Thread Number: 42812
Potential Maytag Center Dial Pair purchase - Yes or No? |
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Post# 629598   10/5/2012 at 08:49 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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I came across this pair for sale a week ago and noticed it hasn't been sold yet. i called the seller and he runs a lil thrift shop in the neighboring town.
I'm planning on making a trip to go see them in the flesh and wanted to know if anyone could give me some pointers on what to look for before I begin negotiations. One thing already in their favor is that the gentleman will deliver them or no charge, which is half the battle. I can tell that this is the larger capacity washer from the four water level buttons and a 2 speed. They appear to have aluminum dials which I had not seen before. I guess I need to know what model numbers they are and verify it's a genuine 2-speed and not a Fabrimatic. Suds return? Year built and is the Dryer an HOH or a SOH? Any information to strengthen my bargaining power would be appreciated. I also became a "Paid" member, so as not to discourage replies. Thanks! |
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Post# 629601 , Reply# 1   10/5/2012 at 08:55 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629603 , Reply# 2   10/5/2012 at 08:57 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629604 , Reply# 3   10/5/2012 at 09:00 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629605 , Reply# 4   10/5/2012 at 09:01 (4,213 days old) by lebron (Minnesota)   |   | |
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Post# 629607 , Reply# 5   10/5/2012 at 09:14 (4,213 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)   |   | |
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The washer is 2 speed, not a suds saver. Likely an 806 or a 608, both fine machines.
The dryer is Stream of heat, much larger drum than Halo of Heat. While they are both fine machines and Maytag runs forever with few repairs, here are some slight downsides you can use for bargaining purposes only, I'm not trying to pick on the machines at all. Dryer----hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the timer has both automatic cycles and timed cycles. There are no buttons to choose extra dryness or low heat, though probably the dial has air-fluff. The drum is larger than HOH, thank God, but not as huge as Whirlpool/Kenmore from that era. The SOH Controls were known to run a bit too long, wasting some energy. It's electric instead of gas, pricier to operate. Washer----the lint filter won't do much especially on half loads, there's no extra rinse, the bleach dispenser just runs into the tub and it isn't timed at all, the machine uses lots more water than modern ones, various parts are NLA officially, etc. Having said all that, go get them, great machines, nice matched set, you'll be very happy. I'm just stating minor downsides for negotiations only, you'll likely get long-lasting, well built, great washing and drying tanks. Tons of parts are Ebay available even though many parts stores won't bother after 30 years, 35. They look mid-late 70's to me. And I've never noticed any problem with lack of response to non-paying members. Occassionally a "one issue" new non-paying member may not yet know enough to really understand a good answer or ask a clear question, but that is a problem of time and experience, not dues. |
Post# 629609 , Reply# 6   10/5/2012 at 09:22 (4,213 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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The washer is a LA608 and the Dryer is a LDE309.
The four buttons on the left of the washer are: 1. hot wash/warm rinse 2. hot wash/cold rinse 3. warm wash/cold rinse 4. cold wash/cold rinse A LA608S (suds-saver) would have had a 5 button switch on the left. The suds model eliminated the hot/warm option and then added the "save suds" & "drain suds" buttons The "Heavy-Duty" over the dryer control was a silly sales gimmick that Maytag used for a while in the later 70s. They would slap these stickers on trying to make their product seem competitive with other brands that had put "heavy-duty" in their control panel language. Maytag had discontinued all pilot lights by about 1976. This dryer never had one. The LDE309 was made from 1978-1980 and the A608 was made from 1976-1980. Since they really are a matched set, I'm guessing they are from that late 70s era. From the pictures they look pretty clean but that doesn't mean much in terms of how they are mechanically. These are good machines and are relatively easy to fix and still quite easy to find parts for. I'd definitely go take a look at them. |
Post# 629610 , Reply# 7   10/5/2012 at 09:23 (4,213 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)   |   | |
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4 switches are
HW, HC, WC, CC no suds, no extra rinse. 2 buttons for speed are Normal for wash and spin, or gentle for wash and spin. The upgrade had 4 buttons, you could select speed of wash independent of speed of spin. And I don't believe the dryer has any polit light, they just threw the HEAVY DUTY stickers here and there, would not have purposely covered up any pilot lights. You are correct, 4 buttons for water level means large tub, not samll, Also interior shots would reveal 4 slots down the agitator for filtering, not three, also proving large tub. As stated earlier, go get 'em! |
Post# 629618 , Reply# 9   10/5/2012 at 10:04 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629622 , Reply# 10   10/5/2012 at 10:24 (4,213 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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Post# 629626 , Reply# 11   10/5/2012 at 11:04 (4,213 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Yeah - you low life, you better contribute. LOL!
if I had answers for you, I'd give them w/o condition of contribution. You've helped others here, and with a sense of humor, that I happen to appreciate (ok, we can't please all the people all the time). Anyway- Good luck with those, they look great from this perspective. |
Post# 629629 , Reply# 12   10/5/2012 at 11:40 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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I'm sure I've been filling up Roberts monthly bandwidth limits with my "media rich' content on the site, so I didn't have much objection to contributing now that my financial situation has changed for the better.
I have been a member here since well before 2002 and never realized how much easier it is to navigate the site with the upgrade. Especially important to me is the access to the other forums which also hold valuable information. Seriously, where else am I going to get this kind of access to the vast knowledge base for $12 a year? Jus sayin! |
Post# 629630 , Reply# 13   10/5/2012 at 11:48 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629642 , Reply# 15   10/5/2012 at 12:45 (4,213 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)   |   | |
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Mark / Kenmore71 says "From the pictures they look pretty clean but that doesn't mean much in terms of how they are mechanically." Wow is that ever true. In 1991 I had a beautiful 1977 Kenmore 80 washer, in a beautiful, lustrous Coffee color, that my buddy had rescued as part of our deal to decommission the compactor at the Sears distribution warehouse. I all too easily snatched up that machine, and took it home. It was pristine - you could have served food off of it pratically, if not for the finger prints on it from the delivery and dock guys. Well....not the same underneath. The pump was leaking, and had been, it had a white detergent trail on it. The belt was so well used that its cords had come separated and it was running around almost as three separate belts. Parts of the little cogs/teeth from the belt were everywhere. Upon further testing, the timer had dead spots galore - I don't know how it ran a full automatic cycle.
So, I re-sealed the tub, gave it the new pump, new belt, spin tube seals, etc. and got it all nicely buttoned up, cleaned and spiffed, etc. I paid probably close to $80 for a new FSP timer, and I felt like I had a winner of a machine which I could sell for about $150. Not a great profit, but for a guy with a hobby who wasn't running a real business, it was fine. Saving the machine was part of the program anyway. Well, in running it after all the new installations, I was just letting it idle then spin, while I cleaned up my tools and debris from the work. I decide to look at the goings on from the service panel area. I got down on the floor, face about four or five inches from the motor. All of a sudden, the motor starts to make a buzzing sound, like a leaf has gotten into the fan, etc. That got louder about three or four seconds later, and became a rubbing grind sound. That got much louder, like rubbing a brick on a concrete driveway, then POP and a BANG! The motor locked up with no slow-down. I still remember the whole machine echoing the vibrations and the sudden stop. All I heard then was the motor humming - the armature had broken because the worn motor was not "used" to a snug new belt. Within a week the Sears pile coughed up (sorry Andy, using your great terminology) a willing motor to transplant, but that was one VERY WELL USED UP machine that looked great, but probably had 400k miles on it. Also, while the comment may be wholly true about the non-timed bleach dispenser (Sears called those 'direct in' dispensers), by the late 1970s, not very many machines had timed bleach dispensers anymore, not like they had a decade earlier. This was due to their cost --- a hose and a dispenser bezel are a lot cheaper than the mechanicals that go with an electric dispenser. In Kenmores by this time, only perhaps the top two machines in line would have had a mechanical dispenser. GREAT looking Maytags though! Sometimes you just have to follow your gut and buy a machine or a pair of machines, and cross your fingers! Gordon |
Post# 629643 , Reply# 16   10/5/2012 at 12:49 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629644 , Reply# 17   10/5/2012 at 12:51 (4,213 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 629649 , Reply# 18   10/5/2012 at 13:10 (4,213 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 629661 , Reply# 19   10/5/2012 at 14:11 (4,213 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Alex, actually technically speaking the drying control on that dryer is "thermostatically-contolled".
A thermistor is a sensing device in which the electrical resistance changes with temperature. To my knowledge, thermistors were not used with any regularity in home appliances until the advent of completely electronically controlled appliances in the mid-to-late 1990s. Since I think this best explained by Maytag itself, here are three pages from the "Big-load" service manual explaining the three types of controls that Maytag used in their dryers. You have the second type, what they call "auto-dry control". |
Post# 629662 , Reply# 20   10/5/2012 at 14:12 (4,213 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Post# 629663 , Reply# 21   10/5/2012 at 14:13 (4,213 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
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Post# 629666 , Reply# 22   10/5/2012 at 14:37 (4,213 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)   |   | |
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This is a great opportunity to remind y'all that I have a similar pair that I'd love to re-home. Mine are white, the washer is standard capacity with the same features as this washer, and the dryer is gas with a choice of temperatures (regular vs delicate). The ONLY problem I am aware of is I believe the washer needs new damper pads (based on earlier threads in this forum). The price is negotiable.
lawrence |
Post# 629758 , Reply# 23   10/6/2012 at 02:33 (4,212 days old) by qsd-dan (West)   |   | |
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The SOH Controls were known to run a bit too long, wasting some energy. |
Post# 629776 , Reply# 24   10/6/2012 at 04:51 (4,212 days old) by alr2903 (TN)   |   | |
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My washer had that silly cheap "heavy duty" sticker also, it's now stuck to the back of the instruction book. alr |
Post# 629800 , Reply# 25   10/6/2012 at 09:43 (4,212 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)   |   | |
This post has been removed by the member who posted it. |
Post# 629837 , Reply# 26   10/6/2012 at 14:47 (4,212 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 631904 , Reply# 27   10/15/2012 at 18:43 (4,203 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 631913 , Reply# 28   10/15/2012 at 19:14 (4,203 days old) by qsd-dan (West)   |   | |
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Post# 631936 , Reply# 29   10/15/2012 at 21:10 (4,203 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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You are soo right! I really want a Halo of heat model, not concerned about capacity issues, or lack thereof, strictly for the kewl way it was designed. Especially luv those paddle sensors. A lit console wouldn't hurt either. He sold them for $175. They must have been just as nice in person as they did in the photos because they went alot faster than the last pair of center dials listed on CL. I spoke to him today and he's got a filter-flo and an Amana/Alliance Electric dryer with the stainless interior I wanted to take a look at. Never know what could happen.
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Post# 633501 , Reply# 30   10/22/2012 at 19:03 (4,196 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River)   |   | |
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Post# 633560 , Reply# 31   10/22/2012 at 21:50 (4,196 days old) by AutoWasherFreak ()   |   | |
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Great set of Maytags. I love my Maytag washer, it's one of the best washers I've ever owned. |
Post# 633959 , Reply# 32   10/24/2012 at 12:59 (4,194 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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no one has to UPGRADE to get help here, we love offering, and getting the advice we need....
it does seem to tick a number of members for some of the people signing in, barely filling out their profile, and then expecting help.....especially when their only here to get a price quote for a rusted wringer that they think is worth GOLD, that their trying to sell......think reality, people!.....we are thankful for ones who post that they have a vintage machine, and someone here may be interested in....thinking their gonna get rich because we collect such items, your in the wrong boat! I for one, am glad for this site and its members....the whole idea is getting lost in a hobby we enjoy....it does not matter if your a paid member or not.....if your using this site for other purposes, your missing out on a hell of a lot!... sorry for the rant....its just something that is talked about outside of these walls.....and should be addressed |
Post# 633969 , Reply# 33   10/24/2012 at 13:21 (4,194 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)   |   | |
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Asmost of us here know, HEAVY DUTY was a term Westinghouse began using as a selling point for their Laundromat washers. Maytag began sending decals to stores to peal and stick to their larger capacity washers anddryers to try and compete with the rest. I remember back in 1971 going to Luskin.s and seeing their replacing a pile of the strips on yhe counter demanding that Jack stop throwing them away and place them on the product instead. |
Post# 633970 , Reply# 34   10/24/2012 at 13:22 (4,194 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)   |   | |
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Asmost of us here know, HEAVY DUTY was a term Westinghouse began using as a selling point for their Laundromat washers. Maytag began sending decals to stores to peal and stick to their larger capacity washers anddryers to try and compete with the rest. I remember back in 1971 going to Luskin.s and seeing their replacing a pile of the strips on yhe counter demanding that Jack stop throwing them away and place them on the product instead. |
Post# 634205 , Reply# 35   10/25/2012 at 12:58 (4,193 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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Whirlpool and Frigidaire also used "HEAVY DUTY" in the seventies. Whirlpool had it stamped on some of it's washer and dryer handles (large capacity models?). Strangely, (or maybe not!) Frigidaire wrote "HEAVY DUTY" on all their 27" washer consoles in the mid seventies, but not on any of their matching dryers... |
Post# 634230 , Reply# 36   10/25/2012 at 15:05 (4,193 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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TOO many machines sported the HEAVY DUTY label, of which salesmen claimed these machines were built better, with heavier suspensions, bigger motors, more solid trannies and such......
Can anyone tell the difference between a regular machine, and one that is Heavy Duty?......no such thing, their all the same |