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Thread Number: 44505
1962 Maytag TOL Mismatched Pair: Why? |
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Post# 653583 1/15/2013 at 17:27 (4,111 days old) by Frigilux  (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Here's something I've never understood: Why would Maytag, certainly a prestige brand back in the day, roll out their new top-of-the-line washer with 'One Button Washing' only to pair it with a dryer that doesn't feature a matching console? They look odd together, don't they? Why the time lag before a dryer with a matching console appeared?
We had a 1960 Kenmore Model 80 with similar pushbutton cycle selection--although it couldn't claim "one button washing" because you had to select the water level---and it offered more cycle flexibility and special features. Check out the next post. 
This post was last edited 01/15/2013 at 17:44 | ||
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Post# 653585 , Reply# 1 1/15/2013 at 17:34 (4,111 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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The Kenmore Model 80 offered Light and Heavy Soil versions of the main cycles (Cottons/Linens White; Cottons/Linens Colored; Delicate), plus sturdy and gentle variations of the Wash 'n' Wear cycle (the sturdy version used medium-temperature water and featured 4 minutes of fast followed by 4 minutes of slow agitation; the gentle version washed in warm water with slow agitation).
The Kenmore had timed bleach and fabric softener dispensers. Bleach was injected for the last 4 minutes of the wash period. The Kenmore had a more effective lint filter (with that awesome waterfall). The Kenmore featured an infinitely-variable water level control, and it offered a suds-saver model. Finally, it was paired with a dryer whose console matched the washer! This type of console first appeared on the 1959 Lady Kenmore, a full three years prior to Maytag's one-button machine. I'd say the Model 80 takes the checkered flag on this one, and it wasn't even Kenmore's top-of-the-line. 
This post was last edited 01/15/2013 at 17:52 | ||
| Post# 653588 , Reply# 2 1/15/2013 at 17:48 (4,111 days old) by in2itdood () | ||
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AS several of my good southern belle buddies would say ... Was there any real contest here? Ha! GO Kenmore ... though I do love some Maytags! hehe | ||
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Post# 653589 , Reply# 3 1/15/2013 at 17:52 (4,111 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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Kenmore had them... a full three years prior to Maytag's
Actually no. Maytag offered this TOL push button washer in 1960 (I have one). It may have come out in 1959, but I don't know for sure.
Question: When did Maytag bring out the matching push button dryer? I agree it's interesting they didn't have one in '62, or at least didn't show it in the brochure (why?). I know they had the matched push button pair in '64 (I have a set also).
Kevin | ||
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Post# 653591 , Reply# 4 1/15/2013 at 17:55 (4,111 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Thanks for providing that information, Kevin. I had assumed it was new in the '62 brochure because it says "New Maytag All-Fabric Automatic With One-Button Washing."
Don't get me wrong; I love the Maytags from this period. I just wonder why they didn't throw all those wash cycle choices onto a dial that you'd push-to-start so the console would match the dryer? This post was last edited 01/15/2013 at 18:13 | ||
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Post# 653599 , Reply# 5 1/15/2013 at 18:24 (4,111 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut) |
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A very good question; especially if you watched "The Bev | ||
| Post# 653601 , Reply# 6 1/15/2013 at 18:44 (4,111 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
Question: When did Maytag bring out the matching push button | ||
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Post# 653609 , Reply# 7 1/15/2013 at 19:03 (4,111 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Push-Button Washers Four large appliance makers all came out with all PB washers around the same time, I know that LKM and Westinghouse had them in 1959 and I also believe that MT did as well, Hotpoint got one in 1960, as far as I know that was the extent of all PBWs till electronic washers were introduced in the US by WP-KM in 1977.
The KM 80 pair that you pictured was Eugene was partly the left over design from the 1959 LKMs, the washer used the same PBs but the console was from the 1960 LKMs and the dryer used a cheapened PB bank as the 1959 LKM dryer had the same # of buttons as the washer.
But why did MT not have a matching dryer for their cool PB washer, who knows but I think that Kevin has the best guess, they simply didn't have or want to spend the money. Maytag never could compete with WP-KM in design and they surely never performed as well.
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| Post# 653639 , Reply# 8 1/15/2013 at 22:55 (4,111 days old) by cornutt (Huntsville, AL USA) | ||
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The Kenmore dryer's timing is a purely electronic design, is it not? Is the Maytag PB dryer also all-electronic, or are the buttons tied to a rapid-advance timer? | ||
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Post# 653641 , Reply# 9 1/15/2013 at 23:06 (4,111 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN) |
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Post# 653654 , Reply# 10 1/16/2013 at 00:33 (4,111 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine) |
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They look almost exactly like the ones my sister had in the mid 60's and beyond. Washer with the dial and dryer with the push buttons Bought used and worked VERY well for many years and thru 3 kids. Her washer had the buttons on the left side for regular and modern fabrics (slow). They finally either sold them or whatever when they redid the house over in the 80's and bought one of the first all in one Maytag units that fit into a closet.
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Post# 653667 , Reply# 11 1/16/2013 at 05:45 (4,111 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Post# 653674 , Reply# 13 1/16/2013 at 07:39 (4,111 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
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It is a more complicated timer & control assembly but I've never had trouble with any I've owned since I found my first turquoise set in 1990-91. It's a great dryer, not the largest capacity and rather pokey but for some things it's a go-to machine over the GE, Kenmore and Whirlpool machines also in use now.
This is the set I have now - just like the brochure! 
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| Post# 653676 , Reply# 14 1/16/2013 at 08:01 (4,111 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada) | ||
The brochure shows the dryer on the right. I guess they wanted to show that the dryer could be installed at the right of the washer like most other brands with right-hinged doors since the Maytag's small left-hinged door isn't too intrusive and the handle isn't too hard to reach from the left. Reversing the washer and the dryer is more problematic with full width dryer doors like those used on GE and Frigidaire 1-18 models.
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Post# 653679 , Reply# 15 1/16/2013 at 08:12 (4,111 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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If you have the dryer on the washer's right, you need to put an adhesive bandage on the front of the washer where the dryer door handle strikes it to prevent damage when loading and unloading the dryer. | ||
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Post# 653710 , Reply# 17 1/16/2013 at 11:05 (4,110 days old) by countryguy (Astorville, ON, Canada) |
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| Post# 653716 , Reply# 18 1/16/2013 at 11:17 (4,110 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
Maytag Matching:
I can't speak to this mismatch situation; other people here may well have it right when they say that Maytag didn't have the resources to do everything at once.
But later, with the "New Generation" machines, they really, really got savvy - with the sole exception of the 906s, every machine more or less "matched" every other. In my opinion, what this did for Maytag was to squeeze extra dollars out of sales. Since any dryer matched any washer, a customer could be persuaded to go up or down the line for each machine. If a customer had a certain amount of money in mind and wasn't going to spend more, a really nice washer could be paired with a fairly basic dryer to bring the sale in at the customer's desired price point - and give them at least one feature-rich machine. Or vice versa - my first Maytag pair was an A208 paired with a DE608 dryer; that electronic control was obviously important to the original owner. With other brands, you usually had to purchase a pair of the same series if you wanted a matched set. That meant customers with budget constraints had to settle for machines with the same level of features; they could not customize the mix to suit their needs and bank account. That lessened a salesperson's ability to get the most dollars out of the sale; $100 one way or the other was a lot of money in the '60s and '70s, so going up to a higher model for both machines wasn't always doable for every customer. | ||
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Post# 653741 , Reply# 19 1/16/2013 at 13:48 (4,110 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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The original HOH dryers were so wide because they were using up cabinets from the older style machines which had a HUGE perforated drum and an exposed heating element at the top. That was the only check-rated Maytag dryer. And it looked even weirder because of the narrowness of the washer, 25.5 inches, I think. | ||
| Post# 653747 , Reply# 20 1/16/2013 at 14:09 (4,110 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
Kenmores... | ||
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Post# 653816 , Reply# 21 1/16/2013 at 20:02 (4,110 days old) by washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai’i) |
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| Post# 653817 , Reply# 22 1/16/2013 at 20:15 (4,110 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
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Todd: | ||
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Post# 656085 , Reply# 23 1/26/2013 at 17:09 (4,100 days old) by electronicontrl (Grand Rapids, MI) |
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In 1962 what was Maytag doing with their resources?
Who knows? But they were likely working on the development of their dishwasher. The portable WP600 debuted in 1969 and the built-in models followed in 1970 or 1971. (Their dw was the highest rated by Consumer Reports in 1971, and for several years thereafter).
But one would think a pushbutton dryer would be easier accomplished and far less complicated than the pb washer. So the initial mis-match for the TOL set in 1962 was both odd and stupid in my opinion. I became a member of the Maytag Collectors Club in the 1990's and attended 2 of their annual meetings in Newton,IA. The first in 2001 and again in 2003. As a member we got to shop at the Maytag Employee store. A volunteer worker at the Employee Store was Mrs. Barbara Richards, a retired Maytag Public Relations employee. I wrote to Maytag during the 1970's requesting brochures and literature and always received a big envelope in the mail (it was like Christmas) with the brochures and a letter thanking me for my interest in Maytag, signed by Mrs. Barbara Richards. During a conversation at the Employee Store the subject of Maytag's dryer door hinge being on the LEFT came up. Someone asked Barbara why this was. I remember her reply. She stated "I have no idea". Oh and here is my 1971 PB set. 
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| Post# 656097 , Reply# 25 1/26/2013 at 17:52 (4,100 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
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Another Clue:
For the sales reasons I mentioned above, I think matching got more and more important to Maytag as time went by. When the Series 2 machines came out, Maytag's Let's Talk Service publication outlined the differences between earlier machines and the new ones in the March, 1975 issue.
One of those differences was the removal of the chrome strip that had adorned the upper edge of the front panel on 906s (the 906 was discontinued entirely by this time) and the 806. The reason given in the bulletin was "the removal of the trim strip standardizes automatic washer front panels." This can be taken to mean two things. One, Maytag dealers' service departments did not have to stock a unique panel for the 806. But two, it meant that the nicest washer could be paired with cheaper dryers, and a matched appearance would still result, at least until you lit the console on the more expensive unit. Squeezing a few extra dollars per sale by this means was probably pretty important to Maytag, I'm thinking. The bulletin I'm quoting was posted by swestoyz some years ago, and can be seen here: CLICK HERE TO GO TO danemodsandy's LINK | ||
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Post# 656101 , Reply# 26 1/26/2013 at 18:13 (4,100 days old) by electronicontrl (Grand Rapids, MI) |
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A806 vs. A806S | ||
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Post# 656115 , Reply# 27 1/26/2013 at 19:09 (4,100 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Removable of Chrome Strip at top of Front Panels on 06 Model I suspect that there were just cutting cost on TOL models like eliminating the tub light in later A806s. Dealers would not have to stock two different front panels as the chrome strip was easily removable and could actually be added to any MT 06 machine, I once had a customer [ back about 1975 ] with a A207 and a DE606 that I sold him have me order these trim pieces because he liked the look. | ||
| Post# 656123 , Reply# 28 1/26/2013 at 19:41 (4,100 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
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John:
I'm only quoting Maytag's "party line" on the removal of the trim strip - there were obviously cost-containment reasons for it as well. This same March, 1975 bulletin outlined the new, simplified bleach dispenser and the change from the chrome-topped lint filter to the all-turquoise one - two more measures that lowered production costs.
However, there was definitely a sales advantage to not having a front-panel mismatch between models. If a customer had "X" amount to spend, and liked having a really nice washer, it was possible to set her up with an 806 washer and a 606 dryer, without an obvious mismatch between the two - and the same thing was possible if a fancy dryer was more important than washer features. That meant some extra dollars could be squeezed out of the sale, because Milady didn't have to choose between spending beaucoup bucks for a fancy pair or doing without features she wanted on a plainer pair. She could spend a little more here, and a little less there, and still not end up with different-looking machines. Sears was just the opposite. You either bought the pair, or you ended up with machines that were very mismatched-looking. | ||
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