Thread Number: 89125  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
BOL Kenmore Dryer: How Old Is It?
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Post# 1137058   12/23/2021 at 19:47 (826 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois)        

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Hi everyone, recently I decided to look more into the dryer that is currently at my moms house and had trouble figuring out the date. Everything I’ve seen says this dryer was produced in 2005 but that just doesn’t seem right to me based off of everything else. It’s a single temperature, one cycle, BOL Kenmore electric dryer. I’ve included some pictures as well. Can anyone help to confirm the date of this dryer?

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Post# 1137061 , Reply# 1   12/23/2021 at 20:06 (826 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        

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It's sometime after '86 because of the knobs used. I would estimate 90 but they only made a few of these BOL models and didn't change them much so it could range anywhere from 86 into the 00's, imo.

It's not labeled as the Capri... but not sure when that name was used.

The plastic back isn't black, dark beige, or brown...but not sure the years each of those were used either.

We really should do a thread on the BOL entry level KMs, with the plastic consoles, starting in the mid 70s... but ...


Post# 1137064 , Reply# 2   12/23/2021 at 20:46 (826 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        

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OK, probably not 1990. They were still making both KM and Capri with Capri being the cheapest.

What they did do over the years is gradually eliminate the BOL models. That was the game. The newest 'thing' became TOL; the previous TOL became MOL; the previous MOL became BOL; and thus the old BOL had to disappear.


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Post# 1137065 , Reply# 3   12/23/2021 at 20:51 (826 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)        

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This dryer was indeed built the 16th week of 2005.

Post# 1137080 , Reply# 4   12/23/2021 at 23:26 (826 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois)        

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I’m honestly surprised that it’s that “new.” Ive never seen pictures of any dryers like this, and when doing googling to try and find others, I couldn’t find anything. It’s really a shame the matching washer was not with it, but instead it’s paired with a 2010 Amana DD. Thanks for the help!

Post# 1137121 , Reply# 5   12/24/2021 at 12:05 (825 days old) by chetlaham (United States)        
Galaxy

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I remember in the early 2000s these exact same dryers were sold under the Galaxy name with a brown control panel. And a note along the lines of "high heat only" or something like that. The washers were "warm wash cold rinse only" Sears was behind the times in the late 90s onward, so the 2005 age does not really surprise me at all.

I hated the Galaxy concept (which a broader part of the Kenmore sales scheme), it was meant to essentially shame people (as part of a bait and switch tactic) into buying a higher end model for an extra 50-150 bucks that just had a jumper in the timer to utilize the other cycle present on the cam. Took me a while to figure out why Sears was so tight about the tech sheets, I'm sure this was a big reason. The same 3 or 4 timers would cover 25 different models. DAA, fabric softner, 2 speed motor, porcelain paint, white basket, sound board, ect added one at a time to each successive model with sought after features held reserved for several models up after less necessary features were added first.



Post# 1137128 , Reply# 6   12/24/2021 at 12:29 (825 days old) by Cam2s (Nebraska)        
Galaxy dryer

Here the same dryer with the Galaxy brand. I found this on Craig’s list some time ago.

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Post# 1137133 , Reply# 7   12/24/2021 at 14:03 (825 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        
It's an interesting but predictable demise.

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1993 they made like 5 versions.

In the early 80s they were so fancy that the back panel had an insert of wood grain or other material, the knobs had a chrome coating, and in 1981ish a neighbor had a model with a sudsaver.

The last ones to be made were the one knob wonders above. Eventually Sears discontinued the plastic one piece panel models and in it's final years didn't even offer a 24" wide washer any longer.


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Post# 1137135 , Reply# 8   12/24/2021 at 14:37 (825 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        
sudsaver

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chrome and panel insert

Most people these days don't know what sudsaver is.


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Post# 1137154 , Reply# 9   12/24/2021 at 17:15 (825 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)        

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Around the year 2000 these low end machines would go on sale for $188 each in this area. The bait and switch must’ve been great because there weren’t many of these machines in homes. Although simple, they were very reliable machines. I do have a customer that still has a one cycle wonder washer that they purchased new in 1993. It needed a timer a couple of years ago and they begged me to find one because they didn’t want to give that washer up for a “new style “ machine. I found a NOS timer and the machine is still going strong.

Post# 1137167 , Reply# 10   12/24/2021 at 18:55 (825 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        

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I bought several of Circuit City's $188 Roper washers and dryers around that time.

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Post# 1137172 , Reply# 11   12/24/2021 at 19:26 (825 days old) by chetlaham (United States)        
One Cycle Wonders

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These one cycle machines would appear to draw a lot of people into Sears, particularly economy conscious customers and landlords. Its all people really wanted/needed.

I tried to buy one in the early 2000s, and I've seen the same happen with others in the countless hours I browsed the Sears sale floor- They would refuse to sell you a Galaxy. First thing the sales man would bring up is the one Speed motor. "If you have anything other than towels, it will chew em up" The sales man would then talk about how the models a few steps up came with a normal cycle (vs regular, heavy duty and PP) and how they have never received a complaint regarding torn clothes vs those that made the mistake of buying one of the low end models. He would then ask how many loads a day do they do, what type of machine, if it was at a laundry mat, ect and how it would not actually fit into the galaxy but fit in a two speed MOL model. He would then use that as a point to start off with the DA agitator, how it would not only accommodate more normal day to day loads but also get everything clean since cleaning actually took place at the bottom of an agi (or the fins of a FL if the customers were laundry mat users). The corkscrew would push clothes to the bottom then pull them up, where as in the BOL models everything would get shredded and over cleaned on the bottom while the clothes on the middle and the top would just sit jiggling in the water.

The goal was to talk to the consumer into just starting to consider their foundational options on an MOL machine, one with at least 3 cycles (heavy duty, normal, PP/Del), bleach dispenser, two speed motor, DA agi and a porcelain coated top. He would re-iterate that he would never buy anything lower than the MOL he was pointing to, how users would often re-turn low end machines due to unmet expectations, and how after a few years the tops would just rust out. He would make every excuse as to why the BOL machines would not meet the expectations of everyday use and was not even sure why Sears sold them.

The sales man would then go on to explain all the perks of going up the line. How the white porcelain tub would be more gentle on clothes and outlast the sprecle tub which would sometimes chip and rust, how a fabric softner dispencer was often compelling as people were busy and would forget to add it at the right time. ATC was a major bragging point- to cold the water and detergent would not work- to hot and it would waste energy without having any added benefit over 70*C cool water. Spill guard top, sound pack, 3 speed motor, extra rinse, infinite water level, delayed bleach, auto dispensers, direct drive... one that kind of made me laugh was a couple looking for a basic washer where they told the sales man they line dry their clothes and he immediately said they would need a TOL model that actually had that option on the speed selector (which they did, Fast/Slow or hang dry).

Some of what they said was true, some if it obviously BS. But any encounter with a sales man was about establishing authority, building trust, displaying knowledge, educating the customer on the store's terms, then making them look silly about their initial consideration, constructing the idea that only a mid range model would make them reasonably happy, tantalizing upper end models, and creating the perception the sales man was indeed being reasonable because he wasn't pushing the absolute TOL. It was a well played psychological technique that worked hand in hand in the model line up concept of Kenmore.

Of course that eventually came to bite and backfire for Sears when customers began to think on their own- set on buying what they really came in for- becoming irritated when a simple 10 minute open and shut sale turned into a 90 minute "you really don't want this" exchange. That and the Calypso blunder really woke people up when forcing everyone to buy a Calypso turned into the whole store overflowing with returns.

Personally, Sears should have just drilled out the panel for a water level knob, put the jumpers in the Molex Connector for the extra cycles and knob selected water temps and sold the machine for the asking price. Add a DA and fabric softner to the next model up. Sears would have won a lot more customers heading into the financial crisis and beyond. Remember that even the most BOL Amana at HD today has a DA and water temps.



Post# 1137191 , Reply# 12   12/24/2021 at 23:06 (825 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois)        

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These are all very interesting stories to hear! This makes me wish more that the previous owners had kept the original or matching washer if they were bought as a pair. I suspect, however, at one point, their previous dryer went out and in a rush to get a new working one, they bought the absolute cheapest dryer they possibly could. Even still, it does a fantastic job. While it only has one heat, one (technically three?) cycles, only ONE internal drum fin, and no sort of end of cycle buzzer or wrinkle guard, it always gets everything dry in one go, even our most bulkiest of comforters. It’s very hard to mess up a dryer, and really it’s all we need.

If anyone’s curious, yes it really only has one internal fin, and two little humps where the other two should be. While being a one cycle machine, it still has intervals marked on the timer for “More Dry,” “Normal Dry,” and “Less Dry.” It’s also an automatic dry cycle!


Post# 1137194 , Reply# 13   12/24/2021 at 23:50 (824 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        

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Whirlpool has been making this dryer PLATFORM for more than 50 years. The drums are the way they are because their research proved it worked. done.

These type of Whirlpool made dryers tend to last and last. Outlasting the washers considerably. Washers tend to last maybe 8 years on average. It's not unusual to still find Whirlpool made dryers from the 70s and 80s.


Post# 1137208 , Reply# 14   12/25/2021 at 08:29 (824 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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It is a one-cycle timer.  The designated settings are different "times" for how dry the user wants the load.  You can set it *anywhere*, not only at the three labeled positions or the other three hash-marks.


Post# 1137237 , Reply# 15   12/25/2021 at 13:20 (824 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

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Oh yeah, those Whirlpool 29” dryers are good dryers. I believe that Kenmore dryer might have only a medium-low temperature setting and that’s what most basic dryers have if I am not mistaken.

Post# 1137281 , Reply# 16   12/25/2021 at 17:37 (824 days old) by drummerboy928 (Illinois)        
Heat Level

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I’m not sure how hot it actually gets, but I can tell you it gets very hot VERY fast. I at one point shoved a whole load of clothes into the dryer and forgot to pull out an article of clothing. I started the dryer, and about 5 seconds (or thereabout) remembered the piece that needed to be pulled out, and when I opened the door was very surprised at just how hot the inside had already gotten in the very brief time it was on.

Post# 1137306 , Reply# 17   12/25/2021 at 20:42 (824 days old) by chetlaham (United States)        
Tech Sheet

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Can a Service tech post the tech sheet? I'd imagine it would be on the Service Matters site. Would tell us about the stat and if the bias heater was hooked up or not.




Post# 1137931 , Reply# 18   12/31/2021 at 01:16 (818 days old) by chaskelljr2 (Washington, D. C.)        
@ Drummerboy928

The dryer in question is a 2005.

The Kenmore Insignia on the left part of the console indicates that.

—Charles—



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