Whirlpool Calypso set!

[pulsator]

Well, lucky me! I just had a "pewter" (aka gray) Whirlpool Calypso set dropped into my lap! A coworker said that she had the set for three years and then the pump went just outside of warranty and that her father surprised her and her husband with a brand new Kenmore HE4T set and the Calypso set was pushed aside! The dryer still works but the washer needs the new pump... Any idea if that is a part that might still be obtainable? I have always wanted my own Calypso, let alone in gray, let alone a SET! GEEZE! The only obstacle I face now is convincing mom... That leaves me with throw away or sell the Bosch set, and throw away or sell a washer as well unless her Fisher Paykel dryer has bit the dust!

The coworker is having me over Sunday evening after work to look at the set which she wants to just give me as she knows how much I love washers and weird ones at that! I'll be sure to take pictures!

 

[andrewinorlando]

Jaime, the pump is still available at RepairClinic.com. I believe the later Calypsos have the one piece pump, that is, motor and pump as a single unit while the older Calypsos like mine have a two piece set-up whereby the actual pump snaps off the end of the motor shaft via two clips which hold them together. You should check yours before you order.

The link will take you to the one piece unit, which will replace either the one or two piece pump. It's $102.

http://www.repairclinic.com/Whirlpool-Washing-Machine-Parts?s=b5a11c261

 

[DADoES]

Old-style pumps are sometimes listed on eBay.

 

[laundromat]

"calapso"

I had 4 different ones all but one were in puter.Three of the four needed control board replacement as well as pump replacement.The fourth needed a new outer tub because the recirculating tube losened during a spin and the friction caused the outer,plastic tub to melt and leak water everywhere.They weren't too hard to repair but the person who designed these should have included their well known,well liked MagiClean lint filter in the pump assembly.I had to replace their pumps so many times due to lint build up that,even though I truly liked and admired that method of washing and loved watching it operate,the cost of maintaining them was driving me crazy as well as sending me to the poor house.I sold all four for $1200 to a single buyer.

 

[aamassther]

Jaime, I would be interested in the Bosch set. Todd

 

[andrewinorlando]

Mine is 8 years old now, and still washing away just fine....never had those lint build up problems others said were an issue, and mine is the original Calypso. Never had control board problems, leaks, balance or vibration problems of any kind (machine has always been connected to a surge supressor, along with the dryer). What the hell do people put in their washers??? Is it possible that the wrong types of detergent or too much detergent can cause lint buildup problems, especially if the pump keeps foaming up?

 

[DADoES]

I've heard that if the pump frequently runs starved for water due to oversudsing, the bearing in it tends to overheat and suffer excess wear. Both my machines have the two-piece pump, I assume both are original.

 

[gansky1]

The two piece pumps are NLA now, you must replace the whole motor/pump assembly as one piece. Very easy repair, the one I bought last was around $80 wholesale. You'll do a little better on price by going to a local parts supply that most anyplace online - and no shipping. The new pump is supposedly a better design, many of the previous problems have been eliminated.

The Calypso is a fine washer, rinsing is a bit marginal as we discovered putting a load of rags from the Calypso into the Super-Unimatic, but there is no reason to condemn a machine just because of poor performance ;-)

 

[laundromat]

I used either Wisk HE or Gain HE liquids and washed the same way as I did with all the other machines I had found and restored over the years.Sorting and measuring correctly.I never overloaded and kept an eye on things.When the recirculating tube loosened and caused serious,permanent damage to the outer tub for the second time in 2 months,that was enough for me to condemn them.I had no problem finding them at my local dump.Every weekly visit I had to go see what I could find,showed at least 6 units there I could either use for parts or try to rebuild.They are easy to repair but became a true pain in the ass after 3 repairs for the same problem.I never got the nerve to even attempt to repair the top loading Neptunes!!

 

[gansky1]

Do you remember when Sears first started selling them with the one-year money back guarantee? I remember being in the store a year after this and there must have been 35 of them, returned in various degrees of abuse, for sale for $400 to $600. I bought one at the time to play with and used it for six months or so. No troubles with it at all. I sold it to a family who called back a month or so later to tell me that it was the best machine they'd ever had. Back in '07, I found one on C/L for free - needed a pump. It worked OK but was in need of a wobble plate and bearing job. I sent it to live with Ben, another foster-washer placed in a loving home!

 

[pulsator]

Well, with a little shoving here and there, I managed to make room for the Calypso washer without getting rid of any machines!!!! YAY!!! (Sorry Todd!) The only problem is that I won't be able to hook up the dryer because A) it's gas and I have only one gas hookup which is being used and B) there is no room in the laundry room anywhere for it.... Sooooo, the dryer will be put in my room and used as a hamper until I'm able to put it to use!!! lol, I'll be sure to post pics as soon as I'm able!!!

 

[tlee618]

Hey Jamie, I am really happy for you!! What a great deal. I will be looking forward to your video!!

 

[tuthill]

Awesome Jamie. I've always wanted to see a Calypso run.. I remember when they came out.

 

[andrewinorlando]

Carl, you're definitely right about the fact that these machines are very easy to fix! Come apart and go back together pretty easily. Interesting design, too. Some of the parts, though, seem to be a little ridiculously expensive, like the wash plate or the center plastic hub...crap, they're just plastic!

What still surprises me about the Calypso is the fact that it does such a good job washing big things, like comforters. I put my dog's queen size comforter in there, which gets very dirty/smelly from her sleeping and eating on it, and it cleans great. Given its wash method, I still find it surprising that it can turn over such a big, heavy item, at least enough to clean it and get the "doggy" odor out of it!

 

[swestoyz]

the dryer will be put in my room and used as a hamper

Priceless Jamie, priceless!

When I brought home the Standard Bendix, my grandma just went nuts over it. Her idea was to, "put it in the bathroom to store hand towels!"

Looking forward to seeing your gray Whirlpool!

Ben

 

[pulsator]

My mom shocked me on this one!

When I first told her about the set, there were 3 possibilities for her response. There are 3 whenever I ask about getting another machine, let alone a set...
1) "Where will you put it? You don't have any room! You'll have to sell one or 2 first."
2) "No."
3) "If I let you get it, you'll have to do something for me." (That usually means either "clean your room" or "clean the garage")

However, I didn't know that there was a fourth option! She told me 2 pieces of info that I didn't know about the Calypso!
1) She has always that the Calypso was a really smart and extremely interesting design (This coming from someone who despises doing laundry!)
2) It's the last washer from Whirlpool that my grandpa had a hand in designing before he retired! I'll have to ask him which part he had a hand in designing! I just hope it's not the pump! lol

Anyway, so my mom's response was, "I think you should get this set, we'll make room for it."

Naturally, my jaw hit the floor, I never thought I'd see the day my mom tells me that!

 

[pulsator]

Jed, almost forgot to mention, there is a vid on youtube of a Calypso running!

 

[jaxsunst]

I have been using mine for almost two years now as my daily driver. I bought one for $20 intending to fix it and found that it needed an outer tub replacement. I found another one at one of my appliance haunts was badly suds locked. I bought it for $60 and cleaned it out. After a month of using it, I had to replace the control board ($50 AHS co-pay), and it has been great since.

I have only had rinsing issues when I have run "Bob-loads" in it. If I do over load it (sometimes you just have to) I use the 2nd rinse and all is well.

 

[jaxsunst]

Also, I have the Kenmore version in white. If anyone can help me find a dryer that matches it cheap (I mean ccchhheeeaaappp) I would be forever grateful.

 

[pulsator]

I'M GETTING THE SET TODAY!!!! YAY!!!!

There are a couple things I have GOT to know how to do upon arrival of the Calypso set!!!

First, I've seen it in the store but don't remember how to do it... There is a code you can type into the control panel that will make the machine demonstrate the Calypso wash motion with the lid up and no water for a few seconds. Anyone know that code?

Second, how do I defeat that damn lid switch? I personally would love the have it set up the way Glen does with that nifty switch on the side! It'd be a big pain in the ass to have to fool with it after every load! I wonder why they made it so that you have to open and close the lid between cycles?

Third, according to the previous owner, it needs a new pump. Is there any way to test this without totally screwing myself over with a washer sitting with water in it? I know that there are 2 versions of the pump, I'm not sure which version this machine has though... Is the one-piece pump able to replace both versions?

Fourth, how do I get to the pump? Are they gonna make me take off the entire cabinet like the DD machines?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[davy1063]

Demo Mode

Jamie,

The Sales Demo mode is activated by pressing:

SOAK - WATER TEMP - SOAK - WATER TEMP

Within 5 seconds, "Sd" should show up on the LED display and it should start running. You can turn it off by hitting the "STOP/CANCEL key.

Davy.

 

[rinso]

I always thought that the Calypso had the best top loader washing action available at the time. It's too bad that WP/KM could never get the reliability issues ironed out. These poor machines never had a chance to prove themselves. The Oasis/Bravo/etc. washplate design based on the Fisher-Paykel is good but the Calypso had better circulation of laundry and did a better job of coping with large, bulky items.

 

[jaxsunst]

You can get to the pump by removing the back. It should be on the lower right hand side if memory serves. It is very easy to remove and replace.

Andrew does a neat trick with a chopstick to defeat the lid switch. You just need to make sure you have it hooked to a power strip because you have to turn the power off to it (or unplug, replug) to reset. I think I have the repair manual somewhere in pdf format. If I can find it, I'll email it to you.

 

[jaxsunst]

I found it!!!!!

I emailed it to the address on your profile.

 

[andrewinorlando]

I think that to remove the water pump (complete unit) you have to lay the machine in its back and remove the pump from the bottom. The replacement one piece pump will replace either the original two piece pump or the newer one piece pump.

 

[pulsator]

Ok, here is the scoop!

Got the washer in the basement and decided to see what it could do! First thing I did was pour some hot hot water in. Then I set it to demo mode and it came up with the CL error and didn't move. Looked it up and then tried it again, this time it started to nutate! YAY!!! Next I tried to set it to spin, which it did, but there are some odd noises that worry me! The pump did not come on at all at first so I turned it off and let it sit with the hot water. Came back a few minutes later and tried it again, the pump came right on!

After doing those things successfully, I couldn't help but try the quick wash cycle to see what it can do! So, I set it for a hot quick wash and it started filling then stopped and began draining, it drained out all the fresh soapy water then proceeded to display the long drain error. So I set it for the spin only again and it starting pumping water full force again, I guess it wasn't empty after all? The pump went dry again and then I opened the lid, closed it, and hit start again, it started pumping full force yet again! I did this until no water was coming out of the drain with each restart. Then, it went through the quick cycle pretty well, it doesn't really spin after the wash but it does do a series of fresh water showers while draining! After that finished, it started the rinse and I was shocked to hear the nutation was very very loud so I opened the lid and noticed that the water was a bit above the wash plate! I don't think that is supposed to happen! Must've been the pump draining issue again? Next, after I drained all the water away, it went into the final spin... There are some WEIRD noises coming from it! First off, it sounds like I can hear the bearings rubbing slightly which leads be to believe the bearings might be shot? Next, I heard a rubbing sounds that came and went similar to dragging the point of a knitting needle or butter knife on a semi-smooth surface... The suspension is a bit noisy when I move the tub, perhaps that has something to do with it? The brake pads are LOUD as can be, not a squealing noise, but like they are made of sand paper! Four other things I noticed, the cap of the wash plate is quite loose. The rubber seal around the edge of the wash plate no longer touches the tub. There appears to be something in the sump, I can't tell what it is, but looking through the clear plastic, there looks like something is in there! Finally, the plastic tub ring is loose and appears empty? Is there supposed to be fluid in there?

I want to tear this machine apart and give everything a good cleaning and checking over but I can't even figure out how to get the top off! I'd like to try and restore this machine if it doesn't seem ridiculously far gone, but I don't think she had an easy life! There are bleach spill marks on the paint, it seems to have taken off the finish, the front it a bit scratched, the lid got a bit crushed on one corner leaving it with some rust, the seal on the lid is just plain falling off and there is some serious soap scum build-up around the dispenser! Is this machine worth saving?

 

[ttuee2006]

Doesn't sound like saving to me. And I'm the one who just restored that disgustified Highlander!

The Calypso wasn't known for durability, and it sounds like it's going to need a laundry list of parts. For that machine, I can expect it'll be EXPENSIVE to get everything you need! Just from all the problems you stated, it sounds like something I'd pass on....

That's just my opinion tho.....

 

[DADoES]

One's first Calypso is exciting for sure.

Sounds like there is some problem with the pump. There shouldn't be any draining at the start of a cycle. The water level should never be above the wash plate. Normally a Flood error should occur if it gets that high and the pump comes on in drain mode, but maybe it hadn't gotten quite high enough. Take the rear panel off your console, check if there are one or two pressure switches. If two (one OPR and one FLD), it's the original design. If one, it's the changed design with flood sensing integrated into the control board.

The spin noise is probably the brake dragging and isn't a particular concern long as it gets up to speed. One of mine does that quite a bit during acceleration until it gets up to 500+ RPM. If the machine has sat unused for a while, the dragging may get better after some use. Leslie told me the drive shaft bearing is pretty robust.

Calypso suspension does tend toward creaky/noisy, and the spin brake is quite strong.

If you mean the gray balance ring that sits atop the basket beneath the tub ring, it shouldn't be particularly loose, and yes, it should be about half-filled with liquid.

There are two check-balls in the sump. They work with the bidirectional pump to help insure the water flows properly.

To raise the top, remove the Whirlpool logo on the front trim (assuming it's there). Remove the screw behind it, then the top raises up. Residual water in the dispensers likely will spill out when the top is raised. The front panel is held by four screws along the top edge.

Disconnect the fresh water inlet hose from the tub ring. Unsnap and remove the tub ring. You can then pull off the balance ring (three tabs snap it to the basket) to check if it has leaked dry. The recirculation tube can be removed by releasing the tab that anchors it at side of the tub then pulling it straight upward. It's a rigid tube that presses onto a plastic nub at the sump.

The wash plate gasket doesn't necessarily need to contact the basket, but there shouldn't be very much of a gap.

If the center dome is loose, one or more of the four tabs may be broken. Remove the the outer dome. If the inner dome is brown, it's the original-style u-joint. If white/translucent, it's the newer design.

Diagnostic Mode (instead of Demo Mode) is accessed via Soak - Cycle Signal - Soak - Cycle Signal. Then press Water Temp once to initiate manual control. There'll be a click when the relay energizes. The lid switch must be closed for the pump or drive motor to run. Extra Rinse runs the pump in drain mode. Soak I think runs it in recirculate. Selecting a water temp runs the water valves per the wash temp. The Soil Level button switches the water flow between the four inputs -- detergent dispenser, softener dispenser, bleach dispenser, and fresh water spray. The water stops running if the pressure switch is triggered. Pressing a cycle button runs the drive motor at the slowest speed on Whitest Whites to faster speeds across the panel. Rinse/Spin button switches the drive motor direction (spin or nutate).

Jackson said he sent the service manual to you. Have a read through it. Anything that isn't clear, those of us here who have done Calypsos can assist.

As for whether the machine is worth refurbishing ... that depends on details of the condition, and how enthused you are about getting into it and willing to go the distance, however far that may be.

 

[DADoES]

To add further, I'm glad I went ahead with repairing the one I've done thus far. I got the basket covered by warranty, but I would still have done it if it hadn't been covered. One more waiting to be refurbished, it appears to be OK mechanically but the cabinet has more rusting.

 

[pulsator]

Well, I've got the top, tub ring, and balance ring off but I can't get the outer dome off to save my life! How is that supposed to be removed with the 2 flat head screw drivers? It seems to do absolutely nothing when I push them into the slots... I want to get to the sump because there is definitely something in there and I want to check around the out tub for other foreign objects. Also, with the top up, I ran the demo and that dragging noise that comes and goes during the spin appears to be the brake pads as whenever I hear the noise the whole inner assembly lurches as if it's stopping. What does that mean? Where are the brakes? What do I need to do to them??? lol