making up a sump hose
Hi Nathan
I'd be happy to have a go at making up a sump hose if you would like. I wasn't aware you even had a keymatic, though I shouldn't be surprised...
I reckon the key to it is that it doesn't all have to be flexible rubber. You need a flexi hose from the tub to the cross part, but the rest could be made of rigid PVC pipe which is cheap, available and easy to work with. I have had a design of sorts in the back of my mind for years but never got around to trying it. I'd have to give more thought on how to link in the rubber tube to the pressure switches.
for the flexi section, the UK Hotpoints made in the 1980s and 1990s have a good hose. They are basically a T shaped hose, they have a plastic catch pot at the bottom which you would discard for the Keymatic. You would use it "wrong way round" ie: connect the Hotpoint hose outlet to the tub (where it becomes the inlet), the flexi part leads to the Tee, connect one side to a short bit of PVC to a blank, the other side you have a short length of PVC to a tee, one part goes up to the open tube (where the water inlets feed in) the other goes to the pump via another flexi hose - maybe a Hoover Zodiac hose? The tube to the pressure pot would have to be extended and connect to the the blank end of PVC with some sort of adapter...
I will maybe have a go at lining the parts up together against my (broken remains) Keymatic hose and take a photo so you get a better idea.
The UK Hotpoint was available here badged as a GE so parts are available here. (but probably overpriced.)I think I have 2 of the hose I am raving on about, I only want one so if I can find a second one it is yours. It will be in good used condition.
Are you sure it is over filling? They do fill very high compared to modern front loaders. Almost to the door. There are two pressure switches but they always fill to the high setting. The low pressure switch controls the heater coming on, and is used to prevent it trying to spin before having fully pumped out - the low pressure switch only resets when the tub is pretty much empty, and it won't spin till that pressure switch has reset.
I made a Frankenstein Keymatic years ago, all the electrics were replaced and it used 12 volt components to make a 12 volt Keymatic that worked on our basic solar power system at the time. I didn't like the high fill as the load floats too much and the wash action was too gentle, I changed it to use the low pressure switch for the water level and adjusted it to have a much more "normal" water level, it worked much better.
A standard 240v Keymatic needs a very high water level for the pulsator action. (Water level has to be high to reach the pulsator.) Otherwise the wet clothes just slide past the spinning pulsator and it has little or no effect.
I disposed of my Keymatics before I found this website and the AW community, to my eternal shame... I kept some components and have since scrounged another Keymatic, unfortunately missing its motor. I have a good door boot and a good rubber "trombone" hose (the complicated one). I have little hope these days of sourcing an original motor so I may in future try to make up another low voltage Keymatic, this time maybe try to utilize the original keyplate as a control??? Maybe 24 volt this time as we have 24 volt battery bank these days.
the drum bearings on mine are stiff and they are thinner than normal bearings, probably unobtainable. I tried years ago and bearing shops had no matches.
