Thread Number: 43903
Submit to the 906
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Post# 645449   12/10/2012 at 15:32 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        

mickeyd's profile picture

Bought the Ephemera for this machine Saturday, and was stunned by the first cycle, Delicate, whose wash is only 3 minutes long and in a full tub of water, no less!

 

All the cycles are interesting, and locked with no cancel button. You lock and load, then Maytag is in full command, and there's nothing you can do about it. This is a humbling exercise if you are a habitual cycle manipulator.

 

They say if you make a mistake, selecting the wrong cycle, immediately press the one you want.

 

This machine looks perfect. The first two buttons and the last two, all have one word cycles. Such Symmetry. All two-worders are in the middle. Again, so cool and logical that the first cycle is delicate: slow, short, and easy.

 

Big Ted once said that when people came into his studio, they all first noticed and admired his 900, the earlier version.

 

Wondering if any of you use the illustrious 906, and if it is the pride of your fleet. And have you tried to trick it in any way, like getting a partial fill for a Delicate cycle, by somehow outsmarting the buttons?

 

Lit up and spray rinsing, a real dream machine for me. I will submit to the 906.




This post was last edited 12/10/2012 at 20:36



Post# 645450 , Reply# 1   12/10/2012 at 15:40 (4,126 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

What, no pictures? I'm still working on a DG906 that I got a while back. I'm kind of persnickety so it's taking a while. Still, I'd love to see photos of your washer.


Post# 645451 , Reply# 2   12/10/2012 at 15:46 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Hi Dave,

mickeyd's profile picture

Don't I wish I had one here and working. It's a dream machine I hope to have one day. Could I see pix of yours?


Post# 645454 , Reply# 3   12/10/2012 at 15:54 (4,126 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        

bajaespuma's profile picture
I'm pretty much done collecting Maytags but if a 906 pair ever came along, I'd grab it so fast. I've always been curious to see how those machines worked.

Post# 645471 , Reply# 4   12/10/2012 at 16:45 (4,126 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
Sorry Mike. I misunderstood your post.

d-jones's profile picture

I thought you were saying you'd downloaded information for a machine you already had. Here's a photo of the control panel for my parents dryer. It's in really nice shape for the most part, but I'm getting myself bogged down in replating and hardware replacement. I can be a bit of a perfectionist and that just adds to the headaches, but I want this thing to be as close to new as possible when it's finished. I had posted some photos of the tear-down and the work that followed in an earlier thread(see the link) but I'll wait to post the rest of the photos until it's finished. I hope you like it.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO d-jones's LINK

Post# 645491 , Reply# 5   12/10/2012 at 18:02 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Beautiful, Doug

mickeyd's profile picture

and gas, my favorite. Showering after I posted, realized that DG means gas dryer. But thanks anyway. Psyched to see some washers, and hear about their curious operation.

 

How do you cancel a cycle? If you pull the plug, then plug the machine back in, would that cancel the cycle, or would it resume. The Ephemera says that if your next load or washday starts with the same cycle you last used, you just press it in hard. In other words, the button does not pop out after the cycle completes. Interesting.


Post# 645507 , Reply# 6   12/10/2012 at 19:18 (4,126 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
I Have Often ....

danemodsandy's profile picture
....Said I would do anything legal or moral to obtain a set of 906s.

As the years go by without a pair turning up, I am beginning to feel my standards slipping....


Post# 645509 , Reply# 7   12/10/2012 at 19:37 (4,126 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)        
Just Smacked me in the back of My Head

toploader55's profile picture
Just Looking at that beautiful dryer, I just Locked in on it, out of nowhere, It's so Clean, Futuristic, Old Fasioned, Gorgious,and Built so Soundly, as machines were back then.

I just have to take a deep breath , Savor, and Sigh... That this was the end of an era, which no one will ever will see again. Thanks to all of you, we all want to Preserve and Treasure these Beauties.


Post# 645524 , Reply# 8   12/10/2012 at 20:09 (4,126 days old) by appnut (TX)        
"Canceling" cycle on Dx906 dryer

appnut's profile picture

If the dryer is empty you can push the damp dri button and if the sensors are actinbg properly will "sense" dry and turn off in a matter of seconds.  Otherwise, air fluff has about a 7 or 15 minute cycle and shuts off. 


Post# 645525 , Reply# 9   12/10/2012 at 20:09 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Agreed, Gentlemen: The Lock On Indeed ~

mickeyd's profile picture

So sleek, so elegant, so simple, so boss. "We are 906. We will assimilate you. Resistance is futile." The Borg from Star Trek.

 

Even the text of the doctrine is elevated in style and diction. I'll copy some later.


Post# 645527 , Reply# 10   12/10/2012 at 20:14 (4,126 days old) by appnut (TX)        
"Cancelling" a cycle on a 906 washer

appnut's profile picture

I've never really played with one.  I personally don't like their inflexibiloity.  Only the cottons cycle has water level options of partial or full.  "Washing for Dummies".  Not sure if their might be some sort of "stem" on the backside of the control panel to manipulate the timer.  the only thing positive I can say about the 900 series is that it was the only Maytag model with a "cooldown" phase--on the Wash'n'Wear cycle long before Maytag added a Permanent Press cycle on the 06 line, what in 1968, 1969. 

 

As far ass "cancelling" a cycle, hitting "Spin Dri" is about the only option to let it spin drain and finish that final spin cycle. 


Post# 645534 , Reply# 11   12/10/2012 at 20:24 (4,126 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)        

kenmore71's profile picture
There is a cancel button on the back of the panel. You have to hold it in until the light goes out. It rapid advances the timer to the next "off" position.

Also, as noted above, pushing the "Spin Dri" button would stop any cycle, drain and spin the tub for about 5 minutes.


Post# 645539 , Reply# 12   12/10/2012 at 20:40 (4,126 days old) by qsd-dan (West)        

qsd-dan's profile picture
Maybe the earlier 906's had the cancel switch, but my 1972 doesn't.

Kinda annoying when I show it off and have to select "Spin Dry" and let it finish the cycle in order to reset the timer to shut the machine off.


Post# 645540 , Reply# 13   12/10/2012 at 20:51 (4,126 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Awwww, poor Dan!

redcarpetdrew's profile picture
If that 906 washer is giving you such a bad time, I'll reluctantly take it off your hands. It won't match colors with my CDE906 but I'll suffer it for you...

RCD


Post# 645541 , Reply# 14   12/10/2012 at 20:54 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Oh you wonderful man, Mark ~

mickeyd's profile picture

revealing the wizard behind the curtain. Nowhere in the ephemera is this mentioned. That. Is. Awesome. What fun one could have with that switch. Thinking it through, you get a partial fill from button 4, hit the cancel button. Then hit Delicate. Uh-oh, it will continue to fill. Oh rats! Hmmmmm......how can I manipulate those switches to get a partial fill?

 

Thank you, kindly for the secret switch all blown up and revealed. Who knew?

 

And Bob, before the switch appeared, the Spin Dry push is a thoughtful idea, and the only way out. Let the fun begin. What else can we get this King of Tag to do?


Post# 645542 , Reply# 15   12/10/2012 at 20:55 (4,126 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)        

kenmore71's profile picture
So...they dispensed with the "cancel" button on the back panel in the 1969 timer revision?

Post# 645544 , Reply# 16   12/10/2012 at 20:58 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Simluposting ~ -er composing.

mickeyd's profile picture

DAN--treat us poor 906-starved beggars to a few hot shots.


Post# 645545 , Reply# 17   12/10/2012 at 21:00 (4,126 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Dryer can be canceled by simply opening the door.  IIRC on mine, the selected button will pop-out after a brief delay.

My CA906 doesn't have the timer advance switch.


Post# 645546 , Reply# 18   12/10/2012 at 21:05 (4,126 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
CA906?

redcarpetdrew's profile picture
Could you please put up a picture or several of it so I can dream of how the matching washer to my CDE906 would look? Finding a 906 washer is hard enough but locating a coppertone 906 is proving to be near impossible...

RCD


Post# 645548 , Reply# 19   12/10/2012 at 21:30 (4,126 days old) by qsd-dan (West)        

qsd-dan's profile picture

So...they dispensed with the "cancel" button on the back panel in the 1969 timer revision?

I guess so.

DAN--treat us poor 906-starved beggars to a few hot shots.

I won't be home until Saturday, but I'll try to do you one more and shoot a quick video. It's pretty much untouched since I got it, with the exception of a timer motor replacement, and it needs lots of attention.


Post# 645550 , Reply# 20   12/10/2012 at 21:42 (4,126 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Thanks Dan, the unparalleled spray rinse would make mint vid

mickeyd's profile picture
Until then, if picture pilfering is allowed, I just went into the photo collections where Greg's is first one I saw. A spectacular Black and White of the control panel.
With your permission then, Gregory, here is Gansky's Black Onyx Ruby: (Just look at the majesty of that mechanical being.) And the symmetry of the controls is even better than I reported: 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 ~ Perfection


Post# 645597 , Reply# 21   12/11/2012 at 08:00 (4,126 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
The beautiful 906!

This is the set I found at my local Launderall dealer, Coffman Appliance, now long gone. They were in the shop window for couple of months and I finally stopped in and looked at them. Once I saw how nice they were, they had to come home. Fred now has them in Chicago. (this was also my laundry room in '00, things look quite different today!)

Since this set, I've never been without a Maytag pushbutton washer. I prefer the older models, but I have enough parts to make another set of '06 series if I ever get the urge.

Maytag actually changed these machines quite often during their production from the first A900, the A902 and then into the 906's. They did various different things with the off-balance load handling, including one disaster with cork dampers on the underside of the baseplate that the brake package would rub against to slow down the spin. That didn't last long, in use or in production.

The A900 through the first series of 906 washers had fairly complicated control system, a series of switches and motor attached to a rotisserie gearing advanced the timer when you made a selection. The two water levels are controlled with a solenoid lever to switch between them. Post 1969 906 washers used a more compact rapid-advance timer with the advance motor built in, much like a KDS-xx dishwasher and used two pressure switches for water level.

You can easily adjust the cycles - if you want a partial load fill of cold water, press the Bright Colors button, wait for the tub to fill to proper level and then push the partial load colors button. If you want to be a "dial pusher" you can cut short any washtime by pushing Spin to empty the tub and spin the load (no spray rinse) then the Rinse-Spin button, Want an extra warm rinse? Push the full or partial colors button, when the tub fills just push rinse-spin and you're back to automatic washday ease. LOL

These washers were a great example of engineers and designers dreaming up solutions for a problem that never existed. Most homemakers didn't find operating a washing machine terribly stressful or complicated.


Post# 645601 , Reply# 22   12/11/2012 at 08:09 (4,126 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
This my yellow A900 & DE700 set in use today. They came from Boulder, Colorado out of a woman's duplex. There were no washer & dryer hookups when she moved there to be closer to her daughter after her husband passed away in 1961'ish. They were put in the storage room and over the years, mom began to fill the house with newspapers and magazines, to the point that the machines were so buried in the house, they were surprised to find them while moving out the piles of paper. Paper makes a wonderful preservative - absorbs odor and moisture so the machines still looked almost new.



Post# 645602 , Reply# 23   12/11/2012 at 08:12 (4,126 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
These is the same 906 set in my first picture above, now at Fred's in Chicago. This is a repair guy from a local Maytag dealer that replaced the water valve. Fred and Terry just swooned when he came in the door - LOL



Post# 645609 , Reply# 24   12/11/2012 at 08:58 (4,125 days old) by chris74 ()        
I like that pink front-loader best

What is it? A Westy?

Post# 645633 , Reply# 25   12/11/2012 at 10:59 (4,125 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Pushbutton MT automatics

combo52's profile picture

Great pictures Greg, but you forgot about the PB MT that started them all, the A160 and the A160S with suds-saver introduced in the late 1950s I think 1959.


Post# 645640 , Reply# 26   12/11/2012 at 11:25 (4,125 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA)        

cadman's profile picture
Did someone say A160? : )

Post# 645646 , Reply# 27   12/11/2012 at 11:45 (4,125 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
That looks like an aircraft wheel reflected in the control p

d-jones's profile picture

What's sitting in front of this machine?


Post# 645651 , Reply# 28   12/11/2012 at 11:54 (4,125 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
The operation is fabulous. It's a SEMI-AUTOMATIC !!!

mickeyd's profile picture

Select White Full, let it wash for 4,6,8 minutes as you wish, Okay, what do I want to do now? Select Spin and get a nice long 5 minute spin out of wash water. Hmmmm, now do I want a warm rinse today or a cold one. I would just absolutely love this.

 

.....Wait a minute, I think I want it to wash this load for another ten minutes; the socks were a little dirtier than usual. Pressssssss

 

How did I know you'd be an inveterate button pusher? Thinking through the possibilities, this is just crazy. Thank you for the enlightenment.

 

 


Post# 645652 , Reply# 29   12/11/2012 at 11:57 (4,125 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
OH MY GOD, CORY

mickeyd's profile picture

A Blue One--Spectacular !!! Thank you.

 



`


Post# 645655 , Reply# 30   12/11/2012 at 12:08 (4,125 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        

mickeyd's profile picture

Dave, I can't tell. Isn't it just the door?

 

Chris, Westy is shorthand for Westinghouse.

 

Edit: I see it now, Dave.... a huge wheel reflected in the control panel. Hey!....Maybe Cory's got a jet, too! LOL


Post# 645672 , Reply# 31   12/11/2012 at 12:33 (4,125 days old) by westingman123 ()        
Chuckling

I hope I'm not the only one that chuckles each time he reads the thread title. Submit, indeed!

Chris, that's a Bendix in Greg's picture--quite the looker! Gotta love those doors that look like steering wheels.

I'm verklempt! That turquoise Maytag is breathtaking. It's even prettier against the snowy backdrop. Is that a new acquisition?


Post# 645677 , Reply# 32   12/11/2012 at 12:46 (4,125 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
How hice to see you Keith, and thanks

mickeyd's profile picture

In my excitement, I misread Chris's question.

 

Yes, the chuckle, but the 906 we now know will submit in kind! What a relationship. But there are boundaries:

 

Doing the brunch chores, have been pre-occupied with getting the 906 to submit to a partial fill Delicate. Once you get a partial fill through button 5 or 7, and you press Delicate, won't the 906 then continue to fill, or will the level switch be satisfied and let you roll, the little brain in the machine not noticing the trick you've slipped in? For you, Keith LOL.

 

Can anyone see the solution here. I can't


Post# 645680 , Reply# 33   12/11/2012 at 12:58 (4,125 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Being that the partial-fill and full-fill pressure switches are physically separate, I'm assuming it would fill rest of the way if switched from a partial-fill cycle to Delicate.


Post# 645700 , Reply# 34   12/11/2012 at 14:27 (4,125 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Yes, I meant to write 160, which both of mine are - one white and one yellow. :-)

Had 900's on the mind...


Post# 645702 , Reply# 35   12/11/2012 at 14:29 (4,125 days old) by westingman123 ()        
Mike, I DO love a puzzle

Now, sir, I shall ponder that while I'm at work tonight. For all the elegance of those controls, methinks I'd have to stick to the dial. Terribly practical, I know.

Post# 645713 , Reply# 36   12/11/2012 at 15:55 (4,125 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Hi Keith,

mickeyd's profile picture

Everybody here has talent that I envy in a healthy way. I don't have the skill or enough years left to master the genius work we have seen achieved here by the most gifted. I stand in awe of it.

 

But what I can do is trick machines into doing things other people say can't be done. If for no other reason, I would love a King Tag for the sheer challenge, just to see what I could make it do, then let everyone know, and hear them say, "Holy Cow, Mike." It would be more fun than going on the "Ellen Show!"Cool


Post# 645719 , Reply# 37   12/11/2012 at 16:38 (4,125 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA)        
For the button pushers.....

cadman's profile picture
Sounds like I need to get working on my Super-Tag!

David, what you see in the reflection of my pic is the spare tire of a trailer we were pulling...the little dots on the Maytag glass make it look riveted : )


Post# 645725 , Reply# 38   12/11/2012 at 17:05 (4,125 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
DOH!

d-jones's profile picture

It was the pattern of round holes in the rim that had me fooled. Gulfstream business jet main wheels have a similar look, and at the end of the work day, the mechanics are often found working on personal projects in and around the hangars, after all that's where all their tools are. ;-)


Post# 645800 , Reply# 39   12/11/2012 at 20:03 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
Yes Indeed

fnelson487's profile picture

I have my own personal Maytag Repairman.  Dan's family has been in business in the far Western suburbs of Chicago for many years.  They sold Maytags and furniture in what was then a small town appliance and furniture store.  It's still there and Dan, the son, does the repairs.  I coveted Greg's 906s from the first time I saw them and vowed to get them and put them into my laundry room, moving out a set of Neptunes, which are now in the basement. 

 

Terry was here one weekend and happily doing laundry in the 906s when the water valve gave out and flooded the laundry room and part of the basement below.  I called Leonardi's and Dan showed up on my doorstep.  I almost fainted when I saw him waving at me and smiling through the side door.  When he came in and saw the machines, all he could say was "Wow!"  He actually had an original 3-solenoid valve in stock and replaced it.  Later he replaced the motor in the dryer.  These things are in regular use.  Amazing after all these years.  Dan calls it a labor of love.  It's a good feeling to know that I can keep these things running well with someone who knows how to do it.  I had a young repairman over to fix a door switch on the Neptune washer and he walked in the back door and said "I can't work on those!"  I said "You are not laying a finger on them, down to the basement!"

 

Thanks Greg, I love these machines. And yes, my 906 washer has the rapid-advance button on the underside of the back of the control panel.  You have to go hunting for it, but it is there.


Post# 645802 , Reply# 40   12/11/2012 at 20:10 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
BTW Greg

fnelson487's profile picture

What's with that God-awful floor in your basement?


Post# 645809 , Reply# 41   12/11/2012 at 20:31 (4,125 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        
horrible floor

gansky1's profile picture
The floor was what we moved in to back in 1998. Until I gave myself permission to bring home and keep some of my vintage favorites, I didn't spend much time down there. I scraped that floor up with a 4" razor blade, inch by inch until it was gone. I'm not sure the painted floor is much better, but it's not brown vinyl!

Post# 645815 , Reply# 42   12/11/2012 at 20:36 (4,125 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
LOl

jetcone's profile picture
Fred I am glad you said it. But I was thinking it OY! Parchese flooring!

Post# 645817 , Reply# 43   12/11/2012 at 20:37 (4,125 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
Fred!

danemodsandy's profile picture
You leave Greg alone, LOL!

There are worse floors out there - and I should know, because I'm living with one in my kitchen. It's sort of cream and Harvest Gold, and even when it was "In," it was fugly.

You can see a glimpse of it here in this shot of the cat, Tony, who owns the house I am a guest in:


Post# 645826 , Reply# 44   12/11/2012 at 20:49 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
Here Are Some Fun Pictures

fnelson487's profile picture

Of the 906 brochures.  BTW Greg - I love what you did to the basement.  Thank God you got rid of that floor.  Greg knows how to stage vintage washers.  This is a shot of the 906s in Greg's basement after the makeover.


Post# 645828 , Reply# 45   12/11/2012 at 20:50 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
And The First

fnelson487's profile picture

Brochure picture


Post# 645829 , Reply# 46   12/11/2012 at 20:51 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
Next Up

fnelson487's profile picture

The Washer


Post# 645830 , Reply# 47   12/11/2012 at 20:53 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
And

fnelson487's profile picture

The dryer - mine is electric and I had to rewire the laundry room to accomodate it.


Post# 645831 , Reply# 48   12/11/2012 at 20:54 (4,125 days old) by fnelson487 (Palm Springs, CA)        
And A Shot

fnelson487's profile picture

Of the washer hooked up and running.  Chrome and lights, even inside the machine.  This machine was lightly used and well taken care of.


Post# 645833 , Reply# 49   12/11/2012 at 20:55 (4,125 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
We actually had that floor in a bathroom once. I'm not sure who thought that was a good idea, but undaunted, my mother pulled out the Sears catalog. We had dark brown rugs & lid cover, trash can, kleenex box, cups, shower curtain (with decorative dangling balls) - it was so very late 70's. When we looked at the house before buying it, I was horrified to see that floor again.

Post# 646244 , Reply# 50   12/13/2012 at 18:27 (4,123 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
What a pretty thread ! ~ Thank you, Gentlemen!

mickeyd's profile picture
Can't wait till Saturday when Dan comes home and we go LIVE with a movie.

I love that the Bright Colors cycle is such a fancy upscale name for the more common Cold Water Wash ;'D

And Bob would love that it's a full 10 minutes rather than the usual lightweight 6.


Post# 646251 , Reply# 51   12/13/2012 at 18:53 (4,123 days old) by lebron (Minnesota)        
Reply# 48

lebron's profile picture

Is an absolutely beautiful shot and one of the reasons I enjoy browsing this site.


Post# 646261 , Reply# 52   12/13/2012 at 20:21 (4,123 days old) by applianceguy47 ()        
taffy

This thread is AWESOME !

Like eating a bag or delicious taffy in all different flavors.
lite blue = blue berry
pink = strawberry
yellow = bannana

906s were just fun.



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