About 20 years ago I found a Fisher and Paykel Gentle Annie washer discarded on the roadside. It was in very clean condition and not very old so I picked it up and took it home. Its only fault turned out to be a pinhole leak in the tub-to-pump hose, a short rubber concertina hose. I ordered a new hose and gave the repaired machine to my parents after I used it for a while. (their Bendix front loader from the 1970s was getting temperamental.)
Gentle Annie was an impressive machine. All electronically controlled, it had temperature controlled fill on warm, you could adjust the proportion of hot and cold blended to suit your preference.
It had no transmission, it had a sophisticated three-phase motor from GE, belt drive to the agitator shaft via a huge poly Vee belt. The motor reversed rapidly to give a true agitator action, the agitator moved about 180 degrees per stroke but this varied depending on the cycle and the agitation became more vigorous with deeper water levels. (to prevent splashing at low levels.)
It would also spin at 1000 rpm, fantastic for a 1990 top loader. There was no clutch to engage spin, instead the drive pulley was connected direct to the agitator shaft, and the spin shaft around it had a protrusion that would touch a matching protrusion on the agitator pulley. In effect, if the agitator kept reversing at less than 360 degrees arc then the basket was "floating free" ie: not locked but not driven. To spin, it would just drive the agitator in one direction, the drive blocks would collide before a full turn which meant the agitator shaft was driving the spin shaft in the same direction. Sorry, really hard to explain in text but incredibly simple in action. FP said in early advertising about the simplicity of their drive system "if a part isn't there, it can't fail."
Mum and Dad's machine demonstrated that simple reliability. The machine never had another repair after that leaky hose repair. About 10 years ago when I was getting parts for another machine, I was told that the FP Gentle Annie hose they had in stock was the last one in captivity. I bought it as a spare and still have it.
Its plastic top lid is now a bit saggy and the plastics a bit discoloured. My parents haven't aged so well. (nor have I.) My parents have lived in a retirement village for about 4 years, Mum went in to dementia care a bit over a year ago, Dad still lives in their unit in the village and turned 90 last year. The hot water in their unit is off-peak reheat only, and not big capacity so if he did a hot wash in Gentle Annie then there wasn't enough hot water left for a shower at night. He needs to wash in hot water due to old man issues so I gave him a Bosch Maxx 1000 front loader I found and repaired a couple of months ago. (New motor brushes and it is as good as new and a really good washer.) The Bosch heats its own water which solves the hot water service issue.
Gentle Annie still works fine and I was worried Dad would have trouble adjusting to the new machine so Annie is still in his back room - just in case... But Dad loves the new machine, he made the change much easier than he went from XP to Windows 10 but that is another story...
Gentle Annie had a long career with Mum and Dad, a great old machine. Next time I visit she will come home with me and retire to the shed till I can find her a new home.
Gentle Annie was an impressive machine. All electronically controlled, it had temperature controlled fill on warm, you could adjust the proportion of hot and cold blended to suit your preference.
It had no transmission, it had a sophisticated three-phase motor from GE, belt drive to the agitator shaft via a huge poly Vee belt. The motor reversed rapidly to give a true agitator action, the agitator moved about 180 degrees per stroke but this varied depending on the cycle and the agitation became more vigorous with deeper water levels. (to prevent splashing at low levels.)
It would also spin at 1000 rpm, fantastic for a 1990 top loader. There was no clutch to engage spin, instead the drive pulley was connected direct to the agitator shaft, and the spin shaft around it had a protrusion that would touch a matching protrusion on the agitator pulley. In effect, if the agitator kept reversing at less than 360 degrees arc then the basket was "floating free" ie: not locked but not driven. To spin, it would just drive the agitator in one direction, the drive blocks would collide before a full turn which meant the agitator shaft was driving the spin shaft in the same direction. Sorry, really hard to explain in text but incredibly simple in action. FP said in early advertising about the simplicity of their drive system "if a part isn't there, it can't fail."
Mum and Dad's machine demonstrated that simple reliability. The machine never had another repair after that leaky hose repair. About 10 years ago when I was getting parts for another machine, I was told that the FP Gentle Annie hose they had in stock was the last one in captivity. I bought it as a spare and still have it.
Its plastic top lid is now a bit saggy and the plastics a bit discoloured. My parents haven't aged so well. (nor have I.) My parents have lived in a retirement village for about 4 years, Mum went in to dementia care a bit over a year ago, Dad still lives in their unit in the village and turned 90 last year. The hot water in their unit is off-peak reheat only, and not big capacity so if he did a hot wash in Gentle Annie then there wasn't enough hot water left for a shower at night. He needs to wash in hot water due to old man issues so I gave him a Bosch Maxx 1000 front loader I found and repaired a couple of months ago. (New motor brushes and it is as good as new and a really good washer.) The Bosch heats its own water which solves the hot water service issue.
Gentle Annie still works fine and I was worried Dad would have trouble adjusting to the new machine so Annie is still in his back room - just in case... But Dad loves the new machine, he made the change much easier than he went from XP to Windows 10 but that is another story...
Gentle Annie had a long career with Mum and Dad, a great old machine. Next time I visit she will come home with me and retire to the shed till I can find her a new home.
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