Bendix bolt-down

[paulg]

It was weird

The house was made in the 50's. But in the house the kitchen range was a gas 1920's unit on legs.. The refrigerator was a mid-50's GE. But in the basement was a pristine 1920's or 30's Frigidaire - on legs. Didn't know if it worked.
Everything in the house was old. Old radios and TVs. I bought an approx 1960 Emerson TV with the box in near-perfect shape.
The family and friends were there. They said the owner was a VERY fastidious woman who kept everything... in pristine order. You can tell. The house smelled clean.
When I asked why they had such an old washer that pre-dated the house I was given this explanation. Apparently the Mother-in-Law came to live with them in the 50's and brought along her stuff which included the washer. They installed it. Perhaps that explains the 20's range and Frig in a mid-50's house. It was indeed a time-capsule.
Who knows, maybe tomorrow some leftover stuff will still be there.

 

[paulg]

It is home

Pix follow. It is a model B. The number behind the trap door is 32465

 

[paulg]

PIX

What is this part?

 

[paulg]

PIX

Glam shot

 

[paulg]

Please advise

Extrication of unit went well. Door was taped shut. That worked well.
Opened unit up looking for dead mice and such. It was clean. There is a strange electrical part just past the outlet of the water solenoids. What is that?
I can see how people love these units, they are built to last 1000 years.
And there is an AC socket on the rear? What the heck? Does it use a ROASTER cord?? LOL.
Regarding wiring - the wiring is certainly old but insulation is intact. Do you rewire? Or just insulate a little better around the existing, intact insulation? Or do you use these units just as showpieces?
If I were to restore it, I would have to add ground straps - no problem there. Just wondering what y'all do.
The removable leveler legs were damaged. Fortunately they unscrew. Replacements available?
Thanks a lot for your advice thus far. Am looking forward to your comments about the unit at this point.

 

[paulg]

The drum is porcelain

Just so you know.

 

[jetcone]

Paul that is in georgeous shape

WOW! Jeff has my books right now, he can look up that mystery part for you. OOO JEFFF????

 

What a pristine unit there. It has the original cast iron transmission, sometime in 39 -40 they switched to what was called the G unit which was invented by Green and was an easier transmission to assemble on the line than the cast iron one, saved them time and money. So its pre 1939 I'd say for sure but not 1938-7 since it has the porcelain drum.

 

I would just tape the areas on the wiring that look dicey, that wiring was high quality copper in its day. 

 

Great pics! Jon

 

 

[tlee618]

Oh Paul, that is one beautiful machine!!!  Congratulations on a GREAT find!!  

 

[cornutt]

The weird looking thing on the water line...

Could that be a ground connection? Was this machine grounded using the cold water hose with the ground conductor in it?

 

[perc-o-prince]

What a gorgeous machine!!

What a lucky find. Enjoy it in good health!

Rich

 

[paulg]

9 lbs clothes

I believe the capacity per the label is 9 lbs of clothes. I presume that is DRY clothes?
Also, was an ELECTRIC dryer available through Bendix at the time? Or maybe it wasn't invented yet?

 

[jeff_adelphi]

Mystery part,

The part with the 2 wires attached to the water valve outlet, is a thermostat. It cycles the cold solinoid off and on to controll the temp. of the warm water setting. The washer uses only hot water for the wash and first rinse, for washing with saop. The rinses are warm. If you select wool/silk/colors it will use warm for the whole cycle. Jeff

 

[gansky1]

yay!  What a gorgeous Bendix!  Those early drop-down doors are so cute.  9 pounds of dry clothes will stuff the drum pretty tightly and was likely part of the reason behind the low ratings for performance but even smaller loads didn't fare well with the slow spins.  Regardless, it's a great bit of washer history and you'll have fun playing with it. 

 

Bendix did offer a dryer after WWII, it was a fascinating design that re-used some of the heated air recirculated back into the airflow stream thorough the heater and drum.  A portion of the moist air was expelled into the room through the front of the dryer through a screen cage.   They made the floors, walls and windows sweat like a bath house and weren't very popular.

 

[paulg]

Thank you!

Thank you all for the wealth of information! Much obliged to be sure...

 

[paulg]

Jeff

Is your picture a BENDIX? Presumably much later?

 

[jeff_adelphi]

Profile pic,

Yes, But much later, It's my 1974 Philco-Bendix Commercial washer. It's a bolt-down model too. I purchased it new in the box from eBay a few years ago.

 

[passatdoc]

re: the AC plug in the back of the unit

I wonder if this wasn't for connecting an appliance that might be used near the washer, such as a radio or an iron. Older homes, such as one that would have hosted this washer when it was new (<span style="text-decoration: underline;">not when it was already twenty years old in the 1950s</span>!!!), lacked plentiful electric outlets, so with the washer occupying an outlet, perhaps the AC outlet in back was to ameliorate the loss of one outlet. Analogous to mid-century electric ranges that provided an AC outlet or two (or one timed/one not timed) in kitchens that lacked enough outlets for all the counter top appliances produced after WW2.

 

[travis]

Isn't that a male plug for a detachable cord, like a small appliance might have?

 

[jeff_adelphi]

Power cord,

Yes, that male plug on the back is for the detachable power cord that the early Bendix used.

 

[a440]

<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; font-size: medium;">What a great find!  It looks mint!  </span>

<span style="font-family: georgia,palatino; font-size: medium;">You are going to have so much fun with this one!</span>