The A208 is in its new home!

[volvoguy87]

Today we removed the wretched Amanatag and replaced it with my Maytag A208. The front cover is off for observation but it will be put back on shortly. I may replace the belts, but for now it is washing away in relative silence compared to the Amanatag. Unlike the Amanatag, the A208 doesn't shake the entire house during spin either. The lint filter was clogged beyond belief (photos coming soon), but the agitator pulled right out without any struggle. Thus far, it has washed 4 loads. It's new job will be laundry for 5 people.

I hope these pics load,
Dave

 

[volvoguy87]

A208 guts.

The inside has no oil spray, but some sort of calcium deposits are present. Did it once leak? Right now, it is bone dry.

 

[volvoguy87]

The home environment.

A fake Maytag has been replaced with a real one.

 

[volvoguy87]

The "old" dryer.

I am not bringing up the DE308 until I test it and clean it. For now the former mate of the Amanatag shall continue to provide service. Although the washer was junk, I have no complaints about the dryer.

 

[volvoguy87]

Load #4

The 4th load has finished. With 5 people in the house, a broken washer will result in a mountain of laundry very quickly, hense no pictures of the maiden load here. For the record, the maiden load was a white load washed with powdered Tide Original and some powdered Biz. It came out clean.

 

[volvoguy87]

Go sit in the corner.

This is the Amanatag awaiting its fate at the end of the hall near the stairs. Go sit with your head in the corner. Do not move! Do not come out of the corner until you think about what you did and have been remanufactured into something worthy of wearing the Maytag badge young man!
Yes, that is my Electrolux Super J in the hall too, but it is not being banished.

Bad washer!

 

[volvoguy87]

One question.

Anyone have any ideas on how to disable the safety switch? The yardstick trick is rather cumbersome. As long as I have the machine open, how can I disable the switch or install a shim to keep the button depressed?
Also, the A208 is smaller than the Amanatag, but it is a fair bit heavier. Moving it up a flight of stairs was NOT fun! It is built like a tank, though. The A208 is much more solidly built than the flimzy Amanatag.

I gotta go and do some laundry now,
Dave

 

[pulsator]

You can permantely defeat the lid switch, but this will also defeat the off balance switch. Remove the two screws on top of the control panel and take off the top of the control panel. Under the timer you'll see the actual lid switch mechanism. Really it's just a simple little switch that cuts power to everything when opened. There should be 2 wires running to it. Pull the 2 wires off of the tabs on the switch. Take some electrical tape and tape the two metal clips on the wires together. Make sure ALL exposed metal on the wires is covered with a thick layer of black electrical tape!!! Then replace the panel and re-insert the two screws, and your ready to wash with the lid open! The lid switch will not function at all at this point, nor will the unbalance switch.

 

[volvoguy87]

OOB Switch?

Is there any way to wedge a shim in place to keep the button depressed so I do not loose the out of balence switch? This machine isn't just for show, it's also the only washer in the house and with such heavy use, I would rather have a functioning OOB switch.

Thanks a bunch though. I'll poke around and see what I can find,
Dave

 

[brettsomers]

get a wooden clothespin with a metal spring. twist the two wooden halves free of the spring. the wooden halves make ideal shims. i think i learned that trick when i was five years old.

 

[gadgetgary]

YAY!

Dave, Good Luck with a "real" Maytag.

I took the plunge just last fall and love mine.

 

[volvoguy87]

Update.

I bypassed the lid safety switch today. I used the wire-connecting method because I did not see a way to defeat the lid switch and retain use of the OOB function. We shall just keep an eye and an ear on the machine as it runs through the cycles. I also replaced both belts just on general principle. It took me quite a while to replace the belts because I'm a newbie. With some more practice I'm sure I can shave 30 seconds off of the job and be able to change Maytag belts in under 2 minutes. This machine is just like my Volvo 240, built like a tank and easy to work on. (Changing the Volvo's oil filter aside). What else could my machine need? Should I change the transmission oil every 3,000 washes or so?

This MAytag A208 is the most fun I have ever purchased for $10.00.

A very happy,
Dave

 

[volvoguy87]

P.S.

Also, I put the front cover back on today. The washer is now reassembled and ready to do battle with the mountain of laundry awaiting it.

Dave

 

[llmaytag]

Nice Machine

Gosh, that's a great machine. What year is that model? I really like the simple design of the Maytag. I'm curious, however, when it spins, do the transmission spin as well? I know the orbital transmissions spin when the tub spins, but the oribital also looks like it's better balanced than the non-oribital one that this one appears to be, (from the pics).

Just curious.

 

[westytoploader]

Very nice, what a great replacement. Definitely the machine for the job as far as large amounts of laundry are concerned.

In all Maytag machines from the very first AMP to the last Dependable Care, the transmission spins with the tub. I believe even the non-Maytag Maytags, such as the Norgetags and Amanatags, do this as well.

 

[danemodsandy]

Go Vintage!

Dave:

Between your A208 and your Lux Super J, I'd say you're well on your way to enjoying the pleasures of vintage stuff. The more vintage I have, the more I want to own, because it's so nice to use things that do not feel flimsy. When I look at new appliances, I am flabbergasted by the feel of their cabinets and controls. Everything feels shaky and thin and wobbly.

In our house, we have two vintage Luxes and a new Hoover (it's three storeys, so we have vacs on each floor). I love the solid feel of the Luxes, but I don't enjoy using the Hoover at all. My Maytags feel rock-solid, too. It's a pleasure using stuff like this.

I'm currently looking for more vintage stuff- my next house will have a vintage range and reefer, plus a vintage KA DW if I can find a good one. I also want an Amana Radarange RR-4.

In addition to the nice feel, it's great to be free of control boards in my stuff. Simplicity and reliability, not nervous-Nellie "features".

 

[rp2813]

Ready to do Battle?

Hey Dave, it's really no contest regarding that mountain of laundry. The Maytag will simply skate through every load quietly and efficiently, many, many, many times over without a single complaint.

Liked your comments on changing the belt. I'll forever be shaking my head over why Whirlpool didn't preserve and showcase Maytag's masterpiece of engineering simplicity and idestructibility. I sure loved my center dial pair while I had them and it's clear that you're already in love with your machine too. I'd advise you to enjoy, but I know you already are.

Ralph

 

[llmaytag]

Maytag

Yes, it is quite sad that they are not keeping that engineering. It's so simple and strong and actually quite beauteous. This last weekend I went to a Maytag dealer in Orange County California who several weeks ago said they could still get a Dependable Care model, but when I showed up in person on Saturday they said they are all gone. Darn. Now I have live with my growling Whirlpool direct drive. Ugh.

 

[rp2813]

Leonard, I feel your pain.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent number of Maytags of the generation right after the center dials (with the brown color schemed slanted control panel) on Craig's List recently. I was looking to unload my '97 Amana pair with a Craig's List ad and was checking out my competition. I saw a few Maytags in good condition that, if I were shopping for a used washer, I would choose over my Amana any day, and they were cheaper than what I was asking for my machine. I hope people who appreciate the mechanics of this vintage of Maytags will snap these up and preserve them. Even if they're not as charming in appearance as the beloved center-dials, they are still the same hard working machines underneath and can be had fairly cheaply. Find a low mileage one of these Leonard, and your search will have a happy ending.