Thanx fellas! .

This temporary house has a battered front loading 4 cubic foot Whirlpool duet that works a treat -but- the big grey rubber sleeve between the inner drum and outer housing it looking pretty crispy .

I'm amazed at how well it cleans .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

To all, thank you for sharing the information. The Sears washer and dryer I have are probably 30 years old. As in the life of all things mechanical, it is probably time to begin looking for a newer washer and dryer.

I've been told Maytag builds a good quality machine but I dunno, I'm not an appliance knowledge specialist......

Maytag was sold to Whirlpool in 2006. Everything in their product line today is Whirlpool equipment with a different badge and a higher pricetag. I'd keep the Sears set going until it craters. The direct-drive washers were some of the most reliable ever produced and cheap to repair when they do go wrong. Their dryers haven't changed since the 60s and are dirt-simple.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

Noted, keeping my current Sears washer and dryer goiing means less money out of my pocket today. Since I have dogs a lot of my clothes and blankets end up with a lot of hair, some to the point I have to throw them out.

The big stuff I take to the commercial laundry mat down the street that has brand new extra large Speed Queen washers and dryers. It's not a perfect solution but one that seems to work for me right now....

X2 had a Speed Queen washer and dryer zero problems for fifteen years. Wifey wanted new. Bought a Maytag Centennial W/D around five years ago now. Within two months wash cycle would interrupt itself pump out water and end without ever spinning or rinse cycle. Service guy came out under warranty and said many problems with these units if you are on a well with varying pressure. There is a computer that ends any cycle if it detects filling to fast to to slow.
Long and short of it is, I get another job two or three times per year cleaning screen/filter on water fill line to remove sand/iron. Thanks Maytag.

This is why I hang onto my GE for dear life. It's one of the old ones with the "filter hat" on the agitator. All the dog fur winds up there in a big wad. Throw it out after the wash, and once they've been through the dryer, no dog hair! People are sometimes surprised to find out I have dogs because I never have it on my clothes.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

Thanx for that tip ! .

I have dogs too and the hair can be a real PIA, SWMBO hates any hair on my clothes, technically both dogs are yard dogs but they occasionally sneak inside and snooze in my lap in my recliner/pain chair.....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Not Maytag was just the name by then White Westinghouse product. Rather than buying the Maytag brand to add to their empire as is. They just eliminated competition and closed the plant. Slapping the Maytag label on their own product line.

Perhaps not in America yet. I found real evidence of price fixing the last time I purchased a new dishwasher in Canada. No matter where I looked the pricing was exactly the same to the penny with no negotiation entertained by retailers. When they have sales it is the manufacturer company telling them exactly where to price them. The retailers all have the same sales at the same time. I hope Americans are not hit with this.

Appliance margins are not large. At the retail end. At the same time this is not supposed to exist. We brought a white Westinghouse dishwasher this past spring. Good with the bad. This model washes dishes very well but the stainless steel interior liner is prone to rusting. We have not seen it yet but it is reported by enough owners to be a potential issue.

It runs quietly with more sound insolation than the bottom of their line. The wife is happy with it as well. It had good ratings for actually working well. How long it lasts is any ones guess.

When the need was required to replace it. We found one brand that is really great but expensive as well. I was not familiar with the brand. Although there is little doubt it is by far the best. A retailer is not allowed to sell other brands if they handle this line. Somewhere around 2 1/2 times the cost of an average dishwasher. Retailers of them are are not common in my area.

In general I expect the marketing effort of more and more features to continue. More buttons and functions sell product. Yet when they enter service most women only use one primary function they present in reality.

The age of our twenty three or twenty seven cubic foot freezer is starting to concern me. It has been in daily service with no issues for well over forty years now.

I think I will install a temperature alarm as there is a lot of expensive food in it usually. I have not examined my home owners policy if it would cover a failure.

When the wife wants to defrost it. She lets the bulk of the contents decline. Then transfers the remainder to an even older but smaller Armana freezer that still functions. When needed for this purpose.

The primary freezer unfortunately is a little too large to have on the main floor. The pair occupy little space in reality in the basement. Not too many steps down to reach the upper basement either as the house is a slide split.


I believe it is unreasonable to expect the bulk of todays appliances to last as they once did. Beware of frost free fridges if the defrost timer ever jams active. Of course almost everyone has them. This can push a hydro bill into the stratosphere.

Another thing that I experienced was no parts available on a ten year old appliance a few years back. It was the part most likely to call it a day. The motor in the dishwasher.

Because of the cost of some of the electronic replacement parts. A appliance scrapyard selling parts might do okay if it had enough inventory. People just want defective appliances gone when they replace them. Making inventory costs low. Some are probably worth the effort to repair them. If you have cheap used parts on hand it could be a small business with low to no initial capital requirements.

I only include this because times are hard for some people. You would sell at least a few elements a day for example new and used. Once established.

We sold stove elements years ago. And related items. The inventory was provided on a consignment basis. The jobber stopped in once a month and restocked it. Plus we paid for what was sold.

It generated a good overall return with little to no effort. I priced a typical average surface element the other day in Canada. With tax 46.00 now. They averaged about fourteen to twenty dollars retail each when we sold them.

They generated at least a few hundred dollars profit a week back then. It should be at least double that today. It was not a large segment of our business and they sold themselves basically.

Actually looking back if we had advertised them as well. Instead of just selling them by word of mouth. We might have easily increased sales. It was just a very minor part of our operation though. I had to concentrate on the areas that made payroll etc. Those were busy times.


At my age I have no interest in developing new business for myself. Yet things still occur that I examine. The concept of regions meeting their own needs to provide more economic activity is needed. There are endless things that small operations can do. Small is no longer encouraged today. Corporations want it all but they have made a possible error.

I do not think too many are aware of it. How their excess newer greed provides a potential window for the small guy in certain enterprises. That was shut for years if not recent decades as they assembled their empires. In two potential areas of their interest. That also got my attention as having good possibilities.

The larger corporations have reciently have been buying up all the completion they can in them. When acquired they are not changing the original names of the acquired operations. I think they are beating the monopoly rules in some fashion. Plus deceiving the general public. These almost have to be private corporations. Estimating their profit margins if they were stock based companies at one time. They have brought them all back. Years ago.

I could really use a washing machine with that feature. Would you mind sharing the model number of your GE washing machine so I can begin my search?

I don't think any new top loader washer are worth it these days. If you go top loader, I think you need to find a nice condition used 25-30 year old washer.

If you are looking for a top hat lint filter washer, take a look at a Norge burp-a-lator built in the eighties or early nineties. They are well built and very reliable. My parents had late eighties Montgomery Wards burpalator washer built by Norge. I thought it was the best top loader I've ever ran across.


.

__________________
1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

GE killed off the filtering washers in 1995, mine's from 1984. Sounds like a cement mixer when it runs, but it'll wash the heck out of the clothes. If you want to see what I'm talking about, hit up YouTube for a GE Filter Flo

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

I miss the old days, we’ve been married for 30 yrs and got a Kenmore set when we got married in 1988. Those machines were built like tanks, never had a single issue. I literally only had to change over the power cord from the common neutral/ground to the separate ground style when we moved into a new house in 1995 that had the newly mandated dryer outlet. I know they were all brand-labeled, I think we got Whirlpools.

After 10 yrs, several moves, and 2 babies, which had all taken their toll, it was time for something new. Maytag had just come out with the Neptune which was supposed to be the best thing ever. Well not so much. It was fine the first couple years but it turned into a pile of junk. Latch motor failure which burnt out the main board, scummy seals, bad water solenoid, drive belt jump off the pulley, etc. etc. etc.

Got rid of the Neptunes in 2009 after it failed one too many times and I got sick of fixing them.

Got a pair of Samsung machines and while they haven’t been totally trouble free, the issues have been easy to fix. The machine is much easier to work on than the Neptune. I’ve only had to replace the drain pump (may have been self inflicted, it was right after a beach trip...), and the drum shocks went out about 18 months ago. We still get scum problems in the tub seal and water distributor over the soap box but I just have it on an annual PM rotation to open it up and clean it out.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I'll take them. Old machines actually work.

I'm not worried about water use; here on the east coast we have plenty of water. There's even some lying on the ground right now!

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

You also have delicious blue crabs!!!! YES!!!!

Lots of good food Down East where I grew up, lots of not so nice things too......

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better