69' GE Filter Flo pics, videos, and updates

[jons1077]

Hey folks! Finally made it to Portland to get the GE set I bought a couple of weeks ago. Once again it was Pdub to the rescue because the trip down to the basement was KILLER!!! We made up for that by firing the washer and dryer up for the first time since getting them. Much to our surprise, they both worked rather well. I'm attaching some pictures and videos for your pleasure.

 

[jons1077]

Gotta love the...

LIGHTED PANELS!!!

 

[funguy10]

Where are the videos?

 

[jons1077]

and a little surprise

Had to break it in with a nice hot wash with a big cleansing sudscake!

 

[appnut]

Jon, I noticed on the video it was gentle agitation selected.

 

[jons1077]

Here are the videos!

Sorry the lighting is so poor in the basement. The machine will need some cleaning, etc. but not a bad start!

This is a little slow agitation for starters.

 

[jons1077]

A little faster...

This is with the water level on high and fast agitation. I love how high the water levels are on these older GE's.

 

[jons1077]

First spin

So sorry for the HUGE sudscake! I learned one big difference between the Westinghouse TL and this GE. The Westy doesn't ever have a sudscake like this. Must be those wide fins right? This was not a problem though. The pump on this machine is very powerful and there was no sudslock to worry about.

 

[jons1077]

Rinse

I set the water level to "low" and kept the fast agitation. Considering the sudscake it just threw, the water wasn't too bad. Notice how dirty the water was when agitation started!!! YUK!

 

[jons1077]

Final Spin

I can't really describe in words both how solid this machine is and how quiet it is. It would definetly rival the Lady Kenmore in the low noise level. That is NOT a trait I would normally associate with a GE filter flo. This machine sounded really good.

 

[appnut]

Jon, it's the agitation as well as the filter stream that gets the suds up. GEs actually suds pretty easily.

 

[jons1077]

updates...

This machine, although running pretty well, will need some major restoration I feel. I'm not sure if it has had transmission work or not, but there is no "medium" agitation happening. There is also a lot of movement with the agitator post up and down. I believe drive post is pretty corroded and will need to be replaced. Hopefully the original 3-speed transmission is still in place so that it can be rebuilt.

I also noticed that the air gap for the fill flume is leaking a little, but that shouldn't be too hard to seal. The original timer is functioning perfectly as well as the water level switch, etc. The outer tub, both inside and out, looks really clean and rust-free. No leaks otherwise so that was good news. I think after some TLC this will be a really awesome machine! Thanks for looking guys!

Jon

 

[gadgetgary]

Thanks for posting the videos

Had many of those FF washers.

Wish I had kept just one.

 

[appnut]

Jon, I hope for your sake the original tranny is there, but I have a sneaky suspicion it may not be.

 

[gansky1]

Great videos, Jon! There is just nothing like a GE FilterFlo to chase the wash-day blues away.

I'm sure you'll have it spiffed up and purring along in no time. I think the three speeds were attained with just the clutch and motor(maybe just the clutch was three speeds?) and the transmission was the same as all GE's.

 

[jons1077]

well,

2-speed or 3-speed, it's still a cool machine! I think I'll be able to find the parts eventually. Who knows, it might all be there and just need to be rebuilt. I'll learn.

 

[gansky1]

Cool machine is right! I love these lighted, grand-panel GE's.

What does the machine do when you set it to medium agitation? Are there any sounds or just continues on at slow speed?

 

[swestoyz]

Hey Jon -

Great videos there! I love the V-16 on the panel - when lit up, very cool looking. I know my 3 speed clutch is very noisy and I plan to replace it with a 2 speed clutch soon, so I'll post pictures of the progress when I tackle the job.

Ben

 

[jons1077]

gansky

Medium just functions on the slow speed. Either the clutch had been replaced, not shifting, or something else. Hopefully I'll find another good doner machine or something like that for parts. I think it definetly needs a new transmission.

 

[jons1077]

swestoys

if you ever do away with your old 3-speed clutch, I'd love to get that from you. I'm hoping I can rebuild one because I'd love to have that medium speed. It does seem like this machine is quieter than my grandmothers was. I remember hers having a bit more "grind" to it so maybe that's a trait of those 3-speed machines?

 

[nasadowsk]

Ya know, that 'slow' looks a LOT faster than my parent's machine ever was. Until the clutch hung up on it, and it wouldn't do low.

Ok, let's see some mechanism shots - I'm curious as to how GE does slow on these machines - if it's a 3 speed clutch or a two speed and two speed motor....

And if that's a 3 speed clutch, we gotta see some dissasembled pics

 

[70series]

That slow speed looks pretty aggressive. How many OPMs a minute is that?

The videos were great. Thank you for sharing them with us. I haven't seen a Filter Flo in action in 15 years.

Have a good one,
James

 

[jons1077]

Now that I'm thinking about it...

I have a hard time remembering what speed was what. I was kind of thinking the machine was agitating a bit faster than "slow" but it has been so long since I've seen one. I bet you that was medium. I noticed also that this machine started directly on "normal" agitation instead of starting on "gentle" and shifting up once the tub stopped indexing. I bet the clutch is not shifting to "slow" for some reason. That could be good news since that may be fixable and I would be able to have all 3 speeds.

Nasadowsk,

I wish I would have thought to take some pics inside. It was a rather hectic day. I did take the back panel off and opened up the lid. Inside the cabinet was remarkably clean other than cobwebs and dead bugs. I don't believe either machine was ever serviced. Everything looked original. What I can tell you is that it's a 1-speed motor and directly attached to the motor are the pump and the 3-speed clutch. (That way, at any speed, the filter-flo is recirculating the same.) The belt is attached to the clutch and across to the transmission. So that must mean that all of the washers had the same transmission. THANK GOODNESS! This one may need one.

Hope you guys find this information interesting.

 

[pdub]

Jon-

It was a fun experience helping you and Tony get the machines down into your basement. I was as happy as you to see both machines fire up and run without major problems without really knowing their condition or how long they had sat prior to their sale.

I look forward to more in the future. It is a pleasure to know you guys.

Patrick

 

[jons1077]

Patrick

It was fun to see it wasn't it? I'm glad you had a good time and we sure did too. It'll be fun living there full-time and having you come over on a Saturday with your loads of clothes. You'll enjoy washing in a Westinghouse TL and a classic Filter-Flo! I told you you'd like that GE didn't I? hehe

Jon

 

[pdub]

Jon-

Now you've got me wanting a Filter-Flo. Look what you've done!

Patrick

 

[funguy10]

Wow. The machine operates a lot like Hoover3060's vintage 1975 Hotpoint Top Loader. If he were still with us he would say the same thing. Unfortunatly, all we have to remember him by is his completely blank profile page.

 

[jons1077]

Patrick

You should get one one to put in your laundry room and use. Think of how much dog hair you'd be filtering out of your clothes! Not to mention all of those cool sounds you'd hear in your house while it's washing... Definetly my favorite machines!

 

[funguy10]

If you want a washing machine that makes cool sounds you should hear our Kenmore Elite Oasis.

 

[vintagesearch]

omg finally i see a video that really takes me back thanks for uploading enjoy!