Filter-Flo Spin Question

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tristarcxl

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Apr 8, 2009
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I recently rebuilt the 2-speed clutch in my GE and now I've got a spin question.

The washer hasn't worked properly since I first got it and was apparently running on only 1 clutch shoe all this time! Now that the clutch has been rebuilt, it wants to come up to spin speed FAST. This translates into a lot of water moving around during the drain process. The pump pumps out the tub like it always has, but the basket wants to spin up to speed so fast that water comes gurgling up out of the bleach dispenser in pretty good quantity when you've got a large load! You can also see it splashing back around the vinyl tub gasket around the top too, which I guess is kind of a neat "wash down" feature....

But is that normal for a GE? I don't think the belt is too tight since it's got about 1/2-3/4" deflection if you push on it. I'm still shocked how quiet that machine is now that it's been given some TLC!
 
i consider it normal...

the GE I grew up with did this same thing with the water splashing up around the tub shield and waterfall back into the washtub area....I really like the way it kinda rinsed out the whole machine inside, no lint or detergent residue left behind....I was stupid one time while servicing it with the whole top up..then it went into the spin and I didn't think until the machine flooded the floor...what a mess...also nice the way it rinses out the bleach dispenser in case of any that splashed around that area, before the next load...

maybe I'm wrong but I think it's working fine...
 
I'm just curious since it never did that before! Then again, with only one clutch shoe grabbing, it took it an eternity to come up to spin speed. Usually it was still draining by the time the spray rinse came on!
 
1970s FFs

Were in the laundry room at the apartments I lived in at the time. My aunt also had one that I would use once in awhile. All dark colored laundry came out with "spots" (lint? detergent residue?) on it from the tub holes. I couldn't figure out how to avoid it so I just washed everything dark inside-out. Comments?
 
Glad to know the dramatic spin is normal! The clutch itself looked brand new inside other than the completely borked shoes. Everything about it works better. Pumps faster, recirc flume shoots further, agitation is faster, spin is faster.....

I should have rebuilt that clutch LONG ago!
 
filter flo

My mother had filter flos when I grew up and they did the same thing and also when I started housekeeping I had 3 filter flos myself and they did the same thing.Mothers were from the 60's and 70's and mine were from the 80's and 90's.On a large load the water went into the bleach dispenser.But I haveto say one thing the filter flo and the bd kenmores were the best washers around. They got the clothes clean.I have to say better than the new ones. Good Luck
 
As requested...

Here's a video during wash...

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Again as requested...

Video during spin...

<object width=660 height=525><param name=movie value=></param><param name=allowFullScreen value=true></param><param name=allowscriptaccess value=always></param><embed src= type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowscriptaccess=always allowfullscreen=true width=660 height=525></embed></object>
 
yes that is normal for a filter flo, mine does the same exact thing in spin, it takes a tad longer to ramp up to speed than yours, but it still throws a good amount of water around, and my bleach dispenser fills up alot! one day i washed pillows and in spin the water sloshed around so much that it came out of the overflow valve and water was all over the floor, thankful mine is in the basement.
 
A quick question....

Hey Guys

Whats the spin speed on these?- reason I ask is I may soon be aquiring a Hotpoint 9605A which was the last of this machines UK relatives- that spins at 1050RPM and I was wondering if its faster than the US versions??

Seamus
 
If I'm not mistaken, the US Filter-Flo's are in the 600's. They've got a pretty wide tub though, and the final spin is VERY long, so the clothes come out about as dry as they do out of my front loader which spins at 1000 RPM.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.....
 
Nice Tristar!
I love the sound of the clutch shoes kicking in when the spin ramps up to top speed. I have a large tub version, and it doesn't quite rev up that fast with a full tub of water. I don't know if the ramped agitator cleans better, but the straight four vane agitator rolls the clothes at almost double the speed. Your machine is a beauty. Congrats.
Bobby in Boston
 
Ramped vs. Straight agitator...

I don't have the 4 vane, but I do have one of the USELESS 6 vane agitators for this machine. With the straight agitator, it will wash well if the machine is underloaded, but if it's loaded anywhere near capacity or overloaded, it will just splash water around.

With the ramped agitator in it, everything seems to come out clean with a bare minimum of wear. Even an overloaded load will turn over well. In fact, this is only a "Large" (aka Standard capacity) machine, and I can literally PACK a Queen sized bedspread in there and it will wash clean, turn over, and come out with not so much as even a speck of soap residue! I've NEVER seen a straight vane that could turn over a packed load like that ramp can!
 
In one of the GE factory service books I have, they said that the sloshing of water over the top of the tub and in the bleach funnel was due to under-loading of the washer for the selected water level. According to them, a properly selected water level would not slosh water around during spin-drain.

Now what fun would that be?

Thanks for the videos - you did a good job on that clutch, it sounds great!
 
Oh weak.......the UK Hotpoint does a whimpy neutral drain! Where's the fun in that!

From looking at it, it seems the tub in the Hotpoint is smaller than the US GE's, it certainly seems narrower anyway. Maybe that's why the 610 RPM spin on the GE is still pretty effective? The clothes sure paste against the tub though.....I'd hate to see the results at 1000+ RPM! You'd probably need a crowbar to get them loose!
 
As others have said the sloshing from behind the rubber clothes guard was/is perfectly normal in a Filter-flo. As a matter a few years back I was helping lawyers for LG fight off a number washing machine patent lawsuits filed by Whirlpool. One of the patents that Whirlpool receied in the mid 1990's was on water spinning over the top of the tub and returned into the wash basket. So I went out and found an early 70s one-speed GE Filter-flow and the lawyers flew out from Washington, DC and filmed this machine and used this in court. They won their case hands down by showing "Prior Art" (meaning someone else had done this earlier and it invalided their law suit as well as Whirlpool's patent). LG fought and won many others patent suits brought on by Whirlpool just by filming/testing/observing some of my 50's and 60's machines.
 
fight off a number washing machine patent lawsuits filed by

Wow Robert, way to stick it to the man! I'm so glad that Whirlpool got what was coming to them by trying to patent every last possible washer idea in the 90's.

Ben
 
Killing two birds with one stone...

So here's yet another video.....

Part 1: Overloaded the CRAP out of this machine to show the ramp agitator rolling clothes over.

Part 2: Spin with overloaded machine to check for wash-down of the tub seal.

<object width=660 height=525><param name=movie value=></param><param name=allowFullScreen value=true></param><param name=allowscriptaccess value=always></param><embed src= type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowscriptaccess=always allowfullscreen=true width=660 height=525></embed></object>
 
Oy, Tristar. Did you burn out the new clutch? That was a huge overload. My neighbors used to overload their old Kenmore like that for every load. It had the Super Roto-Swirl agitator, similar to the GE. They got no rollover whatsoever. Funny how their machine ran for over 20 years and finally the belt snapped. If a GE was overloaded like that for years, I wonder how long it would take for the clutch or motor to burn out?
Bobby in Boston
 
No clutch burn here! The machine is completely capable of handling that hellacious load. But if you watched, the clothes DID roll over! Even though that poor thing was PACKED. I normally don't load it even half that much......I prefer to get water moving between my clothes!

Besides......doing more loads gives you more time to watch the fun.... :-)
 
I found them on eBay from a repair store that was closing about 4 months ago. If you want the GE part number, I kept the packaging for future reference and I'll be happy to give you the numbers of the thrust bearing kit and the clutch shoes if you want it.
 
what some people don't realize....

is that these macines were great for basement applications where the drain pipe was high, the pump always ran at high speed for pump out and filtering, no matter what speed the machine was running at...

and the underside of the lid would hold the filter pan while loading and unloading...

but it also seemed to me that my mothers 65 filter flo had a faster agitation stroke, was it a different design than the newer ones or just different because of it being one speed machine, also like the way at the beginning of the wash the tub would spin to lock and got the whole load up and moving...

nice rebuild otherwise, that sure takes off during spin quickly...
 

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