Agitator re-manufacturers

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adam-aussie-vac

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Hey guys, does anybody know if there is a company that remakes agitators? As I am potentially wanting to have them build a visaswirl agitator(The kind used on Kenmore wringer washers, but I want to have it slightly sized down that way it would be a perfect fit on my Simpson wringer washer which has a slightly smaller base and a little bit smaller agitator spline as I do love the vigourous wash action that a ramped agitator can give
 
Potentially, but considering that there’s a lot of

Force behind each agitation stroke i’m not sure if 3-D printing is going to hold up, plus I don’t think there’s normally a 3D printer that could print something that big and if there is it will be probably more expensive than getting a plastic company to re manufacture it
 
Kenmore Wringer Agitator

I have a 60’s era Kenmore spiral agitator from a wringer machine you could have if you could make it work for you, but if it’s too large then I suppose it may not work for your application anyway. I kept a bunch of spare parts off a junk machine I had a while back.
-Shannon
 
I actually think neither the forces nor the size would be a problem... there are some rather large consumer-grade 3D printers available now, and the material selections are growing all the time. And you could freely mix and match materials to take advantage of their characteristics - say a stiff and strong plastic for the concentrated forces at the hub, but then a more flexible/resilient plastic for the remainder of the agitator.

The only real hurdle I can think of is that the additive process creates an irregular surface that could trap debris/bacteria, so you would have to post-coat the print (this is what is done to make 3D prints food-safe, for example).
 
Getting a plastic company to re-manufacture it will cost many thousands of dollars.

You aren't asking for re-manufacture of an existing product, you are asking for a whole new item to be tooled up which is a mixture of two existing products.

 

If you really want a ramped agitator for your Simpson, look at other existing ramped agitators that were used on washing machines that were sold here in Australia - such as Westinghouse top loaders from the 1970s and Hoovers from 1970s and 1980s, see if any of them could be adapted for your machine. Hoover had two versions, the long shaft which joined the agitator above the water (spline at top of agitator through a brass block), and the later short shaft which was below water, the agitator presded directly on the the shaft just like Simpson autos of the time did. I don't know if that spline matched the Simpson one or not, they look the same but are probably different???

 

I don't think you have any chance of doing what you are suggesting, and should probably look for other projects, but adapting an existing Australian agitator to fit the Simpson spline will be much easier than commissioning a whole new agitator. If the splines are similar but not exactly the same, and the agitator otherwise fits, you MIGHT have some luck with using epoxy putty to create a new spline in your chosen agitator. But that might chew out in a few minutes, too. It would be a "try it and see" situation, no guarantees.

 

There have been many discussions on this website over the years about getting obsolete parts re-manufactured, and even when there is an existing part to copy (which you don't have) the cost for tooling is thousands of dollars. It's an expensive business.

 

Maybe you could start a search for a wringer washer with a spiral ramp agitator? Westinghouse made wringer washers in Australia, they used spiral ramp agitators in their automatics so they might have made wringers with them too?? I don't know if they did or didn't, it's homework for you to find out.
 
>> There have been many discussions on this website over the years about getting obsolete parts re-manufactured,
>> and even when there is an existing part to copy (which you don't have) the cost for tooling is thousands
>> of dollars. It's an expensive business.

I actually think this project sounds reasonable.

A 3D printer of the size required would only run around $500 USD. If you can 3D model, then your only costs beyond that are the plastic and the sealant. There's no expensive tooling, nothing requiring machine shop time, no minimum production runs, etc. And if it doesn't work out (or simply when you are done), you can re-sell the printer and recoup some of that cost.

The model itself is also reasonable in this case, simply due to the fact that it isn't intended to be an exact reproduction. The fitment to the agitator shaft and the clearance to the tub bottom are really the only critical dimensions - the rest has a lot of leeway. "Make it look similar to this" is *far* easier than "Make a reproduction of this". It's a project for a CAD-savvy freelancer, not a machine shop or design firm.
 
Oh cool, I’m actually pretty happy to hear how reasonable

This project is, considering it really only needs to be about at least 2 cm or 3 cm shorter and a slight redesign on the spline which is really just a coned hexagon
 
Can you post some pictures of what you are working with?

ie: What the machine looks like, what the agitator shaft looks like, and the agitator shape you are thinking of adapting into it?
 
That spiral ramp agitator fits OK in the washtub, doesn't it? Looks OK to me?

It would be cheaper and easier to get a new, larger drive block made up to adapt the Simpson agitator shaft to the new agitator's hex drive socket.

 

If the spiral agitator is too big to fit, what about a UK Hotpoint top loader - didn't they use a smaller spiral ramp agitator? They were made in New Zealand under license by Fisher and Paykel too, though I don't remember the model name. They were made by F&P before the ECS / Gentle Annie of their own design. So you might be able to source an agitator from NZ?? (Still no guarantee the drive block will match.)
 
Speaking of Hotpoint agitators does anybody know if this

Could fit? And the Type of agitator shown came out of a hotpoint twin tub, I did ask for a photo of the whole the spline used to fit in, as well as The diameter of the bottom of the agitator

adam-aussie-vac-2023073005411408832_1.jpg
 
If its to fit in a Servis type washer

It won't work as Hotpoint agitators fit onto a tripod with a long screwed knob, You would be better off finding a Servis twin tub agitator as they would fit the hexagon drive that you have.
 

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