A50 Questions

[washerman]

Hello all,

I have a few questions about the A50 that I recently purchased:
1. Is the diverter valve supposed to provide a positive seal between the two tubs?
2. Is this unit designed to be able to run both motors at one time?
3. The wash motor has a clinking sound when it runs clockwise, but not counter-
clockwise. Am I losing a bearing somewhere?
4. Do you think I would be able to add a capacitor to each motor? The lights nearly go out when either one starts.
5. Is there a place to lubricate the motors? If so, what lubricant should I use?

Right now, I am not particularly pleased with the machine. It seems to be more work than just taking the stuff to the laundromat.

Here are a few ways I would improve the machine (i.e. make changes to design)
1. Place a start/stop switch before the washer timer. Clicking through all the mechanical stops flashes the lights really badly.
2. Place one-way valves in the hoses underneath to provide positive control of the water flow.

Anyway, I will stop now. Thank you for any assistance you may be able to give.

 

[hippiedoll]

no replies?.........

oh wow!! i'm surprized nobody has replied to your post yet??

there are some very experienced members on here that know alot about the maytag A50. i'm wondering if maybe they haven't seen your post??

i'm really sorry that nobody has chimed in just yet. but my post will bring this thread to the top and hopefully some of the maytag A50 enthusiasts will see your message and help you out.

me personally, i don't know anything about the maytag A50, as i'm a hoover-girl cuz i only have a hoover twin tub. and i don't even know everything there is to know about my hoover. LOL....
but i am learning little by little.
hm hm hm.....

good luck!!!

just me,
hippiedoll
peace & love......

 

[revvinkevin]

Hey Drew, I don't know that I can answer all your questions but I'll give it a shot.

1. Yes as long as the cable is adjusted properly and flapper inside is in good condition, it should seal enough so the wash tub water stays put.
2. Yes as long as the circuit you have i't plugged into can handle it.
3. The clinking sound is normal. It's the belt running thru the pulleys, spot on the belt where it's connected together to make one continuous loop. So..... That sound is normal, every one does it.
4. Sorry I don't know enough about the motors or electrical to answer this.
5. The motors should be permanently lubricated, meaning there is no place to lube them.
6. When starting the wash motor, you can turn the timer the other direction and go directly to the five-minute mark.

I hope this helps!
Kevin

 

[redcarpetdrew]

50 lashes with a wet noodle!

I'm sorry. Too many irons in the fire and I missed this post.

I see no reason why you couldn't put a capacitor on the motors. It could only help and Maytag actually had a capacitor and instructions to install on the full size machines where the power was low enough to dim the lights.

I think the machine was designed with the idea that you would just turn the timer to the full wash. A run switch is a novel idea and also wouldn't be difficult to install. You could mount it on the back so to not to mar the front.

Kevin is right. You should be able to seal off the tubs to prevent water from traveling between them. I will have to look in the archives at the shop and see if I can locate the service manuals for her. I will try.

RCD

 

[combo52]

MT A 50s Problems

Light dimming when starting, you should test the circuits voltage you are using at the instant of start, if the voltage falls below about about 100 volts and or if it is less that about 110 when running BOTH motors the circuit is really not up to using for this washer. This washer had two strong but very inefficient motors [ by today's standards ] and it needed a good strong appliance circuit for best performance. As Andy suggested you could probably add a motor start capacitor on each motor or the motor that gives you the bigger problem which might slightly help but as long as the motors start quickly each time it really will not help anything either.

 

You likely have a bad diverter valve.

 

Welcome to the world of manually operated clothes washing and while I have several of this type of washer in our collection I would never find the time to actually do my laundry in one of these machines, LOL. When I was working MT in the early 1970s we sold a few of these washers, but when WP introduced their compact fully automatic portable in late 1972 we never sold another of the A50s, in fact we almost had to give away the A50 demonstrator that was on the showroom floor. I dough that MT sold many of these washers which makes them a must have for serious MT collectors. I also suspect that MT lost money on these as not only were they quickly beat in sales by many Japanese machines and as I already mentioned just as had already happened with wringer washer sales more than a decade before when almost all consumers rushed to fully automatic washers.

 

As a result most of the A50s saw little use and the ones that did suffered lots of early failures. Almost every Maytag appliance ever introduced since World War Two through there demise in 2006 had lots of problems that MT would correct over the next few years of production. This was one of the few products that they only made a few improvements in as I think they knew almost from the beginning it was not going to be successful in the long run.

 

 

[vintagekitchen]

Sounds like everything about your A50 is normal, except for the water valve and the dimming lights. The water valves do wear out over time, mine is nearing the end of it's life, it holds water through the wash cycles just fine, but if I leave clothes to soak overnight it does allow water to go into the spinner side, about halfway up the spinner.

The lights dimming sound like your circuit is overloaded. I would see how much other stuff is on the circuit. If there are other appliances, such as an air conditioner, freezer, etc on the circuit, try another circuit, or try unplugging something before you run the washer. If this isn't the case, your house may truly be underpowered. Its fairly common with older houses here, where many have only 60 amp or 100 amp service. My grandparent's house is this way, every time the compressor on their deep freeze kicks on, half the lights in the house dim. When the air conditioner kicks on, the lights in the other side of the house dim. They are used to it, and don't worry about it. Its not a sign of a major catastrophy, just a sign that the circuit is at or near maximum capacity.

The A50 is a fun little washer, but nothing I would use for a daily driver unless I was doing laundry for only one person, or had 2, one for rinsing and one for washing. With 2 of them, you could really fly through laundry. With only one, it takes ages. It does perform very well, but it is a lot of work. I personally will stick with my A107, I like automatic. The main use for the A50 in my house is dyeing clothes, since I can keep resetting the timer until the job is done, without worrying about the spin cycle of an automatic kicking in, and as a backup just in case the A107 is ever in need of repair.

 

[twintubber]

Allow Me To Jump In.....

I haven't been around for a while, April & May are very busy months for me.
But I'm still around and I have to comment here and for a few different reasons.
I have two A50's and have recently really learned what these machines can REALLY do. And although I'm no long time expert on these machines, I've sure put mine though the "wringer" and can say a lot about them.
1. Is the diverter valve supposed to provide a positive seal between the two tubs?
Um, YES! As for the wash tub leaking during the spin, it definitely sounds like a seal problem as both my A50's do not have the problems you are suggesting. This could be an issue with the spring tension support for the pump diverter.
2. Is this unit designed to be able to run both motors at one time?
Of course. Most twin tubs are and I can even fully run 2 twin tubs at the same time in my apt.
3. The wash motor has a clinking sound when it runs clockwise, but not counter-clockwise. Am I losing a bearing somewhere?
Mine does the same only in the counter-clockwise direction.
As revinkevin stated, I do believe they all do as I've heard this in all A50's so far.
4. Do you think I would be able to add a capacitor to each motor? The lights nearly go out when either one starts.
Not sure about this so I won't answer lest I give incorrect advice. It's not necessary for me in my circumstance.
5. Is there a place to lubricate the motors? If so, what lubricant should I use?
Apparently, there is no need to do this, but I could be wrong. My 1970 A50 after sitting idol for many years is doing just fine without the need for that.

"Right now, I am not particularly pleased with the machine. It seems to be more work than just taking the stuff to the Laundromat".
While I agree with you to an extent, I have really had to put my 1970 A50 to some extreme use in the last couple of months due to an issue with the Simplicity, and this machine can really take it.
I have always said the A50 was never going to be a serious washer, due to it's small size and lack of spin rinsing ability. But again, I was WRONG!
This machine may take some extra time and effort, but it is worth it. And it's a lot of FUN!
I wash in the machine and perform THREE deep rinses in the wash tub and it's not that difficult.
I do not recycle my water and always drain the wash tub to the bottom of the pulsators and then fill with fresh water for every batch-wash or rinse.
Granted it is time consuming and very repetitive. But the results are truly worth it.
Twin Tub technology, (as simple as it usually is), is outstanding at laundering clothes and on par with wringers. Of which we have a lot of fans of as well. (And that's a lot of work too)!
Having 2 machines definitely makes the work a lot easier, and one can check my videos for that process in action.
And laundress once stated in one of my threads that a lot of the lint and pet hairs stays in the water as you transfer the clothes. I possibly would have refuted that statement had I not been forced to use the Maytag A50 in the way I have lately. I would have thought a fair amount would still stick to the clothes anyway and the spin rinsing wasn't going to be effective in removing any lint.
On the contrary, although a lot of lint and pet hairs do float on top of the water after transfer to the spin tub, the amount of residual lint and pet hair is minimal with this system. And the rest fluffs off in the dryer anyway.
I have even found sweatshirts that have "pilled" over time were being stripped of that pilling by the Maytag A50's washing and rinsing abilities. Not bad actually!
BTW, I wash and deep rinse THREE times in the tub-that's a lot of effort, but well worth the results-not to mention the shorter drying time due to the high speed spin.
My biggest complaint though is that the impeller style wash system can be very nasty on some clothing and really tends to tangle the loads up a lot. I have to babysit the machine for some loads and often redistribute the load during the wash/rinse.
But all in all, it's not that bad, not too much effort really and boy, do these machines seriousely clean the clothes!!!