Maytag Performa washer and dryer.

[whitetub]

Hi!

Here's the washer and dryer that came with my house.

I think they must be at least 10 years old. The washer works well. A little noisy. But I find a big load does not turnover as well as it did in my Whirlpool from the previous house. The dryer is ok. I found sometimes on automatic that it does not dry completely. And the lint filter pops out when removing the load, putting lint everywhere. I miss my Whirlpool with top lint filter, that dried everything perfectly all the time.

Should I keed them, until they break, or should I go with a new front loader set?

 

[whitetub]

Dryer

 

[whitetub]

inside shots

 

[whitetub]

inside the dryer

 

[volvoguy87]

Dryer.

Find the moisture sensor strips and clean them with denatured alcohol. Fabric softener contains wax which coats the strips, rendering the sensor inaccurate so it shuts off the dryer too soon.

Make sure you aren't overloading the washer (or underloading) and are using a sufficient amount of water for your amount of laundry.

Front loaders die young, but the Whirlpool-made dryers with the lint filter on top are my favorites.

Dave

 

[nmassman44]

That dryer doesnt use strips to sense the load moisture...its a thermostaic control dryer. All you have to do is move the dial more toward more dry and that should take care of the problem. That dryer is very good and its a Norge design. The washer is Norge design as well. The washer transmission is the Dual Drive where its all celcon plastic gears...2 sets of them with a steel drive for the agitator pinion. The idea with 2 racks was to distribute the stress load evenly to the gears.
I have to agree that Whirlpool dryers rock and they are fast.

 

[nmassman44]

Oh and the tub design on the washer uses larger holes at the bottom and smaller holes at the top. The idea is that when the washer is in agitation the water gets pumped thru the larger holes and come back thru the smaller holes trapping the lint between the washbasket and outer tub. Also the teardrop depressions in the washbasket channel water to the holes for extraction during spin. The drain pump on this machine is the poly Pump II and it moves over 23 to 25 gallons per minute.
The washer agitator moves at 155 degrees at 88 opm for fast and 58 opm for "normal" or what i call gentle speed. Spin on the washer 620 rpms for fast speed and 415 for slow. I believe this washer also does a spin drain.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

Service the dryer...

One thing you will need to do is check the dryer for lint in the area under the lint screen. It does build up there...

Unplug the dryer. Use a putty knife and push in and release two spring clips that hold the front of the top down. Lift the top like a hood of a car. Remove two screws that hold the front panel on. The front will tilt forward and lift up off two clips at the bottom of the frame. Look down and find the small cat that is almost always right where the lint screen ducting meets the blower intake. It ALWAYS builds up there and screws up the airflow. Clean all up in there and delint the rest of the dryer then re assemble. Your Magic Chef made dryer will be much happier and dry quicker.

RCD

 

[alr2903]

If they work fine keep them, these were maytags entry into the lower price line. They were also labeled magic chef, and crosley among others. i beleive this is the one with a single belt on the bottom/underside. They hold a large washload. My Mom had the crosley version, bearing trouble finally finished off her machine. I had the magic chef, it has a poweful wash action based on the later norge design. alr2903

 

[seeitrun2006]

This same exact set

My parents had this same exact Performa set. The washer left a heck of a lot of lint in the tub after washing. They replace the washer a couple of years ago with a center dial Whirltag thinking th performa had a leak. We discovered after Daddy purchased the Whirltag that my Mom was using liquid detergent for fabric softner. Her Dementia was starting to set in at the time. My Dad still has the gas version dryer of the oringinal set. My Dad ended up giving the Performa washer to a single guy he use to work with and it is still running to this very day.

The washer was very, very noisy and the dryer starts out rumbling/whining then smooths out as it warms up.

 

[whitetub]

Servicing the dryer seems like a big job. I am afraid I might not be able to put it back together correctly. Will the drum move when I remove the front panel? or will it stay in place, and only the front panel will come off? If I have to unplug the machine, and move it around, open it up, my reasonning is you might as well replace it or them and get it over with. I am not too mechanicly inclined. I will probably tough them out until my Christmas bonus.
I miss my Whirlpools. They were ten years old, no repairs ever. The new owners of my old house probably threw them out. Who knows. I would buy a similar set, but my boyfriend won't let me. He says you got to get the new front loaders. To go with our new ultra modern home.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

It's not that bad!

This dryer is all front service. Unplugging it saves you from a new hair style... The drum will stay in place adit sits on two front supports unlike the W/P dryer. Granted I'm in the business but, this is a 15 minute job for me. BUT it is one of the most important jobs you can do on a Herrin built dryer to prolong it's useful life. BTW, this is a maintenence you should to to a W/P dryer as well only you'd actually have to get behind it and pull a rear cover to do it right. But you also have to listen to yourself and feel comfortable with what you can do so I respect that!

RCD