My New Kenmore Washer

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Pic 2

inside of wash tub.

Inside looks very clean. I test drive the washer before I buy it. Sounds great! I would like to know what is the model # is?

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Looks GREAT!!

I don't want to interrupt your post if you're listing a string of photos, however I just happened to be peeking in here just as this post came up.

Congratulations! That looks to be a 1978 model, based on the fact that the Delicate cycle (lower right quadrant) says "Knit" and not "Knit-Delicate" or "Knit" and "Delicate" separated. They did that only around 1978 on a couple models.

Neat machine - Four water levels, three temps, and I am guessing a Penta-Swirl?

I just used my 1977 Penta-Swirl equipped machine - I really like that agitator as it is effective yet still quite gentle.

Enjoy the washer and let us know how it goes!

Gordon
 
OOPS - sorry about that! I asked about the agitator while you were posting other pics.

To get the model number, look at the front, lower left corner of the cabinet, down by the left front foot. There should be a model plate riveted to the cabinet there. 110.728706x0 probably. x could be a 0, 1 or 2.

Give me the serial number which is on the same plate and I can tell you when and where the washer was built.
 
Hi Gordon

No you did not brother me one bit. I forgot to add something to the last post, so I edit it! My Aunt use to have a machine like this one before. I did fall in love with it.

I have one of the newest Maytag washers, but I still like the old Kenmore/Whirlpool belt driven machines better!
 
I get the machine on Sunday

Gordon, I get the washer on Sunday afternoon, and I will post the model # later on Sunday late afternoon. The guy is bring the washer to my house, (I do not have a truck). Waiting, Waiting, and hurry up get to Sunday afternoon, so I can use it! LOL
 
Neat agitator...thanks for posting! It would be cool to see a video of the wash action on medium...always the best load size to see agitator action IMO.
 
Dan -

Check Youtube for '1977 Kenmore washer'. I have a vid out there of my machine with the same agitator in several load conditions including medium. Not the greatest quality footage as my camera was meant for still-frame shots but it's had unexpected value as a washer video maker.

Gordon
 
Really neat machine..........

I always liked the penta-swirl agi - the ones that had the gold starburst design top were neat too. Great find and buy -
hope you really enjoy it!

BTW guys, I've been extremely busy with my FT job and the pipe organ business on the side and have not gotten to finsh up the YouTube posts on my '63 Kenmore and late 70s/early 80s White-Westy SpaceMates front loader yet. Plan to work on that this coming Monday - waiting on a re-stock of sales/promotional materials to arrive before heading back out the following Monday on another organ day trip.
 
There's My 1978 Kenmore Large Capacity Model 70.....

@ Gordon:

THIS Washer was our second washer. This was the washer that replaced our 1967 24" 1/1/1 Washer back in 1978 (right down to the capacity..... we stepped up to a Large Capacity Machine back in 1978). Only ours was White. I see this one is Tawney Gold.

One question though (to anyone)..... Where's the fabric softener dispenser??? Ours had a fabric softener dispenser mounted right on top of a Penta-Swirl Agitator.

Nice machine, Harold. I hope you get to enjoy her once she's checked out.

--Charles--
 
Charles -

I bet your second washer was really appreciated with all that extra capacity, which is probably close to double that of a 24-inch machine. Your mom must have thought she had two new washers!

Those dispensers are meant to be removed (1972 versions and later), and very often when a machine was sold, the dispenser didn't go with it. My mother's 1974 machine had the same dispenser, but in gold. We used it sporadically and kept it in the cabinet when not in use. We actually did manage to include it with the machine for the new buyers, who were friends of mine (we left the machine in Denver when we moved and I insisted on knowing what happened to the washer so I sold it to some friends).

Our next machine has the Dual-Action version of that dispenser which my mom only recently began using again after it spent years in cabinet. We had a 'near miss' and almost disposed of the washer/dryer a few years ago, and most likely the dispenser would have been left in the cabinet only to be discovered months later.

Harold - Charles brings up a good point - do you know if the machine comes with a dispenser? If not, it might be worthwhile to ask your seller if it has one. If not, I think we can find one within this group for you if you want one.

Gordon
 
And Here's An Addend....

@ Gordon (again):

Yep.... it was definitely appreciated. And it certainly outlasted the 1967 Machine, that's for sure. It was still running when my parents sold their house in 1992. It was every bit of 14 years old at the time. They went ahead and ended up leaving it in the house when they sold it.

One more important fact about our machine though that I forgot to mention in my earlier post. Our machine was also a Sud-Saver model.

And when did your mom get her next machine when she replaced her 1974 Kenmore??? Was it around the same time we got ours back in 1978 or so??? And if it is like ours which is pictured above, did this machine have a Dual-Action Agitator??? I didn't think that Model 70's had Dual-Action Agitators at the time.

--Charles--
 
Avatar PIX

Gordon,

I LOVE your Kenmore AVATAR pic. If you ever feel like offloading it. I would be interested... I dig the backlite roto swirl agitators. Growing up, a neighbor down the street had a machine very similar to this. She used to always do laundry with her garage door open. I snuck in to take a peek on Saturday morning and she caught me. She told me I could come over and watch her machine anytime. As long as I came to the front door and asked first.

I especially like the console with that distinct pointer! Very cool!

Malcolm
 
Charles -

We replaced the 1974 machine in January 1983 when we moved to Charlotte. I lost track of the '74 in the late 90s when my friend/co-worker passed away. They had the machine much longer than we did - for something like 15 or 16 years, I think with one repair.

We replaced the '74 because we did not have a matching dryer, and the dryer we had was gas, and we needed electric in Charlotte. So, Mom replaced both with a new matching set to celebrate moving to Charlotte. We got a very common 1981 model 70-series (that was built well into 1983). By that time the DA had spread into the seventy series machines.

You're right Charles about the DA - in the 1978 models it had not yet filtered to the 70-series, in fact I think some 80-series didn't have it yet either. The same was true for the '79 models, then in 1980 the upper level 70-series machines got the DA, then by 1981 all the 70s had it, and in 1983, even one 60 had it.

Malcolm -

Thanks for the Avatar comment. I love that machine. That is my mother's first model, and thanks to James/70-Series here, he knew of a club member in Roanoke who had the machine, and I was able to get it, and become friends with him at the same time. If I get another one of these perhaps I'll let one go, however for now it's got a long-term home. I have collected one of each of my Mom's three Kenmores, and soon I'm going to have them all home and connected for use.

Gordon
 
that washer is almost exactly like my '81 70 series except
mine has the DA. Mine also is HG and has a chip in the
porcelain top in the exact same spot LOL
 
Harold -

That's an entry level 70-series machine, 1978 model, just as I thought.

Are you having fun with it?

Looks like it was made in the 24th week of 1978, so mid-June.

Let us know if you find a softener dispenser. I didn't see any on ebay right now.

Enjoy your washer!

Gordon
 
Gordon!

If you or anyone else does have or to get a fabric softner dis. please let me know thru email, which I post it in early reply,.

Gordon, the machine does run fine. I like it better than my direct Maytag washer inside of the house. On the temp switch I did notice that the temp. is Cold/Cold Warm/Cold Hot/Warm. I can't believe the hot has a warm rinse!

It does have 4 water levels. It does have a prewash cycle, normal, permanent press, knits/delicate cycle.

This afternoon, I did hook up the washer using well water and a temp. drain pipe. Very soon I am going to have a washer hook up in that closet, and also another cold water line from my well, during the warm months I being washing clothes in well water not the city water. (The well water do not have any rust in it)!

The agitator is white

Gordon, Thank You for the information you give to me about the year and so on!

harold++5-9-2010-19-58-53.jpg
 
harold, that's the exact same washer (in features) we got for our vacation/2nd home--the washer & dryer were purchased in 1976, spring I do believe. (I ended up bringingt college laundry "home" one weekend to use the new machine. I personally wasn't too impressed with the penta-swirl agitation roll over compared to the super rotoswirl in the infamous 1970 Kenmore 800 that was in Houston at the time. In fact, I felt the set was something of a "come-down" compared to the 800 at home in Houston. (Ours were white). Friend of mine bought the same set, and in gold too, in Austin when they got married in 1978. The husband turned out to be one of the principal foundrs of Compaq Computer and I was sad to see they left these behind when they moved into their much LARGER house that came with new Maytags in 1985. Our matching dryer had electronic sensor and Wrinkle Guard II. My friends maching dryer, I think< had fabric master drying istead of electronic sensor and it also had Wrinkle Guard I. And regarding your comment about the Hot wash/Warm rinse, that was pretty standard until new energy standard ended up having most machines have only cold rinses. Only the 80 & 980 series still had warm rinses from Hot washes.
 
Bob -

A spring of '76 purchased machine would have been one of the first black-panel models. If the same features as this, then it would have been a 26701 (there was only one large tub 70 series that year). It was the same basic machine except the delicate cycle said 'KNIT - DELICATE' on the panel whereas the '78 read 'KNIT' (see pic) where most others said 'KNIT' and had a separate 'DELICATE' in separate cycle blocks ('77, '79, and '80 models). This didn't change the timer at all or the machine's overall function.

I don't believe that one can truly compare rollover between a Roto-Swirl and a Penta-Swirl, actually I don't think we can judgementally compare any standard tub washer to a large tub machine. The physics are simply not the same because this tub is not dimensionally proportionate to a standard tub, therefore the approach to agitation in it may not be the same either. This puts any large capacity machine at an automatic disadvantage in that comparison. There is considerably more height in the large basket vs. a small increase in width, so any agitator design has a much tougher job creating enough current to raise and lower clothes over a greater distance in a big tub. (I'm talking belt-drives here). The first agitators used by Kenmore were steroidal straight-vane designs, which were followed for a few years by giant Roto-Swirls. These gave way to the two Penta agitators, and finally the ultimate was the DA. I think a Surgilator or a Roto-swirl were probably developed enough for a standard tub machine, but the large tubs needed other considerations which resulted in the Dual-Action. I am not sure we'd have ever seen a cork-screw agitator if we had stayed with standard capacity machines as the market focus.

Still, knowing the challenges in a big-tub machine, I am more and more finding that I like my 1977 Penta-Swirl equipped washer. I am NOT advocating that it's better than others I have, but I like it. Clothes most definitely are not strewn all over creation in that washer, nor is there roll-over that resembles dolphins at Sea World, BUT, the agitator is more gentle, stuff doesn't go whipping around in the tub like it's getting tugged on from all sides, but it comes out clean. That nasty sock I had a few weeks ago was proof enough for me. I feel better that I haven't put too much wear and tear on my clothes in that machine. Roll over in it is not as dramatic as it would be if I transplanted a DA in there, but clothes do roll, and I think the gentle vanes don't over-beat them when they're in the 'wash zone'. I think Greg's old comment about "One lace doily too much and all action stops" is appropriate for the Penta-Swirl and is one reason why the DA came to be.

Some have said on here that they think the Penta-Vane is a better agitator than the Penta-Swirl, and if Sears' marketing is any indicator, they're probably right because the 'Vane went on after the 1981 redesign to be used for 5 more years whereas the 'Swirl was dropped.

Realizing that the 1970s were an evolutionary time for large capacity machines, I think the Penta-Swirl was a decent attempt.

Gordon
 
What an interesting, fun thread. Congrats, Harold on your ne

You've all got me thinking:

For a few years, the first Whirlpool large capacity machines came equipped with the standard Surgilator. While at maximum fill, the turnover is not of the "dolphins at Sea World variety" (LOL), but it is steady and effective nonetheless. And because the agitator itself is streamlined, compared to its enormous offspring, there is more room in the tub. In fact, after my Aunt Alice gave me her WP, she lamented the fact that her new GE could not take down her quilt.

Similarly, when I moved in here, the house came with the very machine Harold now has. When I looked at the agitator, I thought, as Bob did, are you kidding? Then I saw how effective it was, how much room it provided. Indeed, at the highest water level only the top of the Pentaswirl is visible, similar to Geoff's Gyrators in his conventionals.

In that regard, most conventional washers, or wringers and the Easy, have a large tub and a small agitator, relatively speaking; however, their effectiveness is legendary. Then, when these same agitators appeared in the first automatics with their much smaller tubs, the wash action was both dramatic and extreme--dolphinesque. ;-)

(I've forgotten exactly what the Pentavane looks like, but the image in my mind is of the agitator in Ross's Thor Semi which may very well have been the model for the Pentavane, adapted by Kenmore's engineers.)

Yours, for the greater love of all washers,

Mike
 
Mike -

All you need do is ask! Here are a couple pics of Penta-Vanes, courtesy of ebay, lol. They look somewhat different, but that's the camera angle. They are dimensionally identical.

First one is the gold incarnation, which was offered from 1973 into 1981. This particular one has the softener dispenser extension on it.

kenmoreguy64++5-11-2010-13-08-25.jpg
 
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