Thread Number: 82134  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
what is the best choice for a vintage washer
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Post# 1061539   2/25/2020 at 19:00 (1,492 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        

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what is the best choice for a vintage washer longterm planing

my needs are i need 5 wash rinse temp from cold cold to hot warm color harvest gold in the case of ge and viking washer no mini basket since i would not use it much in the case of kenmore canadien model gold rotoswirl agitator with liquid fabirc softner dispenser the fabric softner dispenser is also a must if my choice go toward ge or viking washer (topload) or westinghouse inglis pics are some of my choices since i would only chose 1 as a daily driver but so far my number 1 choice is westinghouse pic number 1


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Post# 1061544 , Reply# 1   2/25/2020 at 21:24 (1,492 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)        
Best choice

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Is one you can work on and maintain each and every time it leaks, shorts out and breaks down.

Post# 1061553 , Reply# 2   2/26/2020 at 01:39 (1,492 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

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From my experience, Maytags always need the least work and only thing you will have to do is replace the belts and that’s about it. I do have a Kenmore portable belt drive washer and it never broke down on me except the original pump went out and that’s it. The Whirlpool belt drive washers can be easy work on but can be a little tricky to work on if you don’t have much experience with them and replacing the belt can also be tricky since there’s no front panel to remove and usually requires you to disconnect everything laying it down and replacing the belt. WP/KM belt drive washers can do funky things such as not disengaging the spin if the wig wag plunger for the spin goes bad, not engaging the spin at all or not engaging anything at all since Whirlpool designed it so it would be in neutral if both solenoids happened to fail and other than those issues WP/KM belt drive washers are fun machines.

Post# 1061556 , Reply# 3   2/26/2020 at 04:46 (1,492 days old) by servis-dream (planet 90s, Hotpoint factory, Peterborough )        
hmm

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i would guess that virtually any vintage speed queen washer (apart from the water usage) is a very good choice if you can find one as they have incredible reliability especially the 1970's fluid drive commercial washers if you can disable or in fact take off the coin mechanism
the sounds of speed queens are very relaxing and if a was to possibly put a bed in a laundromat that has speed queen top loaders then i think i would have sweet dreams.


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Post# 1061561 , Reply# 4   2/26/2020 at 06:32 (1,492 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )        
Belt Drive

Whirlpool Kenmore They ARE complicated but tend to run forever and wash great.

Post# 1061565 , Reply# 5   2/26/2020 at 06:45 (1,492 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)        

Duplicated post? You posted something similar a couple of days ago!

Post# 1061571 , Reply# 6   2/26/2020 at 09:04 (1,492 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        
sorry for my double post

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i apoligige for my double post in my first post forgot to add pics sigh

Post# 1062736 , Reply# 7   3/9/2020 at 16:25 (1,479 days old) by reactor (Oak Ridge, Tennessee-- )        
Best Choice

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The best choice, of course, for each of us is not necessarily the best choice for you. The best choice for you is the one that meets your primary criteria. Some people base their choice primarily on the time period of manufacture, some on the brand, some of particular performance feature and/or innovation. Some on ease of repair.....ad infinitum.

What you get from us is our opinions based on our criteria (and our biases).

My top three personal favorites are:

GE Filter-Flo extra large capacity model with ramped agitator and warm rinse option and extra rinse option--fantastic lint removal, spin drain, good desudsing, I can pack the tub absolutely to the top and I still get great turnover and good washing performance. Very easy to do the most common repairs. Has nice long spray rinse...with warm spray yet!

Frigidaire 1-18 Jet Action--What a fun machine! From the moment you turn it on it's unique with the 360 degree circular spray fill. The up and down action agitator is cool and gives great turnover..if (and a big if) it's not overloaded. Depending on what you are washing you may have to load well below capacity to get good turnover. If you fill it with heavy blue jeans, for example, they will just bob up and down--zer turnover. A great rinser like the GE FF with nice long, and warm spray rinse, knocks down heavy suds FAST. Lint removal is only so so, but that's just a minor issue. Too bad General Motors got out of the appliance business.

Westinghouse Laundromat Front Loader and White-Westinghouse front loaders using Westinghouse's original design--pull up a chair and watch it work. More fun than color TV. Unbelievably simple chassis-- basically a motor, pump, solenoid and belts/pulleys. No transmission. A solenoid kicks in (LOUDLY) to tighten the spin belt against the pulley and WHAM, instant spin. No slow ramp up or periods of trying to balance the load like today's front loaders. Imbalances are damped out by simple rubber snubbers on metal plates. Easy to do most needed repairs. However, when it kicks into spin it doesn't care if the load is balanced or not, it just goes for it. So beware when it gets out of balance you will know it. Also a slower spin speed that the GE or Frigidaire so your clothes may take a bit longer to dry.

(Never had a Westinghouse Top Loader, would kill to have one like the one in the picture.)

These are my personal favorites..

Others on this site will have their own favorites and opinions. Sadly some will try to build their ego by denigrating your opinions and your favorites because they don't agree with theirs. That's not right. We should be positive and enjoy the diversity of each others opinions on this site, not attack others for it. Sharing our thoughts and opinions is enjoyable and how we learn!

Listening to our opinions might help you make your initial choice(s), but nothing beats actually finding vintage washers at Thrift Stores, garage sales, Craiglist, and even on the curb. Cleaning, fixing them up and performance testing them (to the ability you have the time, space and money.) gets addictive. You will eventually find the ones you like keep those as your treasures and sell or give away the ones you don't want. In time you will find what is "best" for you.

I will you well in finding the washer that is your dream machine!!


Post# 1062760 , Reply# 8   3/9/2020 at 19:47 (1,479 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)        

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I've rebuilt a Whirlpool DD and a Maytag A407 and then converted it to an A606.  Once I got the agitator off the Maytag, it was very straightforward from there.  Same with the Whirlpool DD.  Both will last forever and are easy to work on.  I don't about others beyond those two.

 



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