classic on Aussie ebay

[pulsatron]

There is a classic old Wilkins Servis fully automatic toploader
on Aussie ebay, go to www.ebay.com.au and have a peek, pity it is too far away from me.
Also someone is selling old washer advertisements from various magazines funny seeing old Dame Edna flogging Whirlpool again.

 

[gizmo]

here's the link...

these are a great old machine.

Chris

 

[gizmo]

oops

sorry, here's the link

http://search.ebay.com.au/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com.au%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=wilkins+servis&category0=

 

[gizmo]

and it looks like they might have some Maytag under the bonnet...

Pardon our interruption...

 

[chestermikeuk]

Is it a Maytag??

Wow

Nice looking machine, is it a maytag?? did Wilkins Servis have different manufacturers making machines for them etc??

Did you have the UK based machines??, non of the UK collectors have managed to come across any of the Servis top loaders and the canadian whirlpool portable which was badged.

 

[gizmo]

Hi Mike

I don't know the origins of these large WS autos. I have seen inside one and it wasn't familiar to me, but I don't know what a Maytag is like under the hood either.

Imagine the transmission of a WS (Servis) twinnie. Remove the drive pulley from the side, instead the trans is mounted on and driven from a spin tube which projects to under the base of the machine, a pulley underneath. The motor pulley also protrudes underneath, with a belt drive to the main pulley and another belt to the pump. The transmission is not balanced on the spin tube, it is way off balance so there is a counterbalance weight on the opposite side of the spin shaft. When on spin the whole tube/trans assembly whirls around underneath, there is a warning sticker on the drum behind the front panel as if you stuck your head under there you would get hit in the side of the head with a spinning transmission. It all looks very clumsy and home-engineered but it works and is very reliable.
The layout is very similar to Simpsons (and they were later both engulfed by the one company) but the Simpson has a balanced transmission design so no need for a counterweight. Not talking about your Simpson, that is about 20 years and two generations newer.

WS disappeared in mid 70's.

Chris.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Was it like this inside??

 

[chestermikeuk]

This has the Snap On Power Agitator for extra vigerous wash action

 

[gizmo]

Hi Mike

No, it's nothing like that.

Chris.

 

[gizmo]

did WS have other manufacturers making for them?

No, when they were independent, as far as I know they didn't. They had a wide range, mostly the UK design Servis wringers and twinnies, also a UK design Servis FL with the same motor as a Hoover for a while, not sure about the TLs they are a mystery.
Later WS was taken over by Email and the WS plant closed down, the last WS machine was a little Japanese impeller machine, it was made by Toshiba. It was badged, "Wilkins Servis International Series" or something like that. I had one for a while but it was pretty useless.

Chris.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Under the Bonnett

Seller emailed the pic of the Wilkins Servis..

All those holes should produce a good spin extraction....

 

[jetcone]

Mike

Thats definetly a Maytag agitator but the tub is not. No Maytag TL ever had a SS tub and the tranny system Gizmo describes is a Maytag tranny as well.
I like the Servis with the Vigorous Agitator cap!! That would be a cool machine to find.

I do like the SS tub in this machine, you got that seller to photo it for you??? All the way from Oz to Chester??

Good on ya!

jon

 

[mielerod69]

Hi everyone,
I can tell you that the Wilkins Servis had the guts of the Maytag. We had one for a few years and it had a porcelin enamel drum and blue agitator with chrome top. It had a lint filter in the agitator and 10 programs, even hand wash wool program. It was also a suds saver, I used to like watching the machine suck the suds back into the tub. The agitator would go as the pump sucked the water in. Great washer.
Regards
Rod

 

[gansky1]

Very cool washer - hopefully this is someone's dream machine and it can be saved from the trash. It would be fun to be a fly on the wall when someone is servicing one of these, I'd love to see that tub out of the machine to compare it with the Maytag versions we're so familiar with. Mike, that agitator in your brochure is wicked looking - have you ever seen one of these in action?

These WS machines are way too cool!!

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hey now I want a Snap-On Power Agitator! Gotta love that! What does the light next to the heater light say on the control panel in the first page of that brochure? It looks like it says "Mains"?

 

[appliguy]

Uni, The mains light lets you know that the machine is conne

and that the power is on. I am I correct UK and Aussie guys?
If I am not mistaken you refer to your electrical outlets as mains right? PATRICK COFFEY

 

[mattywashboy]

yes that is correct appliguy
The olds servis twin tubs also had this feature. If you had plugged the machine in to the electrical outlet and switched the outlet on then this light would come on even if the actual machine itself was not in operation, i think it was a safety feature so you didn't leave the machine switched on at the 'mains' and waste power. Mains is the word we english folk give to the main house power so if somethings plugged in its connected to the 'mains'.
Very cool machine, i would love to see one in action
Matty

 

[westytoploader]

Wow, very neat!! Take a Helical Drive Maytag with an SS tub and a white Power-Fin and you get a WS...nice!

Chris, your description of the Wilkins Servis does indeed sound like a HD Maytag. Off-center transmission w/counterbalance, two belts (one for pump and the other for the clutch), clutch mounted under the base, and finally a spinning transmission! Very reliable indeed...IMHO those 'Tags are probably one of the most reliable machines out there! They spun at 618 RPM if I'm not mistaken.

Mike, interesting Servis machine with the Snap-On Power agitator...bet that would certainly make some waves! Hope you end up finding one!

--Austin

 

[chestermikeuk]

Servis MK41 All Fabric Top Loader

Hi Guys

The "Mains" on does refer to the power indicator for the machine, I believe this is lit when the selector dial is pulled to start.

The early model MK41 had the black servis agitator like the twinnies, ( and earlier t/l MK22, MK38 ) then Servis introduced the grey Hi-Zone Power Agitator. Non of the UK guys have seen or have one of these machines, YET!!!

My Great Aunt had the previous version, which I remember aged 8, with the black agi, this had a soap dispenser top left of the washtub, pre-wash, main & conditioner.This model also had smaller dials instead of the rocker switches. All of the Servis models have 210s wide sweep with 65 osc per minute.

There is a twinny repairman in Walsall, Midlands, his main engineer used to work at the Servis factory all his life, he told me the story of when this machine was sent to Australia they had a call to say one of the machines had totally exploded in use and had taken out the room and porch area of the house it was in...This was a new model so Servis UK sent an engineer over to see if he could identify the problem, fearing a mega problem with the build. The machine was indeed in tatters & bits along with the room etc..

Turns out after a lot of searching that the owner had very dirty oily clothes and had washed them with some sort of dry-cleaner solvent, fumes had built up, a spark from the timer and ...BANG!!!