Early Kenmore 60 Series Direct Drive - Cleaning & Testing, Part 2

Originally recorded August 19, 2020.
Part 2/wrapping up of cleaning the 1983 (once again, made in '86) Kenmore 60 series, running a cleaning cycle with hot water and some Lemi-Shine brand washing machine cleaner. So far fortunately, operation is fairly smooth with no real obvious issues to determine, other than what was already mentioned in the videos. That being said, there IS something else I found out after playing with it the next day, which isn't a big deal, but may need to be addressed down the road. I explain it in this video, and you'll have to simply watch it all the way through to find out what it is!
This will conclude cleaning and testing of this machine, next video will be a wash with some towels, and then someday, an epilogue of plans for both the 60 series and 2000 Whirlpool.

[@shaunkanary997]

Putting the cup in there so we could see the agitator go back and forth was really cool. Thanks Lizboz.

[@lizboz]

Thanks, that was totally thought up on the fly, no staging. No problem at all.

[@jaykay18]

Lemi Shine is something I DON'T have! Where did you find it? As for the low speed winding being intermittent. if the machine does absolutely nothing, and indeed you have the lid switch bypassed (just in case they wired it weird), chances are good there's either just a loose connection, or could be bad contacts in the timer. That's unlikely as typically, the low speed winding isn't used as much. That drinking glass trick is interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind! I'm commenting as I watch this. So if you kicked it and it started working on low, I'd reseat the motor connection. Might have corrosion--very easy to check. The cool-hot-cool-hot water temperature was simply due to the long hose. Otherwise, it seems to be running well.

[@lizboz]

Walmart if I remember correctly. Seems to do the trick. I'll look into the low speed issue next year when I do the transmission. Last time I tried it, it seemed to work fine. The glass thing was actually something I thought up on the fly, and just tried it. Sure enough! Yeah that's what I figured.

[@cavariousavery9913]

Oooooo i moght need to find one of those my grandma had a washer like that

[@lizboz]

They're around.

[@cavariousavery9913]

I love the way those types of washers sound when they do the neutral drain...just brings backs memories and the drain cycle also tells you how old it is

[@lizboz]

To quote Sharkie626, "This is the only machine that can make a neutral drain sound exciting."

[@ScantPear]

I have the grey version of the agitator that has the kenmore on the cap

[@lizboz]

Yeah, and every other one ever made...

[@ScantPear]

@@lizboz well not really

[@seana806]

Not sure what can be causing the low speed not to work but more than likely a loose connection somewhere. Does the motor make a sound like it’s struggling to start on the low speed or just doesn’t do anything at all at times? If it’s struggling it could be a sign the motor is on its way out or something. Judging by the looks of the motor on this machine, it looks like a Emerson electric motor and looks a lot like the one on my ‘73 Maytag A606 even though this is a Whirlpool built direct drive washer. Whirlpool probably switched to GE motors and used GE motors all the way till the very end of the direct drive washers in 2011 and most if not all top loading washers used GE motors from the 90’s to 2011 and I believe Speed Queen even uses GE motors in their new TC washers.

[@lizboz]

I think it's a loose connection somewhere by the motor itself. When it didn't want to go on low speed initially, lightly kicking the pump seemed to do the trick and it started working again. No struggling sound that I could discern, in fact it actually sounds pretty healthy running on low, even healthier than my 92 sounds. I have no idea who made the motors for Whirlpool.

[@seana806]

@@lizboz it’s kind of tricky to tell who built the motors in the direct drive washers but it is easy to tell what kind of motors the older Whirlpool and Kenmore belt drive washers from the 1950’s and 1960’s used since Whirlpool used a lot of Emerson electric and Westinghouse motors during that time period and my ‘63 Whirlpool definitely has a Westinghouse motor on it, and for the matching dryer it uses a Emerson electric motor.

[@lizboz]

@@seana806 Could be, I don't know. All I know is they're labeled "FSP" OEM Whirlpool parts, I'll have to look up sometime who the manufacturer is.

[@seana806]

@@lizboz interesting thing is Whirlpool existed long before Whirlpool was Whirlpool but they built appliances specifically for Sears when their name was the 1900 company before they changed their name to Whirlpool in the late 1940’s, and Sears is essentially the one who kickstarted Whirlpool since they had quite a demand for their Kenmore appliances in the 1950’s. Many people seem to credit GE for innovation but honestly Whirlpool was far ahead of everyone else in the 1950’s and 1960’s since they built a ton of appliances for Sears around that time.

[@lizboz]

@@seana806 Yep, I knew they made the old "plunger agitator" washers back in the very early 1900's. Very cool stuff.

[@jeromedavis8575]

Nice wash action! Whats the layyoout of the inner workings of this machine? how big and heavy are the transmissions on these machines?

[@lizboz]

You ask a lot of practically unanswerable questions. I have no real accessible way of knowing the exact dimensions and weight of the trans in these machines, I don't have the kind scale needed for that. You saw the "layout" of everything in the video, assuming you watched the video all the way through.

[@jeromedavis8575]

@@lizboz one day, I'd like to see it in-person.

[@jeromedavis8575]

These washers were revolutionary back when they were introduced. I believe they're the only ones of the time that didn't use belts or pulleys.

[@lizboz]

Maybe, there might have been some unknown foreign companies experimenting with belt-less designs too. I understand there was at one point a patent for a direct drive system made by Easy, but I don't remember when that was. I think it was before Whirlpool had ever even started contemplating their DD design.

[@patcola7335]

@@lizboz Easy had washers as far back as the 1950's with direct drive design. They also had a longer agitation stroke which I wish these Osterizer blenders did. Still great washers nonetheless.

[@lizboz]

​@@patcola7335 OK that's what I figured.

[@jeromedavis8575]

@@lizboz I could tell the transmission was quiet during agitation due to that super heavy gear oil whirlpool used which I've heard was super strong.

[@patcola7335]

This is the agitator they are currently using in the VMW Whirlpool commercial washers but the color is black.

[@lizboz]

VMW = BMW, ha. I've seen those in black as well as other colors like gray, greenish-gray, and albeit rarely, even in gold. They've been using those in many of the lower end machines for years, as well as some of the commercial models. The new ones don't even use a transmission to implement proper agitation.

[@patcola7335]

@@lizboz I think if they can get a motor to do the work of a transmission all the better.

[@jasonjennings8125]

was that Black biting flies I call them little hords Deer flies I think maybe

[@lizboz]

No idea.

[@fatboyyy1036]

If you hate your flies why don’t you try throwing them into the landfill.

[@Thedonsmoney25823]

You should of put affresh in there

[@lizboz]

I saw this on the shelf at Walmart many moons ago, and it was something I wanted to try, so I bought it for a few bucks. Seems to work pretty well for what it's designed for. Actually, what I really need to try is Tide washing machine cleaner, which is in the cards for another day.