Thread Number: 23817
Older Whirlpool |
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Post# 370761   8/9/2009 at 18:40 (5,372 days old) by laundryboy (Orlando Florida & Moravia NY. )   |   | |
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Post# 370796 , Reply# 1   8/9/2009 at 21:01 (5,372 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 370808 , Reply# 2   8/9/2009 at 21:18 (5,372 days old) by supremewhirlpol ()   |   | |
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Does anyone know where this machine is located? I'm wondering the same thing as you appnut. |
Post# 370814 , Reply# 3   8/9/2009 at 21:29 (5,372 days old) by laundryboy (Orlando Florida & Moravia NY. )   |   | |
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Post# 370819 , Reply# 5   8/9/2009 at 21:44 (5,372 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 370820 , Reply# 6   8/9/2009 at 21:46 (5,372 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 370836 , Reply# 7   8/9/2009 at 22:19 (5,372 days old) by supremewhirlpol ()   |   | |
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What was the advantage of the full centerpost vs. the half centerpost? |
Post# 370894 , Reply# 8   8/10/2009 at 05:08 (5,372 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
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Melvin, The short centerpost models eleminated metal content in both the centerpost/superstructure and in the spin-tube of the basket drive. Between the two I would bet each machine saved over a pound of steel, maybe a bit more. Couple that with the tens of thousands of machines that were made weekly for nearly 10 years of the short post, and that's a LOT of material saved. That short design lives on in every direct drive machine made. But, from what I've been told, the primary reason for the short post design was to improve centerpost spin bearing life. In a standard machine, 1977 built and older, the upper and lower sleeve bearings are about a foot apart. During a "lifetime" of family use of say 12-15 years, these bearings repeatedly wore to the point where the machine will make clack, pop, rattle, and slapping sounds as the spin tube flops around in gaps that have worn in the bearings. This was the undoing of my Mother's 1961 Kenmore, which was so loud in spin that you could hear it outside the house, with all doors and windows closed (this in a well insulated house built for Detroit winters, lol). I have heard bearing noise like I describe in numerous if not all well-used older machines. Some also had a tremendous vibration in the centerpost, which would be amplified by the bearing/spin tube gap combination. The 1978 and later bearings are about half as far apart. Not only do they almost never make noise, the shorter distance between them accepts far less wear from the spin tube, extending bearing life. I have seen only one or two short post machines that had bearings worn enough to warrant replacement, even in machines having been in service for 20+ years. I have often expressed disgust for the short centerpost design because it caused the premature death of thousands of machines due to water getting into the centerpost and transmission (under the agitator). However, the worn bearing issue certainly was indeed solved by the redesign. Gordon |