Photo of Early A806 *NON-PP* Timer Dial?

[lowefficiency]

Quick question:
Does anyone here happen to have a good photo or illustration of the timer dial for an early Maytag A806 washer *WITHOUT* the Permanent Press cycle?

I've done a fair amount of searching, but the best I've found is the 1966 brochure illustration below. It's an OK picture, but not quite clear enough to read.

I'm considering using an early A806 2-3182 (2-3182-1) timer in a FrankenMaytag to add the 806's Pre-Wash and Soak cycles... but the two-year-only dial itself is quite elusive. I'm also considering reproducing and transferring the early non-PP graphics to a later spun-aluminum dial, a combo Maytag never made, but would need a good visual reference to do so.

 

[wayupnorth]

But doesnt the Wash and Wear cycle button be the same as PP?

 

[peteski50]

Maytag!

Is this photo large enough?

 

[qsd-dan]

I own 4 806 washers including an early version of your inquiry and here's why I recommend NOT using it:

4 water level selections vs 3. Obvious, and it may at first seem of insignificance, but that extra water level allows one to make finer adjustments to the other 3 levels.

Flexibility in wash/spin speeds selections. These early models carried over the same restricted options from the previous generation(s) leaving one with only 2 choices: Regular Wash/Reuglar Spin speed and Gentle Wash/Gentle Spin speeds. One cannot mix it up and select Gentle Wash/Reuglar Spin that's available on later models and a selection I happen to use often. Never once used the Gentle Spin speed selection as my wardrobe doesn't include that kind of nonsense.

These earlier timers use a 45 second advancement mechanism therefore the spray rinse during the first spin cycle is only 45 seconds vs 1 full minute on later models.

 

[yogitunes]

I am with Dan on the high speed spin on every cycle.....and the option to choose it...

any machine can have a Pre-wash, basically a Rinse/Spin...

an Automatic Soak is only seems beneficial if the machine can continue on into the regular cycle.....other wise, set for wash, let agitate, and then pause the machine....if not an AutoSoak, you have to return to the machine anyway...

what you might consider is a timer setup from a unit with a SudsReturn feature.....the timer motor does not run during the water return....basically a continuous wash for how ever long you wish...a double dose of detergent and gentle speed agitation can work wonders....

 

[bajaespuma]

How's this? I think it's Yogi's machine and a Suds Saver to boot.

 

[bajaespuma]

and then there's this:

I think when the Washpower Automatics first came out, they pimped up the dials on the 806 and 606 with a layer of clear acrylic and a chrome ring to line up with the knob. I remember a plain plastic knob, like the one on the left, on the early 206 they had in the basement of a house I rented.

 

[lowefficiency]

Thanks for the replies!

All very helpful, but perhaps I should have given some more background for my inquiry!

The concept in my head would be to swap the timer (and ONLY the timer) in my A408, to gain the A806's automatic pre-wash and pre-soak functionality (which we would like), at the expense of losing the timed and non-timed soaks of the A408 (which we don't use). It wouldn't be an A806 in any other way, and the machine would retain the A408's front panel and all of its buttons. Not necessarily an upgrade, per-se, just a different feature set. Because of this, many aspects of the early vs late A806 aren't particularly of concern.

And yes, we technically can trigger as many extra rinses and soaks as we like with the existing A408 timer, and that's what we are doing now. But I'd rather just start the laundry, not have to manually intervene 4-6 times per load to get the equivalent cycle.

So the conversion would go something like this:

Water level selection would stay 4-levels (A408) with no changes needed.

The motor speed inputs/outputs of the A806 timer would simply be hardwired to the Regular/Regular mode and only the Regular speed output would be connected to the motor. I would lose the single-speed A408's intermittent Delicate and Permanent Press modes, as the simpler control logic of the two-speed A806 timer doesn't replicate this pulsed functionality. There is a chance it could be added back later, by modifying the cam wheel in the A806 timer on the slow-speed motor control track, but I wouldn't do that right away.

The tub light and fluorescent lamp circuits from the timer would not be connected.

For the temp selector, the idea would be the same to use the A408's existing paired selector buttons (Hot/Warm, Hot/Cold, Warm/Cold, Cold/Cold) in place of the A806's discrete Cold/Warm/Hot wash and Cold/Warm rinse buttons. The circuits are a bit different, so I would have to trace out the diagrams to see how that should be wired.

Hopefully that makes a bit more sense. I have a failing timer on the A408, and while I plan to attempt a rebuild, this seems like a good opportunity for an experiment. Eventually the whole machine will be replaced with an A806, but for the moment, I have to work with what I have.

 

[lowefficiency]

So I've done some more searching, and found a few more photo examples to go with the one posted by peteski50.

Interestingly though, they differ slightly.

In this thread:
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?34443
we have this photo posted by Kenmore71:

 

[lowefficiency]

... and in this thread:
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?42073
... we have a photo posted by qsd-dan.

 

[lowefficiency]

Lastly, there is this image posted by swestoyz:
https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?7821

 

[lowefficiency]

The difference, subtle but there, is in the font and general text alignment. Most obvious is the number "10" - peteski50's image clearly shows a serif font used for the number 1, whereas Kenmore71's image clearly shows a sans-serif 1. bajaespuma's two posts show different dials from other models, but include some of both styles. The sizing and spacing of other elements also changed slightly, for example the word "DELICATES".

This doesn't really mean much, just that there were at least two different versions of this very short-lived timer dial.

 

[tomturbomatic]

What does the Wash 'n Wear button do,  please? I thought it provided a regular agitation speed and slow spin speed.

 

[easy]

Wash and Wear button

You're right - this button did provide a regular wash with a slow spin. There was no gradual cool down provided like the later models with the PP cycle.

If it's of any interest, there was a brief period of time before the PP cycle was introduced that the 406, 606, and 806 had 4 water levels instead of the prior three. Small now had 9 gallon fill, the old small became medium with 13(?) gallon fill. Normal and large stayed the same.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you. I think as dryers became more a part of standard household laundry equipment and water came to be seen as a finite resource, the cooldown came to be seen as unnecessary, except if, as Maytag suggested, you used it to enhance rinsing. I used to wash my permanent press dress shirts in the Frigidaire washers that provided the 1140 rpm spin and during cold weather I dried them in a Frigidaire Filtrator Dryer and had superb results.

 

[DADoES]

 
WP dealer where I worked told customers not to use Perm Press unless line-drying the items.

Washer cool downs nowadays are pointless for the 99.99% of the population that wash everything in cold water.

 

[jil1000]

1966 A806 Timer Dial

A picture of my 1966 806 dial

 

[tomturbomatic]

But wasn't there a cycle button for Permanent Press?

 

[maytag85]

Reply #17

This is a button for the Permanent Press/Wash N Wear cycle. I believe the Maytag A806’s in the late 60’s (around 1968 or 1969) had the separate wash and spin speed selections.

 

[Chetlaham]

Does anyone know what the cycle sequence and timing was like? Dan mentioned that these have a 45 second advance timer. Did these washers drain and spin after pre-wash or the soak period? Did they advance automatically into soak from prewash or from soak to the normal cycle? How long was the soak period?

 

 

I really like the concept of having a prewash and presoak before the main wash, it basically allows you pre-treat stains and hard soils automatically. 

 

One of my favorite soak cycles is the Maytag A407, 21 minutes of soaking with 6 minutes of agitation dispersed through out.      

 

[DADoES]

 
The full automatic sequence is Pre-Wash for the selected time, spin, refill, Soak period, proceed through the Regular cycle with full wash time.  Usage instructions direct the user to add powder or liquid detergent to the basket for the pre-wash and liquid detergent to the softener dispenser for the soak/main wash.  Automatic dispensing of softener without additional attention isn't possible.  Semi-automatic can be had if the user returns to add softener* after the pre-wash spin - before the main wash spin.

Starting at the Soak, of course, eliminates the Pre-Wash and associated spin ... and allows normal hands-off dispensing of softener.

I don't know the duration of the Soak period, perhaps someone else will answer on that point ... or it can be determined/inferred by comparing the arc-span of the Soak period to the wash time.

*The softener dispenser ideally should be rinsed to any clear liquid detergent residue.

 

[Chetlaham]

Thanks, not half bad.

 

 

I like that you can soak and go directly into the main wash without draining and spinning the water out. Personally I would like to see a pre soak cycle such as fill, wash 4 minutes, soak 8 minutes, wash 2 minutes, soak 8 minutes, wash 2 minutes, soak 8 minutes, main wash. That way you don't loose your detergents and soak additives. Extra rinse as needed to handle all the detergent and soil.

 

 

I remember Whirlpool would do a half tub drain instead of a full drain between pre-wash and wash.  

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>I remember Whirlpool would do a half tub drain instead of a full drain between pre-wash and wash.</blockquote> That's only on the true Super Wash option available on some belt-drive (on both Normal and Perm Press) and direct-drive models (including KitchenAid, called it Extra Wash).

There were several variations of a stand-alone Soak or Soak/Pre-Wash cycle.

This is the timer on the KitchenAid 670B (1994) that my mother had.  It has both a separate Soak/Prewash (which ends in drain & spin) and Extra Wash (Super Wash with partial drain).  There were a lot of increments crammed into that timer.  My 1991 KitchenAid also has a stand-alone Pre-Wash/drain/spin and Extra Wash (Super Wash).

Pic 2, I have a 1999 Kenmore with separate stand-alone Prewash/drain/spin and Soak that agitates 4 (or 2) mins then stops leaving the tub filled for a soak for however long the user wishes (reset to a spin position when ready, then run a full cycle of choice).  I believe a few lower-end belt-drives in the 1960s and maybe into the early 70s had a Super Soak which did that in lieu of a Super Wash.

 

[Chetlaham]

I wish this forum could give out awards like reddit could in its free speech days. Reply #22 is worth one.

 

I've always been fascinated by all the offerings and variants Whirlpool had. IIRC, that Kenmore you pictured has the 16 min mark built into the wash which I prefer actually. Some versions of the Kenmores had an options knob which let the timer advance from soak into pre-wash and into wash if the user desired. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do agree with you though. As beautiful as that Kitchen-Aid is, that is just to many cycles and increments rolled into one drum. Hence why I like the Maytag A407 and the washer pictured in this thread so much. An ideal timer for me is a relatively fast one that either continuously advances 360* in 65 minutes or with 48 incremental advancements. Roughly 30 minutes allocated to soak and 30 minutes to the main wash/rinse sequence. The rest like temps, speeds, Permanent Press, ect via separate knobs. Cleaner looking and less that can go wrong.  

 

 

[DADoES]

 
The Kenmore 90 I have has One Rinse and 2nd Rinse on the options knob, no Prewash Only and Soak Only choices.

 

[Chetlaham]

This is how I envision my perfect version of the Kenmore 90. Don't kink shame now  

 

Single cycle timer with no extra frills, pre-soak, prewash and main wash. Everything else is determined by the knobs. 

 

 

 

 

 

[combo52]

Control panel design post 25

That doesn’t give the user a bit of useful information. I guess this is why you’re not designing appliances, lol.

Consumers years ago voted with their pocketbook and they want to know what the machine is doing and make their own choices. This type of useless labeling went out with the Maytag 906 and other pre-program machines that gave you no information on the machine as to what it would actually do.

John L

 

[Chetlaham]

As I said, don't kink shame

 

People can have their own preference.

[this post was last edited: 4/5/2025-14:42]

 

[maytag85]

As a Maytag fanatic, I wouldn’t want to use a Maytag 906 on a daily basis since it’s difficult to tell what’s going on, despite knowing the ins and outs of the cycles and functions. The only pre-programmed machine I used for a brief time was my ‘63 Whirlpool Mark XII, thankfully it had the cycles printed out behind the timer dial, instructions on the lid to show what portion of the cycle it was in or what it was doing. The only gripe I had was you couldn’t select the wash or rinse temperatures, but at least Whirlpool programmed everything correctly, including stepping down the agitation speed on the Wash N Wear/Permanent Press cycle.

If I were to make a one cycle, BOL machine, would have a partial pre-wash cycle similar to the Super Wash cycle, would be followed by the main wash, in the last 6 minutes it would step down to gentle agitation, would then shift into a fast or normal spin, rinse cycle would be gentle speed, final spin Luke be fast/normal. I almost never use the slow spin on my Maytag 806 hence why I’d program a machine like that.

If I wanted to make it even simpler, would just make the agitation slower, but the spin wouldn’t be affected. That’s what I did to my Whirlpool 4 years ago (when I was putting it back together, working out bugs) since I just put a larger pulley on. Difficult to tell what the OPM’s are, but seems to look similar, if not be the same as a ‘65 and up Maytag.

 

[Marky_Mark]

What do you guys think of this:

I've noticed that my A806 always does a fast spin on the PP cycle regardless of whether you select fast or slow spin. But on the regular cycle you can choose the spin speed.

I don't know if this is because someone has changed something or if there is a fault or if it was designed this way.