I wish I could say it's getting better, but it's only getting worse by the minute.
When did Maytag start to go bad?
- Thread starter whirlpool862
- Start date
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I think when Maytag switched to the orbital mechanism from the helical, long stroke system is when I first observed them not performing as well. Good rollover of items like jeans and sheets was always a Maytag deficiency and the orbital action only made it worse. When they later added a dual action agitator it helped quite a bit. Maybe that's why they never let their customer watch the wash action, even in their ill-fated Neptune front-loaders.
Technically, the long-stroke transmission is known as pitman. Both are helical drive.
People from a young age are conditioned to follow and believe a leader, no matter what. On one hand people are taught their old appliances are bad, wasteful ugly ect on the other how great and progressive new appliances are.
If everyone was like me there would've been an epidemic of people asking for tech sheets and bring screw drivers to the sales for refusing to buy anything with more than an ATC board.
This is what I think set Maytag back, along with the short wash-time. People should've acknowledge what the design was, but demanded a better agitator.
There is member on here who put a 50Hz pulley on their machine along with a load sense agitator in a Pitman which dramatically improved the performance of their machine. The machine did appear to struggle with the straight fin agitator and 50Hz pulley being present at the same time.
In any case, a larger motor like a 3/4 or 1HP would ideally complement the 50Hz pulley. There is space for a larger motor on a DC. The combo of the 3 would've rivaled Whirlpool and its what people like me would've asked from Maytag.
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Here is that video:
phillymatt53
Well-known member
Exactly!
I've known for a LONG time how society's been "conditioned", controlled, to follow the set of "rules" implanted into their brains since they were toddlers.
We've all been exposed to that, and even I, as a teenager, was prone to believing what I was "supposed" to do, to say, what not to do, etc.
These days, the parents are passing that control on to their kids.
I woke up in my early 20s, and decided that I wasn't going to be a cookie-cutter model of that BS,
Some may call me a rebel, among other choice names.
And I know that living in a world of programmed human "robots" isn't easy.
As for advertizing products - Glorifying something today is far beyond what marketing a product was decades ago.
Back then, features, styling, performance, was all realistic, polite, honest and truthful.
And what a customer wanted and a manufacturer provided.
Because Back THEN, brand names lived up to their slogens, cared about their reputations.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
That "Hot Rod" mod is slightly, a tad faster than my stock Maytag.
I don't have a problem with the helical trans, it has good rollover, and I don't wanna mess with success and durability that it already has proven for its 40 years.
But my portable Kenmore/WP DD has a whiplash agitation fast little sucker and the dual action agitator.
Exactly!
I've known for a LONG time how society's been "conditioned", controlled, to follow the set of "rules" implanted into their brains since they were toddlers.
We've all been exposed to that, and even I, as a teenager, was prone to believing what I was "supposed" to do, to say, what not to do, etc.
These days, the parents are passing that control on to their kids.
I woke up in my early 20s, and decided that I wasn't going to be a cookie-cutter model of that BS,
Some may call me a rebel, among other choice names.
And I know that living in a world of programmed human "robots" isn't easy.
As for advertizing products - Glorifying something today is far beyond what marketing a product was decades ago.
Back then, features, styling, performance, was all realistic, polite, honest and truthful.
And what a customer wanted and a manufacturer provided.
Because Back THEN, brand names lived up to their slogens, cared about their reputations.
And to add the final ingredient to the recipe: Ignorance. Think about all the smart kids that were bullied in school. Thank how society views self education as impersonation of professionals or narcissism. Think of the 90s where they were even afraid to even show a dishwasher without a cabinet around it. Does society really see knowledge as a good thing when it is out in the open, unmasked?
People are starving for knowledge, subtlety reminded they lack it, taught to doubt themselves in any independent endeavor, and then forced to conclude their only salvation is listening to an accredited authority figure. Anyone else? A clown with an agenda.
The fact that you broke free of this I applaud you. It is perhaps life's greatest accomplishment, one that you alone achieved.
I like the way you think!
Though for some folks, primarily those that get their clothes dirty and greasy, it may not be enough. That is where I think the load sense agitator comes in. The 50Hz pulley increases the OPMs per minute complimenting it, and the higher spin speeds saves energy in drying.
Given the technology today, I think the existing dependable care design with the orbital transmission could be sightly improved to the point where the machine has both direct drive performance and the ability to last 60 years. It can be done, and one of my greatest wishes.
I'd love to see someone put the dependable care back on the market with immense longevity and quality control factored in.
My soup'd up Maytag with a 3 phase DC motor installed and motor controller, all controlled by the Maytag's original timer lol...
phillymatt53
Well-known member
Thanks Chet for those kind words.And to add the final ingredient to the recipe: Ignorance. Think about all the smart kids that were bullied in school. Thank how society views self education as impersonation of professionals or narcissism. Think of the 90s where they were even afraid to even show a dishwasher without a cabinet around it. Does society really see knowledge as a good thing when it is out in the open, unmasked?
People are starving for knowledge, subtlety reminded they lack it, taught to doubt themselves in any independent endeavor, and then forced to conclude their only salvation is listening to an accredited authority figure. Anyone else? A clown with an agenda.
The fact that you broke free of this I applaud you. It is perhaps life's greatest accomplishment, one that you alone achieved.
Realisticlly, I'm just a human, perhaps with important and independent standards that I maintain, and an always eager mind that I don't allow to sway into the Twilight Zone of ignorance.
I do my part to share what I've learned to the younger ones if I see fit.
In hopes that they'll become capable of leading a good life as they grow older.
Robert, what is the story behind that agitator? Is it original? I think a ramp agitator would compliment a Maytag perfectly. Especially one with a timed fill. I know John put one in a DC.
No that agitator is from a 1961 Easy Automatic Washer. I installed it by cutting a spare Easy agitator shaft down to a proper size to fit and used a shaft coupling. I designed this machine to spin at 1050rpm.
The inside...
Neat, does this spin drain? It looks like you went with an electric drain pump. Do you have a thread for that build? I'm curious how this is all implemented.
I love the big motor btw!
I think a ramp agitator is best for a timed fill machine. That way if someone advanced the machine to agitate while the tub was empty or hasn't finished filling it would cause the least amount of damage. The ramp agitator is also gentle while being able to turn over even denims.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
SACRILEGE !!!!
Electronics control in a poor Maytag!
The nerve!
I view it like this: research and development.
Finding the right speed for the agitator so to select the right pulley latter on, showing that the machine can indeed handle a faster spin, and that a larger motor can fit inside the machine. VFDs have their place in the lab I think. Once optimal speeds are obtained they can then be used to engineer analog and relay controls with across the line motors. I'm betting at least one manufacturer back in the day stuck a variable speed DC motor in a prototype to figure out what wash and spin speeds to design build targets around.
I for one want to see a ramp agitator optimally engineered into a dependable care.
