Thread Number: 50828
Ephemera: 1955 Kenmore Question |
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Post# 731165   1/28/2014 at 06:15 (3,752 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Purchased the lovely instruction manual for the 1955 Kenmore Cycla-Fabric (which also included instructions for a semi-automatic model) and have a question for our resident Kenmore experts:
Although there is a Modern Fabrics cycle on this machine, there's no mention of slow speed agitation/spin. Was this a single-speed model? When did Kenmore introduce slower speeds for delicate/modern fabrics? I noticed the very wide, back-opening lid, common in today's washers. Love the console styling with its oversized wash dial, as well. Water temps in 1955: Hot (tap temp); Medium (120 degrees); Warm (100 degrees). Bonus: There's a great in-manual blurb for Sears detergent: SOAPthetic With Kenicide! It is advertised as a "high speed detergent" with "constant rinseability." And it has Kenicide to kill those nasty germs. This post was last edited 01/28/2014 at 08:14 |
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Post# 731170 , Reply# 1   1/28/2014 at 06:35 (3,752 days old) by cycla-fabric (New Jersey (Northern))   |   | |
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Post# 731185 , Reply# 2   1/28/2014 at 08:08 (3,752 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 731186 , Reply# 3   1/28/2014 at 08:19 (3,752 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Thanks for the information, Doug and John! I didn't realize Whirlpool/Kenmore was the first brand to sport two speeds.
I checked the '56 and '57 manuals (two more Emphemera treasures), both of which state the Modern Fabrics cycle features slower speeds. |
Post# 731232 , Reply# 4   1/28/2014 at 11:31 (3,752 days old) by Whirlaway (Hampton Virginia)   |   | |
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Thats the very machine I use almost every day. Its a good old machine and I have the matching High Speed Dryer,these were the top of the line for Sears in 55 also has a Suds saver |
Post# 731258 , Reply# 5   1/28/2014 at 12:50 (3,752 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 731276 , Reply# 6   1/28/2014 at 13:11 (3,752 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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I could be wrong but I suspect that the 1955 Model might have only been one speed as they introduced their "short" cycle which was called "Modern Fabrics". Then the next year in '56 they introduced the two speed motor, and delicate speed was used on the "Modern Fabrics" cycle.
It seems very strange that they wouldn't have mentioned the speed difference, Kenmore's manuals were very thorough. |
Post# 731302 , Reply# 7   1/28/2014 at 15:51 (3,752 days old) by Whirlaway (Hampton Virginia)   |   | |
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Ive never used the suds saver or the modernfabric cycle,it is very short,I just went and looked its 4min.Ill try it and see what happens tonight.We are in the process of having a snow storm nowI just hope I dont lose electricity. |
Post# 731324 , Reply# 8   1/28/2014 at 18:09 (3,752 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 731348 , Reply# 9   1/28/2014 at 19:56 (3,752 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Robert that would have been my thought also, but I guess that the idea of having a 2SP motor was so new to washing machine ad writers that they were more concerned about advertising this great new ability of the washer but were not concerned about the technical details.
I can assure everyone that every one of these 1955 TOL KMs that had a separate cycle labeled Mod Fabrics had a two speed motor, check the parts list if you don't believe it. John L. |
Post# 731353 , Reply# 10   1/28/2014 at 20:10 (3,752 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 740014 , Reply# 12   3/7/2014 at 08:41 (3,714 days old) by ken (NYS)   |   | |
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Did Kenmore/WP washers of this time have a solid or perforated tub?
Bobby: Any chane you could post a couple pics of your washer & dryer? I know Im off by one year but I was looking at the washers/dryers in the 1956 Sears Spring & Summer catalog last night. The one pictured here was the middle of the line and even though the description states a "Modern Fabric" selection on the dial it doesnt mention a gentle agitation. The description for the TOL "Cycla-Fabric" washer states a "gentle agitation" for modern fabrics. It even makes mention of "other" brand washers only having "reduced time" agitation for modern fabrics. Also, the dryers had 5 temp settings! IIRC: High, Med, Low, Warm, No Heat. Pretty advanced for the time. |
Post# 740019 , Reply# 13   3/7/2014 at 08:56 (3,714 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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WP/Kenmore washers have ALWAYS had a perforated tub back to the very beginning (1947 I think?). A solid tub machine never came out of a WP factory.
In terms of heat settings on the dryer it may seem extravagant, but most dryers of this period used hydraulic thermostats so having a control on the console with a multitude of heat settings added very little to the expense of production. |
Post# 740715 , Reply# 14   3/9/2014 at 16:31 (3,712 days old) by cornutt (Huntsville, AL USA)   |   | |
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How did the washer do the hot/medium/warm thing? Did it have two valve bodies for the cold water? |
Post# 740870 , Reply# 15   3/10/2014 at 07:33 (3,711 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Hi Bobby, your KM washer has the same stroke on both the regular and Mod Fabric cycle, it should just be 50% slower on Mod Fabrics. Your washer would have had only warm rinses and all warm water on the MF cycle originally, but I suspect that a modern non-thermostatic inlet has been substituted for the orignal [ either that or your valve is very broken ] this is actually a good thing to do to these older machines so you can not only have the option of a cold wash but you also always get the much more desirable cold rinses all the time.
As Mark stated Whirlpool always built only perforated basket washers, Whirlpool built washers right from the start, and one thing is for certain, WP had very few consumers that were ever unhappy with their KM and WP washers and dryers when it came to great performace, this is part of the reason that WP is the most successful builder of washers and dryers ever including today. They are building what American consumers want. David, most early automatic washers did not have a cold water option at all, so they had an inlet valve with two solenoids like later washer valves, only one coil gave you warm water [ often thermostatically controlled to 100F ] the other coil gave straight hot [ not thermostatically controlled ] and turning on both coils gave you 50% 100F water and 50% straight hot water, this is how you got a medium wash water temperature. |