Dude, where's my combo?

[jetcone]

Why would

inverting it make a difference? Functionally it shouldn't matter, but dial position would be  affected?? So when you thought you were turning it down you were turning it up?? Is that it?

 

 

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Jon, that was it exactly. Because the thermostat was upside down, the dial positions from lowest to highest were reversed. Dumb mistake, but at least it was 'fixable'. Should have some laundry to do in that baby today!!!

 

[westingman123]

So...

no trout for dinner?

Damn.

 

[turquoisedude]

No, I used my GE Fishwasher instead.... (ducks and runs)

 

[turquoisedude]

First full-cycle test with laundry... inconclusive!

I am not a happy camper... The combo was reinstalled in the kitchen centre yesterday afternoon with no obvious issues. I did notice that when I tried to install the timer dial with the inner dial that it didn't fit perfectly. I had to file down the fiberglass resin I used to repair the timer dial shaft and it seemed to fit... I manually advanced the timer dial to make sure it wasn't binding anywhere and again it seemed fine.

So this afternoon, I threw a load of table linens (place mats, napkins, table runners) in for a 9-minute hot wash. At the second rinse, the timer seemed to stall out on me. I was able to advance through to the remaining rinses manually; I got the spin to kick in, but the timer was definitely not running under its own steam... My language, fortunately not recorded, was pretty salty!

I am letting the machine run on into the dry cycle, keeping a close watch and with the kitchen timer set to remind me that the machine has been running for about 30 minutes. I am hoping that the thermostat will kick out and the power will start flowing to the timer again.

I am a little discouraged to say the least!!  

 

[retromania]

Me love combos too!

 

[combo52]

1955 GE Combo

Paul have you looked at the new LG Combos, I am sure they have one that color that will fit right in. LOL

 

[jetcone]

Paul this is just

combo frustration it happens because you are dealing with two machines not one like a GE FF. So you will have twice the way to come back from junk to perfection. I rebuilt my 1956 Bendix completely from the ground up last year and even today I discover it puddles all over the floor due to someone in the distant past must have stored it in freezing conditions and -THIS I HAVE NEVER SEEN IN A VINTAGE WASHER BEFORE - was that the Nylon valve for the condenser split, its a hairline crack!But there must have been water in the valve and when it froze the nylon gave way.

You can't even see it unless the valve is out in your hands and in the right light-but when you go to dry it sprays fine mist stream the whole time the machine is running. I am trying to find the correct ice maker valve to replace it with. 

So the point being Combos have to be cobbled back into service they just don't get rebuilt like GE FF do's. 

Its a trial and error kind of thing.

 

I learned that from John Eichenger and by doing it myself, but once you get them up and running wahoo they are fun. 1) Trash some jeans 2) throw in3) go to bed 4)wake up and5) put new clean jeans on 6)TAH DAH!

 

BAD! DUOMATIC ! BAD!!

 

 

 

[combo52]

Hairline cracks in plastic Inlet Valves

Jon we see this all the time, the valve does not need to ever freeze to have this happen, I just did a GE inlet valve for an IM Friday that did this, the split is so small you can never see it, but one foot away you can feel this tiny spray of water.

 

You probably could use an IM inlet valve for the condenser water supply, just keep in mind that most new IM inlet valves are only designed to run for about 1 minute before the coil burns out to protect the home from flooding should something go wrong with the IM. So if one is the use an IM valve get a little older design where the coil can still be changed to a continuous duty design, for more details consult an expert.

 

[jetcone]

I

sure will!

 

[turquoisedude]

Hairline cracks in water components

Jon, I know exactly what you mean... The '68 Viking (Westinghouse) top-load dishwasher had a similar issue - I couldn't see the blasted split on the pump housing but it was there...

Back to the GE Combo - I ain't been beat yet. After I calmed down yesterday and on the bus ride back into Montreal today I reasoned that it HAS to be a timer contact (and I think I know which one!). I'll probably take a break and pull the combo back out in a couple of weeks - it was a bit of a PITA having the combo in the dining room for service. But by golly, I will get this thing working again!

 

[jetcone]

Holla Buddy!

If anyone will do it you will!

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Rainy day tinkering....

Just for the heck of it and knowing that with a heavy rainfall warning in effect there was little chance that I'd empty the well, I thought I'd give the ol' GE combo another try...

It ran but the timer is not running at all anymore (on the test wash when I re-installed it in the kitchen centre, the timer ran briefly, then quit).

I have a few possible causes...
1) a wire got rattled loose when the machine was wrestled back into place
2) the timer switches that control the time need to be re-aligned
3) the timer motor itself has quit on me

I also think I may be able to access the time without pulling the unit out of the kitchen centre. I'll have a run at that later this summer.

In the meantime, I did manually get a load of table linens washed, rinsed, spun and dried in the machine. I just have to make this work automatically soon!!!

 

[newvista58]

Very Cool & Interesting

Hi Paul,

I found it Very interesting
reading through your
restoration process.

Thanks for sharing the
story. Def looking
forward to hearing
when you've completed it.

You will not be outdone.

Excellent Job

 

[alr2903]

Paul, respectfully I think the difficulty of your combo refurbishing is greater than most. I can not imagine the effort it takes to manipulate the awkward weight of the machine into position in your kitchen center. I can also tell from your posts that its coming out again. I admire your attention to perfection and I know you will get there. You have come along way in this restoration but it might be time for a break as you suggested in your above post. arthur

 

[retromania]

A good read!

This has been most interesting to follow.

 

[zippyjet]

Heat, heat and more heat!

From what I've learned from the old school combos:
1. For today's clothes, the heat and excessive hot water would be the death of them.
2. Excessive use of water and, having a final hot water rinse would be frowned upon in our energy conservation society.
3. All that heat making the laundry area a steam bath or sauna especially during the summer months. And with climate change do we really need excessive additional heat?
4. These old behemoths seemed like a fire hazard waiting to happen.
5. However watching your You Tube videos of the machine in action are cool.
5. Which models had the door window and which did not? Were they from different years?

 

[combo52]

Using an old GE Combo

I have had the 1966 version of this GE combo installed in my kitchen for almost 25 years now, and while it is not my primary washer-dryer it does get used a few times every month and it has never ruined a thing. It is true that older dryers and combs did have hotter drying temperatures available but people also had delicate clothing in the 1950s and these machines could do a beautiful job laundering them without any damage, { a quick hot rinse certainly will not hurt any clothing that was washed in hot water to begin with ].

 

I certainly do not see any real danger of fire with an appliance like this [ if I did it would not be in my kitchen ] older appliances had very little plastic used in their construction that will support a fire. I would however recommend staying at home when using almost any appliance that is this old, in addition to major appliances I would also include old radios, TVs, any small appliance that heats, etc.

 

I do share your concerns about energy use and would not encourage many people to use this machine as their everyday  machine, however old combos in general are usually as efficient to use overall as a separate washer and dryer of the same time period.

 

[turquoisedude]

Which models had the door window and which did not?

To the best of my knowledge, only the 1955 version of the GE washer-dryer combo (their very first) was the model that did not have a window in the door. I have seen literature (and even a few in person!) models from 1956 until the early 1970s that all had windows in the door. There may have been some lower-end models from beyond 1956 without the window, but I do not know this for sure.

My big concern with using this unit is not the heat (the safety thermostat would kick off before the tub temperature got dangerously high) but the water use... We're on a well and septic system in Ogden and we're slightly paranoid about running the well AND flooding the weeping field... Probably unjustified since we had the septic system replaced in 2010 but old habits die hard!

 

[alr2903]

It would be great if you could somehow harvest the condenser water for watering the yard, plants. alr