Need help identifying my Maytags

[fester]

Hi y'all.

I'm an FNG on the board and a noob when it comes to appliance restoration, so please bear with me until I catch my head a bit.

I have several Maytags including a wringer and my daily driver. The units in question, three washers and one dryer, are as follows. A700 212970MC, it has what appears to be a rotary switch that sticks up through the control head on the right hand side. Any Ideas? I have similar looking dryer that I can't find a number for. It has a wider cabinet than the A700, a lint trap in the rear of the drum and a turn latch handle on the door. It only has a 110V cord, so I assume it's gas. The exhaust is high, center, rear facing.

The other washers are A712 series 02 s/n 003595 RA and A108 112553ZH.

My plan is to rob the larger tub and related parts from my non working A712 to restify the the A700 if possible. I'd like get it to a state similar to the 50 Hz pulley equipped Supertag in the archives if possible.

I also have another Maytag in daily use that I believe to be of a lower line but close to the non working A712 that was my daily driver until it died.

I haven't yet found the info I need in the archives, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks! FEster

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Greetings and Welcome to AW.org!

 

Question: What does "FNG" mean?

 

On to your questions: On your A700 (built Jan 1964), the rotary switch on the top right of the console is a rinse temp switch.   Position #1 (left) is "Automatic", for Hot or Warm wash, it has a warm rinse.   Position #2 (right) is the cold override, cold rinse regardless of wash temp.

 

As for the dryer, if you open the dryer door the model/serial info plate should be somewhere in the door opening.   If you can't find it for some reason (or even if you can) post a photo of the dryer's control panel and someone here can probably tell you the model number.   That design is called the "Halo of Heat" and was built from the late '50's into the mid '70's (tho a smaller cabinet was fitted when the model line was redesigned in 1966).

 

The A712 is from Jan '86 and the A108 was built April '77.

 

What happened to the A712 that it's dead?   

 

What's wrong with the A700 or the A108?  

 

Can you post photos of any of them?

 

As for swapping the larger tub into the A700, you cannot swap just the wash basket from one to the other as it won't fit.   You'd be better off swapping the complete cabinet from one machine to the other.

 

Kevin

 

 

[fester]

Maytag issues and plans and other stuff

Ok,here we go. FYI My handle, "FEster" was hung on me by some way cool Jarheads when I was a contractor at camp TQ, Iraq. They said I looked like Uncle Fester. FE is the symbol for iron and I have a weird thing for old iron head, Harley Sportsters. So "FEster" was born. FNG is what they called a "friggin new guy".

The A712, my only washer at the time, just stopped working late one night. I unplugged it, bailed out the water and dragged it out of it's hole. I planned to check the lid switch , timer, etc, the first chance I got. It didn't smell burnt or anything, so I figured it wasn't much. It just didn't kick on. When I got home from work the next night, it was obvious that someone had been monkeying with it. Half the wires were off the motor, the plastic junction the wires plugged to was broken, there was a faint smell of smoke in the cabinet and the roomies knew nothing about it. Yeah, right!

While getting a replacement for the broken plastic piece from the Maytag dealer, I discovered the A700 and the dryer that had been on display inside and the A108 in the junk heap out back. I dragged them home and the plan for functioning vintage appliances was born.

I bought the A712's low option brother from a used appliance seller for my daily and never looked back. I wanted a "real Maytag"! The used guy says he hears that more and more these days. He will be a good parts source as well.

As for modifying the A700, the Maytag dealer and the used seller told me that many parts do interchange, but researching it can be difficult due to all the options, variations and possible parts combinations. If I have to swap the guts in any part or the whole lower, I'm good with that. These units aren't pristine, or as the archives state, all that rare. My goal is to end up with a cool, mid century pair of "real Maytags" for daily use. I dig the lighted glass control panels! Having a couple of extra units lurking in the carport makes the bigger tub seem like almost a no brainer and the 50 Hz pulley's higher spin speed seems like the road to go as well.

I'll try to move some junk and get some pics posted soon.

If anyone has any ideas on what fits, better choices, stronger motors, beefier transmissions, parts to avoid, etc, feel free to chime in. Any input is welcome and greatly appreciated. I think I came to the right place!

Thanks! FEster

 

[goatfarmer]

You can switch cabinets with the 712, and 108, that's the easiest thing to do. You will have a small capacity tub, but that gets you a daily driver, or just fix the 108 for a DD. Or find out what exactly happened to the 712.

If your dryer is gas, there will be a small access door on the RF of the dryer, to light the pilot for the burner. What is supposed to be wrong with the 700? Have you plugged it in? There may be nothing, or something minor like belts and motor slides.

 

[fester]

A700 status and Dryer ID

The A700 and dryer were a on display in the Maytag dealership for years. They were take outs when a customer bought the latest, greatest, newest. I have another working A712 or very similar for a DD now, so I'm in no hurry to fix the dead one right away. I might do the 712 to 108 swap down the road though. I would really like to explore getting the A700 going and then upping the tub size by hook, by crook or bottom swap. I don't know the ins and outs of appliances like some on this board do, but I'm a pretty good mechanic, can cut, fit, weld, braze, fabricate brackets and know several good machinists. I just don't want to take the long way around due to to ignorance on the subject. On the other hand, the systems and circuitry is Greek to me.

As far as the dryer goes, I'll have to move a ton of stuff to get to the front of it, so....maybe when I clean up one week end. Did Maytag really make electric dryers that ran on 110v? Wow, That sounds like a juice burning slow boat to China there, for sure. I've only seen dual voltage models in the member collections.

Gotta run, will continue later!

Thanks! FEster

 

[goatfarmer]

If you can see the back, there should be a gas line sticking out. Six, two, and even, there is nothing wrong with the 700 set.
Most any electric dryer can be run on 110v, but as you know, it takes a day and a half to dry a load!

 

[fester]

Maytag center dial dryer ID

Okay, no ID tag in door area or on door. It only has a standard 110V style plug. No pilot light door in front panel. No visible gas line sticking, but can't see what's below rear panel level. If I had to guess, I'd say all the working parts are aft of the drum. The drum has a fairly large diameter, but it is shallow front to back compared to my more modern Kenmore gas DD. Looks like it has a lint filter is dead center back with holes for thumb and finger to remove the cover, but I can't reach it as it sits. This machine is similar, but not a match to my A700. The chrome trim on the front is wider than on the A700 and the cabinet is quite a bit wider too. Both have the back lit glass tops though.

Also to correct my earlier post My DD washer is a A412. Not another A712 like the dead one.

Man, this is quite a board. I rarely read a thread that I don't learn something from. I just found out my Maytag wringer is a 66 or newer

FEster!

 

[goatfarmer]

It's possible that the dealer added the 110 volt cord, for display purposes.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

OK FEster.... Again, photos would help greatly...

 

Does the dryer look anything like this one?   

 

Key things to look for...

 

#1 Are there any buttons on the control panel to the RIGHT of the timer knob like this one?

 

#2 Are there little RED & BLACK buttons on the left side of control panel like this one? 

 

#3  On the timer dial, are the indications one color and time dry only, or multi position (timed and auto dry) and multi color?

 

Kevin

 

(Photo: My 1960 142 (washer) & 641C (dryer).  The dryer is time dry only and the buttons on the right are Reg Fabrics, Wash N Wear and Damp Dry as I remember)

 

[revvinkevin]

Example of #3 above

 

 

Here's a close up of my 1962 DE701 control panel.   This one has both auto-dry and timed dry cycles.   No buttons on the right, only a filler plate that says "ELECTRONIC CONTROL".

 

Kevin

 

[redcarpetdrew]

I was thinking that Kenny's right. I'll bet the dealer wired a 110 plug to display the lights. I'd be checking the wiring at the terminal block.

By the way, FEster, thank you for the time you put in @ Iraq. Were you in the service or there as support?

RCD

 

[revvinkevin]

And to go one step further.....

 

 

Here is a Maytag gas dryer (this one happens to be a 1959 model... Look familier RCD??).

 

Notice the little access door on the lower right of the cabinet.  This is to access the pilot light and other components.   If your dryer is gas then it will have this little access door.   If it doesn't, Kenny is right, it's a 220V dryer and the dealer put a 110V power cord on it.  The lights will work and the dryer will tumble, but you won't get any heat.  I've done that to a number of 220V dryers I have.

 

Kevin

[this post was last edited: 9/26/2012-17:12]

 

[fester]

One leg to light the the lights!

Duh, too obvious. I should have thought of that.

It has a multi colored multi cycle dial and electronic control to the right. I still can't find the number tag. So its electric. I lean towards gas. Kind of a bummer. I recon I can get her going and maybe swap with someone needing an electric or just have a spare. My dryer space is rigged for gas and electric.

More Questions.....
What years did they make the big wide body dryers?
Are these models worth a flip?
Does this narrow the years down a bit?

I also have an air compressor and a paint gun. What type of paint do you recommend for appliances? Epoxy for the hardness or urethane for chemical resistance? Some other? I think powder coating would be a bit pricey.

In Iraq I contracted to operate heavy equipment. I was much too old and fat to enlist.

Thanks for all the help! Trying not to be a pain in the backside.

FEster

 

[goatfarmer]

Pictures will answer most of your questions.