Today's (Feb. 23) Kenmore 43711 Ephemera Owner Manual

[kenmore71]

Just downloaded the manual and was looking it over. To my surprise, this appears to be one of the earlier examples of the Kenmore large-capacity machines! (I think they were introduced around 1969.) The tip off is on the page where it describes the water level control. High fills with 26.4 gallons!!! I think this is even thirstier than the largest GE FF machine! A full fill for a hot wash/warm rinse load of cottons would more than devastate the recovery ability of a common 52 gallon electric water heater of the era.

Am I correct in recalling that this sized machine became the bread and butter of the Kenmore line until it was redesigned around 1980 to (only) use 22 gallons?

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Mark-

This tub size debuted in 1966/1967, with the Kenmore version being the 1967 Kenmore 518. For reasons I have not established, Kenmore had a 1968 518 also, but it looks unchanged from the '67. These lasted with a few revisions into 1972 when two new models were introduced, a nice 600 series machine and a very BOL-ish 400. In 1973, two more models were added, a 500 and this model, which is a 70 or 700. Originally these used the whopper Roto-swirl, and in later versions the first Penta-vanes.

Yes indeed, these originally held 26-something gallons. By 1980 that had been revised to 25.5 or so, depending solely on the pressure switch calibrations.

It was the late 1981 models which had the 22 gallon tubs, which WP had dubbed the 'energy efficient' belt-drive.

Though the originals do hold a lot of hot water, I don't recall ever taxing the resources of any of our water heaters, but we've always had quick-recovery gas models.

This is a great ephemera offering, as this model is one of the few Kenmores still on my dream list.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

On Kenmore bread-and-butter models...

These models were definitely the "DNA donors" to the 1974 matched pairs, of which there were at least five large capacity models with matching dryers...for the first time. Incidentally, the 1973 43711 was the only previous machine with any sort of matching dryer, as there was a 5.9 cu ft dryer which had the same panel.

The 1974 models sold briskly even in the oil crisis economy, and volume was never tbe same again for standard tub models.

The BEST sellers though were the units made 1983-1986 when WP had to run plants frequently on overtime to keep up with orders.

Gordon

 

[kenmore71]

As always, Gordon, thanks for the enlightening information! I know that if anyone would know something about this machine it would be you. I can see where this would be a dream machine for a Kenmore collector. I mean, what's ONE more? Take care.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I guess that if these were available with sudssavers, you would need a large capacity sink or a 30 gallon trash can.

 

[kenmore71]

Tom, actually you couldn't use a trash can with these Kenmores unless you did a lot of hose wrangling because the wash water ALWAYS went out the suds hose. Those was no button or switch to disable the diverter valve and direct the wash water out the other drain hose like on a Maytag or GE from the era.

My mother had a 1980 model Kenmore Large-Capacity suds-saver. As they came from the factory, the first 6 or 7 gallons of wash water was pumped down the drain and then a pressure switch would engage the suds valve when the machine had about 18 or 19 gallons of water left in it. I'm not sure if this used a doble set of contacts on the water level switch or a separate pressure switch.

The machine we had used a 5-position water level switch and I remember that the machine only "dumped" the first water down the drain on "Extra-High". On "High" and lower the suds valve would engage immediately.

I also know that there were instructions on how to wire around the switch in case you had a larger tub. I did this one day in my teens when I was home alone. Good thing the tub was in the basement and that there was a floor drain nearby! I had it wired back correctly before my mother got home.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I know about the suds hose and how the wash water always drained through it. When we lived in our house without set tubs for the short time the waterfall Kenmore still had its suds valve, mom would have to remember to take the gray suds hose out of the portable tub we used for saving suds and put it into the standpipe to drain the suds. I thought, in later years, she could have just sucked it back into the machine and then turned the timer to the drain after the rinse to pump it down the drain, but she was not into playing with appliances. Do you suppose all of that wrangling of long hoses could have made an impression on a young boy's mind? The real messes came after the leaking suds valve was removed and she would put the drain hose in the tub to save the wash water (which had to be bailed back into the washer) and would forget to move it and then the rinse water would drain into the tub and flood the basement. It would sound like a waterfall as we ran down the stairs to shut off the washer. Since we had no floor drain, we did a lot of mopping. With later Maytags, you could select whether or not the machine would save suds, but we had a gas water heater so saving suds was not as important as it had been when I was very young and we had an electric water heater and I got to stand on a step stool and hold that throbbing hose over the open washer to add cold water to the rinse fill so that we would not use as much hot water. I remember with large cap Kenmores in the 80s, you could select how much wash water you wanted to save with a dial on the control panel.