An Easy Combo Travels East to Maryland

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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What a fascinating machine!  Good save, guys, I can't wait to see it live and in person someday.  Look at all those belts, that long one to the pump? could be snatched off and run a juicer on the counter!  Love it, and minty-fresh too!  Thanks for all the pics, John, you done good!
 
Very unique and interesting machine-and in such like new condition!No dust,lint,or dirt in it.the twin motor design is fascinating.would be most interesting to watch this machine from the INSIDE to see how its twin motor mechanism works.All of those belts--bet putting them in is like threading a motion picture projector!The belts are in nice condition as well-no cracks or stretching.etc.
 
I didn't even realize Easy made a combo. What a cool little machine. Congrats on this unique acquisition! One question: How does it not hop all over the place during spins, seeing that it has no suspension system? It doesn't appear to have to be bolted down.
 
Dual Motor Washers

While I believe this Easy Combo was one of very few domestically built residential washers ever built to use two motors it was certainly done on some commercial FL machines and on a few European machines. While the motor was always one of the most expensive parts of a machine in earlier machines using two motors eliminated the need for a transmission.

 

It is indeed fun to watch this machine go through the spin cycle, as the machine is tumbling the 2nd motor will cut in and accelerate the tub to about 250 RPMs, as soon as the centrifugal switch in the spin motor cycles the spin motor cuts off and the machine coasts back to tumble speed and this repeats over and over again, maybe 20 times in the final spin? I will have to count. Even with no suspension the machine really doesn't vibrate, Easy did provide little foot pads for the two front feet that could either be glued or screwed to the floor to keep the machine from moving a little during the extraction process. We don't have the foot cups installed and in only load we ran did the machine want to move at all.
 
Fun!

John the spin cycles sound fun and effective. I guess when it goes back into tumble the wetter (heaver) clothes "win" and make it to the outer part of the tub before the purge spin starts again. Just my thought.
Do you know Easy offered this combo in Gas?
Brent
 
John, I don' t post very often but I have to say I love this machine. Just beautiful and clean. Congrats on a great find. I am fascinated by the 2 motor design. Does the spin motor have a higher RPM than the tumble motor? I don't see any clutch mechanisms. Also when the spin motor is enegized does the tumble motor denergize and free wheel? I too would love to see videos. Were you lucky enough to get any service manuals. The Daily Doctrine anxiously awaits.
 
Great find guys

I too love the twin motor set up, and had to smile at the thought of the pump belt being run up to the worktop to power a juicer. Select spin and pulse the juice out of those oranges.

I too have been studying the belt system, Am I right in thinking the plastic part behind the pulleys is a spring clutch, so that the spin motor overides the wash drive, rather than drive the wash motor faster, and also is that a solinoid under the blower pulley to hold off the drive to the dryer fan when in wash and spin cycle.

I also think if the oportunity to have a suspension system incorperated, and I understand from the other threads the reasons why not, but having two motors could have enabled a much faster spin speed, than machines relying on two gear or drive ratios from a single speed motor.

I just love this machine, being over in the uk we love our front loaders, and I supose its just what your brought up with but I prefer the large round door glass over the GEs small square window, it all looks beautifully proportioned.

I too lookforward to seeing some films of it, both from the front and the back. I think I would be temted to install this in the centre of a laundry so both the wash action and the belt drives could be enjoyed.

Thanks for posting the photos

Mathew
 
Agreed, the belt, indeed!

Long enough for jump rope or hop-scotch!

 

John, everybody wants more paragraphs, please.

 

Being an Easy, does it spray rinse or tumble flush rinse with the drain open? What is the cycle sequence?

 

What does the acc/decelerated spin sound like? On a scale of 1 to 10, how cool is this machine? And where does it fit in your hierarchy of machines?

 

 

 
 
Two Motors

Cannot be 100% sure but think the Miele W1070 and W1065 have two motors as well. At least remember our Miele tech saying something that there were two (one for tumbling the other for extraction) when one inquired about the size of the huge cast iron motor in my machine.
 
Fun trying to figure the mechanism. Looks like, the spin motor is also a reduction pulley for tumble. So it turns all the time too, just not under its own power. The tumble motor drives it through a one-way clutch so if the spin motor wants to go faster it can while the tumble/pump/fan motor continues at 1750.

This is rather clever, as the amount of torque the clutch has to pass is much less than it would be if the one-way clutch were on the tub shaft like it is in a Westy transmissionless. Many here know, a one-way clutch is either all or none. It slips virtually 100% in one direction and 0% in the other. Like a bicycle hub.
 
John

Congrats on the Easy Combo find out of Oregon!

I also did not know that Easy made a combo. What a beautiful machine and in such good shape. I think you paid a fair price and that was very generous of you to give the guy more than he was asking.

I too hope to see it in person some day at your museum. I'm glad it ended up in a good home.

Patrick
 
Before the electronic controlled motors were introduced, most washers here with high speeds had separate motors for washing and spinning. I love the sound when the spin motor takes over from the wash motor.

I guess you would say those were three motor machines, because there was always a separate motor on the pump too.
 
The Easy Drying System

This Easy as mentioned earlier is the vented electric drying model, they also made water cooled condenser models and gas heated vented models. The machine has a powerful blower and two 2500 watt elements, for normal dry settings it uses both elements for the fine fabric setting it only uses one element. Inside the outer tub the intake for the exhaust blower is covered with a fine mesh SS screen mounted between the 9 and 11 o'clock area. This screen collects lint during the dry cycle and the lint stays there till the next time the machine is used. When the next load is started the lint stays on the screen through the wash cycle and the first rinse and as the first rinse is draining the machine will do a brief spin and spray water into the machine at the same time, this causes the lint to be flushed off the screen. It is really dramatic to see all the lint suddenly flushing out the drain hose and harmlessly down the drain, it is one of the most effective self-cleaning filters I have ever seen.

 

The only problem the dryer has because our building only has 208 volts the dryers heaters only put out 3,750 watts of heat instead of the full 5,000. I am going to solve this by mounting a KA KD 17 drying heater element in the air intake for the heater box which will add 1100 watts of heat power. I am also adding an additional safety thermostat for the additional heater and three heat relays to protect the timer, dry temperature switch and motor centrifugal switch.
 
Nothing new under the Sun!

That spin cycle is fascinating! Bendix found that 90% of the wash water is extracted in the Duo at 250 RPMS. Thats why the Duo only gets up to 250 in the final spin and stops dead still before going on to the final 525 spin before dry. This patented process prevents pasting of the clothing against the drum during the dry cycle.

My new Speed Queens use this same spin accelerate as the EASY. The SQ ramps up to 250 and back down again repeatedly. In physics a short duration acceleration is what is called an impact. The impact effect transfers a lot of energy in a brief amount of time. I think this might cause greater extraction than just ramping up to 250 for a few minutes. The repeated ramp up and down increases the acceleration cycles that the clothes are exposed too.
At first I didn't get it, thought it was stupid but looking at it from a physical standpoint maybe not. And Easy did this way back before electronics.
Washers Rock!
 
Yes, Jon, but heavy fabrics are not as well extracted at the slower spin speeds so the rinsing in the SQ is not as good as it could be. The Miele W1986 with high speed spins after the wash and each of the three rinses, rinses much better than the SQ. After the final spin in the EASY, we put the load in a nearby toploader for a spin and it removed a bunch more water, so much so that water could no longer be wrung from the towels by hand. Even though Bendix said that 90% of the water was removed at 250rpm, they increased the spin to the full 500+rpm after each of the rinses for better laundering. You can't cut corners when you are removing radioactive dirt from laundry.

"Um, no, there is no green tub light in the Duomatic. Why do you ask?"
 
John,

That is an awesome machine, thanks for sharing and teaching us how it all works. Can't wait to see it in person someday. I love the technology that goes into these combinations.
 
Heat relays

Paul,  I don't really have a favorite, I used to get these big balky things that looked like the contactors that were used in central A/C condensing units. But now the ones that I have been using are much smaller and quieter, I look for ones that handle at least 30 AMPs and have 200-240 volt coils, do you have any you like?
 
Relays

I don't have a favorite however I have seen solid-state relays in use and that solution look attractive. They were compact and carried large currents. Haven't done the math to see if they'd work in a washer (ex: My 1930's Bendix).
 

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