Woohoo! Got my first set!!!!

[kowidge]

Well, I finally did it! I finally was the first to call in time to get to a set. $30 bucks for the pair. A maytag set in a nice avacado green with a 'sunburst' fade. I'm so new to this, and have been lurking on the website for the past year reading up and getting some insight.

Background, I'm an architect and my wife and I finally got our first home last year after 15 years of marriage. Its a mid century modern that we bought from the first owners and we love it. Not really needing any work, we've been trying to return the house to a little more period correct or period looking pieces. We started with the oven - a 57 30" Hotpoint, and Walt from upstate NY gave us a big boost with fresh parts and a replacement oven when the first one burst into flames (really happened - faulty wiring). By the way, Thanks again Walt, (That guy is terrific!)

Anyways, I'm going to get these next weekend and was wondering if anyone would be so kind to identify these units and anything pertinent to know about them. I would be so grateful for any insight to the year, model, functions. The owner said they have sat for 8 years and were rarely used. What sort of precautions should I take before I fire them up. He also said that the electric element was replaced in the dryer.

I'm so glad there is a group out here dedicated to good design and innovation. I'll put a picture of the house on this thread too.

 

[kowidge]

Console 1

Are these lighted. Do they only come on when the unit is functioning?

 

[kowidge]

Console 2

Heres the other

 

[kowidge]

Here is their new home and mine

I love my house, and after 8 years in living in Marine barracks and tiny apartments....all the hard work to get was soooo worth it

 

[kowidge]

This is the oven that burst into flames

It was the cross wiring in the drop down burner backfed into the push button switch and it just melted. Luckily the wiring diagram was intact on the back.

 

[kowidge]

This is the laundry nook where the Maytags will go

It's hard to take a pic, but its like a small hallway connector

 

[DADoES]

 
Nice pair of 806 units.  The consoles are lighted when the machines are running.  Lower painted areas of the panels are blue which indicates earlier editions.  The color was changed to gold later.

 

[swestoyz]

A806/DE806 set

Perm Press dial with the full chrome knob - probably built around 1970 or so.  In the world of Maytags, it doesn't get much better than this set.  And yes, as Glenn mentioned the glass section of the panels are back-lit with a florescent bulb.  Also, the dryer drum and the wash basket have bulbs that light when the door/lids are opened. 

 

One suggestion I have is to pull the front panel off the washer before throwing it into daily duty service.  Make sure all the hoses are in tact and the clamps haven't rusted apart.  It also wouldn't hurt to rebuild the motor carriage as the rollers have probably disintegrated to pieces (kit PN 205000), and throw a new drive belt on (PN 211125). Pull the back panel off the dryer and clean out any lint or dust and check the belts.  The front seal around the drum may be in tact, but eventually it would be wise to replace the felt seal as well.  These tasks can be tackled by anyone who can handle a screw driver and has some patience. 

 

Here's a shot of what they would look like in all their lit glory.  Enjoy your new digs!  You guys have a beautiful place.

 

Ben

 

[pulltostart]

Congratulations on your Maytag pair - and that house is stunning!  Are we to assume it was built in 1957?  Again - stunning.

 

lawrence

 

[DADoES]

 
The dryer runs by electronic moisture sensing. There's no option for drying by time, except the Air Fluff cycle which runs 15? mins. The moisture sensor can be tested by running the Damp Dry cycle with no clothes, it should shut off in about 7 seconds, IIRC.

The Perm Press cycle is specifically programmed to run longer, so Maytag recommended to use it for heavier items such as jeans if they don't come out satisfactorily dry on Regular Fabrics.  Perm Press runs until the moisture sensor is happy the load is dry, then it continues until the exhaust heat reaches a specific higher temp to ensure items treated with the new-fangled Permanent Press finish are suitably smoothed of wrinkles, then the cool-down triggers.

Don't overlook the dryer's lint screen, which is mounted at the center/rear inside the drum.

If you aren't aware, the washer has a lint filter cartridge inside the agitator. Pull upwards on the top to remove it for cleaning.

 

[kowidge]

Thanks for the replies! So those Maytags are from 1970, eh? I had never even seen one until I found your website looking for a way to repair the oven. I have to say I absolutely love the classic styling

Lawrence, The house was designed in 64 and they moved in 66. The only thing they changed was the kitchen counter and floor, and put in some bad 80s style lights in much of the house. They fortunately left all the teak cabinets in the house, and I already replaced the knobs in the kitchen with some 1955 chrome originals I got from a house that was being demolished.

 

[danemodsandy]

Around 1970:

Your washer is the second iteration of the A806; it has the later control button setup with four water levels, but it still has the blue-accented control panel, instead of the later gold accent.

Your dryer is still the first iteration of the 806 dryer, with the Halo of Heat design. This is a low-heat, electronic-control design; the heat level is not selectable, as it would be on later versions. Your lint filter should be at the rear of the dryer drum, and your dryer drum should be porcelain, not painted.

Those are very nice machines. They were the top of the Maytag line for a machine that allowed user input; the A906 was a bit more expensive, but it offered no features that the A806 did not have, and it was so heavily pre-programmed that there was considerable sacrifice of user flexibility.

Incidentally, your washer would have been around $409.05 when new, equal to about $2800 today. These were solid machines for those in solid financial brackets!

I love your house. I used to be Senior Editor at Modernism.

 

[goatfarmer]

Nice 'tag set, in Avocado. You should get years of satisfaction from them.

 

[twintubdexter]

What a terrific home! Having lived my entire life in California when someone says they live in New York I auromatically think NYC. I forget it's a big state with a lot of beautiful country.

 

[rp2813]

That's My Dream Pair!

A beautiful set, and avocado will integrate perfectly into your beautiful and stunning modern home. 

 

I had the gas version of your 806 dryer.  It was by far the best, fastest, most efficient and user-friendly dryer I've ever owned.  The companion washer is equally impressive.  The best center dial model Maytag had to offer, and Maytag built the highest quality washer money could buy back then.  You'll love hearing the smooth, solid, satisfying sound of dependable durability as it goes through its cycles.

 

You stole that low mileage set for $30.  You're going to enjoy the hell out of those machines!

 

[danemodsandy]

I Forgot to Mention:

If you are looking for owner's manuals for your machines, they are available through Automatic Ephemera, a "sister" site to this one. The site owner, Robert, finds vintage appliance ephemera and scans it at very high resolution, cleaning up as needed. The scans are then turned into PDF files and made available for paid download. Prices are very moderate, usually between $1 and $4; PayPal is accepted. Robert's scans are often cleaner and more legible than vintage hard copies, plus you can zoom in if you need to. Visit www.automatice.org to see the site.

Since there are two basic iterations of the 806 washer and dryer, you need to be careful which manual you select for downloading. The closest match for your washer is titled, "Maytag 806 Owners Manual, Operating Instructions and the Maytag Laundering Guide," and is dated 1972.

The closest match for your dryer is titled, "Maytag Dryer DE806 Operating Instructions," and is also dated 1972.

As an 806 owner, I can say that having the manuals really heightens the pleasure of owning the machines; there are fine points of operation that you don't get from just playing with the cycles and buttons.

P.S.: Whoever replaced the heating element in your dryer did you a big favor - that's an involved repair on Halo of Heat models. Not insanely difficult, but not nearly as easy as replacing the heating element on later models. You did extremely well for $30!

 

[kowidge]

Thanks everyone for the advice, comments and compliments!

Ben,( swestoyz ) thanks for the preventative maintenance tips for bringing them back into service. I will definitely give it a good once over once I get them home. I'm really excited to finally be in a position to do this. Where do I but the parts? From Maytag?

I will post some pics when I open it up. My wife was skeptical at first but really loved the options described here.

Woohoo!

 

[bajaespuma]

Aferim!

I have always thought Maytags looked particularly good in Avocado Green, which is, to paraphrase the Lady Trentham, "a difficult color".

 

[goatfarmer]

If you know which parts you might need, I've found lots of deals on EBay. Or find a local parts house.

 

[bluejay]

That house is beautiful! I'm so glad you're returning it to its original glory!

And congrats on the nice Maytag set!

 

[rp2813]

A couple of things

1) It isn't much of a stretch at all to view these machines as possibly being replicas of what could have been in that laundry room originally in 1966, or very shortly thereafter.  You lucked out with Maytag since they didn't make major changes to their consoles until +/- 1980.

 

2) When you tend to the belt, be advised that it's a very loose fit.  You may think something needs to be tightened, but that's how they're designed to fit.

 

[danemodsandy]

1966 Was The Year:

This Maytag series was introduced, so it's particularly appropriate to your house.

Below is a photo of an 806 set from around 1968; it's identical in appearance to the first, 1966 "New Generation" Maytags, with the exception of a Permanent Press cycle instead of Wash 'n Wear. This first version was a little different from yours in that there were only three water levels and the button layout was a bit different.

 

[DigAPony]

Son of a b***h!

I saw that listing late last night, called the seller around 11 a.m. this morn and was told I was an hour too late, someone already put a deposit on them, (deposit on a $30 deal??). A little surprised they went in less than 24 hrs.

Anyway, glad they went to a good home.

(No not really, I wanted them dammit, they looked extra nice!)

 

[danemodsandy]

Here's Your Machine:

In a 1970 brochure shot; it's the shaded Harvest Gold machine at right. Note the penciled-in price: $409.95. In 1970, you could buy a respectable used economy car for that.

At left is the ne plus ultra, the all-pushbutton A906 in shaded Avocado. Each button started a completely pre-programmed cycle, totally automated from start to finish. The drawback was that you could not adjust anything; the machine's water levels, agitation speed and rinse temperature were pre-set for each cycle. Your A806 allows every one of those things, and more, to be custom-tailored for your needs.

 

[supersuds]

Don't know anything about the washer/dryer, but I love the house!

 

[frontaloadotmy]

I don't think I see this mentioned

in any of the replies; when you get them home the two letters of the serial number of each machine will indicate the month and year of manufacture.

Very nice looking midcent home you have!

 

[kowidge]

Going to get them tomorrow

Kinda fitting that my work truck is also a 1970 F-250, so I'm making the two hour drive to get them tomorrow morning to pick them up. I'm grateful for all the help you all gave me. The parts (thanks for the part numbers) were pretty easy to find on several websites.

To DigAPony from NJ, I'm sorry you didn't call in time, I've dealt with that a lot lately and I definitely know how it feels to miss out. Its stinks. Sorry about that.

 

[DigAPony]

To DigAPony from NJ, I'm sorry

I was just kidding around..

At first I thought either a scrapper got them and they were going to be recycled into beer cans, or hopefully a collector, glad it was the latter.

Be careful moving the washer, they are heavy, don't want see that take a tumble.

 

[swestoyz]

Tony -

 

Glad to hear the PN's were useful.  As you can tell, several of us are passionate about this particular washer.  It's a good one!

 

Keep us posted if you have any questions. 

 

BTW - nice lookin' '69 Cat in your avatar!  Does it have a 400 in it?

 

Ben

 

[kowidge]

Cat in the avatar

I see another Pontiac enthusiast is here too. Yes that was my 69 Catalina wagon. I had it as my daily driver for 5 years after I bought it from the original owners unrestored, and put on another 40k miles. The body was starting to go, so I sold it two years ago to a wagon lover so he could bring it back to life because I didn't have the money then and didn't have the heart to see it get worse. It had the 400 with a 2 bbl Rochester and never gave me a single problem (that wasn't over-come-able that is). Loved that car.

My daily driver is now a gold tone 72 Vista Cruiser.