New cabin came with 2 presents (for me anyway)

[tuthill]

My mom's new cabin has 2 washers that the previous owners left behind. There is a slightly older Hotpoint (not sure of model or year) but the tub was black or dark gray, didn't look very big and the agitator was small white and was curved from the bottom fins all the way up, and there was a cap (smaller, but similar to a filter-flo cap) but looked like a fabric dispenser. Anyone know what kind of machine this is?

There is also a center dial Kenmore belt-drive, not sure of the year. Since this one isn't hooked up I assume it's the broken one but I'd rather fix this one and get rid of the Hotpoint, as it looked rather chinsy. Anyone know how easy the center dial Kenmore belt drives are to work on?

 

[whitekingd]

Aren't belt drive Kenmore's, belt drive Kenmore's? I don't think they changed too terribly much through the years. I don't know, but, great luck to you!!!!!!!!!

 

[jamiel]

That sounds like maybe a Canadian washer???

 

[danemodsandy]

Tuthill:

Weren't you just wondering if you would ever find any vintage appliances?

Now you know how it works- they find you.

Congratulations!

 

[volvoguy87]

First, determine what's wrong.

I'm no expert, so listen to the advice from others here.

1. Check the suspension, possibly by rocking the tub by hand. If the machine is level, it should center itself when you let go.
2. Look at the guts. If the belt is shredded you may have found the problem. Look for other obvious defects such as rust, evidence of dripping or leaking water or transmission oil, frayed wires, or rotten hoses.
3. Pour some very hot water into the washer to test for leaks and soften up any rubber parts in the pump.
4. Plug in the machine and set it to drain then spin. This will test the pump, the timer, and the motor.
5. Select the lowest water level and see if you can get agitation and the completion of a cycle.

I hope this helps somewhat. Hopefully others will have some better ideas or at least more specific recommendations.

Dave

 

[tuthill]

Yep, I was looking for vintage washers I don't know when I'll get around to the Kenmore, as its buried in junk in the back of the shed. But I'm definately going to make an effort to fix it (with the help of this site of course!). It is quite possible that the Hotpoint is a Canadian washer because the cabin is on Lake Vermilion in Northern Minnesota. Anxious for it to be summer so I can clean up/fix/play with the two machines.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Regarding the Kenmore

There have been center dial Kenmores of more than one vintage, as I have two from 1970, but I'm assuming you mean a mid-70s to mid-80s machine? Even if not, like someone else said, a belt-drive is pretty much a belt-drive, though in my experience the earlier ones can be a little more finicky than newer ones (but that is just my experience only). The pre-1971 machines chew up belts much faster.

Here's what I do when I test one:

Visually inspect underneath through the service panel....if the belt is there, in one piece, and you can move it back and forth, that's good. If the motor is there and looks good, that's good as well. This is where you'll find a locked-up motor, pump or gearcase (or all three).

With the timer clearly set so the machine is OFF, plug the washer in. If you don't throw a breaker, you've passed the next test.

Put the timer in the last section of the final spin on the normal/cotton sturdy cycle, with the lid UP. Listen for any unusual sounds as the machine is basically in full idle.

Close the lid or depress the lid switch - the machine should spin. If you get that far, I wouldn't be too afraid of the machine, at least functionally/mechanically. Some machines have a dry agitate portion in the timer on the normal cycle, so you can test that as well, but that's hit or miss and depends on the model. It is usually in the final two minutes of wash. If your machine goes right from fill into neutral/pump out, it doesn't have it.

If your machine is a late model belt drive, chances are pretty good unless it has 500,000 miles on it that the belt is reasonably ok, at least to test with. I have not come across but one or two machines from the late 70s up that broke their belts, however they do wear over time.

Many late model belt-drives had leaky centerpost gaskets. If you see excessive rust on the baseplate, or better yet, a white detergent trail, this may be why the machine was parked.

I would not put any water in the machine yet until you have a better feeling that the machine can remove it on its own and that it is not going to spew everywhere. Once you know it MAY run and pump out, that's when I'd put water in it.

If you get that far and find nothing, you can cautiously say you may have found a jewel. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with a machine, or something that can be easily fixed or lived with as-is. The machine I most recently worked on revealed a dead-spot in the timer in the delicate cycle that could have been annoying to the previous owner, but I ran it seven cycles in Normal before I noticed it.

Good luck!

Gordon

 

[roto204]

Way good advice

...about not filling it with water until you're sure everything is copacetic.

I gleefully filled my '71 900 up with water and then found that there was a leak. I flipped the timer around to drain it, but there was also a problem with the belt, and it couldn't drive the pump. On that model, the drain hose was up in the top corner of the cabinet, so you couldn't just lower it and have it siphon out the water.

Thus, instead of a two-hundred pound paperweight, I ended up with a five-hundred pound paperweight stuck in the corner of my laundry room, leaking on the drainless floor. (So, yeah, the siphon idea would have been cool, too.)

I took that moment to reflect gravely on that exceedingly poor decision, and in so doing, reached volume level 15 and utilized 90% of the words my mother would have spanked me for saying.

 

[tuthill]

Gordon.

Thanks for the info! I will certainly follow this advice when I get the machine out this summer.