1953 Maytag 101P AMP!!

[Designgeek]

Very interesting mechanism!

A word of caution about those mercury switches. Check them to be sure all the mercury is in the glass bulb and it doesn't have any cracks or breakage. If you have a broken mercury switch, you have a more-or-less invisible toxic hazard to clean up and that should be done a) in a well-ventilated area, b) with appropriate safety gloves, goggles, and probably a respirator of some kind (not just a dust mask). And then c) the machine should be put through a couple of washes with no load but with sufficient detergent to whip up some suds, to be sure.

One could always bypass the mercury switches as per Swestoyz (and/or bypass all the wiring into the lid: shock hazard?) and then remove those components entirely and put them in an airtight display case.

Either way, you've got an interesting project there and it's going to turn out great.

 

[gmpayne]

Nice machine Austin. I love my 55 Maytag AMP realy cleans well.

 

[spinout]

I think the Mercury hazard (from the mercury switches) may have been overstated.

Mercury is a metal in its liquid form at room temperature and can be poisonous if you ingest it or inhale it in its vapor form--but that's not likely since it boils at about 365 deg. F, so first you would have to heat it. It will not harm you to handle it; but that is not recommended; still, you're not going to die or grow three heads, etc. (lol). Because it is very heavy it will sink in water and most other substances. It is not soluble in water and soap has no effect on it.

The main environmental concerns are groundwater contamination and ingestion by marine life, which is why the EPA doesn't want it in landfills, etc. Unless you are using it to smelt gold, make glass or some other industrial process, it's not likely that you're going to come into contact with it's vapors.

The bottom line: Be aware of its toxicity and pay attention to what you are doing, otherwise use ordinary precaution and will be fine. Any Mercury that has leaked will have sunk to the bottom and likely been thrown out and/or pumped out with the wash water.

 

[veg-o-matic]

It's not the mercury that'll kill you; it's cooking with gas.

veg

 

[westytoploader]

Now stop that paranoid nonsense! The mercury in the switches is SEALED and unless I purposely smash the mercury bulb with a hammer, there is NO possible way it would leak out. Maytag AMP's and quite a few Whirlpool/Kenmore machines used mercury switches without fail...

 

[jeb]

Do you remember?

There was a T.V. show called The Real McCoys(?) In one episode all the housewife's in the area went together to buy an automatic washer, I think this was the model ! It was kept in the McCoy kitchen and wheeled up to the sink. I think the story was Mrs. McCoy spent so much time and money entertaining the others when they were doing thier wash she could not get her work done so she went back to the wringer washer.

 

[sudsmaster]

I remember the "Real McCoy's" from when I was a youngster. I remember my mom loved that show. It also featured some classic actors, including "Gramps".

But I was too young to remember any of the plots - other than that most of the action seemed to take place in the ktichen.

That's a show that needs to come out on DVD.

Currently I'm enjoying a DVD six pack of all of the "Thin Man" movies. So far I'm though "After the Thin Man". Nice shots of San Francisco, and classic Packards, and the ice boxes keep on getting more elaborate, but so far no shots of washers. Somehow I think a Bendix would fit in quite nicely into one of those sets.

 

[lesto]

I'm screening "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane" for a Bette Davis project at TCM and I noticed she has an early AMP in her kitchen.

 

[brettsomers]

any updates on the AMP?