1953 Bendix automatic home washer

[keymatic3203]

Great work Ricky

Not the easiest collection. I can see from the photo with the access panel down, it does have a pump, the pump is directly driven off the back of the motor, this runs the whole time, the solinoid then opens the drain valve to empty the drum.

I can see the restoration jobs are lining up, I think you'll be sorting your bendix sooner than I will get to mine.

And great you were able to get the taps to go with it.

All the best

Mathew

 

[ricky5050]

Hi Mathew

Hi i thought it must be gravity drain as the pipe was connected only a few inches off the floor, i assumed the solenoid was only to open and close rather than pump, i know my LT is the same but has a pump that recirculates the whole time until it opens.

 

Richard

 

[ricky5050]

Hi Mathew

Hi i thought it must be gravity drain as the pipe was connected only a few inches off the floor, i assumed the solenoid was only to open and close rather than pump, i know my LT is the same but has a pump that recirculates the whole time until it opens.

 

Richard

 

[lancethecook]

Well done Richard...

I hope you get it up and running, it is certainly a great looking machine.
Glad you saved it.
Look forward to some more photos as work progresses.
Would loved to have seen the rest of the house.
Lance

 

[ricky5050]

hello Lance

thank you i will keep you informed, as well as looking out for a servis super heat i didnt know you wanted one, sorry but i would like to keep mine as it was my first machine!

 

the house was lovely two large downstairs rooms one with a box square window, one with a bay, both with fireplace, small kitchen, pantry and scullery, outside loo etc!

 

garden full of old rose plants and all wood painted a light old green.

 

there were some nice old lamp shades small glass types but i had my eye on some centre lights, ive asked the owner if i can buy them too!

 

Richard

 

[jetcone]

Ricky

Nice find there! Before I turned anything on I would make sure that

the drum and pulley turn by hand,

that the motor and pump and tranny also turn by hand so that nothing is seized before you put power to it.

Then I'd connect a jumper cable from the frame to ground before powering it up. That way if there are any major shorts they go to ground and not you!

And you can do this w/o installing a belt, I would its what I do with my Bendii when the come in.

Once you power it up I'd check the continuity from the cabinet to ground, the motor frame to ground to eliminate all possible shorts if any.

 

If it wasn't abused it should come back to life gracefully. What two nice machines you have there, I am certain you are making me and Mike jealous!!

 

 

 

Then I'd put hot water down into the pump and let it sit before really running it.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Wow, that machine is super cool!
I hope you can restore it and put it in operation real soon.
Is the paint still good or the yellowing become permanent?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations

How do you plan to bolt it down? Do you have a cement floor into which you can drill where you want to install it or will you be mixing up some cement and pouring a pedestal for it?

 

[ricky5050]

Hi thanks

The drum and motor turn fine the drum bearings seem a little louder than they should but there isn't any free play in the drum. The paint is poor and has been daubed in beige gloss paint.
And as for a cement base I'll have to see it may just sit in a safe place for a while. Ideally I'd love a double garage to make a showroom, oh and an old stone cottage with room for a pony. So I just need 3/4 million !!

Till then I better do some tidying and re arranging

Thanks for the interest

Richard

 

[jetcone]

Yes what I want is a large

semi circular glass conservatory out the side of the house, like Mortitia and Gomez had, with glass ceilings and potted plants between matching pairs of washers and dryers. And I could sit there in the sun having morning coffee while the machines run.

 

[thelaundrylab]

Awesome...

Hi Richard, many congrats on finding this machine. We look forward on the updates and the workings on this beauty.

Hass

 

[74simon]

Great find Richard, your luck sure seems to be in at the moment!

 

Was the old girl still plugged into the mains too? 

 At least you know the fill valves don't leak!

 

At the expense of being a bit Heath Robinson, I wonder if you could get away with putting some board across the chassis at the bottom, with some bricks or breeze block type things on top to weigh it down enough - although don't they weigh a ton anyway? I guess if it were run empty but for water there wouldn't be much of an issue with imbalance during spin.

 

Hope she scrubs up nice, she looks a bit like she's overdone the fake tan at the moment! 

 

[abcomatic]

Oh, Richard

"Oh, Richard, I wish you wouldn't bring those home to work on." "What will Mrs.Counselor Neugent think if she sees the lorry drive in with that old thing on the back?" "After all, this is no place for a washer of that caliber; we have Royal Dalton china with hand painted peerywinkles oh them, not a place for some old scrap of a thing!" "
What would my sister Violet say if she knew?" They have a large, luxury house, a sauana, a Mercedes and room for a pony." "Oh, Richard."

I love your new machine, go for it! Happy washing, Gary

 

[ricky5050]

Ha ha

But Hyacynth!!!!

One of my male friends can do the "Richard" in a shrill accent quite well.

It's very funny,

Thanks I'll send as many updates as I can when I can, Simon yes it was plugged in, it seems the owner was a 90 year old lady who must have had the house rewired in the 80s so it had new style plugs , the new owner was keen for me to try it but I thought it wise not to! I don't know how to do any safety electrical testing other than use a rcd plug.

The mains cable has stiffened and I will replace it but the internal cable look ok.

The casing is filthy and painted , everything in the house looked either nicotine or greasy as the machine was hidden in a cupboard it may have been plugged in but not used for years.

It's such a simple machine it makes modern machines look unnecessarily complicated. Although the lack of suspension may be an issue I may have to maybe try it empty only

Richard

 

[74simon]

Hey Richard,

 

I noticed on an earlier thread Mathew (Keymatic3203) mentioned that the internal wiring of the motor is prone to losing its rubber insulation and shorting out, so that's one thing to check for! Although looking at your pictures, I wonder if it was rewired at some point, it looks like PVC insulation to me, and i'm pretty sure that that wasn't commonplace, if found at all, when this machine was built.

 

An RCD will prevent you getting a shock even if the machine isn't properly earthed for whatever reason, but it's a good idea to check all the earthing points on the machine to make sure they're not corroded, tarnished, loose or damaged, and that there's good metal to metal contact. A new mains cable is very wise! Sometimes old appliances can trip an RCD even if they're working properly, but they tend to involve heating elements, not a problem here!

 

What an RCD won't do is trip if a short circuit occurs, but the fuse in the plug should blow instead - as there's no heater, and if the motor wattage isn't specified, I'd try it on a three amp fuse first, as I reckon the maximum wattage should be way less than than 700 Watts. 

 

Have you got a multimeter? Even a cheap £8 jobby can be pretty useful, and I'd be happy to explain how to use one to check earth continuity, faults to earth and the condition of powered bits like motors and elements before the machine is tried out! Or if anyone else wants to know, give me a shout.

 

Mind you, I think the new owners of the house did the scary bit - do you know if they actually put it through a full cycle, water and all? 

 

[74simon]

Just found this video by another collector - although it's an earlier machine, it's spinning without being bolted down, and it seems to be pretty well behaved with a steadying hand - I'd assumed it'd make like that video where some bloke chucks a housebrick into a washer, but I guess the weight of the old girl and the low spin speed makes it rather more stable than that!

 

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[gorenje]

My congratulations Richard and thanks for saving a beauty like this!

WOW! This machine is as old as my mother )) just one month of difference LOL

I hope you will restore it soon.

Ingemar

 

[matchboxpaul]

Congrats!

Hi Richard.

Really pleased that you were able to acquire the machine and that it now has a good home.

As has been said, you have some restoration projects ahead - the 3224, the swanmaid and now the model D Bendix.

Cant pretend to be able to offer any advice - all i can say is keep us all updated with how it goes.

paul

 

[bendixmark]

Jons glass conservatory

Hey Jon when your conservatory like the one Gomez and Morticia Addams had is built you can mark the occasion with a big wash-in party and we shall all dance the mamushka!Anda hey anda hey!

 

[jetcone]

For

Uncle Fester!

EY Carrida!