Bendix Semi automatic

[slowspin66]

Not sure if our American friends can shed any light on this. I bought the Bendix a few years ago from ebay and after a a refurb installed it in my kitchen . I remember my aunty having a machine just like it and when we used to go and stay with her i loved to help doing the weekly wash, turning the dial through the functions. All of them are manual and you have to fill and drain the tub between the washing process. The heater is linked to a thermometer and if left unattended will boil the tub contents.
The bearing assembly and seals were worn out and needed replacement as did all the hoses.
Were these semi automatic machines available in the USA or made only for the UK.

 

[slowspin66]

bendix controls

The control dial is connected to two cables that move the gearbox and pump through the wash and spin process.

 

[slowspin66]

Bendix Taps

As the machine is bolted to the floor it's easier to have the machine directly connected to a water supply and stand pipe for the outlet.

 

[slowspin66]

badges

The paintwork was in good condition so once the mechanics were sorted i got away with a polish of the cabinet.

 

[electron1100]

Bendix

What a beauty I had a similar machine for a while (until it got nicked)
You must be so pleased with this one possibly it was a bit small for the american market hope fully some one else can answer you

Anyway good luck with it
Gary

 

[turnamat]

Does it spin,too?

 

[slowspin66]

Hi the machine washes , rinses and spins all in the same tub !!! The spin sped is very slow compared with a more modern machine. However if you keep it going for about 5 mins on the last spin the results are fair. It's bolted down and even if the load is well balanced you can feel the floor vibrate. great little machine for it's time.

 

[vacbear58]

Bendix

Great machine you have there and wonderful that you have it restored.

From what I have been able to read from my which reports and other sources there were both automatic and semi automatic versions of this style of machine.

I have an Ideal Home article from 1950 which shows a Bendix with the "car door handle" style of door opening which is superficially identicial to models which have been posted by Americans on here.

The earliest sighting I have of this style is from 1956 (see ad below). As you can see the controls are on the front but by Which 1960 they have moved to the top rear of the machine. It is still around in 1962 (and still needing to be bolted to the floor) and there is even a washer/drier version of it as well but by 1964 it has been replaced by the LA/LT series which is more familiar to our eyes - that's the one Ricky 5050 has.

 

[sudsmaster]

I don't think Bendix ever offered a machine with an internal heater here, at least not in that particular semi-automatic configuration, and not including their later combo washer/dryer machines, which of course had internal heaters.

They did have a semi-automatic machine, which had to advanced manually between the various cycle functions, as a low cost variant to their first fully automatic front loader in the USA in the late 30's and 40's. The spin speed IS slow, about 300 rpm tops. But it was on a par with the water extraction results of the wringer type machines of the day.

I say "semi-automatic" because unlike a wringer or twin tub, one didn't need to handle the laundry load between functions. It all stayed in the machine.

I guess timers were more expensive back in the day, and omitting them was a way to cut costs and still offer a lot of convenience and good results for a reasonable price.

It sounds like your machine is based on that one, with the change over to 220 volt power and the internal water heater, and a different type of cabinet. The Bendix logo also looks like it's from the early 50's, rather than from the 40's.

Love the Bendix labeled water faucet handles!

 

[vacbear58]

Gyromatic

From around 1959 there was another model known as the Gyromatic which ran alongside the three versions of your machine. This appears to be much more in keeping with the US models of the time especially given its dimensions of 39in hight x 30inches wide x 27.5 inches wide. This machine did NOT need to be bolted down. Whether or not it was imported or locally manufactured I cannot say however one majot difference on all these machines is that they have a heater where, it is my undertsanding, the US machines did not. This would have required variations in the timer mechanism to allow the water temperature to come up to the level set - that of course would not be an issue in the case of your machine.

The interesting thing about the semi autos is that they were comparable in price (and in some cases cheaper) than some of the twin tubs of the day. Now I can see that the need for bolting down could be a dis-incentive against the Bendix but that would not have been so much of an issue for its Parnall and EE contempories and yet they were not nearly as popular as twin tubs.

Al

 

[jetcone]

Did British women

really wear those A line skirts too?

Nice Bendix there and those taps are BOSS!

I love the temp dial control,never seen over here. Hey did you install a new bearing seal on that back plate?? And if so where'd you get it??

jon

 

[slowspin66]

bendix bearing and seals

Dear Jetcone, the bearing and seals were totally worn out when i got the machine. A local company supplied the new bearing and a double lip seal. I had the seal housing sandblasted and with a few adjustments managed to get the seal to work. It took ages to get the seal to be water secure and the drive shaft went on the lathe to allow it to receive a stainless steel collar which provided a good none corrosive surface. All in all it was a big job but it eventually worked.

 

[jetcone]

yeah I thought so

I thought that shaft looked to good to be true. They are a lot of work to get back going again. I remember one early 1940's unit I was trying to reseal ,the inner race of the bearing was WELDED to the shaft by rust. There was no way I could get it off so the machine went south at that point.

I'm hoping I don't find that with the Duomatic I am getting into, it has a leak at the back, and I am hoping its the plate seal not the bearing seal.

How does that temp dial read? It looks like there are no numbers and that it just goes from wicked cool green to wicked hot red??

You did a nice job now go enjoy it!