A Canadian Beatty Brothers Conventional Slipped Down the Continent: Best Xmas present Ever

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mickeyd

mickeyd

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Sep 23, 2009
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Hamburg NY
On impulse, after a long hiatus, I googled the Buffalo Craigslist in early December, looking for a Christmas present, and I was shocked to see a Canadian Beatty here in North Tonawanda, for sale in a long-closed bodyshop, called "Heads-on Collision" The owner, a genial elderly ethnic gentleman said he had kept it in the shop it for years as an homage to the days when many gas station had wringer washers on site to wash the rags. He bought it from a woman selling her home and furnishings prior entering to a retirement community. He did not know it was from Canada and didn't know its backstory.

What surprised me most was the stainless steel, so different from what we see today; it is mirror-like: if you stick your head in the machine, you can see yourself as if you were in the looking glass, Alice.

The video ended badly, though comically, when the hose falls ruining the whole point of the story, and the wringer jams and becomes flatulent. Not once has either error occurred in three months of use. Only in Hollywood, LOL

Enjoy the movie; it was a rehearsal, pending finishing the chores and organizing the trail, but the waterfall turned out so well, I'm gonna go with this version instead. And I'm old so I don't care.

 
Darren, "WOW" ~ Exactly! Thanks.

Rick, I had no idea about the carousel, and I live here. How cool. "Sparkly!" You've given me an idea for the 4th of July. Sparklers in the looking glass. Kidding. Thank you.

Pix in a little bit.
 
Beaty Brothers..

Hello Mickey, Wow what a find, as you say Christmas come early indeed, love the shiny washtub, where there any other wringer washers that has such a metal finish...

I was panicking thinking that hot water fill hose was gonna sweep everywhere ha ha, The Spiralator looks to be slower stroke but wider sweep and am sure great results. The long rod wash / on / off controls are very practical and the wringer looks ever so powerful,

Really enjoyed the quick flick tour around your laundry spaces as well !!

Cheers, Mike
 
Lovely

…….video and machine. My maternal grandmothers first washing machine was a cream coloured beatty bought in 1938 and lasted for years. It was round like yours and had four legs with castors. I imagine it would have been rather expensive. Its acquisition removed the necessity to send the large items to the steam laundry every week.

Your machine looks to be in good condition which is always an added bonus.

Regards, Walter, Middle England, UK.
 
Hi Mikey!

I thought of you immediately when I found this because you and UK friends have posted many Beaty machines. The Wikipedia article about these Beatty brothers is fascinating: these dudes were Irish Methodists whose farm machinery business morphed into washer production--something about the pumps; and as they expanded they built a factory in England. This pump is spectacular. Even though the video all goes to poop, you can see how fast it drained half the tub in just seconds!

I am so glad you enjoyed the flick and you had a premonition: there WAS water everywhere, only it was the pump hose rather than the supply. How Funny. So fascinated by the Beatty washers you have posted, never thinking one would turn up in the U.S., especially right in my own back yard. Ah, Life's tiny miracles.

Haven't seen a tub like this; will show the SS Speed Queen tub later, shiny but not reflective. Was gobsmacked on seeing this silver mirror; maybe it's tin! We"ll need metallurgist to break it all down. LOL,

Will do another video to show the speedy pump and proper wringing. You really need both hands, ;'D.

So nice to hear from you. I keep the avatar because you're in it, and I can see you anytime I want. Fun to think about what's going to happen first--you coming here, or me going there. Say hello to the mates. Aye!
 
Thanks, Walter!

It was the cream color of the first Beatty I saw in one of your collections that made me think of scones and jam, clotted cream and tea. Loved it. Think it was a square one, all the way to the floor. Cool that you guys grew up with Beatty machines. Check out the Wikipedia article, really interesting history of the brand.
 
For members who love to read; if not, skip right to video ;D

On my way to swim today, my mind was ruminating about this dress-rehearsal video, and I thought of starting with an irreverent "Here we go," which is the infamous quote from "Hannibal" when he pushes "Potsi" out the window. I really like that movie and the Harris novel whence it comes. Gruesome but funny in many places. Tom Harris is an accomplished chef, by the way; hence the dinner parties with accidental cannibalism.

As this fun meditation progressed, guess what song came on classical public radio, "Tubular Bells," from the Exorcist, another gruesome movie and novel. So I thought I would play that unforgettable song during the movie. But, but, but, up until that time I had wanted to play the long version of "Jump" whose overture I totally love. So I did...but the machines drowned it all out.

The drain & pumping start around 2:55 and the water is out by 3:40, with the promised cavitation being less pronounced during this run and this disappointing.

Enjoy the video.

 
Hi Mickey.
I saw a match to your washer at a scrap yard/antique yard sale mess a few years back. Same shiny tub and it worked. I would have bought it but it was missing the one drain plate.
Does your washer say it was made in Fergus,Ontario? That was the big head quarters and manufacturing center for the Beatty Brothers. The town of Fergus is about 35 minutes from my house. Lots of my mom's family worked there. Great Uncle Charlie fell off a ladder in the factory and broke both his knees and legs. After the fall he always walked like a duck.
When you showed the water cascading down the stainless it looks like modern art. Just like a fountain or waterfall.
I have two Spiralators in the basement. The one has the same black agitator and it does run slower than the other wringer with the green plastic agitator.
If you care to send your washer back home just send it in care of me.
Happy washing.

rpms-2020030421071107939_1.jpg
 
Congrats on a great find!

One of my first vintage laundry appliance acquisitions was an rotary iron from Beatty Bros. It was a small table top ironer which proved too small for my needs so sold it on. Buyer was some sort of healthcare facility in Hawaii of all places who were happy to have it.

Like your washer ironer came from "down south" here in USA. Think it was New York or at least Northeast somewhere.

Here is a link to a Canadian museum featuring all sorts of Beatty Bros. appliances.

https://wcma.pastperfectonline.com/archive/F3CB9957-1318-4E2C-90F8-631176984213

Another Canadian museum doing a restoration of older Beatty Bros. washer



Last but not least our own BradRoss and his own Beatty restoration project.

 
Carousel

Mickey, the Herschell carousel museum is still operating.  They also have the Wurlitzer device that made punched rolls for band organs and working organs. 180 Thompson St.  716.693.1885

 

I've been enchanted with carousels since my earliest memory.  Before that the only music I'd "heard" was a scratchy 78 player.  Then came the mighty Wurlitzer 165 at Kennywood in Pittsburgh and my whole world changed.

 

I now know exactly how the 165 works.  But whoa, talk about a restoration project.  Skills in metal, wood, leather.  Then you have to tune the thing!  A restored 165 is worth roughly a quarter million dollars.  If I had that much to spare, that's what I'd do with it.
 
Thanks, All ~ ~I'll be back after biking ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MAIN POINTS: The UK Connection, and the Pump & Agitator

Its's gorgeous here today with full sunshine which we haven't seen in many, many days. After pretty much a non-winter, we got slammed last week with a storm that turned a neighborhood down the road into an igloo. I'll find a stunning pic. A Chicago friend said the story was reported in USA Today.

Here is a link to the long but enlightening article on the Beatty's, with the two most relevant passages about the UK presence and a bit about the pump. I've left out the religious part, but someone should send it to Bill Maher. Here's a teaser sentence--well, two (smile): "They also made informal attempts to enforce prohibition within the community by taking the extreme step of buying up and demolishing taverns and brothels through proxy agents, destroying many historic buildings in the community in the process. Sunday shopping was restricted in order to promote Sabbatarianism, and there were attempts to censor the local library over concerns about "unsavoury" literature."

"By the mid-1920s, the company had begun to expand internationally and operate plants in Britain, elevating it to the status of a Commonwealth manufacturer, rather than simply a Canadian one, and bringing it closer to the level of prestige of large British manufacturing firms. By 1925, it was reportedly the largest producer and exporter of barn and stable equipment in the British Empire,[2] and in 1928, it was selling a range of over 600 different products throughout Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

The company reached its technological peak in 1927, when it pioneered the use of the agitator in the design of washing machines, which spun clothes around a tub in circular fashion, preventing them from getting clumped or tangled.[11] The Beatty electric washing machine was the bridge between two realities for the Beatty company: a rurally-based manufacturer of agricultural equipment which also produced sleek, modern appliances suited to the 20th century domestic household. The electric washing machine's technology was the culmination of years of refinement of water pump and washing machine technology which originated with utilitarian farm machinery, but which now, branded and given an attractive design, could be marketed to ordinary consumers." 1

1 ~ "Beatty Brothers Limited " en.wikipedia.org

Beatty Brothers Limited - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Rich ‘ & j Jon

Bet My spinners, they’re dead “wringers!”

Greg, you get me: it’s all about the magic the washer does to water, and I know you love it too..

Pete, I’ll ride tthe maid of the mist today and see what’s behind Niagara Falls.

mickeyd-2020030611505806641_1.jpg
 

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