Every Day’s a Holiday with Hotpont - Maybe?

[Unimatic1140]

Some of you might remember about a year and a half ago I was attempting to get my 1956 Hotpoint washer restored but ran into some major problems with the clutch. It turned out that the metal clutch locking groove had worn down to the point where the spin clutch was not being disengaged anymore during agitation and the tub would spin during the wash and rinse cycles. So I took the clutch spider to a machine shop and had them weld on a new piece of metal which worked for about 15 minutes until the new metal wore away the groove on the clutch jaw and once again I was out of luck. So at that point I gave up and threw the machine into storage hoping someday to find the right parts. Here is a link back to the original Hotpoint thread.

Thankfully last year Greg found another Hotpoint of the same design mechanically so I should be able to take two machines now and make one good one.

So yesterday I began work on combing the two machines, unfortunately the new washer’s agitator drive block is so worn that the agitator will only turn about 1/2 it’s normal stoke. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal and I have a new drive block ready to install, but in order to remove the old drive block you remove the agitator shaft simply by loosening two set screws under the clutch housing from beneath the washer and pulling the shaft up through the top opening. Wouldn’t you know it but one set screw came out easy as pie, the other absolutely positively refuses to budge. So the only option is to take the entire washer apart from the bottom so I can pull the agitator shaft out from under the washer. Oh well here goes…

 

[Unimatic1140]

Here is a view underneath the '56 Hotpoint. The machine is Hotpoint's third redesign since its first automatic in 1949. Its at the stage when they are still using a Beam transmission, but have designed their own clutch. This was the design right before they introduced their own Co-Axial tranmission.

First thing I have to do is remove the Diagonal Crossbrace...

 

[Unimatic1140]

With the crossbrace removed I can remove the three bolts that hold the Transmission and Pump assembly to the washer. I already removed the motor (before I took this picture) to make things lighter...

 

[Unimatic1140]

Here is the transmission, solenoid, shifter assembly and pump removed all in once unit.

 

[Unimatic1140]

With the clutch and agitator shaft now pulled out, you can see the spin clutch drum, the big snubber spring and snubber plate which is up against the bottom of the outer cabinet.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Well check this out, now that I have the clutch apart I see this machine has a slighlty redesigned clutch, it's Nylon! I wonder if the was a mid production change because of field service problems they were having or its this was a replacement and Nylon has less wear????

Anyway, so this week I will reassembly the machine and hopefully we can have some '56 Hotpoint Action Videos.

 

[oldwasherguy]

robert, i love the hotpoint. its just like the one in the ozzy and harriette commercial. thanks for posting and good luck buddy. don

 

[westytoploader]

YAY!!

That second Hotpoint is also a very beautiful machine and so far it looks like you're making great progress with it!!! Do you plan to use the cabinet and control panel of the higher-end '56?

I wonder if perhaps the nylon clutch spider was introduced, like you said, in mid-production, because the metal spider was wearing out too quickly? Could also be a field replacement as well...but whatever the case, it looks like it's in excellent shape with no wear, especially when you compare it to the old one!!!

Keep us posted and good luck!!

--Austin

 

[sudsmaster]

Huh, interesting. Might be one of the few instances where a plastic transmission/clutch part works better than metal...!

And yes, the Hotpoint is oozing character and deserves your tender loving care.

Congratulations!

Question: was Hotpoint an independent company at that time, or was it a division of GE?

 

[westytoploader]

I just noticed something interesting about the transmission. Does the motor drive the pump pulley, which in turn serves as a jackshaft to drive the transmission pulley via the second belt?

And up until their demise, were all of the true Hotpoints from 1949-1975 "cabinet-tub" machines without a separate outer tub?

 

[tecnopolis]

Wow, the ultimate water hog!

 

[westytoploader]

Apparently I didn't read the Archive thread well enough either...oy! I just noticed where you were able to use a spring to force the clutch spider down during agitation. How did this setup eventually turn out?

 

[peteski50]

Hotpont

Robert,
This is a real awsome machine. We had the Hotpoint in the most wanted pictures (the model with the removeable lid) it was a 1955 model. It was a BOL model but I bet it was simular in many ways to this model. It had the black goose neck adj.
Good luck on the restoration I cannot wait to see the results.
Peter

 

[Unimatic1140]

was Hotpoint an independent company at that time, or was it a division of GE?
Rich yes Hotpoint was division of GE then, but Hotpoint continued to produce their own washers until 1975, when the line was changed to the GE line.

Does the motor drive the pump pulley, which in turn serves as a jackshaft to drive the transmission pulley via the second belt?
Austin the motor has a double pulley which turns the Spin Clutch Pulley Belt and the Drive Belt Pump. The Pump also has a double pulley which is driven from the motor and turns the transmission pulley. Three belts to run this baby! And yes I'm going to use the TOL top and control panel for this washer.

the ultimate water hog! Your correct about that Alexander the Hotpoint's water usage is high for the time at 41 gallons per cycle, the GE & Speed Queen used 43 gallons, they were the top water hogs, Whirlpool and Kenmore used 36.5, Frigidaire used 28 gallons and Apex used 27 gallons. The Westinghouse and Bendix Front Loaders both tie at 24 gallons.

I just noticed where you were able to use a spring to force the clutch spider down during agitation. How did this setup eventually turn out?
Austin, it worked 50% of the time and the other 50% it didn't because half the time the solenoid couldn't overcome the pressure of the new spring. So only working 50% of the time didn't cut it.

Can't wait to see this machine washing, keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[spinout]

Looks great... Gotta love that Hotpoint!

About that Nylon: There are several grades of Nylon and other related plastics (such as Delrin) that have self lubricating properties and should be quieter and offer better wear resistance characteristics than their metal counterparts.

Q.: "...were all of the true Hotpoints from 1949-1975 "cabinet-tub" machines..."

A.: Yes.

 

[spinout]

Oh, one more thing:

These Hotpoints only used about 12-13 gal of water to completely fill the inner tub (a fact).

So where does all the water go? (Long time passing...)

Is it overflow wash/rinse? Spin sprays? Or is it the overflow fill for machines with pressure activated fill switches?

All of the above?

 

[lesto]

I'm so excited that you're working on the Hotpoint again. Can't wait to watch the progress this week and ultimately, some working videos. Love the red agi!

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks Robert.

I'm surprised the Frigidaire of that era (solid tub, no doubt) used only 28 gallons of water per wash load. That is competitive with the original Neptune series, and with many of the modern HE top loader models on the market today. Except for one thing, which is that the wash water volume is probably close to half that amount, 14 gallons, whereas a front loader will typically use about 1/4 the total water volume for the wash part of the cycle. So the energy needed for heating the wash water will still be less for a front loader than it is for a top loader.

Still, makes me wonder... why not bring back the solid tub concept... for water conservation reasons?

 

[panthera]

this is better than a good detective novel

I am just enjoying this to no end. 'Course, I am not the one doing the work, looking for the solutions...
I remember my dad telling me way back when that in set-ups like here to never have two parts with the same wear characteristics. Either brass and ruby (clocks) or sintered bronze and soft steel (sleeve bearings and motor shafts). Not an engineer, but that makes sense to me. One always has to "give" a little or they would wear each other out. Maybe that explains the nylon. Not everything made of plastic is junk, just 99.99%.
Robert, good luck and keep posting - I am going to go pop some popcorn.