Thread Number: 48927
KitchenAid washer dryer set
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Post# 708590   10/11/2013 at 11:43 (3,821 days old) by retropia ()        

I always thought that a set of these would be fun to have, if I had the room. (Which I don't!) If I remember correctly, the only drawback is that there is no extra-rinse option on the washer.


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Post# 708591 , Reply# 1   10/11/2013 at 11:45 (3,821 days old) by retropia ()        
Washer control panel

SO many pushbuttons...it is obvious they were designing this to look similar to their dishwashers of the same era.


Post# 708593 , Reply# 2   10/11/2013 at 11:47 (3,821 days old) by retropia ()        
Dryer control panel

So these would be electro-mechanical buttons, with some type of control board, at least for the LED display?


Post# 708603 , Reply# 3   10/11/2013 at 12:45 (3,821 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        
KAWE800 Cycle Selections

dadoes's profile picture
 
Cycle buttons:  Heavy, Regular, Short, Perm't Press, Knits/Delicate, Pre-Wash, Drain-Spin, Off-Cancel, Start, Hold.

This is a 2-speed machine, not 3-speed.  Heavy runs 8 mins high agitation.  Regular & Perm't Press are 4 mins high, 4 mins low.  Short is 2 mins high.  Knits/Delicate is 6 mins low.  Pre-Wash with a cycle is 4 mins at selected cycle speed.  Pre-Wash without another cycle is 4 mins high.

Pre-Wash could be used as a manual extra rinse, although not suitable for delicates.


Post# 708621 , Reply# 4   10/11/2013 at 14:16 (3,821 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))        
KA W/D

whirlykenmore78's profile picture

Not really a PCB controller but rather a rapid advance timer with electronic sensors on the dryer.  The washer is purely rapid advance timer.  I would guess based off of the DW control technology that WP inherited from Hobart shortly before this set came out. 

 

These are extremely durable machines.  I know of a set that washed for a family of 5 (3 Boys) for 17 years with very little repair.

Wk78


Post# 708630 , Reply# 5   10/11/2013 at 14:53 (3,821 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture

I had/have this set, used it for a year or so in the laundry room.  It's a fine washer but limited to 8 minutes of normal wash-time was a bit short but the DD high agitation is aggressive enough it usually suffices for most loads.  The pre-wash cycle only spins a short time (2 min. IIRC) so it requires manual intervention again after the short spin.

 

The dryer is outstanding, WP got this machine right back in the 60's and refinements in capacity, etc. made it probably one of the best dryers ever made.  Like with most WP dryers of this time, it needed to be set for a little more than the standard dry setting for the sensor to completely dry bulkier loads, jeans, etc.

 

KitchenAid laundry lines got a few upgrades to the standard WP/KM platform; galvanized steel cabinets, porcelain tops (and washer lid) on the washer and dryer both.  As the years rolled on for KA laundry, features and speeds were continually improved above the other brand-lines.  


Post# 708760 , Reply# 6   10/12/2013 at 09:29 (3,820 days old) by programcomputer (Ann Arbor Michigan, USA)        
KitchenAid washer dryer set

programcomputer's profile picture
I have this very same set also, and I gotta say, I'm in love. Prior to these the last time I had a set of my own; I had a circa 2003'ish set of Frigidaire Galleries, and a mid 1980's Westinghouse Space Mate set. They were good in their own rights, but I had problems with the Frigidaire roughly the minute I got rid of the Westinghouse set. Pumps, control board, shocks, you name it. The back bearing was starting to go when I left it for some new tenants in our my old house.

Anyway, these machines just do everything that I can think of, excellent on perm-press and does it pretty much everything perfectly. I agree to an extent about the lack of a second rinse which may be a downside to some, but I am on a well, with softened and filtered water. We do not need to use alot of detergent etc, so we are pretty satisfied with it's rinsing abilities.

Also, they are a talking point among friends of ours. We let a couple who are apartment dwellers and cannot have their own use them, and really anyone who has used them, love them too. They just cant get over all the buttons and that there are NO dials to twirl.... and when you push the console lamp button, and they light up like a Christmas tree. I never hear less than THAT'S COOL!!!LOL.

Sadly as of a week ago, I do have a small leak in the washer someplace Im trying to find,I really hope its not a cracked tub or seal. The pump seems fine, the hoses too. But im still at a a loss. I cant complain tho, since we go them last spring, they have been handling about 15 loads a week, without nary a whimper. I agree this set was right from the start.

If I were you, I'd save them. I paid a bit more for my set than whats listed. Best money I ever spent when it comes to laundry appliances....even tho it pees itself a little....


Post# 708940 , Reply# 7   10/13/2013 at 03:45 (3,819 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

I'm kinda surprised that you can't increase the wash time from the default setting. Our Whirlpool electronic set defaults to 8 min, but press the up arrow key a few times and you can increase the time to as much as 15 minutes of agitation.

Nice looking set. There are very reliable units.


Post# 709171 , Reply# 8   10/13/2013 at 22:33 (3,819 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
All Push Button KA Washer&Dryer

combo52's profile picture

These are cool and rare machines, but I would not want them as my only machines, the control system on both the washer&dryer are EXTREMELY COMPLEX and nothing is available for the control system any longer. The washer is not electronically controlled in any way, the dryer does have a small circuit board for the dryness control. The control panels on both of these machines are completely packed with wiring and other switches and timers.

 

We have a working pair at the museum, and that where they will stay.


Post# 709190 , Reply# 9   10/14/2013 at 00:39 (3,819 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

From about what year was this set made? It looks maybe the mid 80's.

Post# 709211 , Reply# 10   10/14/2013 at 05:42 (3,818 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
1987 to 1989 period, probably.

The washer has a straight-vane agitator, no DA auger ... although it could be changed to a DA if desired.


Post# 709215 , Reply# 11   10/14/2013 at 05:47 (3,818 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
All Push Button KA Washer&Dryer

combo52's profile picture

These came out with the introduction of KA as a laundry brand in 1987-8, they only lasted about two years before true electronic models came out.

 

It was very interesting that these machines were introduced with this type of control systems, WP had not built a washer or dryer with rapid advance controls SINCE 1962. And while a 1/2 dozen brands of DWs used this type of timer control nobody except KA used a lot of them on their TOL DWs, KDS-14--- the KDS-23s so I think someone on the KA side of WPs new acquisition must have though up the idea for this washer & dryer.


Post# 709225 , Reply# 12   10/14/2013 at 07:27 (3,818 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Agitator

mrb627's profile picture
Straight-Vane in Turquoise makes them even more coveted, IMO!

Malcolm


Post# 709228 , Reply# 13   10/14/2013 at 08:07 (3,818 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)        

daveamkrayoguy's profile picture
Too impossible to imagine being built during the Hobart-era ('cause the big-time, #1 commercial kitchen mfg. wasn't into LAUNDRY!But, then, why not a commercial Laundry make like Hubasch or Milnor making their way into America's homes?) and of course you'd not wanna see the immortal K/A tag onto Whirlpool's merger w/ Maytag-Amana, either...!

So this fits fairly nicely into this niche of a still-good Whirlpool-era...


-- Dave



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