Vintage Kenmore Washer and Dryer

[repairguy]

I picked up an unexpected present for the holidays this evening. I’ve been really good about staying away from the classifieds because of storage constraints but I had a weak moment and of course I found something.

It came in the form of an ‘80 model Kenmore 80 series washer built the 48th week of 1980 and an ‘81 model Kenmore dryer built the 25th week of 1981. They are in relatively good condition for their age but they have been in storage for the past 12 years according to the owner.

I hooked the washer up upon getting it home and ran it through a full hot water bleach cycle on extra large and it leaked(like almost every belt drive does) a spot of water on the floor about 12” in diameter. Looks like it’s coming from the tub. Other than that the mechanical side was great. The machine ran quietly and functioned correctly albeit the leak. Even the tub mounted lint filter only trickled about 2 drops on the 2nd drain.

Washer model 110.82080100
Serial C04820719

Dryer model 110.86182100
Serial F12502110

It was pretty dark so I didn’t get any good pictures with the phone but here are the ones from the ad.

 

[drummerboy928]

Water Leak

I am all too familiar with that Kenmore BD outer tub leak. the bottom of the outer tub on mine is rusting around the port for the pump, which was causing water to leak out and run down and off the side of the table, and all over the floor. A good looking set and congrats on the find!

 

[cam2s]

I love these center dial Kenmores. I hope you get it fixed up!

 

[laundryboy]

Congratulations

Those are beautiful. What a great find.

 

[maytag85]

Where’s the leak coming from? If it’s above the baseplate, it’s more than likely coming from the tub seal, tub support bolt seals, air dome seal, center post seals, pin holes in outer tub. If it’s below the baseplate it could be the pump guard, pump, and hoses.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Excellent find. They are getting more difficult to find at that. I'm sure that small leak will be easy to repair. It sounds like everything is working smooth as can be.

 

[repairguy]

Thanks all! The washer was the last year of the graphic style on it’s panel and also for the data plate to be installed on the front lower left. There was a design change for the ‘82 models which lessened the capacity a bit with a smaller tub and wash basket and a different baseplate to accommodate these changes. The data plate was moved to the back of the tub opening. I believe it was also the last year for the tub mounted self cleaning lint filter as only the Ladies and Limited Editions would keep these filters until the end of production.

The dryer is the first year of the graphic change. It still has the musical lint alert.

Sean I couldn’t tell exactly where the leak was coming from as hard as I looked but it is on top of the baseplate. Regardless, in all the belt drives I bring home the tubs get removed and all new rubber and water seals are installed. Then they’re good for another 40 years.

A few more pictures for your enjoyment.

 

[qsd-dan]

Dryer has low mileage according to the interior paint wear. Perhaps the washer does too if the previous owners didn't hang dry their laundry.

 

I'm curious how the whistling lint filter works.

 

[DADoES]

 
My KitchenAid dryer has the lint signal whistle but I apparently kept the filter cleared such that I've never heard it trigger.

 

[repairguy]

Glenn I agree about never getting to hear the lint tone. The only time I have is when I’ve taped a section of the filter off as directed in the service manual to test if it is working. I picked these up just outside of Victoria.

 

[repairguy]

Dan there is a clear plastic box and hose assembly mounted on the lint chute which is the air duct where the filter mounts in the top and on one side of the filter is the inlet air connected to the drum and on the bottom is the blower that after pulling the air through the drum and lint filter exhausts the air.

The plastic box has a slit in it and is installed in the duct on one side of the filter while the hose is mounted on the other side of the filter. When the filter is full more air is pulled through the box and a tone is created. It’s not constant but it is enough to get your attention if the dryer is within earshot.

Here’s some pictures from the manual of the box and plastic hose and their position on the lint chute.

 

[appnut]

The 8 years I had my 1986 LK dryer, I never once heard the filter whistle as I cleaned the screen before each load started.

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote> I picked these up just outside of Victoria.</blockquote> Oh my gawsh! 

 

[seedub]

The lint filter signal tone on my 1997 dryer worked quite well...for about three years.

That washer is quite deluxe - the dryer, too! A family friend got exactly that model washer in 1978; 30 years later, it was still going.

 

[repairguy]

These machines will easily last another 40 years if properly rebuilt especially with the condition these are in. About the only killer on these washers is the condition of the center post. I have a way to completely replace the center post with a solid heavy gauge stainless one and have one in place on the base plate of a nice ‘71 Kenmore 70 that I have but I haven’t reassembled it yet. It also came from the factory with a plastic outer tub so I need to get restoring on some of my many projects.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #14

Wait, some of the belt drives had plastic outer tubs?!?!

 

[repairguy]

I’ve been told that they did for a short time around 1970. This is only the second one I have ever come across.

 

[maytag85]

They should have went to plastic outer tubs, definitely would have helped them last longer since plastic can’t rust.

 

[repairguy]

There would definitely be more ‘82-‘86 models around as they had cheapened the outer tubs quite a bit by this time and a lot of these went to the scrap heap for the outer tubs rusting out.