POD APRIL 7 2011

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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appnut

appnut

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The Lady Shredmore!!!  Talk about a shock to open the POD and to see that especially so early in the morning.  Purchased the first month they were on the sales floor, Octoberr, 1986.  I was so imipressed with the demo at the store of the turnover of the load.  The clothes movement reminded me so much of a Unimatic washing, and it did kinda sound like it.  Little did I know how much UNLIKE a Unimatic's gentleness would this machine be.  It sits in my garage.  Replaced by the Fridgemore October 2007. 
 
Shredmore

You know Bob,
Before I stumbled upon AW.org, I had been using the Shredmore that is here where I live. Every so often I'll throw a load of Car Towels in it and it truly does beat the crap out of those towels. But I watch my friend Overload that thing and it's amazing how the DD coupler link has never broke yet.
 
Sorry to have given you such a shock so early in the morning Bob :-)

 

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the very last Lady Kenmore.
 
I belive Robert is correct....last of the Lady K's.......I got mine too when they first came out, in Platinum, for the same price I could of had the discontinued Electronic version in Black, last belt drive, but the DD was so appealing.....but know now I should have gone back to a belt drive....
 
OMG!

This is the dryer I grew up with! It was paired with a BD Whirlpool washer until I was 6, then the washer was replaced with a TOL Kenmore washer with the flushed dispensers. (Not the electronic version, one step down.) We had that set until January 1st of 2003 when we moved the laundry room and got the first generation Duet set. Both the washer and dryer were still working. The washer had the timer replaced at one point but the dryer never had a single repair! I miss both those washers and that dryer dearly! The Duet washer was replaced in December of 2010 when the spider assembly broke during the spin cycle (scared the crap out of my parents) and the Duet dryer is still running strong!
 
Lady Kenmore

Seems like I've seen a much newer machine with the LK label before? I'm not sure of how new it was but it was all white with no wood trim or anything. Still sort of had that squarish console shape though.

 

-Tim
 
Ah yes, this machine

It's a very nice, reliable machine. As long as you don't overload it, or wash things in it that will fall apart on the cottons/sturdy cycle, it's a very good machine. Too bad this one had to go, to what I thought was a good home.

supremewhirlpol++4-7-2011-12-04-40.jpg
 
Last Lady Kenmore ??

I am not certain if this is the last LK model or not. If you look in the ad, you can see the basic stock number for a white non-suds machine is 26921. The 6 makes this a 1986 model just at Bob said. The previous belt-drive Ladies were 23921 and 25921 (1983 and 1985 models, but one had more porcelain than the other and were available together).

The whole line was new in 1986 DDs, from BOL to the Lady. Therefore, not many models came out as 1987 models. But there was a largely all new 1988 line, though they look exactly the same. An '88 model would be a 28921.

I will check my KM/WP parts catalog later tonight and see if there was a 28921 or later machine that appears to be a Lady. I know this basic console survived unchanged through the '92 models. With the '92s they developed the "Heavy Duty" and separate Normal cycles, and within a year or so the panel became all black instead of three tone with woodgrain, then they debuted the all-white or all-almond consoles. I had thought the Ladies made it to the early 90s.

Again, I'll check when I get home.

Gordon
 
Well Pierre, you can have your top loader.  THIS is the machine that killed me ever wanting another top loader again because it's too damn rough.  Because of this direct drive, and to remain cmpetitive, this design is what forced Maytag to go to the new transmission with the fast short stroke.  The new plastic GEs also went with very fast short stroke.  The Amanas and SQs at the time were crap because of seals giving out.  There weren't any choices.  I've not had one sweater, one other piece of clothing ruined like I had with this machine.  The only reason it's still in the garage is becausee it has the LIK moniker on it. 

 

Gorgeon, I vaguely remember seeing a DD sries (with the monochrome panels) at Sears and it had a little light over the timer dial.  Early 90s???  I know it had a 90 on the panel, but I don't remember if it still had LK on the panel. 

 

It was an "improvement" for fabric care when they separated Normal from heavy  Duty Cycles.  Friends of mine had one of those monochromatic paneld (actually white & blue lettering) with the rearranged cycles.  every time I was over at their house, they were using the Perm Press cycle.  Had predominantly gentle agitation with a little bit of fast.   I cannot tell you how many times I saw their machine, along with numerous other people who had these washers with the "modified" cycles or the speed selector switch which had Normal as being slow wash/fast spin--who put too many clothes in a load for this machine to handle at the gentle agitation speed.  You needed to compensate for slow rollover to get decent washabioliity.  Thus not using machine's capacity to save on fabric damage, but you ended up wasting all that much more water.  Sucks big time!!!  NO THANK YOU at all.   I have a friend of mine who has a family of 6 at home.  Her dryer failed and she wanted a new pair.  Ended up getting a new Maytag frontloader pair.  She aws so excited, her water bill went down by $25, and that wasn't even a full number of days in the typical water billing cycle from when the new washer was installed.  She cannot wait to see how much less her water bill will end p being as well as reduction in her water rates as well as sewar rates because of the lower consumption of water. 

 

I cannot tell you how many people I knew, taht when they found out I loved washers, would complain about these early DD washers being so rough on clothes.  I'd tell them the solution, do most everything on delicate because it was too rough and beat evgerything to death.  A few cussed whirlpool out for making such a crappy design so harsh on fabrics.

 

and the dryer lasted only 8 years.  It seems the high end Kenmores, and I found this out from Gansky after discovering the club, had different motors in those high-end dryers which ended p failing.  Mine seized with a shriek.  When the dryer had to be replaced, was almost cheaper to buy a new one, I lost my matched almond pair.  I've had the Maytag Dependable Care since December 1994 and nary a problem, not even scortched mattress pad like I had with my GE dryer. 

 

Does anyone get the idea there is no love lsot for me and this dman washer?

 

 
 
Some of the monochrome console TOL DD Kenmores did have "Lady Kenmore" on them. I had a TOL LK 90 series with ALmond console/light above the timer and cabinet with 3 speed motor. My only guess as to the year was ~93-94. The consoles were totally changed in ~95, 96. In fact some of the later 90 series machines with the monochrome consoles did not have the triple dispensers. I say those machines had to have been'95 machines, as in '96 the the console went to all black, was more curvy, and had the White cheapened Kenmore logo on it.
 
That's ok Bob, You have no love for this washer like most people here no love for WCI built Frigidaire machines, like I have no love for Calypso washers.
 
DD contented

Our '96 90 series has never had a repair other than a new trans (under warranty) in the first 6 months b/c it would'nt neutral-drain 1/2 the time. Yep,you can murderize the clothes if you don't watch it. But,to get 15 years of service & the ability to roll over big loads if needed,I'm impressed. More $$ to spend on clothes,which my wife usually gets tired of way before the DD beats 'em to death.
Nothing new impresses me anyway,except the Speed Queen TL's & the new WP/KN belt drives. I'm not sure they'd make 6 years trouble-free,so I'm hangin w/DD.
 
console and logo designs

I was working at Sears BC in the mid 90s and I believe it was late 96 into 97 when the then new Kenmore logo and "curved top" consoles on the Kenmores arrived. My parents had a 90 Series that still had the squared off console like the POD and they bought theirs in late 95. Their console was white to match the color of the machine. The knobs looked the same, only theirs had a knob which let you choose the speed regardless of cycle. 6 positions- Handwash with intermittent, handwash with slow wash, gentle, normal, heavy, and hang dry. My 02 has the same basic control options the 95 machine had except mine doesn't have variable water level. Both their dryer and mine had the lint filter beneath the door rather than on top. IIRC, most of the Kenmore dryers by the time I worked at Sears had them this way. I had always remembered Kenmore dryers as a kid having the lint screen on the top. Thanks for posting that pic!
 
Isn't that ALOT of money for a washer and dryer for 1986ish? I wonder what that would translate to in today's market? Sears must have made a killing on those machines since the technology was tried and true and not much new except a new color here and there.
 
On Shredmores: Didn't some of these machines (whether Whirlpool or Kenmore) have cycles that utilized two agitation speeds? I seem to have a faint memory that the cycle would start with fast agitation for 4-6 minutes, then shift down to a lower speed.

I also recall that the medium speed (around 120 o.p.m.) on the Shredmores was the fast speed on my circa '89 or '90 KitchenAid.

While I find top-loaders more fun to watch, my daily driver will always be a front-loader. I've listed the reasons why many times. But can a front-loader match the excitement of watching a GM-era Frigidaire, a vintage Kelvinator/ABC, or even an Electrolux-era Frigidaire with an indexing tub? Not in my book.
 
prices

After seeing the price on those machines, I pulled out the salescheck on mine. In March 2002 my Elite(which is what the 90 series had become by then) was $499 and the dryer(also an Elite) was $399. My guess is that in 1986, the appliance market was not as competitive as it had become by the mid to late 90s and especially now. I know when I was at Sears, I believe the electronic 90 Series was typically selling for $599. Our only "big" competitor was Circuit City as Lowes and Home Depot just didn't have the appliance selection they do today. And they didn't have the financing options(0% for a year) Sears did. Today, things are totally different in those areas.
 
Frigilux Shredmore speed shifting

Eugne, these initial version of DD, including the ones that started coming out with the design 2000??? in 1983 or 1984, did not shift agitation speeds in the middle of the wash phase.  That would have helped with the fabric wear.  Initially the soil designations were heavy, noormal, and light.  I tinnk the names eventually evolved to Ex Heavy, Heavy and Normal--Normal being the shortest wash time for both Perm Press and "Normal" cycles.  People were just so used to throwing in a load and washing for 12 or 14 minutes.  I don't even think Whirlpool offered their 'Gentle Wash System" intially on these either.  That was where the normal agitation speed shifted to gentle at about the 4 or 6 minute mark on cycles, just like the early Whirlpools all the way up to the late 1960s.  I think Sears instituted this type of speed shifting later than that.  That's what was utilized before Sears began putting more models with speed control knobs on models and becoming a more common feature. 
 
1986 money

Jim, I guess at the time that was a lot of money.  I'd always wanted a Lady kenmore and I finally got it, although in hind sight I wished I"d gotten the last of the BD Ladys.  but the salesman told me about a couple of the new features coming out, along with restyled concoles, and I was star struck and waited.  And by that time, there weren't any BD LKs to easily be had. 
 
Design 2000

The earliest Whirlpool and Kitchenaids with DD did not come with a dual action agitator.  If you added one T-shirt too many roll over came to a screeching halt.  The vanes on the Design 2000 were not a tall as the later dual action agitators nor was the tub the larger diameter is is now.  I have no complaint about the function of a DD but someday I am sure in hell all I'll hear for eternity is crack crack crack crack crack of the DD transmission highlighted with softer clacking of the agitator dogs.  Shut them machines up and we'd get along just fine.  The Maytag Dependable Care transmission is silent and makes no clack or bang so why does Kenmore/Whirlpool?

mixfinder++4-7-2011-22-42-54.jpg
 
And I don't know why, but I've always liked this model of DD Lady K in almond. I know, I know, I'll get hissed at and probably even barred, but there was something about it with the matching almond knobs and panel that attracted me.
 
Memory Lane... I had the POD Kenmore's in the late 80's and the Maytag pictured above in the early 90's. Both are much better than the brand new GE top loader I've been using in the apartment complex (Neptunes are in storage
smiley-cry.gif
).
 
Using inflation calculator, the $1080 almond pair would cost $2186 today.  A $2400 front load pair would have cost $1235 in 1986
 
Vern, so do I. Something about that console makes them VERY attractive. I'm already hissed at here, it doesn't change my opinion of them.
 
The last time I heard a production tally on the DD machines, WP had built over 90 million of them and that was sometime in mid 2010. Since DD production is continuing much of the rest of this year on some models, perhaps they will have time to approximate 100 million?

Throughout that many machines, the design has changed very little, so if there was truly a major clothes damage problem, WP would have tired of replacing laundry LONG ago. Bad designs don't stay in production for 30 years AND be the best selling washer in history, it just doesn't work that way.

I will agree though, these machine are much more utilitarian than they are romantic or soothing to use. But, for the most folks, a washer is nothing more than utilitarian anyway.

The prices back then are really something to think about. The last BD Lady was usually priced around $569, at least the porcelain top version with the white double coated basket. The lesser model with the powder coated top I think was a few dollars cheaper. Even though the DD was much less expensive to produce, Sears decided to raise the price 30-bucks. They must have made a fortune on those machines. Regular price on my BD Kenmore 70 that I bought in summer 1986 was $449, with each incremental model up being $10 more.

I am not sure when pricing began to slide back, but toploaders generally speaking are much less expensive today than they were 25 years ago, as we all know.

Gordon
 
When did Kenmore top load washer go from the side opening lid to rear opening lid like all the other machine?

I remember buying my first band new kenmore back in the fall of 1995 and it had the box type control panel in all white with blue and gray colored graphics. It was $399 plus tax. It's still running today but have had to replace the motor coupling twice, agitator dogs wore out twice as well. but instead of replacing the dogs the second time i opted to just replace the agitator with just the one piece str8 vane. my niece now uses it and seems to be quite pleased with it. but i agree the DD were very noisy.
 
kenmore lids

I always remembered Kenmores having the side opening lid until I was shopping for my own in 2002. The Elites at that time were the only KMs that had the front opening "wide mouth" lids. So sometime between 1997(when I left Sears) and 2002 is when they started using the front opening.

As for the BD v DD debate, the only washers I am really familiar with are DDs. Both mine and the 90 series Kenmore my parents had. I have never had a problem with mine damaging clothes. Having said that, the heavy cycle(fast/fast) does a pretty mean wash. I only use that cycle with towels, denim, or other heavy fabrics. Clothes I wear every day are either normal(slow/fast) or gentle(slow/slow). I suppose if I washed something which had a label saying gentle cycle and I used heavy it might shred it, but that's my fault for using the wrong cycle. The machine my parents had since 1995 had the same set-up and I never recall them saying it damaged clothing.
 

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