Maytag Washer and Dryer model number differences?

[ovrphil]

I found a matched pair of Maytag W&D's, while trying to find a Whirlpool Super Capacity Clean Touch 9 cycle/3 Speed A9700 or A9700s. They are as though they came off the assembly line...came with the house a young couple bought from a lady who was moving to an assisted living lifestyle.

They are: Model LA482 Washer/ LDE482 Dryer -electric

Nice one page brochure from Thread 25864(http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?25864) shows my washers, but ...is there any difference between the model numbers that begin with "LA" vs. the ones that being with only "A" letters? Did the LA482's preceed the A482? I did a search based on my serial numbers and found they were built in July/Aug 1984 (washer/dryer respectively). Someone in this group asked about their year of manufacture and their A482 was 1987. So I'm wondering if there were any differences with production runs with LA482 and the A482? I know the orbital trans came later, in 1988?

Is it typical to find an electrical schematic in the consoles of these machines? I opened the dryer console, thinking that's what I needed to do, to open the front to clean it...and found a two-sided electrical wiring diagram and (reverse side) a Ladder Diagram. The model number is DE482, not LDE482. Model number conventions are so krptic. Anyway I have that if anyone wants a copy. But I have no manual - so we are just using the washer and dryer, not knowing what hidden, if any, operations might be of help...or maybe not hidden. These are simple appliances, but someone probably knows about the hidden or lesser known features that may be there(?). Or I've inhaled too much lint.

One thing I noticed about the overall construction, if you look at how the cabinet top lines up with the front vertical panel that is typically removed for servicing...they don't line up at even 90 degrees. The tops on both washer and dryer are staggered back about 1/2" or less(didn't measure) from their fronts. (see posted photo). Gadget Gary posted a Maytag brochure (Thread # 37095 found at:
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-DDSearchalator.cgi ) and the washer and dryer cases are all 90 degrees, top to sides and front. So, is there something off in construction or assembly on my units or did the orbital models have a corrected case alignment and mine is normal?

Lastly, I noticed a number of cutouts on the dryer panel that will accomodate the other switches for higher end models. Has anyone replaced a panel from a higher end model and created, essentially, those added features or ...(more laboriously)...actually gone ahead and put in extra switches to get added features. This is now referred to as "PIMP MY DRYer or WASHer". I sure would like a light inside the dryer - my mom had one on her old mid-60's models. With Fed regulations choking off the water supplies and temperature limits, I know it's not a priority. Some later Maytags(post 1987 orbital models? ) had a dryer light?

Sorry for the long post. Alot to read on this website, but searching, I didn't see answers to my questions. Thanks for your comments, if any.

Maytag Washer/Dryer Brochure

My customer brought this brochure to me last Friday. He states that it came with his Maytag A712 washer, and, he has never needed a repair to date. There are 12 pages to this brochure.

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[repair-man]

A482 is a white machine and LA482 is almond.

 

[cadman]

Wow, those are showroom new!!

 

[ovrphil]

Showroom new; service anyway?

So the "L" prefixes the color! That answers alot - thank you REPAIRMAN.

Honestly, these machines don't look used much at all - little eery, like someone used them and stored them for the rest of their 28 years. With the front cover off, the lint was just a light dusting - some soft paper or lint-free towel and a little vacuuming removed scant pieces of surface attached lint or dirt. Repairmen would be able to appreciate the lightly used condition, since they've seen it all. I only cleaned what I could from the portal in the back, vs. taking it apart. They aren't fancy, but as you guys here say, they're our "daily driver" for now. It's hard to look at these without being in awe of their condition...if only we aged as well, eh?

So while they're pretty much "as new", and don't appear to have been used hardly at all, time must affect the internals somewhere. Did these Maytags have any maintenance schedules suggested at 5 or 10 year intervals? I know there are people who own these and have never needed any service, but I know people who will run a car into the ground, not changing the oil, water, and other lubricants, too!

Thanks all.

 

[kenmore71]

The machines that you found were special series machines that Maytag produced for certain "big box" stores in the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The features on that washer are basically identical to the A512 except that the A512 had an infinite water level and the A482 had a 4 position water level selector. If you post the last two LETTERS of the serial number of both the washer and the dryer we can date it to the year and month of production.

As far as preventative maintenance on Maytags I don't really think that there is any required on a pair of machines that seem to have been used so little.

Might not be a bad idea to replace the belts on the washing machine since they may have hardened and developed flat spots if it really did sit unused for a long period of time. The same thing goes for the dryer belt. The long, thin belts in these dryers also get stiff and develop flat spots where they sit on the motor pulley and tensioner. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that belt breaks in the next 6 months now that it's being used regularly.

[this post was last edited: 9/19/2012-14:13]

 

[ovrphil]

Serial Numbers

Washer is serial 257671NN and Dryer is 344709NP

A special series..interesting, how do you guys know such minutia? I like it. It's our anniversary today, so special works for us. Infinite water level must mean,variable to whatever one wants to select? Infinite sounds like a child control is needed. :-[)

I know the image sucks, but there they are.

 

[kenmore71]

Washer is July 1984
Dryer is August 1984

 

[ovrphil]

July/Aug 1984 - started my first "real" job in 1984, and "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins was playing.

I agree, I think I should replace the belts- found a link on the web(any best sources for parts?)

Thanks Mark.

If anyone has any ideas about the way the top and front aligns - I don't think I can do much about it, since the clips align with the top...how to move it forward to the edge? (yeah, picky,picky, picky)

 

[DADoES]

 
The front panel and top alignment is designed and intended to be as you see them.  I have three washers and two dryers of early to mid 1970s vintage that are the same.

 

[danemodsandy]

Top Alignment:

"If anyone has any ideas about the way the top and front aligns - I don't think I can do much about it, since the clips align with the top...how to move it forward to the edge? (yeah, picky,picky, picky)"

They're designed that way, as DADoES pointed out. Welcome to the sometimes wacky world of Maytag.

 

[ovrphil]

Wacky World of Maytag

I remember a button, for the older guys who remember the wacky sixties, that said, "I don't want to be Normal". Maybe Maytag designers just had some of that philosophy and offset the top & front. I can sleep now.

That agitator reminds me of many of the Estes rockets I built in the mid 60's from kits....the piece that is the nose cone, as I call it, not the lint filter, is supposedly for dispensing softener....but is it also a dispenser for bleach at some cycle point?

Thanks for the feedback, DaDoes and danemodsandy....really appreciate this group and site.

 

[DigAPony]

Preventative maintenance on vintage Maytag washers would typically include: Lubricating the motor glides, Damper pads (if needed), remove the agitator and lube the drive shaft, all with Poly-Lube or an equivalent.

I wax the cabinets for protection and wipe down the hoses with Armor-all or a silicone lube to keep them from drying out.

Also, belts replaced if necessary, as suggested. However, the OE belts can last a long time, especially on a low mileage machine like yours and they are easily removed for inspection. I picked up a 1966 A806 washer over the summer that was running on the original belts, they were cracked and worn but the machine was still used daily by a young family.

 

[danemodsandy]

Dispensers:

Your machine has two dispensers.

One is the fabric softener dispenser, which as you know, is the cup on top of the agitator. It is NOT to be used for bleach; it works on a centrifugal-force principle and would fling undiluted bleach onto your clothes.

The other dispenser is the detergent dispenser; it's the hollow center of the agitator's column. You put the measured amount of detergent in it, put the softener cup on top of the agitator, and then fill that. This feature was touted in early "New Generation" Maytag literature and manuals, but de-emphasized in later years.

Your model does not have a bleach dispenser; if it did, it would be a triangular cup located on the left-hand side of the tub opening. You will need to add bleach manually, meaning that you should dilute a measured amount of bleach in about a quart of water and pour it in once the machine has finished filling and begun to agitate. It is not really possible to add a bleach dispenser; the cabinet top would need the requisite cut-out to accommodate the bleach cup, and the outer tub would have to have the cut-out needed for the inlet tube. Oh, you could do it with parts from a donor machine, but it would be major, major surgery - and a donor machine's parts are not jolly likely to be as pristine as your machines' existing parts are.

 

[ovrphil]

Awash in help - thank you!

That's cool, I can add detergent into the agitator - was adding detergent at filltime(sans clothes)with a 7th gen. liquid detergent.

LOL! Adding Clorox bleach to the softener dispenser - maybe for a random tye dye shirts? Ok on the ratio..I was using Clorox Stain Fighter and Color Booster with detergent. A bleach dispenser would be nice, but this is just my raison d'tre to add/upgrade to a TOL'er.

Just curious - haven't tried the delicate cycle, but what can I expect in operation? Is it supposed to start and stop through any chosen minute settings? Seems like someone mentioned that to me.

Thanks guys, appreciate all your help/knowledge.

 

[danemodsandy]

Delicate Cycle:

Depends on whether your machine is a two-speed machine or a one-speed machine.

If it's two-speed, Delicate will wash at a lower speed than your other cycles.

If it's one-speed, the Delicate cycle is something that Maytag called "Fabric-Matic." With Fabric-Matic, the washer agitates for a very short time, stops, lets the clothes soak a bit, then agitates again, then stops again, and so on until the end of the cycle.

There are those who say Fabric-Matic is harsher on clothes than the Delicate cycle of a two-speed machine, but I have had a one-speed machine, and I did not find Fabric-Matic to cause any damage or undue wear and tear.

 

[tecnopolis]

I want to give a moment of gratitude to the woman who was going to the assisted living facility. Thank you for being kind to your appliances, a reflection of the kind and thoughtful person you are.

 

[ovrphil]

Delicate Daisy

This modest washer IS a Fabric-Matic. Who knows if it's a one speed, just because Maytag identified it as such? They could and did anything with their appliances. I'll get some delicates in there tomorrow and observe. One speed , two speed...sounds like the two speed motor was for the mid to top of the line models, for the various features.

These pair I found remind of my mom and dad, who took so good care of everything they bought(lost a house and car during the Depression). My mom had three washers and two dryers, total, from the 1940's til she passed in 1997. My sister finally had to replace my mom's early 1970 Frigidaire harvest gold stove, two years ago...close to 40 years of use for a mid-level product.

That lady is a celebrity, but not too hopeful on delivering the message, tecnopolis. LOL! Good humor and true tribute deserved!

 

[gansky1]

Offset top at back and recessed supply valve allowed flush-wall-installation.

That is in very nice condition!

 

[ovrphil]

Delicate Wash cycle

Thanks Ganksky1...I like the recessed supply valve alot, too!

So I have a one speed, danemodsandy...what's the deal with a two speed, is it just for the higher end machines? Just in case someone wants to compare, or yadayadawhatever....

Delicate load, small, warm/cold(was doing sox and underwear for the test)...here, in chronological order of functions (no drum roll, but coffee might help):

2 min fill
1 min soak
1 min agitate
4 min soak
2 min. agitate
1 min soak
~1 min-agitate
1 min -spins and extrudes water
4 min - final spin to dry clothes

I estimated 15-17 min, but my numbers are rounded or off by the two or three times I stopped to adjust the load, being so light, to get a balanced spin.

I don't see how the above process would be hard on delicates and if they're really delicate, I think I'd just hand wash them, if not to difficult.

Cheers!