Hotpoint "Compact Automatic Washer"

[macboy91si]

So, thanks to Volvoguy, I went up to Columbus to pick up the little Hotpoint this weekend. The man selling the machine was very nice, and he said the machine hadn't been in regular use in about 20 years and that it did work, but it had no spin cycle. I was hopeful that maybe he just didn't realize that it didn't spin until the end of the cycle, but as it turned out, it didn't spin. The off-balance arm on the lid switch had became dislodged and not allowing the switch to close. Once that was out of the way and a lot of 409 spray, this little guy is a daily driver small enough to keep in the kitchen.

The machine was very clean inside and even the belt still looks new as I was also surprised that it was a belt drive at all. The electric pump works fine and the water level switch, lights and time all work. The inlet valve rattles, it may be going, but it still functions so for now I won't worry to much.

This machine is very much like the modern Haier units aside from the extensive plastic. It has the same floating tub, and brake solenoid setup (you want to talk about loud!). The real difference is the extensive use of steel in this machine. Enamel outer tub and porcelain speckle inner tub. The cabinet is made of decent grade steel and all of the mounts are as well. The timer is also very neat, I love how it operates and sounds, and the overall control panel is very GE.

The one odd thing about this machine is the lack of spins between rinses. It does 2 rinses, both are drain and fill only. I think the slightly newer version of this machine did spins between cycles but I'm puzzled as to why this version does not. Clothes come out nice and clean- and tangled. The water from the 2nd rinse runs clear so the whole no spin thing seems to work OK. Machine is fairly quiet, but not very powerful. When you watch the wash action with a "full" load it's a mild slosh, but it cleaned my work pants pretty well somehow.

I'm posting my pics after the entry post because I can't create new posts with pics in them for some reason.

-Tim

 

[macboy91si]

What a Mess!

The machine was filthy when I got it. It had some paint spilled on the control panel and the road muck from the drive home. The inside of the tub was pretty nasty too, lots of dirt and dust, the 1st water in it was pretty nasty. Here I took the control panel knobs off to clean the machine and repair the lid switch.

 

[macboy91si]

Control Panel Guts

The machine is surprisingly very serviceable, and the control panel was a breeze to open up. For those who have never seen one of these machines before I thought I'd post a pic of some internals. Everything inside the machine was very clean.

 

[macboy91si]

The Culprit

The off-balance arm had somehow managed to become dislodged. This bar works with the lid lever and both must be functioning. When the machine has an off-balance load and the tub rocks out and hit this it kicks the switch via a spring clip (near my thumb in the pic). Once tripped it required the lid to be opened and shut to reset. It "dangles" for lack of a better term and had slid out of it's slot. I thought about disabling the switch completely, but after running the machine with towels, I'm glad I kept it, it has a very "active" suspension.

 

[macboy91si]

Follow the Instructions

I was surprised to see the under-lid instructions still in good shape. They are very clear, but there isn't much to remember here. This machine has a "Set Rinse Temp" light that comes on after the main fill of the wash cycle, it stays on through the rest of the cycle. While I like lights, it seems a lot of trouble for such an arbitrary thing.

 

[macboy91si]

All Cleaned Up and Spinning

After lots of cleaning and the repaired switch, I decided to fire it up in the spin cycle. This thing flies and that suspension really moves. I did a little more cleaning on it and it turned out nicely.

 

[macboy91si]

Timer

For those who haven't seen one, it's a very elegant and simple setup. It reminds me of tuning in an old television in a way. There are no "cycles" only modes and times. Wash has a 12 min. max. range. The gap after "Wash" is the drain period. After that it fills and rinses (1st rinse) and the "*" denotes the 2nd rinse and then a drain and spin.

 

[macboy91si]

And of Course... Video

Since I'm at work I used Vimeo for this vid. Trying something different, but I will YouTube it later as well.

 

[cfz2882]

i have only seen 3 of those in person,1st was back in 1980,
brand new,at an appliance store,the other 2 were found at the
dump in the '90s-took home one of them for parts salvage and
technical examination(the top was missing)you are right
about the fairly low power of the motor,it's only around
1/8-1/6 HP and there is a planetary gear arrangement between
the pulley and the wash impeller.

 

[strongenough78]

Awwwwww

I was hoping for a longer video LOL. That's a pretty cool little machine. How does it do with cleaning results?

 

[revvinkevin]

Hey Vern......

Here is a longer video... yes it's the GE version, but it's the same thing!

Kevin

RedCarpetDrew

I am an appliance tech with a love of what I do and a passion for restoring old machines. If it's mechanical, it's for me! Pretty much all the videos are of machines in my collection for the benefit of others who have never seen them work before. If you like old appliances like you see here, go...

www.youtube.com

 

[strongenough78]

Oh yeah!

I was wondering where that video went! Thanks Kev!! XOXOXXOO

 

[macboy91si]

Longer Vid

Give the people what they want!

I was pressed for time (sleep?) when I made this vid, I'll try and figure out how to film a complete cycle with the spin. This machine was on my dream list and I'm glad I found it. I think it's cool that it's the Hotpoint (rarer?) version even though there is no diffrence at all in the machine itself. Kevin, you want to have a GE portable wash-off, bring it!

It's not a very powerful machine, but it seems to wash OK, water usage seems high for a little machine. 2 rinses is nice, but if it were to spin between wash and the rinses it would do much better. Does anyone know why it doesn't? I assume there's a reason.

-Tim

 

[revvinkevin]

If it spun between wash & rinses, it'd do much better.

Yes I agree. Personally my thought about this is.... this washer is portable, i.e, on wheels. Have you seen the way the washer moves around when it's at full spin and the tub brake comes on?? My thought is, if it had a spin after each wash or rinse as it should, the machine would be banging into the kitchen (or bathroom) cabinets every time it stopped the spin!

Kevin

 

[macboy91si]

You make good points

I never really thought about it. It shakes the kitchen when it goes into spin if the load isn't perfect and that brake solenoid, it makes the cats jump. I would however settle for 1 rinse and a short spin with a coast-down and filling while the drum is coasting down. At the end of the final spin, if you listen to the motor, it starts winding down about 15-30 seconds before the brake kicks in. I don't know how it does that exactly but it could be used to ease the vibration and noise? It's irrelevant I suppose, since this design HAS been improved on and this IS a vintage little machine. Still neat though.

-Tim

 

[combo52]

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR NO SPIN AFTER WASH

The first rinse served as a cool down with the fast spin speed hot items would wrinkle it also helped prevent suds lock. The set rinse temp light was a very good idea with a portable washer if you were using a warm wash and left both hot & cold faucets open after the wash fill stopped the hot & cold water can mix in the plumbing system for the whole house or building this was often a real nuisance in an apartment building when the neighbors had hot water coming out the cold faucet and flushing toilets with hot water etc. Let alone taking a cold shower.

 

[revvinkevin]

The set rinse temp light.........

When you first start the washer, the water fills until the water level switch is satisfied. As soon as the water level is reached and the impeller starts spinning, the "set rinse temp" light comes on and is on throughout the rest of the cycle.... just an FYI.

 

[mistereric]

Very cool little machine. Only thing I would reccomend is a little more light when making the next video - it was a little hard to see inside the machine. I hope you get lots of use out of it!

 

[rll70sman]

Congratulations! And unique, to say the least! Hope it lasts for a while and that you get lots of entertainment out of it .