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Thread Number: 97895
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
1974 Lady Kenmore Selective Dialing |
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Post# 1228488 4/11/2025 at 06:00 by Chetlaham  (United States) |
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 I'm a bit confused how this washer works so bare with me. Does anyone know the wash/rinse temps and motor speed combinations for each cycle on the selective push cards? What does the custom care cycle do/offer/modify? Why are Pre-Soak, Pre-wash, and Second Rinse labelled on the timer decal but not the other cycles? Does the timer automatically advance to the correct cycle position based on the push cards? Or is there a user prompt?
Does anyone have an excerpt from the owners/service/advertising litterateur?
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Post# 1228489 , Reply# 1 4/11/2025 at 06:31 by Marky_Mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Madrid) |
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 His Chet. Todd was kind enough to give me this exact 2-speed 1974 LK washer.
The Custom Care button reduces agitation speed from normal to gentle but leaves spin speed unaltered.
When you turn the timer knob (when in the off position, i.e. pulled out) it will stop at the cycle that corresponds to the selection you've made on the piano keys. If no piano keys are selected (which can be achieved by pressing selective dialling cancel) the timer will not stop anywhere and you can just keep turning it round and round.
If the timer is in the on position (pushed in) then you can turn the timer round and it will not stop anywhere. So if you want a shorter wash, you can make your selection on the keys, then turn the dial and it will stop at the appropriate cycle, then push in the timer to start the washer and then turn the timer a few clicks further to shorten the wash. The detergent dispenser runs for the first 4 minutes, so if you skip past that for a short wash, the detergent dispenser won't operate.
I don't know why pre-soak, pre-wash and second rinse are labelled, but perhaps they just wanted to make it clear for the user to see what stage the timer/cycle was up to, just as rinse and spin and wash time being labelled. Maybe they didn't label the other cycle names because the idea what that you would turn the timer and it would then stop at the cycle you'd chosen on the piano keys, therefore negating the need to label the cycles around the timer itself.
If you don't select a piano key, I think it defaults to hot wash on the normal cycle.
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Post# 1228491 , Reply# 2 4/11/2025 at 06:58 by Chetlaham (United States) |
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Awesome! Thank You! Thats so cool. If this site had Gold or coins I would have given your post some.
I'm surprised delicate and knits and warm/cold. I normally find them cold/cold on newer machines.
Last Question- how does sani rinse work? I know it involves bleach to sanitize fabrics, but where and what dispenser would it go into?
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Post# 1228492 , Reply# 3 4/11/2025 at 07:34 by Marky_Mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Madrid) |
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Thank you, Chet! The prewash/sani rinse does a warm prewash for 4 minutes, drains and spins, then proceeds into the normal cycle. I'm not sure why they also added the name "sani rinse" to this prewash button but I seem to remember something about it being used to clean out the machine after washing laundry that was contaminated with nasty stuff. Not sure really. You would have to add your chemicals directly into the basket, as no dispensers are flushed during the prewash.
I made a video of mine:
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Post# 1228494 , Reply# 4 4/11/2025 at 07:52 by Chetlaham (United States) |
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Post# 1228495 , Reply# 5 4/11/2025 at 08:03 by Marky_Mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Madrid) |
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Post# 1228496 , Reply# 6 4/11/2025 at 08:15 by Chetlaham (United States) |
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| Post# 1228497 , Reply# 7 4/11/2025 at 08:33 by kd12 (Arkansas) | ||
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Interesting that it calls for hot or warm wash for cottons, and nowadays cottons all seem to be cold-wash only. | ||
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Post# 1228500 , Reply# 8 4/11/2025 at 09:11 by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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 This machine is long before the push to cold-everything. The timer mechanically has a rotating "program" plate with holes that correspond to the starting positions of the various selections. An array of pins are linked to the selection buttons. The pin for the selection presses against the plate when the timer is pulled out. Turn the timer, the pin drops into the hole for the selected button which locks the timer from turning further. Pushing the timer in releases the pin from the hole so the timer can advance through the cycle. Selective Dialing/Cancel releases all the cycle buttons so the timer (when pulled out) can be rotated freely to any position. This is a two-speed model. I believe Custom Care forced Ex-Low agitation on earlier three-speed models. | ||
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Post# 1228501 , Reply# 9 4/11/2025 at 09:13 by appnut (TX) |
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nowadays cottons all seem to be cold-wash only.
Only because fabric producers are scared of legal lawsuits due to "damage" to fabrics washed in hot or warm. People have been brainwashed for decades and don't know how to properly do laundry. Brainwashed to wash everything in cold. AT worst I use cool wash temp. But I won't select cold. And I've nevre selected cold or cool for any load. My warm is 90F and I consider that a joke at times. My hot regulated to 112F. Another joke. I'm glad I've figured out how to get hot water temps of anywhere between 120F & 140F (if not hotter) on my LG front load. It's almost like I have a European front loader in my laundry room. I'm in control. Not the government.
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Post# 1228541 , Reply# 10 4/11/2025 at 17:43 by Chetlaham (United States) |
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Bob, not saying you're wrong. But I missed the whole debacle of fabric producers, damage and lawsuits. I was always under the assumption it was because of energy savings.
I wish washers today had a cycle or naming convention like this:
White Cotton = hot/warm
Colored Cottons = warm/warm
Perm Whites = hot / cold
Perm Colors = warm / cold
Gentle = cold/cold
Wovens = cold / warm
Or another alternative I like to imagine:
Heavy Duty = hot / warm
Normal = warm / warm
Sheets = hot / cold
Casuals = warm / cold
Delicates = cold / cold
Knits = cold / warm | ||
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Post# 1228640 , Reply# 11 4/12/2025 at 19:43 by washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai’i) |
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Post# 1228671 , Reply# 12 4/13/2025 at 03:26 by Marky_Mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Madrid) |
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