washer and dryer - Kenmore 70s

[questionfromchi]

I have a Kenmore 70s washer and matching dryer in my basement here in Chicago (not sure of the year), and they need to go before I move out in 2 weeks. Both worked still the last time I tried them (about 2 years ago). The washer was leaving black, oily marks, though, which was part of what prompted us to get a new, HE washer.

I was thinking of posting them on Craigslist for free, or on freecyle, but would love it they didn't end up as scrap metal. Any tips on how to find them a good home?

I'm uploading a photo of the washer. It's a bit dark and blurry, but I can try to get better ones if there's interest.

Thanks!

 

[toploadloyalist]

This is from no earlier than 1981, which was the year Kenmore changed the "Normal" cycle to "Cotton/Sturdy".

 

[pulltostart]

Paging Gordon

Gordon will know. Not only will Gordon know about the cycles, and the model number, he'll know how much this baby cost (in the catalog AND on the floor), how many of these were produced, and the name of the person who sealed the box before it was shipped.

lawrence

 

[moparguy]

To your question about a price to put on craigslist and hoping to keep it from a scrapper, I would think that you could post them at $50 each, which is high enough to keep scrappers away, but hopefully low enough to interest someone who would save the machines. And, if need be with an interested buyer who wants to save them, you can work with them on the price. Hats off to you for your effort to save them from the scrap pile, and good luck!

 

[danemodsandy]

Those Look.....

....Like they could be Toast instead of Almond.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Funny...

Thanks for the laugh Lawrence!

The washer is a 1983 Kenmore 70 model, third of four 70-series in that line. the only one better had five water levels instead of three. This and the other three models were available from early/mid 1983 to Fall, 1986, so this machine could be anywhere from 26 to 30 years old. This was Kenmore's best selling model of the 1980s.

It looks white to me in the picture, however the stock number will say for sure. If it is 23721, its white. 23728 is Almond, and 23725 is Toast. Almond and white were/are very common, toast is much more rare.

The black specs on clothes are a sign that centerpost seals are giving out, or have taken a permanent vacation already. Water gets into the centerpost bearings and lubricant during wash, especially in a high-fill load, and mix with the bearing lubricant, the degrading black rubber of the seals, and the rykon grease that is under the upper bearing, and they mix to make this brown/black bilge that stains everything it touches. Small amouonts of this oily mixture can fly out of the bearings/seals during spin, and it forms a black ring around the inside of the agitator right at the basket locknut. If some of this becomes suspended in water, it can deposit on clothes. It doesn't happen in the amounts that other brands can leak oil as they age, but it does happen and the spots are nearly impossible to remove, especially if they've been dried in. Because of this I always ascertain how healthy the seals are by running a machine full of water, and then checking how far up the center the agitator is wet. These seals were the early demise of some of these machines as far back as the early 1990s.

As to saving these particular machines, they are worth the effort if someone wants to put some elbow grease into the washer. The matching dryers were all very good machines, the best probably that were available at the time along with their Whirlpool counterparts, so your dryer would be worth saving in its own right.

I rescued an Almond one of this very same model in 2009 and enjoy using it quite often.

Gordon

 

[kenmoreguy64]

A side note

Many machines of this era had non-porcelain tops. In the 1983 line only the 80 series and better had standard porcelain tops (though at least three of the 70-series models were made with them out of necessity briefly during some plant sell-out periods in 1985 and 1986).

From 1983 forward all non-porcelain tops and lids had polyester paint, aka powder coating, which Kenmore called "Dyna Guard". From 1982 and before they were painted enamel. The enamel rusted fairly fast in moist regions or in damp closets and basements. The powder coating is much more long term durable for rust prevention, but does not have the durability or beauty of porcelain.

Sometimes people don't realize that the bottom of the lid well is beginning to rust. The area is out of sight unless you are a keep-it-clean fuss-budget like I am, and clothes can rub against that area when unloading the washer.

More than once I thought a machine was starting to burp oil based on what people told me, only to find the spots were resulting from contact with rust.

Gordon

 

[whirlcool]

Sears sold a kazillion of these machines back in the 80's. It seemed whenever we went to visit friends this is the machine they usually had. Parts should not be hard to find.

 

[questionfromchi]

Thanks, all!

I checked the stock number and it is Almond. I'll try offering them at something like the suggested $50.