She's a Lady!

[mistereric]

I've been wanting a little belt-drive portable for some time. Stumbled across an advert on CL and a few days later, with the help of BrianL, I've got her! She seems to be seaworthy, with no leaks. Her mechanicals seem a little on the noisy side, so I want to pull the cabinet this weekend and see whats going on underneath.

Of course, a complete cleaning is in order. The previous owner said she'd had it for 2 years, and I wouldn't be surprised if she'd never once cleaned the lint filter... it was gummed up with black gelatinous lint slime that stank of mildew.

Here are the pics from the ad:

 

[mistereric]

and the online money shot:

 

[mistereric]

Got this to BrianL's place and we gave her a quick test run. Everything seems to be in order. I got home at 1130 last night and managed a few quick pics before bed...

 

[mistereric]

Please enjoy the luxury of Fine Burlwood Trim...

 

[mistereric]

This lady doesn't mess around, she's Heavy Duty!

 

[mistereric]

and here we have the business end. I've got to dig up the minisurgilator I got from a too-far-gone Whirlpool covertible a while back. Fun to compare!

 

[gadgetgary]

Eric

Good Luck with your new 'Lady'

 

[mistereric]

number plate:

 

[sporkvampire]

Glad you got your fantsy new small machine!

 

[mistereric]

Thanks Gary and Sporky. Hey, Sporky, when are you getting a classic Center Dial?

 

[mickeyd]

"black gelatinous lint slime that stank of mildew.&quo

So glad you've finally found her. The the convex dial on the KM is way more attractive than the flat WP version-- yours, a very buxom lady.

Those 3 vaners make the clothes fly around up and down like a vintage Frigi, a nice surprise.

Good luck with a great find, Eric.

 

[rollermatic]

those machines are so much fun!

melvin "supreme whirlpool" gave me one similiar to yours this summer. a bit more basic than yours but same tub and agitator and it works great! i keep it in the bathroom and do towels in it~! enjoy your new toy!

 

[mistereric]

Thanks Mickey! I am dead on my feet today but I can't wait to get home and play. I was considering naming the little slime monster but in the end I just washed it down the drain.

 

[mistereric]

Any pictures of your machine, Peter?

 

[rollermatic]

here' some from a few months ago

like said melvin and i gave each other some stuff. i came back with this cute little portable kenmore and melvin took a whirlpool front loader i bought a few years ago as a scratch n dent at lowes. he also sent me back with a speed queen commercial top loader (that is still on my front porch).

not a good pic but you can see i have the control area taped off as i intend to paint the cabinet. it's almond now, my least fav appliance color.

 

[rollermatic]

agitator

pic

 

[rollermatic]

it's in very good shape

and after a good cleaning looks like new on the inside.

as you can see i keep it in the bathroom next to the toilet actually as i have no room elsewhere. works out well there, i roll it to the sink and wash towels in it!

 

[rollermatic]

with the

top off. very little rust anywhere. i did disconnect the lid switch as i like to see all the action.

 

[rollermatic]

with the plastic rim

or whatever it's called removed. the outer tub had a lot of junk it it but it cleaned up like new. this rim was realy dirty on the underside but also came out looking like new.

love the style of the agitator and the color of the inner tub. reminds me of the early frigidaire unimatic tub color.

and when it washes it has a 2 minute super fast stage that is incredible! i remember asking melvin about that, never saw a whirlpool or kenmore was that fast before! eventually going to put a switch on it to stop timer advance so i can keep it in that super wash mode for a longer period.

 

[rollermatic]

and melvin also sent

me back with an extra outer and inner tub with agitator.

it's sitting in my "appliance" room now next to my 1-18 outer tub that i hope to finish this year.

 

[rollermatic]

i'm sure i'll never use it

but it's good to have i guess. thanks to melvin! hope he enjoys the front loader whirlpool, i sure love this little portable kenmore! i use it all the time. does have a small leak at times, i'm hoping around the pump seal, not the main seal. have not had time to check it out yet and it only leaks on occasion when it hasn't been used for a few days. then it quits after a minute or so.

 

[appnut]

Eric!! congratulatoins!! I really enjoyed my early 1970s when I had her some 33 years ago.

 

[rollermatic]

what used to be

my bedroom! oh well, there are worse hobbies!

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Mistereric,
I remember seeing that exact one sitting out for the trash a few years ago, unfortunately it went bye bye before I could get to it. I sure hope it is in good condition internally.

Rollermatic,
I think I told you the story of how I stumbled across that machine...if I have not, well, I'm gonna have to tell it to you. I do still like that machine, and I tried my best to keep it in good shape for the 4 years that I had it, even though it could not be in the house. If I ever find another splash guard for a Whirlpool portable DD machine, I will let you know. Oh yes the Whirlpool FL machine... it kept it in the car until 2 weeks ago. It's in the shed now. I will introduce it in the Spring time, when I can actually play with it.

 

[qsd-dan]

what used to be my bedroom!

LoL, that's awesome! I have a few Maytag parts and some vintage audio equipment that has overflowed into my bedroom. I wish I had half the Kitchen-Aid parts stash that you have acquired!

 

[launderess]

Welcome To My World!

Congrats on finally joining the vintage Whirlpool (Kenmore) portable group!

 

[mistereric]

Thanks everyone!

I cleaned her a bit more and swapped in my spare minisurgilator. A quick check under her skirts reveals a decent amount of oil on her transmission, and on her baseplate. How worried about this should I be?