted in better load rolling than the
WP belt drive we had, because the side fins detracted from the pulling down action from the bottom fins. Another thing is that often the critics are watching a Maytag with 40 year old tranny oil that has turned into grease. If those Maytags are overhauled with new tranny oil they agitate much more vigorously.

The orbital tranny with Powerflex was an awful washer. The short stroke was inadequate to pull down and roll the load with larger and heavier clothes, such as jeans. It had no ability to pull down bed sheets when they developed an air pocket, resulting in their being twisted into a rope, and not getting clean. It often twisted blankets into a rope too. Also, the rinse cycle was so short, only about a minute, that it did not roll most loads even once during the deep rinse. I used to reset it to agitate longer two or three times with loads like jeans and sheets. I ditched that washer the moment Maytag came out with the LoadSensor.

The orbital tranny with LoadSensor like Whirlpool’s dual action corkscrew was infinitely better than the original orbital with PowerFlex at rolling loads over, but it still twisted sheets into ropes that did not get clean, although not quite as often. (The Whirlpool Direct Drive was also guilty of same - had one of those too.).

Anyway, the Pitman got clothes cleaner and rolled loads over just as well as the orbital with Load Sensor, and never twisted sheets and blankets into a rope. The orbital with LoadSensor was easier on clothes but did not get them as clean.

I also had a pre-2018 SQ TL and it performed better than all three Maytag formats, probably because the rinse cycle was longer.

My Speed Queen FL outperforms all TLs I have had by miles, with far less water and detergent to boot, and I would never go back to a TL of any format or type.

 

[helicaldrive]

I’d add

A bit off topic, but of them all, you could wash anything in the WP belt drive and have it emerge clean and with no signs of wear or laundering. Or lint. From that perspective it was the best performer with no competition. But I found its rinsing to be poor. The seven spray rinses were too short. All they did was foam up the suds more without going on long enough to clear it out. I was also not a fan of the neutral drain and 500-ish RPM spin. And its easy tendency to suds lock, and poor ability to clear one, were all dealbreakers for me. Even so there were many very good reasons — performance, price, reliability, durability, capacity, permanent press handling, lint removal — for it being America’s top choice for decades.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

Has anyone every tried balancing a pitman trans to see how well balanced they were and maybe reduce tub shake when spinning?

 

[stuftrock1]

The orbital tranny with Powerflex was an awful washer.

Respectfully, I completely disagree with this. My '94 Dependable Care has been my daily driver my entire life, and it has always done a fantastic job, and has never twisted anything up in a rope. The only washer I have that has ever done that is my '86 Filter Flo with the ramped agitator, and it always twists my jeans up. I assume it's because I haven't figured out how to properly load them yet and not a fault with the machine itself.

However, I will agree that the rinse cycle is too short.

 

[peterh770]

I also had both...

I didn't like the pitman at all. I thought it was rougher on clothes. I now am using an orbital and love it. Just like with the pitman, I never use the extra large load setting. Neither the Power Fin nor the Power Fin 12 can really handle the full extra large load, and the rinsing then is awful. I recently got a Load Sensor, and THAT made a HUGE positive impact with large loads, but I haven't tested it with extra large loads.