A problem with the Phiclo, and I'm baffled.

[joelippard]

I'm having trouble out of the Philco not wanting to cut the water off and begin agitation. I've taken the top apart and here is what I've done to no avail.

Cut off the end of the tubing the leads from the outer tub and re-attached it to the pressure switch it seemed like it could be a little tighter -- no result.

Attach a different piece of tubing and blow manually into the pressure switch. It clicks on and off, with the washer filling and me blowing into the pressure switch via the auxillary tubing the washer stops filling and begins to agitate.

At this point one would think that obviously it has to be the tubing.

Well, I remove the top of the washer, removing the tubing from the flow switch, and traced it back to where it goes into the side of the outer tub. Removed the clamp and pulled the tubing and it's attachment elbow off the nipple on the outer tub. Took the assembly and washed it out with hot water, blew thru it. I thought surely that the tube must be stopped up with lint or something, or that the nipple on the outer tub was. Stuck my finger in the nipple and touched the inner tub, no blockages, no blockages in the tubing. Re-attached all the tubing, top, etc and make sure everything is tight. No result.

I'm baffled. Ideas anyone?

 

[christfr]

well with my machines that are set up that way when i blow-- the pressure from me is stronger than the water in the tub so maybe is there a way to adj the pressure valve or maybe try a diff valve i bet its the valve itself

 

[Unimatic1140]

The problem is with the pressure switch Joe, you need to adjust the adjusting nut so it clicks into agitation sooner. I've pointed to the adjustment nut with a green line...

 

[joelippard]

Thanks Robert,

I'll give it another try tomorrow. By the way, the Philco Filter safely arrived today, YAY!!

 

[joelippard]

Tried adjusting that nut today at lunchtime, I adjusted it to the tightest position, then back to the top, where there is the least tension on the valve. It still doesn't work. There must be something up with the tubing. As soon as I get home from the office that tubing is coming out for an inspection again.

 

[fltcoils]

Is there a leak in the diaphragm?

Blowing in the tub you can compensate for that, a rotten diaphragm can leak but when hooked up to the tub will not hold pressure.

 

[joelippard]

Is there a leak in the diaphragm?

I don't think so. To verify that, I blew into it thru the auxillary tube I attached and held pressure to listen for a leak. I didn't hear anything. This is really frustrating

 

[joelippard]

Well,

I took it apart again this evening. I checked the tubing again, held it on one end and blew thru the other to test pressure. No hissing or fizzing sound to indicate a leak in the tubing. Poured water in the tub until it ran out of the nipple on the outer tub to rule out a clog, it helped nothing. Blew on the pressure switch using the spare tubing, it clicks like it should to make contact, I can fill the diaphram with air until I can't push anymore and still can't hear hissing or fizzing. I've adjusted the screw on top of the pressure switch in every way, with no result.

This has got the better of me, what should I do? I am going to assume now that the pressure switch is faulty. Can it be fixed? How can I find another one? I saw something on the bottom of it with the Robertshaw name.

I have this fine, rare Philco, and all I can do is look at it!

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Joe -

That pressure switch looks like a run of the mill switch that one might see in any Kenmore. Perhaps you can try swapping a few parts on it and adjust the hybrid to fit? The switch may work with the pressure you can blow into it, but the water presure in the basket isn't enough to duplicate the situation.

Gordon

 

[joelippard]

The Switch

is a Robertshaw Fulton, 20 amps 115-230 vac, 1/3hp 115-230 vac, model 280-9577-01, has april '60 stamped on it.

I don't have any spare switches, possibly I could take it off and take it up to Grainger

 

[Unimatic1140]

Joe can you take a picture of where the tubing connects to the outer tub? It might be a very tight pressure switch or the pressure is leaking out somewhere, maybe in the connection to the outer tub?

 

[fltcoils]

Joe, I'm sure you know this...

-------------
Connect tubing to switch
Blow up a balloon.
Push tubing into balloon. Hold tight to seal
Observe balloon for deflation, leaking diaphragm.

I had to replace a 22 yr old cruise control servo because the diaphragm leaked at the center joint with the shaft. No fixing it...sadly. Happily there where 3 in the country and I got 1 of them.

The pressure pushes up the diaphragm.
27.7 inches of water column => 1 psi.
So given you have a 3" diaphragm.
you get
ht"......psi.....Lbs Force
5......0.18.....1.3
10.....0.36.....2.6
15.....0.54.....3.8
20.....0.72.....5.1
25.....0.90.....6.4
30.....1.08.....7.7

The spring pushes down with an equal force to balance or "hold" it from tripping.
When the psi gets high enough it overcomes the spring force and then trips up.

You adjust the spring so it's installed length is longer to allow tripping with less psi. That might involve the water height adjuster cam, or the spring retainer screw/nut, or the mechanics of the stuf there.

My maytag A606 had trouble like this, it just needed lube on the pushbutton mechanism lever claptrap. The level that sets the spring height was stuck at the very low squeeze on spring position that occurs as you push the push button in, before the button seats "out" to it's final setting.

just my 2 cents.

 

[joelippard]

Robert,

Here is the picture of where it connects to the outer tub. I have the clamp as tight as I can get it.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Kinda blurry but as long as that connection is solid its probably not leaking. You might try replacing the tubing first and if that doesn't work than replace the pressure switch. Since these pressure switches are adjustable you could use anyone from most toploaders to experiment with. Most likely the rubber in the pressure switch has hardened slighly and more pressure is needed to set it off.

 

[joelippard]

Is there any way to lubricate the internals of the pressure switch? I thought about spraying a lubricant into it but didn't want to make a worse mess.

 

[Unimatic1140]

I never tried that

The pressure switch is kinda important. If you do that and it works, it might just be a temporary fix. To be honest I would then never leave that machine alone at anytime when its running as it could easily flood.

 

[estatesale_gary]

I'll be back in a minute....

...what's the worst thing that could happen?

 

[joelippard]

Latest news

Put some Tri-Flo in the switch and let it set a while. It still didn't help. It's time to start replacing parts and quit fooling around. I want this machine to work properly, and safely and I'll settle for no less. So, tomorrow I'll start with the least expensive part, the tubing. I'll be taking it over to ACE Harware and purchase what I need to re-create the large and small portions of the tube. Hopefully that will work.

 

[fltcoils]

If you use clear vinyl tubing, you can capture a slug of water in the bottom of a droop loop, then when you blow, you can see the slug move and/or bubbles form thru the slug if the diaphragm is leaking.

 

[joelippard]

Small progress.

Went out this morning and bought the necessary tubing and re-created the hose from the outer tub to the pressure switch. Put it all together and it worked, at least in part. With the switch set to small fill, the tub fills to slightly over half and then agitation begins. I tried once again to adjust the screw on the pressure switch. I have left it in the position where it places the least tension. I ran by this local appliance parts dealer to see by chance if they had something "universal" that would work. He asked me what it came off of and when I told him I was surprised that he didn't laugh me out of the store, in fact he treated me respectfully and said, "they don't build them like that anymore, but we don't have a thing here like that, we have something that might work, but there are no returns" He blew into the switch to check it and said "well it seems to work fine, but it feels a little tight" I suspect all the years this machine has set caused the internal rubber to harden up, but not crack.

So, I thanked him for his time and left. I've reassembled the Philco and washed a load in it and it did just fine albeit the 1/2 tub full on small. I can live with it for now while I search for a replacement switch. This where I continue to need help from you guys. I need to find a new pressure switch that can be made to work. I'm not overly knowledgeable in this area so I need you all to help me look. I'm going to attach a few pictures of the switch, and another of the Philco washing with Robert's filter installed.

 

[joelippard]

 

[joelippard]

 

[joelippard]

Control Panel

Here is a picture of the re-lettered control panel. Some of the letters had faded or couldn't be seen at all. I repaired this using the combination of a Sharpie, and a paint marker.

 

[lebron]

Glad you got it working

That machine is looking great, and that new blue filter is too cool!

 

[tlee618]

Joe, your lettering is beautiful!!

 

[joelippard]

Thanks Terry

I appreciate that. It was a tedious job to rework that stuff.

 

[Unimatic1140]

This is a good start Joe, so what happens now when you set it to Medium?

Also how does this machine fill? Is the flume angled?

 

[joelippard]

Re:

Robert,
Medium Load is now Full Load, and Full Load would overflow. The fill flume is the angled variety, does a good job of rinsing in the first spin.

 

[Unimatic1140]

I have left it in the position where it places the least ten

So if Small Load is 1/2 Way and Medium Load fills to the proper full fill level it would seem to me that the pressure switch is close to proper adjustment, it just needs a little bit of tension. Those pressure switches adjustment nuts are very sensitive, try just a quarter or half a turn now clockwise to add a SLIGHT amount of pressure, that might cure the whole problem.

 

[joelippard]

I'll give that a try when I get a chance and see what happens.