Thread Number: 51732
Free Maytag DE806 to a good home!
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Post# 741254   3/11/2014 at 23:22 (3,669 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

The other day I got a call from someone looking to unload a pair of Harvest Gold 806's. He just wanted them gone, and since neither machine is working correctly at the moment he was willing to give them away. Well, even though I don't have a need for them myself I figured someone here would, so I went and picked them up this afternoon. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out quite as I'd expected. While the dryer is an 806, it's a DE806, not a DG806 as the guy had said it was. Here's a photo of it sitting in my garage here in Burbank. It's free to any member of this board willing to come and get it. The only flaw it has (apart from the numerous scuffs and scrapes on the cabinet) is that it doesn't shut off until the door is opened. This isn't a difficult issue to sort out. These are very simple machines, so I'll let the new owner deal with it.




This post was last edited 03/11/2014 at 23:37



Post# 741255 , Reply# 1   3/11/2014 at 23:34 (3,669 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
Now for the washer.

d-jones's profile picture

This was supposed to be the matching A806, and at first glance it does look like one. But if you're paying attention.....................well, I left the lid off so you can see for yourselves. Clearly something is very wrong here. In addition, the cabinet is a complete basket case with deep dents and severe scrapes from being badly mishandled a few times when moved. And just to add a little extra fun the motor doesn't seem to work, though with a little troubleshooting, the problem there could turn out to be something simple. Still, all things considered I'm just going to disassemble this thing, keep what I need and scrap the rest.




This post was last edited 03/12/2014 at 01:07
Post# 741260 , Reply# 2   3/12/2014 at 00:37 (3,669 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
"Clearly something is very wrong here".....

hippiedoll's profile picture
there's no bleach dispenser!!!

Post# 741262 , Reply# 3   3/12/2014 at 00:52 (3,669 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
"there's no bleach dispenser!!!"

d-jones's profile picture

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! Congratulations to Christina, aka hippiedoll. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was when I saw that. Even stranger still, this machine has been with the same family since it was purchased new, and they have no memory as to when this vandalism, I mean "modification" occurred. They were quite surprised when I pointed it out to them. Tomorrow I'll open it up and have a look at it's innards. I'm hoping to find an 806 outer tub, but with no tub light lens fitting on the tub cover that's not likely.Frown


Post# 741269 , Reply# 4   3/12/2014 at 01:57 (3,669 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
Well you have to admit, the removal of the bleach dispenser was a VERY clean alteration.

Post# 741273 , Reply# 5   3/12/2014 at 02:25 (3,669 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
hmmmm??

hippiedoll's profile picture
do you think that maybe the cabinet was changed at some point?? did they say they had to take it to an appliance shop for repairs or something?

i did notice that this is the control panel with the lower blue/aqua colored panel. so that makes this washer the ones made between the mid-1960's to the early-1970's. did these early A806 models have the bleach dispenser and or tub light also??


Post# 741305 , Reply# 6   3/12/2014 at 07:46 (3,669 days old) by scoots (Chattanooga TN)        
Hippydoll may be on to something here...

scoots's profile picture
I bought a matched Harvest Gold W/D set at a secondhand store in the early 90s (A207). It shortly became obvious why it was up for sale... the washer was a very slow leaker that eventually had a transmission failure. Nobody wanted to repair it and I wasn't going to throw it out so I found a White A206 next to a dumpster and did a cabinet transplant.

The only thing that didn't work out is that my gold cabinet HAD a bleach funnel, and the old tub had noplace to admit the bleach, so it went inoperative.

I realize that the family says "we don't remember this happening", but the switch happened somehow...


Post# 741335 , Reply# 7   3/12/2014 at 13:06 (3,668 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)        

goatfarmer's profile picture

Possible there was a cabinet change, or just the top. Pull the front, and you'll know for sure!

 

I could use the dryer to match an oddball HA 806 I have, but shipping would be prohibitive.


Post# 741356 , Reply# 8   3/12/2014 at 14:19 (3,668 days old) by DigAPony ()        

No chrome lint filter or front panel trim on the washer either.

Frankenstein surgery was obviously performed on that machine.


Post# 741430 , Reply# 9   3/12/2014 at 17:56 (3,668 days old) by easy (Boston, Mass)        
DE806

David,

If you get no takers, would you be willing to part it out? I'm looking for the lint filter and the electronic control (assuming that they are in good shape...)

Thanks, David



Post# 741467 , Reply# 10   3/12/2014 at 20:11 (3,668 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

Having had a chance to work on these today, I can tell you exactly what happened to the washer. The data plate on the back of the machine says its an A606, so essentially, someone mounted an A806 control panel to an A606 washer. More than likely this was done so that the washer and dryer would continue to match, but it's hard to fathom what could have gone wrong with the original washer to make this necessary. Oh well. This is whats left of it now, and I'm not quite done yet.


Post# 741468 , Reply# 11   3/12/2014 at 20:14 (3,668 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

I also cleaned up the dryer some to make it more presentable. It's not perfect, but I've seen people that are quite proud of machines that look much worse.


Post# 741469 , Reply# 12   3/12/2014 at 20:15 (3,668 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

Here's a closer look at the control panel. It's nearly flawless.


Post# 741472 , Reply# 13   3/12/2014 at 20:28 (3,668 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

Hey there David(easy). There's an electronic control unit and a lint filter for sale on eBay right now if you need them. So far I'm not thinking of parting this dryer out. If it turns out that no one here is interested, I'll donate it to Sav-On-Appliance down the street here in Burbank. In the mean time I'll likely play with it a bit and see if I can get it working properly.


Post# 741475 , Reply# 14   3/12/2014 at 21:09 (3,668 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
OH WOW!!! d-jones...

hippiedoll's profile picture
you really "got down" on that dryer and made it shine & sparkle!!! you got it looking beeeeeeeeautiful!!! that's a very impressive looking dryer now. you did an "OUTTA SIGHT" job on spiffying up that dryer!!!
me likes........
:o)

as for the washer, i'm kinda confused.....
so, does that mean that the A606 washers didn't have or come with a bleach dispenser feature???
:o/


Post# 741494 , Reply# 15   3/13/2014 at 00:12 (3,668 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        

d-jones's profile picture

Why thank you, hippiedoll. It's amazing what a damp rag, a little Windex, and some rubbing compound can do, isn't it? Care to drive out to L.A. and claim this one?

As for the bleach dispenser, I believe that feature was only available on the TOL models, which from this period means the A806 and the A906.

 

It really is a shame about this washer, but I'll clean up and store every part for future use except the cabinet, top panel, and outer tub. It isn't shown in the photo's above, but the top panel has a massive chip on the right hand upper surface that's about two and a half inches long and easily an inch or more wide, so it's toast. On the other hand, the 806 control panel it had is really nice, and since I have another HA806 with severe pitting on the control panel chrome, I'll go ahead and swap it out. I was also thinking of going through the transmission before packing it away in storage. Then if either my washer or my parents washer should develop a transmission problem, a replacement will be ready to go. So even though this didn't play out quite the way I'd expected it to, it isn't going to be a total loss.


Post# 741520 , Reply# 16   3/13/2014 at 06:07 (3,668 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
David:

danemodsandy's profile picture
The bleach dispenser was an upper-crust feature at this time, as you note. However, when the second series of "New Generation" machines was launched, the feature was extended much farther down the line; the 206 had it.

I think the reason was not so much that Maytag felt all God's children deserved a bleach dispenser, as it was that it was cheaper to make and inventory one top assembly and one outer tub assembly than it was to make different ones for dispenser and non-dispenser models. Inasmuch as the second-series "dispenser" was nothing more than a hose and a funnel, putting it on all machines was probably a net savings.


Post# 741541 , Reply# 17   3/13/2014 at 09:08 (3,667 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
The Reason Maytag Added Bleach Dispensers to most Models

combo52's profile picture
Was MT was inundated with clothing damage complaints that were often caused by bleach burns, it seems that many users followed only part of the directions on the bleach bottle, LOL. They would wait till the washer was filled and washing for a while and they would lift the lid and poor a little bleach directly in the washer as they always did with their old washer.

The problem for MT was that the agitation stops when the lid is raised and some undiluted LCB would hit some of the clothing that was floating on top. While we all know this is not the correct way to add bleach, the reality was that this procedure worked just fine on the users old KM, WP, etc.

This was just one more design deficiency that MT laundry appliances had that made our lives difficult as service men in the 1970s, we had far fewer problems with WP laundry appliances with consumer satisfaction issues. MT also added the LCB dispenser because they were constantly promoting the use of LCB to help counter the cleaning complaints that many new owners of MT washers had. These were normally customers that bought their first MT washer and were complaining about dingy clothing mainly brought on by the poorer cleaning, shorter maximum agitation time, Poor turn over and the spin draining that left more of anything that was in the wash or rinse water in the clean clothing.


Post# 741596 , Reply# 18   3/13/2014 at 12:43 (3,667 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
ah OOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

hippiedoll's profile picture
shame on you d-jones....
tempting me with that beautiful dryer!!

unfortunately, we already have an electric dryer (mom's newer whirlpool) and there is only one dryer plug. and the backroom (of the kitchen) where we have the "laundry" room, is soooo full, that i've been trying to clear it out cuz it really looks BAD!!! i would take pictures just to prove it, but i am ashamed of how it looks!!!

but i thank you for the kind offer/suggestion/temptation. that definitely is a shining beauty you have there.

on another note, wasn't there 2 other members looking for 806 dryers to match their washers?? but i'm kinda thinking they had white washers?? i can't remember who, but it wasn't too long ago, just last month, if i remember correctly??
hopefully they will see this thread and take you up on this once in a lifetime offer, a free DE806!!!


Post# 741597 , Reply# 19   3/13/2014 at 12:57 (3,667 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
question.....

hippiedoll's profile picture
control panel versus the control knob on both the washer & dryer:

being that these both have the lower aqua/blue control panels and they both have the "diamond" looking control knob, would that date these to a particular year or time frame??

sandy & combo52:

thank you both for your explanations of why & why not, some maytags had the "bleach dispensers" & some didn't.

but now i have a question:
my A208 (sunglow control panel & diamond control knob) has the bleach "funnel" on the lower left hand corner. and i've read sandy say that the A806 has an "actual" bleach dispenser, that is in the lower right hand corner. i understand how the "funnel" works on my A208, cuz i had to reconnect the tube to the upper "funnel" part. and i could put it together in my mind how the bleach was dispensed into the bottom, side of the outer tub, through this tube.

my question is...
how does the bleach "dispenser" work on the A806, since it is different than what i seen on my A208??

i'm sure this question has been asked before. but i haven't ran into the answer yet. so, i would really like to read what or how the bleach dispenser does/works.

thank you....

:o)


Post# 741608 , Reply# 20   3/13/2014 at 13:43 (3,667 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Christina,

Here's a pic from an old thread showing the bleach dispenser arrangement on the A906, A806, and some other earlier models.  Bleach poured into the dispenser goes into a reservoir mounted at front/right of the cabinet.  It stays there until agitation starts, at which time a hose connected to an auxiliary port on the pump flushes water from the tub into the reservoir to displace the bleach and move it slowly into the wash water in the tub.  It's a "timed" dispenser such that the bleach doesn't dump immediately and directly into the tub.


Post# 741627 , Reply# 21   3/13/2014 at 14:32 (3,667 days old) by hippiedoll ( arizona )        
dadoes...

hippiedoll's profile picture
ahhhhh, i think i get it now.

thank you for posting the picture so that i could see the hoses & the reservoir container, so that i could try to figure it out. and also for the detailed explanation of how it works.

but here's another question:
wouldn't some of the wash water stay in the bottom half of the reservoir container after the wash cycle was completed, since the tube that goes into the bottom of the outer washtub is connected 1/2 way up the reservoir container??? wouldn't water/liquid be constantly in the reservoir container??? or is my brain just not comprehending how this works???


Post# 741653 , Reply# 22   3/13/2014 at 17:50 (3,667 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)        
John:

danemodsandy's profile picture
I don't think you and I will ever agree on the cleaning ability of Maytags! :)

My machines before my first Maytags were a Whirly Design 2000 DD pair. When the washer was destroyed by my late partner, I replaced the machines with a pair of used Maytags - and the washer was the lower-end LA206.

A huge improvement in cleanliness and brightness was highly noticeable from the very first load. No changes to detergent, additives or anything else were made - just the switch from a DD Whirly to the 'Tag.

Big difference. BIG difference.


Post# 741694 , Reply# 23   3/13/2014 at 21:36 (3,667 days old) by appnut (TX)        
Maytags without bleach dispensers

appnut's profile picture
This was never a problem for me. I always removed the filter and poured the LCB down the center of the agitator. Replaced filter & fs dispenser and closed the lid. Wash went back to being washed.

Post# 741704 , Reply# 24   3/13/2014 at 22:04 (3,667 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
Wow. Look how far off topic this thread has gone!

d-jones's profile picture

It just goes to show, once a good conversation gets started there's no telling where it'll lead. Meanwhile, I still have a DE806 looking for a homeWink Please pass the word.


Post# 741706 , Reply# 25   3/13/2014 at 22:11 (3,667 days old) by coldspot66 (Plymouth, Mass)        

I think John combo52 was talking about BELT drive WP/KN washers. They did have stronger agitation than a Maytag. There was no Design 2000 washers until the 80's. The first ones had a narrow tub and single action agitator, so I agree a Maytag had better cleaning than the first generation direct drives.

Post# 741710 , Reply# 26   3/13/2014 at 22:29 (3,667 days old) by appnut (TX)        
I still have a DE806 looking for a home

appnut's profile picture
If jamesclarke gets that harvest gold 806 washer in Dallas area, this dryer would be a perfect match.

Post# 742019 , Reply# 27   3/15/2014 at 02:28 (3,666 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

We had a Maytag set we bought in 86, got rid of them in 93' to get a Whirlpool DD TOL set. We never really liked the Maytags. We thought they had very weak to almost non existent roll over. They were sooo boring. We have always been happy with our Whirlpool set.

Post# 745915 , Reply# 28   3/28/2014 at 20:04 (3,652 days old) by maytagmodela806 ()        

I'm looking for that type of dryer but my washer is white but I wouldn't mind the color just have no way of getting one

Post# 746154 , Reply# 29   3/29/2014 at 21:56 (3,651 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
The liberated washer control panel.

d-jones's profile picture

This thing is in very nice condition. The buttons for the load size selector look pretty bad, but I have new ones ready to install when the time comes.

 

About the only real issue it has is the loss of blue paint in that lower portion of the control panel, but in looking it over I think it's repairable. The control panel is made of die cast pot metal that's been chrome plated just as you'd find on any number of older car dash boards. That chrome plating is clearly applied to the lower part of the control panel as well, then a matte or satin finish clear blue grey paint was applied to the top of it. I believe the chrome plating showing through the blue grey paint is what gives the finish its metallic sheen, and no; I'm not talking about those places where the paint has come off and the chrome is clearly visible. Since I'll be having paint mixed for the Harvest Gold cabinets in a few weeks, I think I'll see about matching that shade of translucent blue as well.


Post# 746352 , Reply# 30   3/30/2014 at 18:33 (3,650 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)        

beekeyknee's profile picture
David,

I have the same problem with my 806 dryer control panel. Luckily I have a detached washer control panel just like you show in the post above that the paint is perfect on. I'm going to carry the washer control panel into the automotive paint shop and have them try and color match the paint on the washer panel for painting the dryer. It probably won't be a perfect match and I'll have to do them both.

I'm not really looking forward to this project. I'm sure I'll have every single piece of those machines torn apart and the painting will require intensive masking and prep work.

B.




This post was last edited 03/30/2014 at 19:13
Post# 746382 , Reply# 31   3/30/2014 at 20:25 (3,650 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
Brian

d-jones's profile picture

When I was fixing up the HA806 for my folks I took the top panel in to the Sherwin Williams Automotive Paint Store to have the paint matched. They did such a good job that the new paint actually matched the top panel better than the original paint did, so I'm hoping they'll be able to work the same magic for me again with this blue grey control panel paint. But this will be a bit more tricky. Since the paint is translucent, if it's applied too thick the color will appear darker than it should. If applied too thin the color will appear lighter than it should, so there are more opportunities to screw things up even if the paint is matched perfectly. I'm really anxious to see how this turns out.


Post# 746393 , Reply# 32   3/30/2014 at 20:45 (3,650 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)        

beekeyknee's profile picture
Yes, I know what you mean. I've been studying the paint closely and it's a strange color and finish. Somewhere around flat and eggshell with a bit of a metallic look to it. Kind of blue/greyish.

Post# 746414 , Reply# 33   3/30/2014 at 21:49 (3,650 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
Exactly!

d-jones's profile picture

And as I mentioned above, I think that metallic sheen is due to the chrome plating being visible through the translucent paint. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it can be accurately copied, but I'm sure not going to hold my breath. But as you mentioned, if I can get close then the obvious way to get them to match would be to do them both.


Post# 746456 , Reply# 34   3/31/2014 at 00:37 (3,650 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)        

beekeyknee's profile picture
David,

If you're interested you could try some Retrobright on your old yellow buttons. I have some on a machine I have. I think I'll try the Retrobright, get a fine tipped artist brush, some burnt umbra (or the closest color I can find), one of those desk top magnifiers with the swing arm and florescent light in it and try and restore some of those old worn out buttons. It will take a steady hand and lots of patience, but I want to try sometime.

B.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO beekeyknee's LINK


Post# 746544 , Reply# 35   3/31/2014 at 10:48 (3,649 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Repainting 06 and even earlier MT W&D Control Panels

combo52's profile picture
These are fairly easy to do with even off the shelf spray paints as long as you paint both the washer and dryer in pairs. I repainted the silver on my CDE750 dryer and on my CA900 washer and it looks great and I have also repainted the later blue and later gold lower panels on 06 MTs with no problem, I wish it was as easy to repaint the colored cabinets.

The chrome does not show through the blue paint on TOL models, if you look at MTs cheaper models with the lower panels that were painted blue the color looks exactly the same, the metallic silver, blue and gold MT used was very opaque.


Post# 746616 , Reply# 36   3/31/2014 at 20:26 (3,649 days old) by d-jones (Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area))        
John

d-jones's profile picture

After reading your post I went over to my folks place where that control panel with the flaking paint is and I managed to lift a small section of paint off. I'll be darned if it isn't opaque just as you said. That will certainly make things easier. Thanks for butting in.Wink


Post# 746637 , Reply# 37   3/31/2014 at 21:01 (3,649 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)        

beekeyknee's profile picture
Thanks for the painting tips, John. Do you remember what off the shelf brand of Maytag blue you used?


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