From the West Coast to the Midwest - a Bendix restoration

[swestoyz]

Thank you for the kind comments and remarks, everyone!

 

Bob, I'm glad seeing this machine running again has spurred up good memories from your childhood.  Impressive that dryer lasted as long as it did!

 

And John, I agree about it being a shame that Philco didn't continue with this platform considering the majority of the necessary parts to make these were being used to produce the Duos. 

 

Robert, I'm glad you took the time to look at the timer charts!  Yes, the Kingston timers lose out on one interval during the spin after the wash/first rinse.  They also loose out on one interval of tumble at the end of the final spin, as well.  Fascinating too that the timer chart on that post indicates that the drain value is left open for one increment during off, when in fact it does not.  But yes, this certainly felt like an Aberdeen machine restoration when compared to your '57 Kenmore restoration photo gallery.

 

There was a question asked by Jerome about what type of cycles the Bendix has.  This Gyro has the same two cycles Bendix patented and used for years - the Soak cycle and Wash Cycle.  Over time both cycles changed slightly (spray rinse changed with the top fill change, etc).   Reply 12 has the full timer charts posted, in case you're interested.

 

After I finished publishing the thread yesterday afternoon it dawned on me that I totally forgot to include photos of the power unit installed, as well as close ups of the controls and official money shots of the wash tub.  See below for extra photos!

 

Early on while working on the washer a 1955 Bendix compete specifications catalog popped up on eBay and of course I snagged it.  This would be a great addition to AE if Robert would be interested in adding it!

 

Ben

 

[Unimatic1140]

Looking a 2nd time Ben it also appears that the Kingston timer has both rinse cycles at 2 minutes 15 seconds and the Mallory has each rinse cycle at 3 minutes each. This includes the fill time, so overall the Mallory rinses at 90 seconds less over the entire cycle. It is very odd that they did this.

Another thing I noticed is the Kingston rotates 6 degrees each click and the Mallory 5 degrees with each click. I wonder if the plastic timer dial diameter is smaller for the Mallory machines? Or maybe the Mallory has a larger OFF section and they are the same size which would make more sense.

 

[gansky1]

 

 

A hat-tip to your fine work, Ben.  This looks like a new machine underneath and the control panel cover restoration is outstanding.  

 

[launderess]

Philco-Bendix washers seem like heaven.



On related note think Bendix laundry appliances were just sold too often (Bendix Home Appliances - AVCO - Philco) and got lost in shuffle somehow.

Last owner of Philco brand was Ford IIRC, and by end of things they wanted to drop consumer appliances and electronics period as they say.

 

[tomturbomatic]

In discussions, we have long lamented that Whirlpool did not buy the appliance end of Bendix. They could have sold the front loading washers through Sears and drastically cut down on water usage in our nation, plus they could have had the perfect sales outlets for the Duomatics, which suffered, as did all Philco appliances, as least in the southern states, from limited distribution through Auto stores like Economy Auto and Firestone. The dryers that Bendix developed with the full width air inlet across the back of the drum were more efficient than the WP dryers with the perforated back of the drum.

 

[firedome]

Wow... just wow!

Ben you should be working for the Smithsonian!

 

[turquoisedude]

Well done!

Ben, as usual, you've done an incredible job of authentically restoring this amazing and rare washer!  Thank you for all the details and pictures.  You may inspire to get a couple more restorations done while I still can!!  

 

[tomturbomatic]

In Decatur, GA , there was a cleaners and laundry by the name of Morgan's. When I was about 5-7, we used to go into Decatur to take Daddy's shirts and suits to the main Morgan's plant. Sometime later, our shopping center underwent an enlargement and Morgan's built a store there. It was divided into two sections, the desk for the dry cleaning/laundry part and the part where the drop off laundry was done. The laundry part had a row of machines that looked like these along the outer wall, a big extractor against the back wall and tumblers facing the washers. Whenever we took stuff to the cleaners, I would go to the very edge of the cleaning lobby which was divided from the laundry side by sliding glass doors and watch the flat top Bendix washers.

After a couple of years, the laundry side was remodeled to have Philco coin op washers and that is where we first took our throw rugs after we got the '58 Lady. The machines had little yellow knobs with a red line on them for selecting the wash water and soak/rinse water temps. These machines had the traditional side swing doors with the latch opposite the hinge. I think the glass surround was yellow and black and the door frame was chrome. These lasted quite a while and were replaced by Maytags and then big stainless steel 20 pound washers. It was amazing, the proliferation of coin laundries in the late 50s and early 60s, and the various esoteric machines I got to see thanks to the coupons in the local paper for free washing in the grand opening celebrations. Who would ever guess that Kelvinator and later, Frigidaire, would equip laundromats?

 

[launderess]

By 1960's and later post war boom in appliance sales (driven by pent up demand, post war baby boom, mass movement to suburbs and other new housing), was beginning to wane. Piled on were various social and economic issues hitting American economy such as "stagflation" of 1970's

For reasons above and others many in major appliance game decided it was time to cut bait rather than fish. Ford, General Motors and so forth streamlined by getting shot of divisions that weren't or deemed not profitable.

White Sewing Machine Company (later White Consolidated Industries) went on a shopping spree, gobbling up Philco, Westinghouse, Kelvinator, Gibson and others.

One of if not only front loading washer still about at that time was Westinghouse, and WCI got their mitts on that brand for good or bad. Whirlpool and others really didn't see h-axis washing machines for domestic USA households as anything more than what they were, a niche market. Of course we know different today.

Bendix commercial/industrial laundry division could have survived. But even there coin-op laundry sector was still dominated by top loaders from likes of Maytag, GE, Whirlpool, Speed Queen.

 

[circlew]

Bendix commercial laundry continued as Dexter.

 

[blackstone]

Amazing job; an inspiration to all of us!

 

[launderess]

If it wasn't for determined employees at the time Dexter laundry would likely not have survived.

https://www.thegazette.com/business...rs-dexter-laundry-keeps-building-on-advances/

 

[slowspin66]

Fantastic job

Ben it’s a really good job and love the colour of the dials and the door boot …The work is fabulous .. I remember seeing the machine in its unrestored state ….
It’s unusual to have a water heater in an American washer .. water heaters in the Uk Bendix are on most of the Semi automatics but only in the combo machines . If the water isn’t hot enough for the programme selected then the washer will pause at the heat section of the programme until the water is at the right temperature . It’s only then the wash will advance for the selected time .. once the water temperature drops during the wash then the water heater comes on again to boost the temperature to where it should be . The heater turns off in the last minute of the wash .
How does the water heater work on your machine ??
Have loved the thread been great … best wishes Darren

 

[tomturbomatic]

Bendix introduced the water heater in the washer at the time of introducing the water heater in the Duomatic. Of course, the Duomatic had 240 volts to power the Magic Heater while the washer's Magic Heater operated on 120 volts. Bendix partnered with Walt Disney's 1952 release of the animated feature Snow White for the introduction of the "Snow White Washer" based on the idea that the hotter the wash water the whiter the wash. Unfortunately, Bendix advertised that it would make the water hotter, but at best it kept the water from cooling as much as it would with the heater switched off in testing done on the machine by Consumers' Union.

https://filmic-light.blogspot.com/2017/09/1952-bendix-snow-white-campaign.html

 

[appnut]

At least with the 33" wide Lady Kenmore & Whirlpool Combos, when hot water was selected, the timer stopped moving until temperature of 140 degrees is reached. Similarly, Medium water temp was selected, the washer filled with warm and then water was heated to 120 degrees.

 

[slowspin66]

Brilliant

John that “ Snow White Bendix “ looks very similar to the bolt down Triomatic in the UK .. Obviously the units in the UK run on 240 v but interestingly the element is always in the bottom of the tubs and not on the tub back like Bens Gyromatic … The Triomatic pauses until the water temperature is reached then restarts the programme . Many thanks for the information . Really super . Best wishes Darren

 

[launderess]

From my stash..

 

[gyrafoam]

Beautiful restoration-------

When you said this was your next serious project I knew you were focused in on it!

These machines used to be quite popular back in the day, and like throwing a light-switch, began to disappear quickly in the 1960's. I haven't seen one in operation in probably five decades until watching your vid.

Interesting how much trouble Bendix went to, to try to educate Harriette Homemaker on the proper dosing of detergent/soap. All for naught. Most of them just dumped some down the chute and got used to seeing the machine choke on suds throughout the whole process. I can't tell you how many times they would just automatically send everything through a "rinse cycle" because "this machine just can't rinse very well".

The mere suggestion that Tide or Cheer, or Ivory Snow might not be the best choice for use in the machine fell on deaf ears. Besides you could get drinking glasses from DUZ, and towels from Breeze. The manual washer mentality of "plenty of suds" wasn't an easy habit to break.

Older, taller women did not like to have to bend and reach inside the machines to feel for a sock or some other garment stuck against the back of the cylinder.
Anyway, the people who sold top-loaders threw plenty of shade on the front-loaders, and with the exception of Westinghouse, and the other brands (Combinations) the last popular front-loaders I recall were some of the gazillions of GE Combo's installed during the new "condo craze" of the 1970's.

Ben, like all of your restorations, your gift to tackle issues of mechanical or electrical complexity is amazing. The attention to detail, the cleaning and cosmetics very thorough.
You really did a great job with this one. I hope you get some fun out of it for years to come, and thanks for sharing, in detail, the steps of the process.

 

[swestoyz]

Darren - great question on how the Magic Heater operates of which I can add additional detail to Tom's comments.

 

The single loop heater along the tub back runs on the same 120v line that the rest of the washer operates on.   When the wash cycle is activated AND the temp selector is set for HOT, the circuit for the heater remains open until the pressure switch is satisfied and the machine stops filling.  From there the heater remains on for the duration of the wash cycle.  No cycling thermostats, no check points within the timer/cycle program.   Considering the purpose is to maintain the HOT wash and not boost the water, it doesn't need any additional complexity with the circuit, helped by the low wattage due to the 120v supply.   The heater is then shut off one increment before the drain is activated at the end of the wash cycle.

 

Of the half dozen hot washes I've run through the machine it does just that - maintains the hot wash.  What I've observed is if the wash temp is below 120 degrees the heater will eventually boost the temp up to around 120 degrees by the time the wash cycle is complete.   If I can get the incoming temp at or above 130 it will hold that for the full wash cycle.  I've also used the heater to maintain the temp for WARM wash as well, observing that it will boost the temp around 10 degrees by the time the wash cycle is complete.

 

As I mentioned earlier in the post, the 1952 G314 was the first with the heater, and is what many here call the Snow White Bendix.  This would have been a full model design before the 1953 Duomatic CCR and '53 Gyromatic WCG, which share similar styling traits.  The 1949 G311 -1952 G314 share the same look and several design components to many of the early UK machines from the late 50's and early 60's. 

 

Steve - thank you for your kind comments!  The idea of women converting over from what they new with their wringers to a Bendix echo what many households went through when transitioning from a top loader to a Neptune in the late 90's.  No one listened and filled those things full of detergent (well, maybe it was just my mother, LOL). 

 

Ben

 

[this post was last edited: 11/26/2022-09:59]

 

[slowspin66]

Heaters

I do love the heaters in the machines and the reasons behind the popularity of them in the UK semi automatics is down to inadequate domestic hot water systems and also the washing powders on the market at the time . We were a little obsessed with boiling things up to get things white where as in the US I think the detergent market was possibly more advanced ..?? Who knows
However the Bendix Triomatic has a hot water boost like the US gyromatic . Anything above a boost on the hot wash stops the machine to a stationary heat then resumes the wash once the temperature is reached .. That continued into the next series of our LT AND LA machines that were suspended tub models . Many thanks everyone for the info and chat . Regards Darren

 

[launderess]

Ever since Henkel invented the first self activating laundry "detergent" in 1907 hot or boiling water washing for whites and colourfast became standard.

As a soap based product Persil and others that followed worked best in warm, hot or boiling water. But it was also because these products contained sodium perborate (oxygen bleach) moderate to high wash temps were required.

This went on until energy crisis of 1970's hit everyone on both sides of pond. Governments gave consumers and detergent makers their marching orders; "turn down the dial" was the new mantra.

Chemists responded by inventing bleach activators (TAED, NOBS), that gave boil wash performance at temps of 40 degrees C to 140 degrees C.



Of course boil washing had long been part of laundry day going back years. Be it a copper in scullery, boiling pot in back yard, or washers in "steam laundries". Again when all you've got working for you on wash day is soap high temperatures have several advantages.

 

[tomturbomatic]

GOBLIN!

I remember that brand from Teasmade! That water was sure steaming hot even if it was not boiling.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Bendix!

That Bendix could really throw water around.