BENDIX

[ariston4life]

does anybody have any more pictures of these machines. my auntie had one of these before she got her indesit 610w.
i would love to get a picture of the drum, love the drum style on these machines.

 

[kirri]

That was one quiet machine!!!

 

[robm]

Good old Bendix, here's a pic of my Nan's very battered old machine, identical to the one above. It last 17 years.

See the you tube link. The Bendix ad is 1.26 in.

Rob

 

[MrX]

Who built them?

I know the Bendix Corp. had nothing to do with white goods at any stage in its existence but it did license its name to other companies both in Europe and the US to manufacture white goods. It's a little like the way Electrolux is using AEG's name now. Bendix Corp was a defense company and produced high tech electronics for the US and other Airforces. They were also a major radar technology developer. However, the company has long since disappeared and merged into various other larger entities.

I'm just wondering who in Italy was manufacturing these machines. They were by all accounts a fantastically well built product and well up there with the Mieles and AEGs of their day.

An aunt of mine had one which lasted over 20 years without anything other than a very minor repair. She replaced it with a Miele as that's the only machine that the service guy who came out considered to be a worthy replacement.

 

[matchboxpaul]

really gutted - i cant post any pictures and wont be able to do so until probably the end of december - and all these groovy threads being started. Oh the frustration!

The big door bendix's were great machines - lived with the one at secondary school for three or so years. very quiet machine.

Thinking about it, i have already posted in the the previous bendix thread, most of the square door images i had.

I will watch from the sidelines for a few weeks and then will try and make up for my enforced posting absence.

Cheers
Paul
p.s i am typing this on my parents computer - landlord changing internet providers in his usual unplanned, chaotic way! he is a t%££"r

 

[seamusuk]

Philco

Philco built these in Italy, at the time they were probably the quietest machine around. Bendix quite often featured a sleeping baby in their ads to get the point across lol

Seamus

 

[MrX]

Didn't Philco Italia become part of the Merloni Group ?
if so, perhaps some of that quality's living on the Aqualtis...

 

[seamusuk]

Indeed they did

Ya never know- the Aqualtis is turning out to be a pretty reliable machine apparently. Our local Hotpoint engineer had only been out to 10 odd calls to them !

Seamus

 

[MrX]

Wow, I almost remember some of those ads

Wow, I was barely born at that stage, but I remember some of those ads. They must have run for a few years. I certainly remember that Branflakes song and the super noodles one

I don't remember the tesco ads at all though. Was Tesco a discount supermarket back then? They re-entered the Irish market having failed in the 80s here. Their reentry was done by purchasing one of the largest supermarket groups Power Supermarkets who traded as Quinsworth and Super Crazy Prices (yes, they did actually use that name!) in the mid 1990s.

 

[aquarius1984]

Its a telly!

My Mums half sister used to tease me with that phrase as a kid whenever I was at my grandparents house sat in front of their early 1980s Servis Quartz 600/602/603 and dryer set. (Small door series before the full cabinet door series came along late 1985). Never knew why she was saying it though until this year. Im guessing that the advert or a variant ran for a long time as she is only 4 years older than me. Bendix made by Philco Italia of course. My Paternal grandparents had a 1000rpm model in black control panel from since I can remember as a kid until 1992 when it was replaced with a white Philco 1000rpm with vari temp dial. The same design that was on the Tesco Value powder box until early this year. I always and still feel that the Bendix were the cheaper cousins of having a Philco badged one -they just aint the same. Made by Philco so prefer them to be badged Philco if you get my drift. Would love to own a Philco to bring back many memories of the gentle quiet wash action, the scent of boil washes with Persil non bio, Safeway Green softener (Alpine sort) and the rhythmatic noise. Rob

 

[2drumsallergy]

BENDIX Quiet Reliability

My absolute favorite among vintage front loaders!

They were so quiet, stable, refined, extremely reliable and to top it all they delivered outstanding wash and rinse performance.

The later Autowasher Electronic series 7148 and 7168 were even quieter and improved rinse performance by adding a 500RPM spin at the end of the wash. The previous series models 7142A, 7147, 7147A and 7147B did not spin after the wash but they spun after all rinses.

The last of the true Philco Bendix washers with the Induction Motor was the 71258, it was also the quietest with the new Microchip Motor control module. The 71258 also had a Stainless Steel outer tub whereas previous models used Vitreous Enameled Mild Steel. Alas cost cutting reared its ugly head and the wonderful quiet Induction Motors were dropped in favour of cheap, noisy unreliable Universal Motors (Carbon Brush). The machines were never the same after that!

David

 

[aussie-plugs]

Those machines still exist ...

My mother is still using a machine from the series shown in the TV advert. It only has a timer dial (temperature is selected by the position of the timer) and power and half-load buttons. It is indeed very quiet. It's starting to show some rust between the control panel and the door, but is otherwise still in perfect working order. Her second washing machine in 47 years ... the first naturally being a Bendix too.

They sure don't make 'em like they used to!

 

[2drumsallergy]

Hi Nick,
The machine in the advert is the Bendix Autowasher Electronic 7148 800RPM spin. I am not surprised your mother's Bendix is still running perfectly, they were supremely reliable machines. They were prone to rusting of the cabinet especially around the detergent dispenser and the bottom of the door opening. Indeed many Bendix machines were replaced for cosmetic reasons; a severely rusted cabinet with mechanically perfect innards.

The Low Temperature button mentioned in the advert was interesting as it reduced the main wash temperature but extended the wash time by 12 minutes, this gave impressive results with less energy.

The massive Electronically controlled Induction Motor produces the most wonderful quiet hum, my favorite washer sound bar none. If there is any possibility you could video your mums machine I'm sure everyone here would be delighted to hear it running.

David

 

[2drumsallergy]

Hi Nick,
I forgot to say your mothers machine sounds like the Autowasher De Luxe Electronic 7133, it could also be a model exclusive to the Australian market.

David

 

[irishmark]

my oldies

hey took these today when i went home for lunch,25years old and there both like new,will post vids soon

 

[irishmark]

the washer dryer

washer dryer with 500rpm spin

 

[irishmark]

the rear

rear of the washer dryer

 

[irishmark]

drum

classic philco/bendix drum

 

[irishmark]

drum

washer dryer drum