Whirlpool Flex Vane Agitator Swap Out Video

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danmantn

danmantn

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Inspired by thread #26460, I picked up a Flex agitator on eBay and spent some quality time with my Whirlpool over the weekend.

I replaced the "corkscrew" agitator version in my 2003 Whirlpool Gold TOL topload washer with the funky looking flex vane. The flex vane certainly provides more splashy "entertainment", but rollover on bulky items is non-existant. But on smaller loads, nice to watch and works well. I am washing on medium, Cheer detergent, warm water, and full agitation...check out all those SUDS! The most suds I've EVER seen in my Whirpool! I actually stopped the filming early to make sure they weren't going to spill out.

I'm guessing it's where I was on medium load and the fins were thicker at that level - causing all kinds of splashing. As you can see from the next video, not quite that many suds on XL. The agitator lint filter is a bizzare novelty. Neat, but a PITA to remember to clean. Enjoy!

Video Link:

 
Is this agitator offered in any models today? I can find straight vane agitators in a few 2.5 cu. ft Roper, Estate, and Amana models, but that's it. Models seem to have become very streamlined in the last year or so.

Not long ago there were a few Whirlpools with Kenmore's Dual Action, and a few with the one AND two piece DD SuperSurgilator, but just within the last few months, these seem to have dissappeared. I don't see any with Polymer wash baskets either.

Gordon
 
Yes, rollover is really good on medium loads, but large loads are slower with heavy loads, and comforters...well, forget it. Probably rolls over 1 or 2x. Since I don't do super huge loads very often, I'm going to keep it in the WP. Regular loads are fun to watch.
 
Everything seems to be corkscrews...

Gordon,

I always peek in the washbaskets of what few toploaders I see at Sears, Lowes, THD, etc...been doing this since I was a kid. Use to be all kinds of agitators to gaze at--all different with different brands. Now it seems EVERYTHING is a corkscrew or copy of WP corkscrews. I even saw a corkscrew agitator in one of those super compact models that has the dryer on top! Usually those are the only ones with a traditional straight vane agitator (like a wringer washer), but looks like they have been converted as well. So sad.
 
these agitators were introduced to the first Design 2000 direct drives.....worked best on the smaller tub, super capacity wasn't out yet, but I always liked the lint filter in the agitator, brought back memories of a Maytag center filter.....but will always miss the waterfall filters in motion.......
 
Someone mentioned something about a 5 fin version...I have the four fin...was the 5 fin for larger capacities? Mine is like the Super Capacity Plus, or something like that...not sure how to tell how many cu ft.
 
I have a 5 vane Surgilator in my Whirlpool and it does roll over a good sized load. I also have the filter in the barrel. It does a good job. One thing though with mine I hear the transmission more than with the Dual Action with just 4 vanes at the base. One thing that I do like is having 2 filters in the washer. One at the base of the basket and one in the barrel.
Oh and another thing...if you put your hand into the washer when its agitating there is a very strong pull or suction at the top of the vanes as the water surges thru the machine. The 5 vane Super Surgilator was not cheap...$50 for just the base and $40 for the barrel filter. And another $20 for the fabric softener dispenser. I also have just a cap for it.
 
Since we're talking about agitator caps on DDs, let me tell you a funny story. I almost posted this as a separate entry, maybe I will still, but it's funny.

Yesterday (Sunday) I was at Lowe's shopping for a WP dishwasher. I was mad at Lowe's for not having something in stock that their computer said they had, and for the sales person being underwhelmingly concerned for helping me find what I want.

As I was walking away, I meandered down the washer aisle of WPs and Ropers, and there was a lady there who'd recently bought a Roper machine. I heard the comment: "I like the machine a lot, but when I pour the softener in, it just comes right back out". I thought to myself "What the heck!?!?!?"

Salesman says "Hmm, well do you want to exchange it for something else, maybe this GE or this Whirlpool?" The moron didn't know enough about the product to help her. I went over to her as the guy walked off for a bit and I said "Can you tell me what you just told him?", butting my nose into their business. She said "I pour the softener in here, and it just comes out". I said "that's because this machine is not equipped with a softener dispenser. That cap you snapped off is not a dispenser". "Oh!" she says. Then she went on to explain that she wanted to be able to start laundry and leave the house (that's a whole new topic for us to discuss sometime). I went to a WP machine with the dispenser and showed her the difference. Then I took the dispenser out of the WP and snapped it into place on the Roper's agitator. She was like "That's what I want!!".

Next part was funny...The sales rep is just standing there with this look on his face of "How did I loose control of this situation?" and she takes the dispenser from me, carries it over to him and says "I like the machine, but I want one of these". Even dumber look appears on the sales guy's face.

I said "You may find that on Whirlpool's site under accessories, OR you can get the part number from that WP model and go to Sears and order one, in fact they're still open right now and are 6 miles down the road. Bye!"

Dude was just dumb-founded....

Gordon
 
About being an appliance salesman

Me too!!!! Someone told me yesterday that I should do just that. It would be more fun to have my own store, but not in today's market unless I was in some sleepy little town away from a big box store.
 
Gordon....I love te help you gave

I often walk into Lowes, or Sears or such...and take a gander at the machines....and heres comes the sales help, well if thats what you call them, its either some little twinkie who has his Mom do his laundry or some whale who shops at the Barn of Big Butt Fashions because they did away with the fatboy section at Sears Robuck...anywho...their first words..."Can I Help You?"

What the Heck would you know about appliances that would enlighten me?

AND....any question you may have, no matter how simple, "They have to go check!"

CHECK WHAT???!!!.....you should know the answer in a split second......every store like every village...Has to have an IDIOT!
 
Yep -

She just unsnapped the cap and dumped it into the inner workings. However, there is a cover that goes over the agitator dogs just to prevent this sort of contamination, so it's probably fine.

Truthfully, how stupid can you be to dissassemble your washer looking for a softener dispenser that isn't there!?

Gordon
 
Two Comments

First-
Love the flex vane good to watch vs the boring Dual Action. And when I do comforters I prefer flex vane as the Dual Action rips holes in the comforters.

Second-

Lowes Appliance Sales - about 1 in 4 really care about selling. The others cant be bothered. I applied at our Lowes which is a big urban door with alot of intown money surronding. No even one call with all of my experience. I was even wanting flex part time since I am going back to school for HVAC tech.
 

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