Why no balance ring for 24-inch early DD Whirlpool?

[magnumopus]

Here are my specs:
1984 Design 2000 washer.
(Model #LA7450XMW1 with 24-inch cabinet)

The basket has a riveted-on clothes guard, but no balance ring.

After removing the basket, I noticed a liquid-sloshing sound coming from the base.

Is this how they balanced the baskets on these units, by putting the fluid into the basket itself instead of using a balance ring?

Thank you.

 

[combo52]

DD WASHER BALANCE RING

Yes the on the early models the balance ring was built as part of the porcelain coated steel basket assembly.

 

[tomturbomatic]

They learned the trick from Maytag's AMP machines with the oil-filled balance ring as part of the top of the tub. With WPs, though it is water and if left in freezing conditions, it can freeze and break the plastic ring.

 

[combo52]

BALANCE RINGS

The WP built washers do use water in thier balance rings but as they are only 1/2full they can freeze with no damage if the washer remains in the normal upright position, but they can break from freezing if the washer is laying on its side when it freezes. Many FL washers use liquid filled balance rings and they contain some sort of antifreeze to keep them from being damaged when they are exposed to freezing temperatures.

 

[magnumopus]

Thanks for the replies.

Using oil would make more sense; over time water and/or antifreeze would presumably cause corrosion.
(Just look at what water does to the underside of a basket's center post.)

 

[combo52]

WATER FILLED BALANCE RINGS

Water will not cause any corrosion when it is completely sealed as no additional oxygen adams are being introduced to allow rust and corrosion. The water filled rings were normally plastic anyway, plus the water filled rings are much more environmentally friendly when the washer gets recycled than oil would be.

 

[magnumopus]

Ahhh...I never considered those variables.
Thanks.

 

[cfz2882]

DD ballance rings

i checked the contents of a '93 DD ballance ring;it was indeed filled with
water and frozen at 20*f-i thought it might be a water/calcium cloride
solution(which i suspect is used in the ballance rings of some washers)
The calcium cloride solution has the advantages of being heavy and freeze
resistant.
BTW since the calcium cloride solution is heavy,farmers will sometimes
fill the tires of their tractors with this to increase traction.

 

[magnumopus]

"After removing the basket, I noticed a liquid-sloshing sound coming from the base."

Correction:
Looks like my ears deceived me.
It's coming from the TOP of the basket, which also has a rubber plug.
(apparently for the fill hole)

 

[bajaespuma]

John, correct me if I be wrong...

I've begun getting interested in Kenpools (Lord, help me). Looking at some of the examples of the tubs on many of the BD Kenpools, it is obvious that there's no balance weight, at least on the washbasket. With machines like these, where they use a long LONG neutral drain, isn't it logical that no balance ring is necessary when all the dead weight basically falls to the bottom of the washbasket? I always thought that that was one of the big advantages to a neutral drain vs. a throw. I used to hold the washbasket of our Filter-flo with my hand to simulate a neutral drain and to see if I could improve the balance of that machine.

 

[combo52]

WASHER BALANCE RINGS

Yes Ken it does help balance to have all the clothes laying in the bottom of the tub when starting the spin cycle. The BD WPs & KMs had enough weight in the baseplate and gearcase assembly + a fairly calm spin speed of 515-525 RPMs that they didn't need a balance weight on the spinning basket. Although they have an add on balance ring for late 1970s super capacity BD washers to help resolve complaints about excessive vibration on these machines. 

 

Ken falling in love with WP laundry products is only natural as the more you see of them the more you like them. Its very much like politics the more you know the more likely you will have a liberal view of things.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Ken -

I am going to expand upon what John said a little bit. Although the BD Whirlpools and Kenmores are heavy in construction, and probably does help "hold down" the machine in an iffy spin, these machines like any other can have problematic spins at times. All that weight in a BD may help stabilize a machine, but it acts against it too if a load is unbalanced because the machine is slinging around all that weight - once the momentum is there, it tends to keep going.

My experience is that a poorly loaded BD, meaning that the user didn't think about the dynamics of what they're loading, may not recover from this throughout the entire load. If one were to have a load of darks consisting of jeans to knit shirts, I would always load the jeans opposite one another in the basket and make sure they are offset, then layer other items of similar weight (when wet), etc. If you were to load the jeans on one side and the knits on the other, the basket may look like it volumes-out fine, but those jeans will never spread out evenly, especialy in a full load, and the basket will be out of balance for spin, and probably dramatically so.

 

[bajaespuma]

John,

 

My visit to your warehouse began my indoctrination into the cult of the Kenpools. It's hard to not be won over by someone else's enthusiasm. Also our discussion about the parts used in the Kenmores vs. the Whirlpools was enlightening and really did make me reconsider Kenmores.

 

As for being a Liberal, as a mentor once described George Orwell to me, I'm a conservative leftist.

 

...and just for the record, the washing machine that really began my fascination was a Whirlpool. When I was born, this (or something very close to this) was in the apartment kitchen hooked up to the sink (one speed, no water temperature selection, 24" wide, a beautiful turquoise control dial, an agitator I haven't seen since, no safety switch!!, and I was heartbroken the day we moved and my Mother sold it to one of her models):