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Thread Number: 87348
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Looking for a vintage washer/dryer in the Savannah, Georgia area |
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| Post# 1119196 , Reply# 2 6/3/2021 at 20:28 (1,056 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
 Collecting (and using) vintage appliances is not for the faint of heart.
An understatement for modern times. I use and maintain them, wouldn't have it any other way. However, I would hate to start out this hobby now with the lack of parts availability and the high prices they command. The late 90's - 2010-ish were the good old days and we didn't even know it. | ||
| Post# 1119199 , Reply# 3 6/3/2021 at 20:52 (1,056 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas) | ||
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Post# 1119201 , Reply# 4 6/3/2021 at 20:54 (1,056 days old) by Yogitunes  (New Jersey) |
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| Post# 1119205 , Reply# 5 6/3/2021 at 21:04 (1,056 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas) | ||
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While not in the neighborhood, a lot of us here would consider a 5 hour road trip to get something we really wanted.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO Repairguy's LINK | ||
| Post# 1119215 , Reply# 8 6/3/2021 at 22:18 (1,056 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Don't let those guys get under your skin and discourage you.
It's not discouraging words, it's a big dose of reality. There's a huge difference yearning for a set because they're aesthetically appeasing vs the reality of maintaining and repairing them. One must have a burning desire the learn how these machines work inside and out, be versed in mechanical and electrical repair, and have the willpower to get dirty, especially at the most inopportune times. When starting out, expect to take a machine apart several times until it works correctly and make lots of adjustments along the way. If you're one to get flustered easy and give up, this is the wrong hobby. With rare machines, expect a project to take years before gathering all of the necessary parts to get it/them up and running correctly. On must also be constantly scouring for parts and storing them. I see too many people owning vintage refrigerators that have no business doing so. You better have the knowledge, inclination, tools, and work ethic of tubokinectic if that's your goal, otherwise, buy new. Most repairmen will not touch older appliances nor track down parts so you're completely on your own. With vintage appliances, you are the warranty work! This post was last edited 06/03/2021 at 22:37 | ||
| Post# 1119223 , Reply# 9 6/3/2021 at 23:49 (1,056 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
Dan pretty much hit the nail on the head in reply #8 which is above this post. You have to have a general idea of how these machines work especially with the Whirlpool belt drive washers like in the photos you posted. Those belt drive washers look complicated but aren’t very complicated since I went through the transmission on my 1963 RCA Whirlpool Imperial Mark XII washer and there’s literally only 7 parts inside the transmission and recently put some fresh gear oil in it as well just to be safe. The only negatives about those machines is the spin is only about 505 to 525 rpm which is slower than most machines these days and you have to lay the machine down to replace the belt or pump or do any other adjustments to it while you are replacing the belt or pump and last but not least is parts availability. You can find certain parts on eBay but won’t find any at appliance stores or parts websites since most of the parts have pretty much dried up and as Dan mentioned the 90’s and 2000’s maybe even early 2010’s were the good old days where you could easily find parts for those machines and Whirlpool stopped making parts for the belt drive washers in the late 90’s sometime since the replacement pump has a date dose of 2-3-98 on the pump and that’s when suspect when Whirlpool stopped making parts for those older belt drive washers and Maytag stopped making parts when they went out of business in 2006.
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| Post# 1119253 , Reply# 10 6/4/2021 at 10:53 (1,056 days old) by katemckinnon (SAVANNAH) | ||
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I've always just inherited them with my houses, as I always love to buy midcentury homes, and honestly they have always worked beautifully! I would be happy to pay modern prices for a set in good condition. | ||
| Post# 1119294 , Reply# 12 6/4/2021 at 17:23 (1,056 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Taking a white late 1960's/early 70's set and painting the cabinet a pastel color is a viable option, and for the most part, will look period correct for most Maytag machines and some GE and WP/KM belt drives. You are not just limited to Maytags only. Maytag, GE, and Whirlpool/Kenmore washers and dryers were the "Big 3" back then....just like GM/Chrysler/Ford for vehicles of the same time period. These manufactures basically used the same running gear for 4-5 decades so there's parts floating around for them. Specific parts for some models, like timers and switches can get tricky. Tons of 204499 timers for Maytag TOL 806 washers are always floating around on Ebay (hell, there's one on Ebay right now) as well as the electronic control units for TOL dryers whether 806 HOH or newer 808 SOH models. However, good luck trying to find a timer or dual diaphragm pressure switch for a Maytag 906 washer of the same timer period.
1950's and early 60's models also have other limitation besides parts availability, such as small capacity tubs and drums for both the washer and dryer, so that's something else to take in consideration especially if you have kids and expect to wash bedding. | ||
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