Thread Number: 8969
Curbside grab
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Post# 167901   11/16/2006 at 16:34 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Found this right down the street from me last Saturday! Was on my way home when I spotted a curbed Kenmo' W/D set waiting for someone to take them. At first I thought they were 90's DD machines (dryer was from the early-90's), but then I saw the center dial on the washer. Nothing too special, really, and I was almost going to leave it there, but then I decided to grab it because there was probably nothing wrong with it.

It's a 1980 Kenmore 80 Series in almond, and was utterly FILTHY when I got it...just look at the "before" picture. Quite possibly the nastiest one I've ever seen. I wish I had taken a picture of the tub ring before I cleaned it; that had about 1" or more of detergent/laundry additive buildup over 26 years...she must have been literally THROWING the detergent towards the tub ring. The mechanism, however, did not appear to be in bad shape, and the belt was good as well.

I plugged it in and it ran just fine (though it does seem to drain a little slow). So, after a good cleaning and lube of the cam bars, it will be fun to play with for a little while until I sell it 'for cheap' in the classified ads.





Post# 167902 , Reply# 1   11/16/2006 at 16:35 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Now for how it looked BEFORE the cleaning and lid alignment...GROSS! I also defeated the lidswitch (of course) and replaced the badly worn snubber pad.

Post# 167904 , Reply# 2   11/16/2006 at 16:38 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Washing...

Post# 167906 , Reply# 3   11/16/2006 at 16:40 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Closeup of the circulator column...aka "clothes mover"

Post# 167907 , Reply# 4   11/16/2006 at 16:41 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Washing Load #2. I also forgot to mention that it's surprisingly quiet as well...

Post# 167912 , Reply# 5   11/16/2006 at 16:54 (6,342 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        
Neat-o!!!

roto204's profile picture
Very nice, Austin!!

My mom's first (that I can remember) Kenmore was like that one, only in white :-). It was a great machine, and held a LOT--and it also lasted a good fifteen years, under the strain of a lot of family laundry and several loads of such size that sanity was questioned.

The only machine I liked better was my grandmother's variant of the same, which had a waterfall lint filter. (We like drama.) :-)

Cool find!!

:-)


Post# 167915 , Reply# 6   11/16/2006 at 16:57 (6,342 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
This was similar or the same as the model I wanted in 81 when we replaced our GE FF. Instead, a BOL Maytag was delivered for the same price...

Post# 167916 , Reply# 7   11/16/2006 at 16:58 (6,342 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        

toggleswitch's profile picture
Good for you, sir!

Free-licious is delicious!


Post# 167927 , Reply# 8   11/16/2006 at 17:49 (6,342 days old) by washertalk ()        
Looks good

but, your before, 'ain't' nothing. I found a white one of those with blue fabric softener and lint over EVERYTHING. The porcelin top and the rest cleaned up nice though. But GROSS!

I like your show room.


Post# 167930 , Reply# 9   11/16/2006 at 18:03 (6,342 days old) by tbolt25 (Kentucky)        
off-balance switch

Does this particular washer you just got have an off-balance switch equipped with a buzzer, and if so, is the switch's trip arm in good shape(plastic or wire trip arm)?

Post# 167939 , Reply# 10   11/16/2006 at 18:30 (6,342 days old) by trainguy (Key West, FL)        
And I Second That!

trainguy's profile picture
Nice find, Austin. And it's free!

Post# 167943 , Reply# 11   11/16/2006 at 18:47 (6,342 days old) by spats ()        

Nice find!

and this is very similar to my parents '81 Kenmore.


Post# 167944 , Reply# 12   11/16/2006 at 18:48 (6,342 days old) by laundryboy (Orlando Florida & Moravia NY. )        
congrats

laundryboy's profile picture
Hey Austin,
Congrats on finding the Kenmore..


Post# 167945 , Reply# 13   11/16/2006 at 18:52 (6,342 days old) by sudsman ()        
Very nice Austin

And the price is right!

Post# 167947 , Reply# 14   11/16/2006 at 18:56 (6,342 days old) by hoover1060 ()        
Very cool!

The black panel Kenmores are very spiffy indeed, Congrats Austin!

Post# 167955 , Reply# 15   11/16/2006 at 19:47 (6,342 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Congratulations Austinj. Those Kenmores I wasn't around much (DAA) so I can't wait to give it a spin.

Those seemed to be very popular models. Too bad it didn't have a FS dispenser.


Post# 167956 , Reply# 16   11/16/2006 at 20:01 (6,342 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)        

pulsator's profile picture
YAY!!! I love these machines, well, I kinda prefer the block lettering machines, but that's just sentimental. I might be able to get one of these machines around Christmas! YAY!!! I just gotta get enough money saved up and the present aspect of it is bein able to drive to Kalamazoo to pick one up! I went to a used appliance store there a couple years ago and they had 10 or 11 of these Kenmore BD washers in GREAT condition, we'll see if any are left!

Post# 167977 , Reply# 17   11/16/2006 at 21:08 (6,342 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)        

mayken4now's profile picture
Austin:

That machine was the one I had in my first apartment out of college. I bought the set at Sears, then decided I did not like them. Was only 21 then! LOL. Then came the Westinghouse machines that I have told you about before.

Very nice catch, wish I had mine back now.


Steve


Post# 168009 , Reply# 18   11/16/2006 at 22:49 (6,342 days old) by scott55405 ()        

Nice machine and nice cleanup! I see she also got a little happy with the Spray n Wash, but not too bad and you can still read what you need to read. Will be fun to play with and will make someone a nice thrifty daily driver after you're done.

This era was always my least favorite of the Kenmores, probably because they ended all their really cool designs in favor of a very utilitarian one, but like a lot of things I looked a with disdain for a certain period of time, I've grown to look back fondly on these once again. Seems like just yesterday they were new in the store, and here they are the newest probably being about 25 years old (I say that because I remember this design was somewhat modified for the final 3 or 4 years of the belt drive machines).


Post# 168011 , Reply# 19   11/16/2006 at 23:04 (6,342 days old) by westytoploader ()        
No off-balance buzzer here

Hi Scott,

I agree, and they could have used a better laminate for the panel. As I was Windexing a tiny bit of the printed graphics accidentally came off, but the black background remained, luckily. The control panel of that old '82 Kenmore, which became the base for the Frankenmore, was even worse, though. Talk about Spray & Wash Syndrome...nearly as bad as the 1-18's old panel, which was the worst one yet.

Even though these could have used a bit of style, the center dial is cool, and at least the graphics were a touch better on the early versions. The ultimate in bland are the 1982-1985 panels, IMHO, with that funky 80's "electronic-like" lettering. I cringe whenever I see the "Utilitarian Lady", what a shame.

Jamie, good luck on your quest. The Crosstimbers Appliances (now gone, sadly) and the A-1 Used Appliance in the Heights had quite a few BD Kenmores for sale in the front, so I don't think you'll have a problem finding one. Crosstimbers had an earlier version of my old '82 that was absolutely MINT. I wish I had known...


Post# 168025 , Reply# 20   11/17/2006 at 00:25 (6,342 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

WOW!! super "catch"These KN BD DAA machines are real workhorses.The swap shops out here are loaded with 'em.I have one that is sort of similar.Its an 80 series with a "ratchet wrench" agitator.I wonder why they would throw them out if they still worked-mystery to me.They cleaned up well.I still keep looking at the curbs out here-check them when I get off work from my mid shift.No neat washers or vacuums.

Post# 168084 , Reply# 21   11/17/2006 at 06:50 (6,341 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

swestoyz's profile picture
What a fun toy to have some fun with before you see it off. Just love those before and after photos - you always feel a sense of acomplishment! You are such a good samaritan.

Ben


Post# 168183 , Reply# 22   11/17/2006 at 12:39 (6,341 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA)        

neptunebob's profile picture
I think people may have thrown BD Kenmores out because they leaked and became very noisy. I know that is what happened with ours, although the Maytag dealer took it I am not sure if he might have resold it. Also, some people may not know of the BD to DD change and think they are buying the same machine. I find that since the BD had a cabinet made of very thick metal, it is much less likely to rust than a DD.

Post# 168225 , Reply# 23   11/17/2006 at 15:05 (6,341 days old) by westytoploader ()        

No machine is ever immune to rust. I see MANY BD Kenmores with rusty bases and cabinets, including this one, and lots of direct-drives with no rust at all. It just depends on where the machine is kept, the climate of the area, and the quality of the paint. The only place where you don't normally see rust is the top panel, but then that can vary as well. Something with a thick porcelain top will certainly fare better than something with only a painted top. One of the reasons we call Westinghouse front-loaders Rustinghouses is because they NEVER used porcelain on them! The top-loaders did on the tops, but it is a very thin coat, which is why many of them (including the one we had) rusted horribly around the bleach dispenser and lid opening.

Post# 168226 , Reply# 24   11/17/2006 at 15:06 (6,341 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        
Block lettering?

roto204's profile picture
Okay, you've got me intrigued. The only lettering I'm familiar with is the rounded-style you see on this one (with the funky italics describing the controls), and then this type of font (below) that came later. Is the block lettering different? What's the version you're talking about look like?



Post# 168228 , Reply# 25   11/17/2006 at 15:13 (6,341 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Hi Nate,

It was the lettering like on this machine...it's more "blocky" compared to the later (horrible) italic version you illustrated. As for the funky cursive/italics showing "Water Level" and "Water Temp", I wasn't referring to those, just the water level, temperature, and cycle settings.


Post# 168230 , Reply# 26   11/17/2006 at 15:22 (6,341 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        
Ah, okay

roto204's profile picture
I think I remember that one now :-)

Post# 168231 , Reply# 27   11/17/2006 at 15:30 (6,341 days old) by westytoploader ()        

My 1981 24", though a VERY fun machine in action, has the "despised" controls with white knobs and lettering which makes for a pretty boring panel...I'll have to post some closeups.

Post# 168268 , Reply# 28   11/17/2006 at 17:50 (6,341 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Wow, what a great find, Austin! Congrats!

Post# 168293 , Reply# 29   11/17/2006 at 20:11 (6,341 days old) by washertalk ()        

The earlier center timer models, similar to the one in the pic. started in roughly 1976 and the lettering style was 70's scrip which was very unigue and impractical for someone to actually write. Makes me think Capt'n and Tennile like. I remember having there album, on vynil of course.

The 82-86 machines had the block-computer LED type lettering. This type lettering was seen everywhere(not just Sears). It helped beckon the computer revolution. It was clean and easy to read. These machines usually had the Kenmore Name on the woodgrain hood on the right side. Whereas with the previous models the name could be found in a variety of places printed on the control panel with the other lettering.

I am torn between which style is most preferred. Don't get me started. I embrace both. :o)

I have seen degradation and peeling of the control panel decals and background paint on ANY branded machine where the owner used alot of hot washes. In those instances it was the area in the center closest to the top where steam could escape from the tub and facilite softening of the paint.



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