Kenmore washer mystery - solved

Re: What is the real purpose of the plastic chamber in the drain line of my m/n711.4803g Kenmore washer?

lp1331 responded that it's a lint filter. Today I found the manual with parts list and exploded views. Mystery part is

360367 "Filter, assembly". Right on, lp1331! Thanks.

Said filter NEVER plugged up during 35+ years of service. Now it starts plugging after 2-3 loads. Maybe the chamber surfaces have gotten roughened up or calcium deposits from long use. Or maybe I'm shedding more these days!

I'm just going to replace the filter with a piece of plastic tubing. Retaining lint in the chamber and then flushing it out later seems kinda silly.

Oh, by the way, it's Tawny Gold rather than Harvest Gold. My bad.

Reply to
Bryce
Loading thread data ...

On Tue 16 Feb 2010 12:16:17p, Bryce told us...

Glad it's solved. "Tawny Gold" sounds like a stripper. :-)

Reply to
Wayne Boatwright

The lint will look better on your clothes anyway.

Reply to
Bob F

I wonder if you changed detergents or the formula for your favorite detergent changed into something that would cause the filter to clog?

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

I can't imagine any washer clogging with lint every 2-3 loads. Any chance there is something, like a button that partially obstructs the mechanism and/or moves around?

Reply to
norminn

Same brand. My mass spectrometer is out for repair, so I dunno if those rascals changed recipe. Probably added melamine, cadmium, lead, etc. These are all clog-worthy.

I just got through dragging washer away from the wall and removing the filter. It's crudded up for the last time. Tomorrow I'll get some tubing at HD to bypass the filter. From now on, lint will hopefully just get flushed through.

Kenmore made another model similar to mine, but with a "suds saver" that stores soapy water in laundry tub and sucks it back for re-use in the next load. Same filter, different hose arrangement. Without suds-saver (my washer), water always flows in same direction through the filter. Filter doesn't seem necessary and certainly is a pain right now.

The suds saver seems kinda grim. Who'd want to wash clothes in gray water? Is this why appliance repairmen wear gray uniforms?

Next month brings an appliance rebate program from Congress. Time to bid adios to Tawny Gold and prepare myself for microprocessor error messages. I'll miss the old gal.

Reply to
Bryce

The filter thingy is clear plastic. No place to hide any gremlins in there. It's definitely a lint accumulation in the filter that causes the flow restriction and it takes very little to jam the filter's inner chamber in the "up" position that really throttles flow. I'd vote for surface roughness in the filter or some evil change in the soap.

Reply to
Bryce

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.