POD 2/3/17 TOL Whirlpool Suds-Miser: ATT'N Polkanut, Arkonman, & Suds Lovers

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Hey Gansky--

Thanks for the pics of the 61 model, very nice.

I usually go low suds detergent in a Kenmore, true. On the rare occasion when I have the dirtiest greasiest loads, I go for the Filter-Flo instead. Nevertheless, Kenmores are pretty darn good machines, long-lasting, part still available, etc. And when paired with a 66 or later Whirlpool/Kenmore dryer, you'll have a reliable set for decades.

Don't know why, but my huge capacity 1974 has never suds-locked. Maybe because the Penta-Swirl, while it certainly delivers turnover, doesn't get the water as sudsy as a Surgilato?
 
Lovin' all the pics and fun discussion

Not to mention the fact that the wash water, itself, in a Frigidaire, is diluted by a full half before the wash spin begins in models with the two minute overflow, once amusingly called the "Lint Away Wash," for a few years. In a way, you could say that Frigidaire invented the cooldown, way back in 1951, 2, or 3, whenever the double rinse morphed to the double overflow.

Ah, but Frigidaires could suds lock like nobody's business. my aunts on my dad's side all had Frigidaires like my Mom who was the oldest and who started Frigidaire Mania in the extended family and they all used ALL, all "regular" detergents verboten. Tide would pop that reset button like popping corn at the movie theatre! My grandmother didn't like low suds, so she used a just half cup of blue Cheer religiously.

Now I know why someone wanted the 66 Mark XII, if I was not going to make the purchase, and he so elegantly made no fuss. Know that when I'm taken into the conversion camp, the 66 will go to him till I return.

So.....as the Kenmore Keyboards were on the stage for years, what was the Whirlpool equivalent. My mind's eye is still drawing blanks.
 
Whirlpool had the same basic thing, just not the giant piano key buttons. I also don't remember seeing a Whirlpool that was like the '59 Kenmore with only big buttons and no timer knob to set. It does seem strange that Whirlpool would make the fanciest looking models with Kenmore.
 
Are there any pictures around of later WP's. Always wondered about that too! Why all the glitz for the KM's. The Shoe Cobbler's kids have bad shoes ;'D.

Another thing I've always wondered about: The Kenmores had EIGHT second sprays while the Whirlpool's were only five seconds. Found out later that the KM's switched to 5, too.

Any info on that, causes, rationale, etc?
 
 
Whirlpool stopped the pushbutton-programmed-timers in the mid 1960s, maybe 1966 or 1967?  It remained exclusive to Kenmore.  The TOL Imperial Mark XII went to pushbuttons for five temp combos, three agitate speeds, two spin speeds, rotary water level, and a "standard" timer with (Super) Normal, (Super) WnW/Perm Press, and Gentle (Knit was included in the mid 1970s).  Super-capacity 18# was redubbed Imperial Mark 18 (then Solid State Mark Series for the electronics).

This was the last of the Imperial Mark 18 models (which dropped to a two-speed motor instead of three-speed).

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huge capacity 74 never suds locked

Mark, my hypothesis is that the drain period was 4 minutes long and allowed more time for excess water to drip out of the heavy load before it spun.  I've not been able to get any ex large capacity Kenmore to suds lock either. 
 
I agree with Bob

Was just about to post that the four minute drain may be monotonous for us washer watchers to endure and seem a nutty wasteful of time, but it does indeed do wonders to diminish suds before spin.

When using my 1967 24-inch straight vane machine, it occasionally suds locks, even with today's lower suds detergents. Another straight vane machine can be right next to it (with a four minute drain) same detergent, similar load, no lock or even a hint of it.

There is something else though that helps the older large capacity belt drives: they have a tub outlet hose that has probably twice the diameter going into the tub manifold. Suds are far more likely to fall out of the tub into the drain system before they have a chance to lock with this wider hose. I am not sure I have ever seen a large cap machine suds lock, and we had a water softener with ours.

The four minute drain must be the largest part of the combination there though, as the revised 1981+ energy saver BDs reverted back to the original outlet hose.

Gordon
 
Glenn ~

Thank you for those handsome, striking photos, and for providing me with the answer to a long standing question, and for focusing the question better than I did. So the 66 may have been the last of the programmed, stop 'n lock dials, and that's why my mind kept drawing blanks, and rightly so: There weren't any. Very Comfortting ;'D

Do you have any information on the curious divergence in the time span of the spray rinses between the KM 8 second sprays versus the WP 5 second ones, and then the KM reversal to 5 second sprays in 1965? It intrigues the heck out of me.
 

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