My little maytag laundromat adds another

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Tom

The thing that appealed to me with the 502s was the logo/color and features. For something that seems middle of the line they are a very unique yet very simple set of machines. Those also came out of a house that was a complete time warp and are just about as immaculate as the A103 and DE102. I like the looks of the 103 as well and after tonight I should be able to see it in action! the suspense is killing me to see how well this machine works after sitting for so long. currently the dryer is hooked to 120v and seems to heat pretty quickly, actually it seems to heat a little quicker than my DE806.
 
Seems To Heat A Little Quicker Than My DE806

Is the 806 also connected to 120 volts ?

 

If so the older dryer will heat quicker if properly wired for 120 volt operation because the older dryer still had a 2 piece heating element and it gave more heat on 120 volts instead of the 1,200 watts that the later dryers gave when connected to to 120 volt power.

 

John L.
 
Both of my Maytags, the A806 and the Baby A102, have 50 cycle pulleys and belts for kick ass agitation. That old tub design with the blank section opposite the fins really drives the water up for great turnover. Of course, I guess a great argument can be made for the newer style tub in the Power Fin machines in that the holes all the way down allow the agitator to force water through the fabrics and out through the holes.
 
yes, I had the 806 connected to 120 as I only have one 240 at the moment in the basement. I will be putting another outlet in the basement soon as I have another 240 line that was supposed to be for an electric range and it isn't being used as I have a gas range. now that you mention it, when I took apart my 642 dryer the other night to give it a good clean out and service I did notice the element being a 2 piece! what is the possibility of finding another 2 piece element to hold onto as a spare and also what is this 50 cycle pulley you speak of? Seems like something Id love to look into putting one of the machines.
 
good news and bad news

good news is that I got the ball hinges and glides, Bad news is that the injector part 206154 is NLA as of last year. I knew I should have ordered more than 2 when I had the chance!
 
Oh, I know! I used to get them from the appliance place I used to work at for $15!
Thanks so much Robert for the link, I just called and got one from a place about 2 miles from my house for $45 which I’m not happy about but considering I need to get these back together tonight, beggars can’t be choosers!
 
All back together and although it runs like new, it needs valves as these are too far gone from sitting with hard water in them, and the timer motor is shot, it’s possible that it might have been defective hence the lack of wear and tear on the machine. What surprises me more than anything is that the motor itself has not one speck of dust in it nor does it show any signs of use and the belts are original. I ordered a new set of NOS valves for it and a NOS timer motor to the tune of $84.
 
Reply #28

Good progress, You may want to save the original inlet valve, it can be rebuilt by replacing the rubber valve diaphragms.

 

This is about the earliest MT washer I have seen after MT started using the crappy Kingston timers, the timer motors in these fail just from time, if this washer would have had the Mallory timer it would have been just fine.

 

This was always the worst thing about MT was that they often used 2nd tier parts suppliers, if MT had not used Westinghouse motors, Kingston timers, Robertshaw water-level switches & inlet valves their machines would have been even more reliable, But I guess that they needed to keep the lonely repairman from being too lonely, LOL

 

Fortunately your machine got the very good GE motor.

 

John L.
 
Hi john
I plan on keeping the original inlet valve, actually it does indeed need the rubber diaphgrams, I did take them apart and clean them to the best of my capabilities and the hot side works flawlessly, the cold side just drips in then the valve opens. Does anyone know where to get the diaphgrams? As for the timer, I noticed that the original timer motor when finagled by hand will spin freely and then bind up on something broken within it. You can definitely tell where costs were cut when building this machine.
 
Thank you ben! I could have saved a few bucks and rebuilt my other 3 valves for what I spent on the NOS valves, although it might have been worth getting the new valve only for the fact that id have a spare.
 
This thread has me lusting after a vintage Maytag set. I know it’s inlikely, but I really want a 900 series set!!
 
Reply #30

Thanks Ben, these are the kits you need, the only problem we have had with this kits is the little metal plunger can rust and then allow the valve to stick open and flood, they are not as good as the original SS plungers, we had quite a few return calls and floods with these.

 

If you use these kits use the original SS plungers, who knows maybe they fixed the problem by now, if you want to use the new plungers make sure they are not magnetic.

 

John L.
 
A103 Washer

WOW! Great find! Seeing this washer brought back the memories. The washer looks like the only my mother bought, also in 1965.March 1965 to be exact. It came with the black wringer style agitator. It was a great machine and lasted 24 years before the transmission failed and the machine was replaced.

Yours in a model A103 and if I'm seeing the control panel correctly it looks like a single speed machine. My mom's had NORMAN ACTION GENTLE ACTION. So would that have been a model A203? Hers also had a suds return but I don't think that changed the model number.
 
Mike, swoon!! Love the shot of the Gyrafoam with a full water level. Neighbor's mother bought a used one of those for their weekend house. I saw it about 1968 or 1969. Have never forgotten such a mesmerizing sight.
 
I would like to upload a full cycle on YouTube of all 3 maytags at some point as there are no vids on the 142C, the A-502 and the A-103. For the agitator to be so basic, it definitely moves some clothes and makes some nice turnover. It’s very impressive.
 

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