A suds-saver saga - the "rebuilding" of the 1957 GE suds system

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Forgive me that I don't have pictures of each 'thing' that happened next.

I set the suds-saver switch to 'Save'; when the wash cycle water drained, it was draining out of the suds-return hose AND the regular drain hose. Both were draining into the same set tub anyway, so I tried to return the water to the washer. Nothing happened... Nothing at all...

I drained out the washer and triple checked my connections. All seemed good. I tested the suds-valve solenoid by connecting it directly to AC house power. It worked. The pump? Not so much. It buzzed but would no longer turn. FFFFFFFffine.... be that way!

So, it seems that I'll have to pull out that rat's nest of piping and the suds-saver valve again however, I'm not sure how to replace the suds return pump. A new washer drain pump will probably work just fine with some more jiggery-pokery to the valve piping but I am not sure I have the desire to keep at this.
I have 2 suds-saving machines already and although it would be cool to have one of the first GE suds-savers working again, it will be a very marked departure from the original system. Now where's a Time Lord when you need them? I want to go back to 1958 and get a couple of boxes of those Gorman-Rupp electric pumps dammit...

I am more than likely going to just leave the GE washer alone for a spell now; I will, of course, bring the matching '57 dryer back into service so I'll be able to enjoy both machines. Some interesting stuff should be finding it's way to Ogden in the next little while, so my dance card is going to be fairly full anyway.

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Paul, I must say you are the King (or Queen) of perseverance! I applaud your stick-to-it attitude and sharing your triumphs and frustrations. Very informative thread — heck, I didn’t know GE ever produced any suds-saver machines so very interesting and educational for me. Thank you for sharing and best of luck on this project!
 
Paul, you should be applauded for your efforts. *rapid clapping from the croud*

A few MFGs used that pump in their suds return system. Later SQ, Maytag (140S), Frigidaire even? Might be worth doing some part number searching...

Ben
 
1950s Suds-Saver Washers

It was always more completed to build a solid-tub SS washer, but every manufacturer had to build SS washers to try to compete with WP-KMs simple effective SS washers. 

 

Sears only charged $10 extra for a SS model, in just a 10 year life time for a SS machine you could easily save $300 making you Automatic Washer FREE to own compaired to your neighbors washer.

 

The electric return pumps used in these early SS washers are easy to replace today with one of many different electric drain pumps around today, the bigger challenge is the old pot-metal distribution valves etc.

 

Paul it will be neat to see this SS working on this old GE washer, I have never seen one of these working.

 

John L.
 
And now, nearly 3 months later....

I know I said I'd leave the 57 GE suds-saver system alone for a while, however I didn't expect it to be this long! Life (well, all right, other appliance acquistions, disasters, and triumphs) got in the way but I still did some tinkering with the valve unit and pump in my spare moments.

I didn't think to take pictures of every tweak that I did, alas, but here's what wound up happening:
- The issue I had noted with water draining out of both the suds save/return hose and the regular drain hose was entirely due to the higgeldy-piggely bracket I concocted to hold a new solenoid to the valve distribution plate. I improved the brackets and supports; this now allowed the valve to open and close access to drain or save/return ports
- Although I bought a replacement pump, just in case, I managed to lubricate the original pump motor shaft so that it would start up immediately. It was probably the wrong choice, but I put the original pump back on the valve
- I did a series of tests of the save and return functions with the valve out of the washer. They went amazingly well!
- When I was ready to re-install the valve, I used a kind of 'extension' from the valve plate for the suds save/return and drain hoses. This made for a lot less of struggle when re-installing the valve. The messing around in previous installations and removals while trying to manipulate the longer hoses is probably how I managed to dislodge the first set of brackets holding the distribution valve solenoid.
** Pearl of wisdom gained: if you have to work on one of these early GE suds-saver valves, re-install it from underneath the washer. I tilted the 57 forward and supported the rear with a couple of large woodden blocks; the valve and pump assembly was then brought up into the cabinet and was a heck of a lot easier to reposition from below.

I got the suds saver valve assembly back into the machine on September 29th. It worked and it didn't leak!! I tried the first real load of laundry in the machine this past Saturday, October 5th. I successfully saved and returned a tubload of water. And there were no leaks! WOOHOO!

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Awesome, Paul! I grew up with a suds-saving 1960 Kenmore Model 80, so I was surprised to see that there is no agitation during the suds return; it’s filling just like it would for a normal fill. This, to me, is a much better idea than the Kenmore version. You are able to load the machine, set the controls and walk away.

I think the Kenmore manual advised letting all the water return before adding clothes, which makes sense because they’d get yanked around pretty aggressively as the water returned during high speed agitation. Later Kenmore models agitated and pumped at slow speed during the return, but ours created quite a splashy ruckus. We’d usually let a few inches of water return into the tub, then gradually add the load a few pieces at a time as the water level increased.

As always, I’m amazed at the blood, sweat, and tears AW members put into bringing these wonderful vintage machines back to life. Congratulations!
 

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