Whirlpool ends Production of KitchenAid Toploaders

[DADoES]

I will say that my 1991 KA dryer required setting to the extreme Very Dry position of the auto cycle for jeans and towels to get fully dry in one cycle, but they *did* dry. Two passes through were needed if set on the "normal" dry position. A *full* load may have taken an hour, but *never* two hours. Small to medium loads were correspondingly shorter times. Lighter-weight loads such as sheets and casuals did fine on the "normal" position.

How long is your vent ducting and what route does it take from the dryer to the end? If it's 20 or 30 feet long or more, has one or more 90° turns, makes a vertical run, goes through your attic, etc., it may either be excessively long or there may still be some obstruction that got missed during the cleaning.

My vent was literally a straight shot through an exterior wall. The wall opening was offset from the dryer outlet so I had to use a section of flex-vent to make the connection. This is not the KA dryer, it's my Fisher & Paykel dryer in the same location, with the same piece of flex-vent.

 

[hreodbeorht]

Check your house wiring

When my dryer took a long time to dry, I traced the problem to loose wires at the circuit breaker. I'd measure 240VAC when the dryer was disconnected. But when I turned on the dryer, the voltage would plunge to the point where the dryer would turn off. Ended up replacing the breaker at the service panel also, as the aluminum wire had heated up to where it had melted the connection. Even if you don't have aluminum wire, check the terminals anyway, make sure they are very tight. 1-2 hours to dry a load of clothes indicates something is very wrong.

 

[cny4]

None of these are issues, the dryer has been in 2 different residences, with the same results. I have solid dryer vent tubing that I totally disassembled and cleaned out. This did help, quite a lot. But you do need to use the extreme longest cycle and on towels and jeans; 2 cycles through. We also do usually do full loads, 6-8 per week. Again, this dryer has been like this since day one at my old house. Maybe we do larger loads than most, this may be why the plastic piece on the washer has broken twice.

At least The clothes are not "super dried out" like on some machines, this is a plus. I believe thy call this "cushioned heat" in KA lingo

 

[appnut]

You mjay have something there about overloading--too large of loads. I have had a 1986 Lady Kenmore (direct-drive) washer. I'm now using a Frigidaire Frontloader that was previously used, brought to me by a club member this fall. In the 20 years of service (and I did do some BobLoads in it), I have never once broken a coupler!!! Hmm On average I did 20-24 loads a month.

 

[whirlcool]

Our TOL WP Electronic set needed a new drive coupler after 3 years. But then again we were washing large blankets in the machine. After we started to take those to the washateria, no more problems with the drive coupler. We were also told overloading is hard on the couplers.
We did have to put in an agitator overhaul kit about 18 months ago. Cost about $20.00 and took about 20 minutes to install, did it myself. What we think caused the plastic "feed dogs" to wear out was that when my wife did laundry, she'd put the detergent in first, then turn the machine on so it would fill, then grab the top of the agitator to mix the water and detergent when it had about 4" of water in it. Now we use one of those Persil Bio Balls.
We have the matching WP TOL dryer, which dries anything within
45 minutes or so. We have never had any problems with it since it was new in 1993. But then again every three years or so we take the cover off and clean it out. Lint does tend to collect inside the case.

 

[abcomatic]

My everyday automatic is a 1995 KA. I have had the drive coupler repaired once since 1995 and all is well again. I like the turquoise adgitator in the machine.
If the KA is no longer going to be made, would it be a good idea to hang on to this machine as a future collectable? Have fun. Gary

 

[sudsmaster]

Glenn,

You could probably get a rigid periscope type of dryer vent adapter that would work much better (and perhaps safer) than that flex foil "S"....

 

[bpetersxx]

hopefully this is safe dryer venting it is flexible aluminum dryer duct work

 

[DADoES]

Rich, that installation was at the previous house. There still is a piece of flex-vent to allow some working space but it doesn't "S." The dryer is positioned and pushed back to compress the flex-vent.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Disappearing KitchenAid laundry line! Who would have thought that such a modern laundry line would become collectors' items so fast? The whole thing, not just a discontinued model or two. I'm glad that we have a fairly good representation in our holdings. The laundry products were available for almost 20 years. That's not long when you consider other brands.

Still fanning and clutching those smelling salts...
Tom

 

[oxydolfan1]

I saw a statistic in CU that startled me...that KA toploaders have an 18% frequency-of-repair rate...their highest for all TL brands.

If KA is Whirlpool's premium product, how are such figures possible?

(Besides the fact that we all know that CU is a bit, well....)

 

[zipdang]

...KA toploaders have an 18% frequency-of-repair rate....

The Superba TL I purchased in 2003 had issues. It had to have both tubs replaced because of leaks, and the timer had to be replaced because it kept shorting out. Once fixed the machine ran for two years without a single service issue, then I got ants in my pants (typical) and got something new. My sister-in-law bought the same washer just weeks after I did, and her machine developed the same timer issues mine had. She's a little "oh...whatever" about those things, so has never scheduled a service call. (If you push the timer in and let it sit for a while it will eventually work again.)

I was surprised that both of the machines in my family had what I consider factory defects, as my previous experience with Whirlpool's DD units was that they were very reliable. Perhaps someone on KitchenAid's QC line fell asleep on the job?

 

[cny4]

That's is why I was venting about some of the issues with my machines. CR has had Kitchen Aid near the bottom of the list for a few years while Roper is always near the top, what gives?

Repair people care to elaborate their experiences?

 

[tomturbomatic]

CNY4, Have you ever opened the door after about 20 minutes of drying and felt the clothes? Are they slightly warm or good and warm? Are you using the auto dry or timed dry cycles? One thing about the 29 inch dryers with the U-shaped air pattern is that if you dry a really huge load, they are not as efficient as dryers that have the back to front axial air flow. As a giant load dries and takes up more space, it can keep the air from circulating all the way to the front before going out through the exhaust. If you are washing very large loads in the KA washer with its (now)relatively slow spin speed, it would not be uncommon for for the load to take around an hour and a half to dry. You are using the cycle/speed setting which gives the normal spin speed for cottons, not a slower spin, right? The washer motor sounds different when you listen to it in the final spin on the regular cycle than it does on the delicate cycle, I hope. You are not in a situation like an apartment community where you are served by 208 volt electric service instead of 220, are you? Hope these questions do not insult your intelligence. I am trying to eliminate any factors that might be causing your drying speed to be lengthened unnecessarily. Tom

 

[agiflow]

I think WP had some timer issues with the late 80's/ early 90's timers in their line as well. We had an DD bought in 1988 that developed issues when you would set the machine on PP. You had to play around with the dial for the machine to start filling.

This eventually happened on all the cycles when it went to the crusher in 2003. Very good performance otherwise with that lint filter Surgilator that washed just as well or better than the DD DAA.

 

[frigilux]

Interesting! My 1990 KA toploader was serviced twice in the scant 2 years I owned it. First the timer gave out, then it refused to agitate. Unfortunately, I don't recall what caused the agitation problem.

I liked the machine a lot----very sturdy and stylish and porcelained, but I never keep washers to the end of their natural lives. I wanted a FLer again, so the KA was soon out the door.

 

[cny4]

Tomturbomatic:

You are correct, we usually dry large loads, we hardly ever move the water level off extra large. The clothes are good and warm; and wet after 20 minutes. I usually use the automatic dry and yes the clothes are sometimes wetter coming out of the washer than with other brands. So maybe 1.5 hrs is normal for the loads I do.

I wished I had bought the TOL Whirlpool at the time instead.
My mother has these and no issues.

 

[golittlesport]

Roper on top and KA on bottom of CR readers' survey

Maybe it is because "the more bells and whistles, the more things there are to go wrong." At least that is what my mom would say when she deliberately would not buy higher than the mid-line model. Ropers are very basic machines...I don't know that they even have two speeds.

 

[agiflow]

I seem to remember that KA had the most reliable TL washers in the early 90's..according to CU. If anything , WP was bringing back some heavy use of chrome on those machines.

Now we have the cabrio/oasis..which actually seem to be sturdier than the regular offerings of TL that they pump out.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Oasis sturdier.....

The lid goes "clunk" when you close it...

I love the sound of that "clunk".