Is this a BD or DD Whirlpool?

Sears did design/spec the Dual Action agitator. Whirlpool built millions of belt-drive washers for Sears on a "gentlemen's" agreement, meaning no actual contractual committment was signed for years between Sears and WP regarding how many machines Sears was committed to buy, etc. Sears simply placed purchase orders for various models whenever they wanted to. This has since changed....

Sears spec'd the DA, the Vari-Flex, the triple dispenser, and other Sears-only parts. WP's position was that if they can make it, and profitably, they'll do it. So, Sears said "here is a design, make it happen" essentially, and WP did. Such was the case with the DA agitator, with which Sears enjoyed a 15-year monopoly. I don't know what wranglings happened after that, but WP came out with a similarly functioning auger agitator in the early 90s (it used the same base in fact), and it was then a WP/Kenmore exclusive. When the patent finally expired, the rest of the market quickly copied something similar.

As far as the Kenmore only Direct Drive, I disagree. The first models were issued by Kenmore in 1981 and 1982, in very limited form (24-inch standard capacity, and only a couple models) and Whirlpool did the same. The direct drive machine was Whirlpool's concoction with Kenmore's acceptance, and was done as a reaction to the rising manufacturing cost of the BD, which was going up faster than sales prices.

There may have been a focus on Sears with the first direct drives, but this was probably due to Sears' market penetration, which would put more "guinea pigs" out there faster than if WP tried to sell their own only. Those first couple years of manufacturing and sales caused some re-design work and if what I was told is true, some expensive recalls.


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Post# 310930 10/22/2008 at 12:19 (5,661 days old) by speed_queen75 ()
Checkrate/Likes I cant tell from the picture, maybe your more experts can tell me. Here is the link. CLICK HERE TO GO TO speed_queen75's LINK on Atlanta Craigslist

Post# 310939 , Reply# 1 10/22/2008 at 12:44 (5,661 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN)
Checkrate/Likes Looks like a DD machine.

Post# 310942 , Reply# 2 10/22/2008 at 13:11 (5,661 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)
Checkrate/Likes I agree, the lid is far too large to be a BD machine.

Post# 310957 , Reply# 3 10/22/2008 at 13:56 (5,661 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes I agree too - that machine is from the time when BDs and DDs had the same style consoles (1985ish and forward), but the top surface on either side of the lid is too small to be a belt drive machine.

Post# 310959 , Reply# 4 10/22/2008 at 14:01 (5,661 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes look at the control panel and see the two screws holding it in place. Those are on the left and the right lower sides.If they are there,it is a direct drive model.The other give away is the Dual Action agitator as apposed to the Surgilator found on the belt drive models.

Post# 310965 , Reply# 5 10/22/2008 at 14:23 (5,661 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes There were screws in the same places on the BDs. I would have to check the parts catalog, but I don't know if any of the 1980s WP machines had a surgilator with dual action auger. I think that came into being on the next styling generation machines, around 1990 or 1991?

Post# 311005 , Reply# 6 10/22/2008 at 16:28 (5,661 days old) by xyz ()
Checkrate/Likes This looks like the "Design 2000" model. Should be DD.

Post# 311010 , Reply# 7 10/22/2008 at 16:48 (5,661 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes Sears had "pioneered the Dual Action Agitators and had the first set of Direct Drive units before Whirlpool and it was not until Whirlpool had there own line of direct drive top loaders that the Dual Action Agitators were in their own models.Only Sears had the BD DA combination.I heard many Sears sales associates putting Whirlpool down and claiming that a gentleman in their own corporation designed and developed the Dual Action Agitator and that Whirlpool was wrong in taking the credit.They claimed that agitator should have been left as an exclusive only available on the Sears kenmore top loading washers---yea,right!

Post# 311012 , Reply# 8 10/22/2008 at 16:50 (5,661 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes *There* Oops I meant "their" not "there" !

Post# 311014 , Reply# 9 10/22/2008 at 16:54 (5,661 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)
Checkrate/Likes Hello here is a picture of a belt drive washer brand inglis (*whirlpool) and you will notice a big diffrence on the lid desing the belt drive model the handle is on the lid while a direct drive the handle is on the washer 's body. Pierre

Post# 311035 , Reply# 11 10/22/2008 at 19:15 (5,661 days old) by speed_queen75 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Ok so it is a DD* And not a BD, i really couldn't tell by the pic as it appears to be far away. All the BD's seem to be drying up here in the south especially in tn, i may as well give up hope of ever finding a WP BD here.

Post# 311084 , Reply# 12 10/23/2008 at 01:10 (5,661 days old) by alr2903 (TN)
Checkrate/Likes *DD, spin/drain, clothes guard.* I remember in the very early 80's Sears was calling that first direct drive IIRC, a "pedestal design washer", what really caught my eye is that it was a cut away type picture of the machine. The plastic clothes guard was visisble, and arrows pointing to the then different suspension system, I have never seen one in person. After reading discussions here about the early direct drives with spin/drain, I have always thought it was the first DD,because of the clothes guard at the top of the basket. alr2903

Post# 311021 , Reply# 10 10/22/2008 at 17:28 (5,661 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes Sears did design/spec the Dual Action agitator. Whirlpool built millions of belt-drive washers for Sears on a "gentlemen's" agreement, meaning no actual contractual committment was signed for years between Sears and WP regarding how many machines Sears was committed to buy, etc. Sears simply placed purchase orders for various models whenever they wanted to. This has since changed.... Sears spec'd the DA, the Vari-Flex, the triple dispenser, and other Sears-only parts. WP's position was that if they can make it, and profitably, they'll do it. So, Sears said "here is a design, make it happen" essentially, and WP did. Such was the case with the DA agitator, with which Sears enjoyed a 15-year monopoly. I don't know what wranglings happened after that, but WP came out with a similarly functioning auger agitator in the early 90s (it used the same base in fact), and it was then a WP/Kenmore exclusive. When the patent finally expired, the rest of the market quickly copied something similar. As far as the Kenmore only Direct Drive, I disagree. The first models were issued by Kenmore in 1981 and 1982, in very limited form (24-inch standard capacity, and only a couple models) and Whirlpool did the same. The direct drive machine was Whirlpool's concoction with Kenmore's acceptance, and was done as a reaction to the rising manufacturing cost of the BD, which was going up faster than sales prices. There may have been a focus on Sears with the first direct drives, but this was probably due to Sears' market penetration, which would put more "guinea pigs" out there faster than if WP tried to sell their own only. Those first couple years of manufacturing and sales caused some re-design work and if what I was told is true, some expensive recalls.