Belt Drive Kenmore or Whirlpool Portable

JT -

Portable belt-drive machines seem to be pretty plentiful - there was a gold one on ebay just the other day, and one sold in Charlotte a few weeks ago on Craigslist.

Portables have their own section in repair literature usually, because they are different enough (but not enough to warrant a whole new book). They use a different belt, and if I'm not mistaken, an idler that full-size machines don't have. They also have a very different suspension system.

The belt has a lot to do with how the machine sounds. The portables have the same cam bars, control magnet (wig wag), and pumps, so some of the sounds will be familiar. BUT, the almost quintessential belt-drive 'whir whir whir' is not there in portables. Actually its not even there in full-size machines with the quiet pak narrow belt.

The ebay auction ended a day or two ago, but here's the item number: 190228514475. It has a video with good sound to go with. There are others on you-tube I believe.

If you want ALL the usual Kenmore sounds, you may want to look at a 24-inch machine, just be sure it has the common (95405) belt. Kenmore even offered caster kits to make these "portable".


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Post# 285767 6/17/2008 at 22:55 (5,784 days old) by river_realtor ()
Checkrate/Likes How hard are these to come by? I have the space now to have one extra washer and this is what i want... I miss the noises of a belt drive (what prompted me to join) and would love to have one again I am used to the full size belt drives, so how do these compare? Are they similar in operation?

Post# 285779 , Reply# 1 6/18/2008 at 00:48 (5,784 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes *Belt-drive portables* JT - Portable belt-drive machines seem to be pretty plentiful - there was a gold one on ebay just the other day, and one sold in Charlotte a few weeks ago on Craigslist. Portables have their own section in repair literature usually, because they are different enough (but not enough to warrant a whole new book). They use a different belt, and if I'm not mistaken, an idler that full-size machines don't have. They also have a very different suspension system. The belt has a lot to do with how the machine sounds. The portables have the same cam bars, control magnet (wig wag), and pumps, so some of the sounds will be familiar. BUT, the almost quintessential belt-drive 'whir whir whir' is not there in portables. Actually its not even there in full-size machines with the quiet pak narrow belt. The ebay auction ended a day or two ago, but here's the item number: 190228514475. It has a video with good sound to go with. There are others on you-tube I believe. If you want ALL the usual Kenmore sounds, you may want to look at a 24-inch machine, just be sure it has the common (95405) belt. Kenmore even offered caster kits to make these "portable".

Post# 285816 , Reply# 2 6/18/2008 at 09:27 (5,783 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *Just keep looking...* I found mine on ebay a year and a half ago roughly. It was a bit of a trek but the machine was nearly unused. What KenmoreGuy64 said is absolutely true. The "whirring" sound is a lot less apparent on the portables but if you listen hard enough you can hear it. Everything else sounds pretty much the same though. Same wash action but the spin is different. It's much faster and in the opposite direction! Who knew??? It's a great little machine and does a great job. Just keep scouring Craigslist and Ebay and you'll find one in no time at all. Jon

Post# 285944 , Reply# 3 6/18/2008 at 21:28 (5,783 days old) by river_realtor ()
Checkrate/Likes Cool Thanks The treck will continue

Post# 285954 , Reply# 4 6/18/2008 at 22:10 (5,783 days old) by nasadowsk ()
Checkrate/Likes Same wash action but the spin is different. It's much faster and in the opposite direction! You mean they changed the spin direction but kept the agitation direction the same!?!? ;) ;) ;) ;)

Post# 285958 , Reply# 5 6/18/2008 at 22:33 (5,783 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *haha...* yes I could have sworn the agitation started in the opposite direction but it's hard to tell. :-)

Post# 286128 , Reply# 6 6/19/2008 at 19:26 (5,782 days old) by stainfighter (Columbia, SC)
Checkrate/Likes *tip for Jon...* Jonathan - did you see this on C/L? Don't know anything abt units but owner says 'old' maybe they could be REALLY old? right in your b/yard :-) CLICK HERE TO GO TO stainfighter's LINK on Washington DC Craigslist