Whirlpool DirectDrives with plastic inner baskets/drums???

I’m not sure now whether a post about a DD washer goes here or in Imperial, given that they spanned from 1986 to 2011, but I need help identifying a set of machines. A while back, a TikTok scrolled by my feeds of this girl loading her washer with an obscene amount of fragrance free Tide Pods and about a gallon of scent beads, all for a half load of clothes (I know, it’s infuriating what my fellow Millennial and zoomer age group thinks of how laundry is to be done, but that’s for another rant). Anyway, the machine she was using was very obviously an Estate branded Whirlpool DirectDrive, which I’ve seen ten million times in apartments and builder grade homes and of course saturating Craigslist listings, but this machine had a very big difference; it had what I can only be sure was a plastic inner tub. Especially given the flat pin hole drilled holes, it was almost jarring to see paired with a DD tub ring and basic dual action agitator.

Then today, I open a notification from my OfferUp app and there in the first line is also an Estate machine, with what looks like the exact same plastic tub.

So, can anyone identify model numbers for the DD platform that actually used plastic wash baskets as opposed to the omnipresent porcelain coated variety? Or can give any history on how brief these must have been in the market? Because to me it seemed WP was always vehemently opposed to leaving behind their white porcelain baskets, and the black/grey speckled version was always reserved for the base model trims. Plastic tubs seemed to be more the Maytag Atlantis or WCI Frigidaire with the Franklin transmission vibe for that timeframe.

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size


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Post# 1160408 9/25/2022 at 20:28 (576 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)
Checkrate/Likes 1 I’m not sure now whether a post about a DD washer goes here or in Imperial, given that they spanned from 1986 to 2011, but I need help identifying a set of machines. A while back, a TikTok scrolled by my feeds of this girl loading her washer with an obscene amount of fragrance free Tide Pods and about a gallon of scent beads, all for a half load of clothes (I know, it’s infuriating what my fellow Millennial and zoomer age group thinks of how laundry is to be done, but that’s for another rant). Anyway, the machine she was using was very obviously an Estate branded Whirlpool DirectDrive, which I’ve seen ten million times in apartments and builder grade homes and of course saturating Craigslist listings, but this machine had a very big difference; it had what I can only be sure was a plastic inner tub. Especially given the flat pin hole drilled holes, it was almost jarring to see paired with a DD tub ring and basic dual action agitator. Then today, I open a notification from my OfferUp app and there in the first line is also an Estate machine, with what looks like the exact same plastic tub. So, can anyone identify model numbers for the DD platform that actually used plastic wash baskets as opposed to the omnipresent porcelain coated variety? Or can give any history on how brief these must have been in the market? Because to me it seemed WP was always vehemently opposed to leaving behind their white porcelain baskets, and the black/grey speckled version was always reserved for the base model trims. Plastic tubs seemed to be more the Maytag Atlantis or WCI Frigidaire with the Franklin transmission vibe for that timeframe. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size This post was last edited 09/25/2022 at 21:54

Post# 1160410 , Reply# 1 9/25/2022 at 20:57 (576 days old) by coldspot66 (Plymouth, Mass)
Checkrate/Likes 1 There were some Estate and Magic Chef branded washers that had a white plastic tub. Have seen a few....don't think they were produced for long. May have happened after Whirlpool bought Maytag, which owned the Magic Chef brand.

Post# 1160414 , Reply# 2 9/25/2022 at 21:49 (576 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)
Checkrate/Likes 4 Just to say ... for technical clarity, the inner perforated container that holds the clothes should be called the basket or spin basket. The outer container that holds the water (and into which the basket sits) is the tub. The thread topic threw me askew (until I read the post) that anyone would be surprised to find a direct-drive with a plastic tub (which they're all and have always been). :-)

Post# 1160417 , Reply# 3 9/25/2022 at 21:58 (576 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)
Checkrate/Likes Fair point DADoES lol, I’ve found myself using basket, drum, tub, all interchangeably over the years, and with typing out a post quickly from my phone I didn’t think about how that might get confused.

Post# 1160420 , Reply# 4 9/25/2022 at 22:17 (576 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)
Checkrate/Likes Various manufacturers have used plastic wash baskets over the years since at least the 80s. When GE re-did their TL models around 1995 they had them. Frigidaire has/had them too. I think the only reason we see some machines with porcelain or in stainless steel is to make the machine LOOK stereotypically durable. In other words, some people think that something metal is better with no qualifiers. When the manufacturers use the metal tubs they are most likely just trying to appeal to a certain segment. Clearly plastic wash baskets work fine. It's just like with automobile design. In the late 80s into the early 90s manufacturers were pushing to eliminate as much metal trim, grills, bumpers ....whatever as possible. This 1992 Taurus looks to be all fibreglass, plastic, rubber and glass with only a quick show of metal on the antennae. And it's easier to maintain, make, and it's lighter weight which is better for fuel economy. But some buyers had these superficial ideas that metal, or at least the illusion of metal was a requirement and some how stronger, not that previous models didn't have a metal frame or parts. So a few years later CHROME Plated PLASTIC grills, hub caps, bumper strips, and a few other accents returned. When manufacturing en masse it's all about giving the current buying public what they feel comfortable with regardless of how silly it may be in just a short matter of time passing. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size This post was last edited 09/25/2022 at 22:45

Post# 1160421 , Reply# 5 9/25/2022 at 22:24 (576 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 3 *Whirlpool direct drive washer’s with plastic inner wash bask* I’m not really sure why whirlpool did this, believe it or not some low end washer purchasers actually preferred the plastic basket, it does allow you to soak things in bleach I guess without rust. Whirlpool porcelain on steel washer baskets actually cost a good bit less to build and are far more recyclable when the machine reaches the end of its lifespan. For the record whirlpool built direct drive washers in Clyde Ohio from 1981 through 2017. They continue to this day to use either stainless steel or porcelain on steel wash baskets in top loading washers. John L

Post# 1160431 , Reply# 6 9/26/2022 at 06:41 (576 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes Look at thread 88227.

Post# 1160435 , Reply# 7 9/26/2022 at 09:40 (576 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)
Checkrate/Likes Deluxe Thread 88227

Post# 1160438 , Reply# 8 9/26/2022 at 10:40 (576 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)
Checkrate/Likes THANK YOU. I searched the Deluxe and Imperial threads with every key word I could think of but couldn’t find a thing. There are several threads I wish I could find again here that I know are not old enough to have fallen off, but no matter what I search I can’t seem to bring up. One example is a thread in which someone had scanned in pages from one of the first brochures for the Whirlpool filter dishwashers (GlobalWash) around 2010-2011. @combo52 - 1981 sounds much better. Is ‘86 the year they fully discontinued the belt-drive designs and perhaps that’s what I was thinking instead?

Post# 1160447 , Reply# 9 9/26/2022 at 15:10 (576 days old) by chetlaham (United States)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Thanks coming from me as well! Thats just messed up! Plastic wash baskets do not belong in washers. The honey comb re-reinforcements accumulate sludge, crude and sediments causing fowl odors. Sometimes the sludge breaks off leaving random gunk on the clothes. I know because I had a post filter flo GE, and saw many in the complex scrap heap, the inner tubs were horrific. Warm or hot wash water, plenty of good detergent, metal inner and outer tub, an air gap + spin drain is the key to a clean washer IMO.

Post# 1160500 , Reply# 10 9/27/2022 at 08:57 (575 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA)
Checkrate/Likes *whirlpool dd with plastic tub* I have never seen a whirlpool direct drive washer with a plastic inner tub.