So when Ross gave me this beautiful Maytag 806 Suds, it was during the days of brilliant summer sunshine, and with the ultra-dramatic  Suds Return experience all new  

to me and fabulous, and the breathtaking permanent press cycle, I forgot all about the fact that this thing's supposed to light up.  It didn't.  Oh well, no big deal !  Until today when the hibernating garage machines came back to life, hearts beating hard  and blood coursing throughout their veins.

So I performed a craniotomy today and got to see the 806 S  brain for the first time. Old hat to many of you, but oh so new to me. It was a piece of cake because of Ben. How and where--whatever!--does one find a  Maytag bulb. Maytag is extinct;  there's no easily had parts;  there's no stores--oh oh oh and blah blah blah. Then I remembered that Ben told us a while back: just go to Lowe's and get an 18 inch fluorescent bulb. And there they are right on the shelf.

I'll probably get the brighter one tomorrow and keep this for back up. Think this is 350 lumens, and the next up is 480 or something; there are 3 brightnesses--such variety.

Finding, buying, and installing this was so easy I almost wept with glee. Thank you, Ben, for making it perfect and thank you Ross for giving me one of the best material things of my entire life.

Playing "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd.

With Spring finally here I was itching to get the garage open, and hook those babies up after the first Winter in many that the washers had to be deplumbed and put to sleep. The first one to come out of the tundra slumber was the 1962 Frigidaire Custom Deluxe, a Multimatic. Washing a full load of darks, she fired up without a blink. What a champ. Six years in the garage, one winter in the kitchen, Never a hitch, except cosmetics. If there is an opposite to a lemon, (i.e. the lemon law to protect against a sour appliance that keeps breaking), then this is she: A PEACH!  

How I love this washer. Understanding that many good friend prefer the Unimatic, I like the Multimatic more: many more sounds and music, instant pumping because of the belt, rinse fill begins at full speed spin--no pause or stop--two step spinning on all regular cycle spins,  really exciting and dramatic. 

Had to rush to the garage to catch the overflow pictured above when suddenly I was hit with a stunning surprise. Because the drain trough isn't ready yet, the Frigi was draining onto the floor during the first rinse, the overflow heading toward the the floor drain several feet away, so the whole space was filled with the wonderful aroma of Tide Ocean Mist. I had idea NO it would be that good. I snagged a pack of pods while at Lowe's to get the bulb. Frigilux, you picked a winner, and the aliens seeds have found another home in which to colonize their species. 

When Ken had a thread that I saw only briefly about two-tone colors and the remarks about Maytag's less than stellar performance in that area--especially in Coppertone--despite so many gifts in other areas, I had a Eureka moment that their two-tone Harvest Gold is really nice, unless it's just a bias because I like the machine so much, but in person, it is beautiful .... to me.

I held my breath during the full minute pause before the spin: will she clutch up and go; please God, Yes. And will she clutch, boing, and whoosh for the second speed? She did. Halleluia. Hallelia. She has risen.

Now tomorrow I'll see if the Maytag survived the tundra. Will that magnificent Suds Bell CLANG for another summer of suds and PP rinsing? I'm betting on the Iowa Caucus.  (Pic in a moment; MacPro is tweaking)

SPIN

You just read my mind. Scrolling the thread, I thought,  what de fudge: who turned the lights on? haha .... The first pic of the console, way up, was in the 5 o'clock sun, looking way too dim;

the second, later on,  with the garage door shut.

I"ll go back and get the dimmer one instead of the brighter one LOL.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT SONG, and the singers are on the tip of my tongue. Do you remember who?

I really like your HA-806S! If I had one like that, I wouldn't have switched the panels on my HDE-806 to match my A-806!

Thanks for watching.  "I'll be bahhhk" ~ Arnie.

Out for brunch.  Going away and having brunch made every day and waiting your arrival spoils the crap out of a person.

It won't last, but while it does............why not indulge!

 night."

Ah Manfred, you nasty man! :'D

Mark ~

The dryer is so tempting, but I'm not a dryer guy. Go figure. My aunt Margaret's mid-sixties Whirlpool gas with the glass door, control box, and  high-speed blower making the coolest sounds was the only dryer that ever turned my head. But now that I've rigged a 220 line in the garage for the GE Combo I'm seriously tempted and you don't live that far away so maybe some summer day I'll come by if you're in no hurry to get rid of it and roll that baby home. Reading your linked thread, the Imperial sounds like a winner, especially with Uncle Bob Appnut's imprimatur. Thank you.

In person, it's an eye-catcher.

Thanks,  Phil & Paul !

Paul, I'm smitten with YOUR pulsator. If either of you come across one, I got the cash. 

If you look at that pod for a few minutes floating around the light blue porcelain lake, it morphs into a snail.  What must stuck me about them is how organic and sensual they feel. Very freaky and don't recall anyone mentioning that aspect yet. Wonder if they're all that way or just Tide's.

It was easy the other day to admit that if I were forced to pick only one wringer among the Norge the Speed Queen the Maytag and the Kenmore, it would be theKM Visimatic.

But when to comes to the automatics, I have a hard time.  Tonight I'd say the 806S, but  tomorrow it might be the 62 CD Frigi.

Ok Mike here just for you .

Some will love some hate, I gather..

but you got start somewhere.

1. Maytag :

Its all about the DIAL.

2. Frigidare :

Sunbleached Manual.

3. Speed Queen :

Wringer space.

4. Frigidare :

Whirled in neon Color.

Darren k

I want a mad deep purple haze one a  lemon/lime citrus one right now. Please place the order, and RUSH.

How do you do it, you picture Maestro.

I love it. Thank You!

Just dazzling !

The B&W Frigi looks like a perfect still or screen cap from a black and white TV commercial from the olden days.  Mahvellous!

Thanks Ken Warhola love his work but not ,

his looks lol. 

Andy was a true workaholic and his collections and Pop art are taught everyday.

What a legacy,  I will e-mail you on some pointers and other questions about your graphics etc.

Mike Im glad you liked them you always have 

a eye for beauty in water shots, and your pictures are exciting to see them through your eyes.

Hippiedoll, its so kool to see a female who has

a likeing for laundry and machines.

Thanks on the pictures I really appreciate your

response .

And the wringer your getting will be so much

fun in manual laundering !

My aunt Helen was the best at it ..

she actually had it down to a sceince.

She was a happy women and sing ,

chew gum ,fast..as she had three towels 

go thru at a time then double ring backwards. 

As the agitator was still in action lol.

She would pull up a stoll for me to watch..

She also would drain half the water out, and 

refresh with clean water for a new batch of clothes and keep it moving.

A back two tubs of rinse water ..one fresh and

the other fresh bluing water which she would turn the ringer in 360 ° to wring the rinsed load.

Then in the dryer or line dried.

Wish you luck and safety and fun on your 

Wringer.

I have a Maytag E2L Square tub there's 

nothing like a Gyrator on moving water

and clothes. 

Best to you all.

Darren k.

What a sweet, satisfying, image-filled story about your Aunt Helen. She took wringer washing from drudgery to an industrial art. I love how she drained half the wash water after each load; she must have been a real clean freak like my Mother Geraldine.  And how she kept the agitator going during the wringing. I do that, too. All the pros did double wringing because it took more water out, making the basket lighter, and dry time shorter. I can just see you on the little stool grinning ear to ear. What a lucky washer boy to have a sweet aunt who indulged your passion and fascination. I had an aunt like that. Let me share the story.

Many months ago,  you asked about our club names. When I found this place on New Year's Day in 2006, I was so excited, I could barely contain myself. I had to come up with a "handle" or name for the club.  WhenI was a boy I had an Aunt Lenore who was called Mickey, my Aunt Alice's twin. Mickey had an Easy, and she let me help her work it all the time.  For me an Easy Spin was Heaven on Earth. I was usually standing right next to her for  the wonderful Easy rituals, but when she was finished and we'd have lunch, she'd say, "Mike, would you go in and clean up the machine for me?!"  

Sweeter words were never spoken. You all know what that meant: Draining the big tub, and rinsing it with all the melodious pump gurgling,  taking out the spiralator and the spinner,  re-arranging the faucets in dozens of poses, disconnecting the quick-connect inlet hoses, the Y, and the big momma, wrapping the cord down under, and moving this big beautiful machine to her resting place. I'd spend about an hour. YAY!

That infamous New Year's Day, I honored her love for me by taking her name. I only wish I had chosen Lenore, instead, because by adding the D for Danieu to her name, I became Mickeyd, NEVER realizing the unintended McDonald's reference, and how almost everyone would make that connection. So, Darren, I am not Mickeyd for McDonald's, but for my sweet Aunt Mickey, Lenore.

So what do I do NOW?