Help! Kenmore visimatic trouble

[wayupnorth]

Bradross fixed his "48 Kenmore with a vac belt. My "48 is in a shed awaiting warmer weather and then I will measure with what I need for a belt and my pump will hopefully work fine again. Prefer your Visi-Matic but mine is just like the same Kenmore my mother had. According to the posts in "48 Kenmore wringer, mine is next to what should be the then Lady K. Doesnt matter, if you love it who cares but you.

 

[mickeyd]

What a nice paint & lid job; it looks like a demo model !

Have you figured out that if you swing the wringer to the right side of the tub, you'll be able to wring forwards?

Thanks for the pics. Glad to see you have a working filter; thought it was missing. These machines are really wonderful. What a ball !

 

[vacuumguy99]

Ya I did, I'll have to take a few pictures of how I had it set up next to our double wash tubs in the basement.I think I got my routine down wash the cloths, wring them into the first wash tub with clean water,reload the washer, hand rinse the cloths, wring the rinsed cloths into the second dry wash tub, repeat. Hopefully I'll get a video on youtube soon, I'll post the link when it's up.

 

[mickeyd]

We all here "loves" our washer flix. Do it! ;'D

You're doing it the classical way. Nice. Saw a vid the other day where the lady wrung out one piece at a time from her Speed Queen, rinsed the single item -- all by itself--in a tub, then re-wrung.
One by one the whole load. Never saw that before. A million ways to skin a cat.

 

[vacuumguy99]

A little bit of caching up....

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I jumped head first in the wringer rabbit hole. Since the last time I was on here I had and sold a Dexter twin tub, cool machine but it was just a little too big for what I needed. I got a Maytag e2lps that's missing the safety bulb but she's the "daily driver" I use twice a week.I got an electric easy model r that's going to need a full overhaul but it came with some original paperwork so thats cool. Back to lady visi herself, I finaly decided to tear into the wringer gear box and found that the "rev clutch" part number 14468 (name of the part as per sears) has a collar on the forward direction that a fitting on the handle pushes against to engage the gear box and the collar is completely worn off. Aside from the labor,it should just be a parts swap if i can find the part. If i cant I'll try and put a few snap rings where the collar should be and hope for the best!

 

[vacuumguy99]

A good evening, indeed!

After plenty of pictures and a few cups of coffee,I got the wringer disassembled and the gearbox torn apart. The problamatic clutch came out pretty easily after i figured out that the shaft was pinned at the top and held in with a keyway in the gear box. After work tommorow i plan to clean all the parts up (and the table off for Wednesdays laundry) and I'll try to find something to fix or replace the clutch. If anyone has one laying around that they would like to sell, I'm in the market

 

[vacuumguy99]

On a side note...

I got a set of wash tubs from the 50s, a few parts turned up missing but hopefully they turn up soon.

 

[ladyk]

A Beautiful Rebuild!!

Back in 1992, at our local Salvation Army Thrift Store, I scored a '67 Lady Kenmore wringer washer that apparently had never been used! (or very, very, very little) This baby still had a paper sticker attached to the front of the wringer giving brief usage instructions. The agitator was (and still is) shiny jet black. No nubs off of the scrubber cap. Just amazing!! Terrific machines!!!!

 

[mickeyd]

On the side note

That picture is so much like what I would imagine stage one of the Philco Ford twin tub assembly line would have looked like; indeed, Philco made the machine in that very color. I wonder!!! "Wouldn't it be nice......." Beach Boys.

Now for March [Wringer] Madness : Through a one-time-only user error, I broke the wringer on my Pink Lady. It was a late summer night. I was finishing up a few items that had been soaking. It was 1 a.m. The piece went through and started wrapping around the rollers. For some reason still unknown, I just stood there and watched, taking no action to abort the wringer madness. Suddenly the wringer snapped, and the world ended, (joke). The photo shows how the lever actually sheared, a clean cut. Alas, it will have to soldered, beyond my pay grade.

Here's why this was such a shame. Of all the wringers I've know, this particular Kenmore offering is by far the best. By that I mean, first of all the fastest of any wringer, a real jet, the clothes simply fly ; secondly the reset is a one-handed affair that is as easy as closing a Frigidaire refrigerator from the mid-60's--a light snap. A weak old man--me, one day--could reset it with ease; hence its exquisite value. Thirdly, it's lighter and smaller than most.

I have been using the wringer locking the gear downward ever since. Then last week, after months of mickey-rigged bliss, just as your wringer failed, so did this. The gear will not stay engaged. 100 failed attempts. So I'm at a loss, but I popped the Visi-matic wringer on instead, the tortoise and the hare ascendant!

 

[mickeyd]

Ever hopeful

`

 

[vacuumguy99]

Are you referring to the Dexter twin tub washers in turquoise? I have used a pink set that I had for a few weeks and they are cool machines! These are just rinse tubs dated December of 59. I was wondering if all Kenmore wringer share the clutch gear as I see you have a "target" wringer next to the open top, or is that just for the handle? I ended up cutting the drain pipes for the wash tubs too short but got them down stairs and stored them next to the wringers!