Photo of 1962 Lady Kenmore Washer?

This has been the subject of quite a lot of discussion over the years, both on-site and off with other Kenmore enthusiasts, but to the best of my knowledge, the Kenmore 800 as Mark shows is/was the top of the line machine for 1962. Whether or not it was considered a Lady Kenmore is a question I cannot answer for certain, but I think it was not marketed as such, at least the machine itself does not say "Lady Kenmore" on it, just Kenmore. There were not any other 800 series models in 1962, which only adds to the mystery.

My hunch is that because the 1961 LK was all push-button, rapid advance controlled, and very highly touted during its reign, Sears may have taken a year off from the Lady Kenmore branding so that the model could "cool off" so to speak a bit before a less complicated, non rapid advance model could be introduced as a Lady Kenmore again in 1963. The '61 may have remained available in 1962 as well, which we are learning was a common practice for Sears.

This 1962 800, IS indeed quite rare for some reason. Oddly, the model 110.6204800 was followed by an 801 all the way to an 808, so you'd think there would have been a lot of these out there as it takes time for Sears to issue that many model revisions, but I have only seen one of these, ever, and not since 1975.

The console utilizes the dimensions, shape, and overall design of the 1961 Lady K, the 1962 70, and the 1963 700 --- it is very tall, not heavily chromed, and without much curvature (lots of right angles) whereas '63s and '64s used slightly pivoted panels (presented at more than a 90-degree angle from the top and lid) and arched edges.

The one of these that I did see was at the house of a neighbor when I was a kid. My mother had her 1961 70-series, one neighbor had her 1963 70, a neighbor two doors up had a '64/65 70, and the other across the street had the '62 800. This is why as a kid I thought most everyone had a Kenmore...

This 800 was indeed the parent to the 1963 design, as the eight push-buttons function similarly to the '63, except there are some cycle differences I believe. For example, I do not believe the '62 had a Spin Only button below the timer dial like the '63 does, just a suds button when so-equipped.

The push-buttons were neat in that they were white, with pastel centers and black letters, as can be seen on Ted's dryer. The console was lighted on the left side, just like the '63 version.

This was pretty-much the same machine to the '63. I would like to know why this machine seems to be so uncommon, as the '63 seemed to be so common as mentioned by so many here on AW. I know of at least 10 in the club right now, but as Mark said, I am not aware of any '62 800s.

I have an Kenmore owner's manual which covers the '62 800 and would be happy to offer it for the ephemera if it is not already available there...

Gordon


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Post# 723400 12/27/2013 at 14:18 (3,766 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)
Checkrate/Likes Does anyone in the AW family have a 1962 Lady Kenmore washer in their collection--- or perhaps a photo of one from a Sears catalog? If so, would you consider sharing a snap of it with us? I don't recall ever seeing one. Did it sport an all-push button console similar to the 1959-1961 LKs, or did it include a cycle dial like the 1963? Any information our resident Kenmore experts can share about this particularly elusive model will be greatly appreciated!

Post# 723434 , Reply# 1 12/27/2013 at 16:38 (3,766 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes *1962 LK* Wasn't that the one with the automatic water level?

Post# 723437 , Reply# 2 12/27/2013 at 17:03 (3,766 days old) by Kenmore71 (Minneapolis, MN)
Checkrate/Likes 2 The 1962 line gets this side of NO MENTION in the service manual that I have. All I can provide is a highly pixalated picture of the "800" series machine that was marketed as the Lady K that year. Perhaps someone has a scan from a 1962 catalog that is better. As John Lefever mentioned in another post recently, no one seems to have a 1962. There is one documented 1961 Lady K around and by 1963 and 1964 they are SOMEWHAT more common.

Post# 723442 , Reply# 3 12/27/2013 at 17:47 (3,766 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Ted has the '62 800 Dryer for sale in D.C.*

Post# 723465 , Reply# 4 12/27/2013 at 21:43 (3,766 days old) by Kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)
Checkrate/Likes 4 *On the 1962 "Lady Kenmore"...* This has been the subject of quite a lot of discussion over the years, both on-site and off with other Kenmore enthusiasts, but to the best of my knowledge, the Kenmore 800 as Mark shows is/was the top of the line machine for 1962. Whether or not it was considered a Lady Kenmore is a question I cannot answer for certain, but I think it was not marketed as such, at least the machine itself does not say "Lady Kenmore" on it, just Kenmore. There were not any other 800 series models in 1962, which only adds to the mystery. My hunch is that because the 1961 LK was all push-button, rapid advance controlled, and very highly touted during its reign, Sears may have taken a year off from the Lady Kenmore branding so that the model could "cool off" so to speak a bit before a less complicated, non rapid advance model could be introduced as a Lady Kenmore again in 1963. The '61 may have remained available in 1962 as well, which we are learning was a common practice for Sears. This 1962 800, IS indeed quite rare for some reason. Oddly, the model 110.6204800 was followed by an 801 all the way to an 808, so you'd think there would have been a lot of these out there as it takes time for Sears to issue that many model revisions, but I have only seen one of these, ever, and not since 1975. The console utilizes the dimensions, shape, and overall design of the 1961 Lady K, the 1962 70, and the 1963 700 --- it is very tall, not heavily chromed, and without much curvature (lots of right angles) whereas '63s and '64s used slightly pivoted panels (presented at more than a 90-degree angle from the top and lid) and arched edges. The one of these that I did see was at the house of a neighbor when I was a kid. My mother had her 1961 70-series, one neighbor had her 1963 70, a neighbor two doors up had a '64/65 70, and the other across the street had the '62 800. This is why as a kid I thought most everyone had a Kenmore... This 800 was indeed the parent to the 1963 design, as the eight push-buttons function similarly to the '63, except there are some cycle differences I believe. For example, I do not believe the '62 had a Spin Only button below the timer dial like the '63 does, just a suds button when so-equipped. The push-buttons were neat in that they were white, with pastel centers and black letters, as can be seen on Ted's dryer. The console was lighted on the left side, just like the '63 version. This was pretty-much the same machine to the '63. I would like to know why this machine seems to be so uncommon, as the '63 seemed to be so common as mentioned by so many here on AW. I know of at least 10 in the club right now, but as Mark said, I am not aware of any '62 800s. I have an Kenmore owner's manual which covers the '62 800 and would be happy to offer it for the ephemera if it is not already available there... Gordon

Post# 723478 , Reply# 5 12/27/2013 at 23:41 (3,765 days old) by 70series ( Connecticut.)
Checkrate/Likes 1 There is also an old photo of Donna Reed in front of the 62 set, somewhere in the 2005/2006 archives.

Post# 723613 , Reply# 6 12/29/2013 at 01:31 (3,764 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)
Checkrate/Likes I knew you guys would have an explanation! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Sears probably wanted to see how the Cuban missile crisis was going to play out before putting resources into a new line of laundry equipment that year, LOL. This post was last edited 12/29/2013 at 05:49

Post# 725529 , Reply# 7 1/6/2014 at 11:39 (3,756 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes I just added the owners manual to many 1963 Kenmore automatic washers to the Ephemera Library, this includes the "800" series Lady Kenmore that was brought over from the 1962 line, as well the rare 31480 series machine... CLICK HERE TO GO TO Unimatic1140's LINK

Post# 725597 , Reply# 8 1/6/2014 at 16:39 (3,756 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Singing the song, " Ahhht Lahhhhst...." (At Last).* Finally, after six years, I can figure out how to work this bitch, LOL. Thanks, Man!

Post# 725617 , Reply# 9 1/6/2014 at 17:26 (3,756 days old) by kenmore58 (Rhode Island)
Checkrate/Likes *I've been searching for the 500 for a long time* One of my first washer memories is my grandmother's '63 Kenmore 500. Would kill to find one; and if it had the retractable casters, I'd kill again. Still remember her wheeling that machine over to the kitchen sink, hooking it up, and doing laundry. C'mon, boys and girls, keep your eyes and ears open for one! There's got to be one left somewhere! Ron Kenmore58

Post# 725636 , Reply# 10 1/6/2014 at 19:32 (3,756 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *1961-1962? Lady Kenmore Washers and Dryers* After the initial excitement of the cool new all push-button 1959 LKMs [ and the disappointing sales numbers ] the 1960 and 1961-2 LKMs sold even more poorly. The same thing happened to the many cool new automobile designs that came out of Detroit during the same time period. One has to remember that we were still suffering from the Eisenhower recession of the 1950s so few consumers were able or willing to buy such expensive appliances. It was not until the mid 1960s that the econmany really started to take off and then the sales of LKMs and other luxury products really took off like never before in history. John L.

Post# 726170 , Reply# 11 1/8/2014 at 16:11 (3,754 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River)
*This post has been removed by the member who posted it.*