Darn that Dominion

[swestoyz]

That is good news!  If you spin the pulley, do you see the tub move?

 

It would take a lot of surface area and force in order for the belt to spin the pulley, so yes, there's hopefully an adjustment of some sort.  Is there a solenoid that might move the motor for spin?  Does the motor float freely, or does something move it in order for it to spin?

 

Ben

 

[jamman_98]

Software question

I copied the pic and pasted it in a Power Point slide then inserted textboxes and arrows. I then saved the slide as a jpeg. Easy to do. If you have Power Point you already have a way to duplicate what I did.

 

The way it sounds it works like a Maytag in that one direction is agitation then reverses for spin. If you could do a video of it you might see what it supposed or not supposed to do.

 

Joe

jamman_98

 

[philr]

Paul, there must be a clutch somewhere as otherwise, the tub would spin as fast in one direction as the other. The spring between the tub and the center pulley is there for something. There could be a clutch that engages by turning in one direction like there is on some Rollermatic washers (sorry, I don't know much about other washers!). I think the center pulley is concentric to the agitator shaft that comes out of the transmission but I'd be surprised if it does anything with the transmission. My impression is that it's linked to the spin shaft with some kind of one way clutch at the top of it.

 

The first thing you need to do is to rotate the inner tub by hand in both directions and see what happens and what moves under the outer tub. You'll probably need a camera there or a helper to do one of the actions!

 

 

[alr2903]

Always amazed at the skill and PATIENCE .

Joe, very cool the way you labeled and presented questions.  Paul has the foreign body in post #725163 been identified? I feel lame asking this with the input from experienced restoration people.  You checked the pump, this little bracket thing showed up, then your machine would not spin.  The spring thats painted yellow #733373 is there something not quite right with this spring?  Why would Dominion paint that one yellow?  Very Interesting thread.

 

[turquoisedude]

Robert: When I turn the spin pulley by hand (in the 'reverse' direction) the tub doesn't budge. However, when I first got this machine, I tried that as part of the machine inspection and I could not make the tub turn by spinning the pulley. When I spin it in the opposite direction, the tub indexes just ever so slightly (which is what happens when agitation engages).

Ben: there is no solenoid (that really makes me scratch my head). The motor doesn't really 'float' - the recoil of that spring mounted bracket seem to keep it in position and it will only move when pushed to the left (this will release the belt).

Joe: I need to get more familiar with the Maytag helical drive - there may be a similarity here! I'll take videos of the washer running in both agitation and spin directions, but I am still at a loss as to what the machine is supposed to do in each direction. Another set of 'eyes' here might help!!

Phil: That spring seems to play a big role, but again, I am not sure what. The spring on the agitator pulley makes me wonder if the whole mechanism is supposed to 'drop' for spin. When I turn the tub by hand I haven't been able to observe what happens under the tub. You are hereby summoned to Ogden... LOL

alr2903: Yes! That piece of metal that jammed the pump is a bracket to hold the water inlet flume in place. It must have worked loose in transit and dropped off after successive moves in and out of an operating 'slot' in the laundry room.
Actually, two pump-related issues preceded the spin issue and in both cases, the washer attempted to spin following the rinse; in both cases the outer tub of the washer was full of drain water from the wash cycle that did not drain out. I have a crazy idea that the excess weight (inner and outer tubs full of water) cause some thing to go out of alignment with the springs and supports. Again, SWAG here, but you never know!! About that yellow spring, I think it is definitely related to the operation of the spin cycle but with no technical or service information about the washer, I can't be sure if it's OK or not. It does look kinda stretched and the bright yellow reminds me of a spring from a farm implement (which, coincidentally, the Beatty Bros. Manfacturing Co who made the Dominion appliances also made).

Thanks for the input, all!! Canyon just stares at the washer and gives me one of those 'why aren't we outside playing' looks. Hubby is in South America, so at least I don't have any 'let's see what happens if we use it as a sled and run it down Miller's Hill' remarks... LOL

 

[gansky1]

Following along closely, can't wait to see this machine in good working order again!

 

Have you searched any patent listings for this machine?  You might be able to get a diagram of the spin pulley and whatever mechanism is inside that "dome" above it.   I, too, am thinking there must be something inside that that engages the spin motion of the tub, there doesn't seem to be any other mechanical linkage between the spin shaft and the pulley system.

 

The spring on the motor is likely belt tension adjustment, is the belt tight when you have it installed?  Most recommend a deflection of 1/2" when the belt is pressed in between pulleys.   

 

[turquoisedude]

Greg, I haven't looked for specific patent information from Dominon or Beatty Bros. because I believe the design of the washer is based on a US model; I think Beatty acquired the rights to use a design and produce machines in Canada the way John Inglis did with Whirlpool back in 1950.

My suspicion is that the Zenith washer is an American 'cousin' of the Dominion. I did a search here on the board archives and found a post about the similarities of Zenith and Apex machines - no small coincidence it was your post, showing some details about the drive components of an Apex! I'll be studying that closely to be sure!!!

Back to the belt, it seems tight when installed. My eyesight is going downhill rapidly and I am not sure if it's deflecting more than 1/2 inch; it seems about the same as the old belt which I thought was odd.

Lots of careful experimentation is in order here...

 

[triumphdolomite]

Hi From the UK

Hope that you don't mind me butting in on your thread but I love a technical conundrum. I have to admit here that I have no experience of machines over the water but looking at it with an untrained eye do you mind me adding my thoughts?
Could the two large springs, on the drive pulley and the bottom of the tub be there as a means of damping vibrations during an unbalanced spin and stopping the belts being thrown off? Looking at the large centre pulley I wonder if there is a lock up clutch inside this with shoes that fly outwards to lock the spin drive up when the pulley is being driven at speed in a clockwise direction, as I suspect it would be with the belt running on it in a counterclockwise direction? It may be possible that when spinning by hand you aren't able to turn it fast enough for it to lock, hence it turning easily in both directions but not turning the tub?
I'm probably theorising a load of rubbish here but I'm really enjoying following your restoration.
Hope that you manage to work it out soon.
Ian

 

[swestoyz]

Ian - I think you're on to something. In reply 15, you can see what looks like a shoe between the drums, and in reply 28, you can see the rivet that holds the clutch shoe in place.

Ben

 

[turquoisedude]

Ian - thanks for your input! One of the many things I had been wondering about was if a great deal of speed was needed to engage the spin (after the attempts to spin the tub by hand didn't get far...)

As you've observed and Ben also, there does seem to be a clutch plate which I honestly hadn't noticed before.

It's looking like I will need to tear down the washer further. Any suggestions for removing the drive block? I am thinking 'heat and hit' but I will need to preserve the original one for eventual reinstallation.

 

[jetcone]

DO I have to

come up there and SLAP you into understanding this machine??!!!

 

Nice, its time we saw up her skirt! NOW WE KNOW what Canadian Damping Technology looks like!

 

 

[swestoyz]

Paul - what happens if you try to spin the top part of the drum?  Is that free to move in either direction?  You may be able to solve this without having to tear the whole thing apart.

 

[turquoisedude]

It's barely a three-hour run up I93 and I91, you know... So just drop everything... LOL

I'm still summoning up the nerve to take the tub out to see more about the clutch and spring assembly on that central pulley.

 

[turquoisedude]

But first, a video!

Phil has been encouraging me to get some video evidence of what's happening when I try to spin the ol' tub manually and after some fiddling around with the remote camera, I took this video of the what happens to the 'dome' and the central pulley.

The first 10 seconds or so are when I turn the tub clockwise; the next 10 or 11 seconds are when I turn it counter-clockwise ('spin'). Note how the 'dome' and the pulley are both turning.



The one thought running through my head at this point is 'what if the tub is supposed to drop down for a spin'... OR perhaps 'what if that dome is supposed to jump and grab the tub'... This is getting really interesting now!!

 

[philr]

I think it's what happens <span style="text-decoration: underline;">inside</span> that dome that we need to know! 

 

[smartdrive]

Paul - Check out the Patent of the Day for today (2/9). It looks identical to your transmission configuration.

 

[turquoisedude]

Holy Moley!! David, thank you for alerting me to this!! It looks like it could've been drawn for my machine for sure!!

Robert, thank you so much for this - I don't often look at the Patent of the Day, but it, too, is a gold mine of information!!

Phil's heading down to Ogden later today to help me with further investigations.

 

[philr]

Paul,

This part probably already got your attention but in case you missed it!

 

[swestoyz]

Holy crow, there it is!  Finally, an overall shot of the mechanism.  I wouldn't have guessed this was an Easy product. 

 

[jetcone]

ME neither Ben

I was surprised when I read the Assignor was EASY. But the listing address for Mr. Hutt is Toronto so this is DEFINITELY Canadian snubber technology revealed! All Hail doctrine!