If one had to transport a very old Bendix washer....

[turquoisedude]

I'm set to acquire what looks to be a late 1930s Bendix automatic washer in the New England area and I am wondering what precautions might need to be taken with this kind of washer.

I know very little about the Bendix machines, other than they are front-loaders... LOL Were these machines 'bolt-downs'? How heavy are they? Should I consider buying a Escalera? If not, perhaps a truss??

For safe transportation, is there anything that should be secured to prevent damage in transport? I remember what the 1950 L5 looked like when I got it and I'd prefer not to have something like that happen again!

Any information or advice is greatly appreciated.

Oh, and surprisingly, Hubby knows about this and has only just grumbled about it... so far!

 

[turquoisedude]

RTFM...

Just realized that I have the manual for the '37 Bendix washers (they are in the Automatic Ephemera library too)! It is indeed a bolt-down but there are no hints or suggestions for moving one. Please let me know of any suggestions or things to avoid!

 

[jetcone]

Paul!

Is that the machine in the Maine area that was advertised several years ago??

 

If so it is bolted down in place. You'll need coaching, I don't think the basement is an easy out if its the machine I remember.

 

 

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Not in Maine, Jon, but in Vermont! Some very non-thrifty Yankees there I guess...LOL

I am pretty sure it's one of the really early ones - here's a picture from the original ad.

 

[tomturbomatic]

All you have to do is tie it down in your truck, once you either remove the nuts from the bolts or hacksaw through them.

 

[gyromatic]

Easy to Transport

Just lay it on its back.It will not hurt anything.I have one of these.It is not a 30s model, more like 1947.These are pretty common.Fun machine though.

 

[kenmore58]

Recently missed one of those in Rhode Island. The Craigslist seller sold it to someone else before I could get over to pick it up, even though I told him I wanted it and was making arrangements to pick it up. I can only hope an AW member got it.

Best of luck with the machine. Hope it works perfectly for you.

Ron

 

[christfr]

aw dude lay it on its back throw it into the station wagon and get the hell on down the road. the worst it could do is leak any water that's in the pump or maybe a little oil from the trans but since its a bolt down its solid inside

 

[jetcone]

John's nailed it

fun little machine 1940's. Once unbolted they weigh nothing, a pocket washer!

 

Don't use soap in it!!!!

 

[mechanic2laundr]

This Bendix has no internal suspension, so it can be loaded in any position. The main thing that would securely attach washing machine not raced on the car during the trip))))

 

[mechanic2laundr]

Bendix B, 1937, help to decipher the dial

Help me decipher actions Bendix washing machine model B, 1937. As I understand the layout is as follows: "off" - "Pre-wash" - stop "off", then you must turn the hand again. "Washing" 20 minutes or less, then automatically switches to "rinse". How many times rinses happening? on the dial is interrupted. What does this mean? After should automatically switch to the "spin" and "off." very grateful for the help and I apologize if this message violates topic.

 

[mickeyd]

Long live the front-loader !!!

 

 

Paul ~ My great Uncle Frank's mate had one of these bolt down miracles, and rarely used it because of spin issues, which doesn't bother us at all, since we can re-spin elsewhere, or line dry. Have long been fascinated by these machines. Can't wait to hear your funny review when you get it up and running. Isn't retirement grand !

 

Ivan ~ to get you started, it has 3 rinses, if I remember correctly. That's all I know though, and a slow spin around 200 rpms, close to the GE Combo's breath-taking speed of 225, LOL.

[this post was last edited: 1/26/2014-12:37]

 

[mechanic2laundr]

I understand you, thank you! Hence the "rinse" is divided into three segments: to "rinse", and after the break before "Spin", so you can what happens when rinsing handle positioned so.

 

[mickeyd]

You're welcome!

 

Also pretty sure that it does not spin between rinses, so you get one spin during the "Dry" portion.

 

What fun that they marked a spot for "WOOL" toward the end of the wash cycle. And that's a really nice and rare close-up shot of the dial. Love that. Thanks.

 

[mechanic2laundr]

This is a photo I took of of the topics. There offers a new Bendix the earliest!He really is the earliest. It has a one piece body, no removable side walls! And galvanized drum and tub.

 

[mechanic2laundr]

He has an unusual cover lock filter.

 

[mechanic2laundr]

Today I downloaded the library stunning scanned manuscript. Manual 1937 Bendix and Bendix Service Manual 1937. Excellent image quality, do not regret the money spent! Great!The service manual provides great pictures and diagrams. Looking at them, you can collect Bendix! Many thanks to the who did the scan for the library!

 

[turquoisedude]

Slow Bendix spin....

I hadn't realized how slow these machines spun... I have some technical information about Bendix washers in an Audels Guide to "Modern Home Appliances" from the late 1940s. However, they made mention of a spin speed of 300 RPM. Guess I won't know 'till I can play with the Bendix and count the number of times the drum turns... LOL

 

[jetcone]

YUP a whopping

300 RPMs

DAMP DRY - -literally

 

[whirlaway]

See If it has Iron Fasteners

I found one on the side of the road,the round pre-war one,a bolt down it had iron bracketts on the bottom of it,get those too! If it has them.They are cute little machines.We have used mine in 2 plays at the little theater.They are so easy to transport.Mine works fine,it was just full of dust and dirt,they do spin slower than you would expect,but at least you dont get any body parts caught in a wringer!

 

[gansky1]

Your hands never touch water!

Very fun machines. They are a bit back-heavy and tipsy that direction so laying it on it's back is safest.

I had a Standard (round diving bell) Bendix, my very first restore. It was one I wanted since staring at old magazine ads as a kid. The reality of the performance is a bit of a let down, but it's still really cool. I have one now, a commemorative 1947 dealer model, never used. Can't bring myself to use it now.

 

[jetcone]

Oh Greg

thats an adorable shot! Its "goldt" all real "goldt"!!

 

I wonder what the brown arrow was gonna have written into it? Any traces left on the sign??

 

 

[gansky1]

The signs are all clear - the yellow/brown one was "Rinses - no lifting"

 

Very 1930's, a clock motor runs a sweep-arm switch to light each arrow in turn.

 

[mickeyd]

 

 

The Do Wop Wop 300 speed leaves the Combo in the dust.

 

The gold and brass Bendi is gorgeous, but I would NOT, not be able to use it. How do you manage such temptation? Herculean.

 

[e2l-arry]

300 RPM's?

No wonder Bendix thought the Economat squeeze tub extracted sufficient water!

 

[norgeway]

BUT!

They really wash well, and the clothes are not dripping wet, I would have one hooked up and running if I could find a good one.

 

[e2l-arry]

Me too!

Our neighbors had on back in the 60's. I was fascinated by it. More than most washers even! I remember sometimes the clothes feeling damp dry when finished. Other times after the clothes were on the lines they'd actually be dripping. I suppose it had to do with how good a seal they got when they sealed the lid. I remember the neighbor lady always sticking her hand in the wash water and wiping that center thing on the lid to get it good and wet before closing. I think that was supposed to give it a better seal.

 

[northwesty]

I'd put a towel down under it. It seems like I remember that some transmission fluid leaked out though a tube on top of the assembly when I transported one on it's side.

 

[turquoisedude]

Got it!

As part of a trip to southern Vermont to pick a very rare Walker dishwasher for Mike (dishwashercrazy) there was still room for the Bendix!

This is the only photo I have of it so far, but I promise more later on this week when I get back to my top-secret off-site storage location. It's kinda fitting that all you see here is the back of the Bendix 'cause I threw mine out quite nicely hauling the bugger out of the basement of the house where it had spent its former life.

We had an unwelcome surprise though when we first tried to move the washer... It was still bolted to the concrete floor of the basement! I wanted to kick myself; I had asked the seller if the machine was still bolted down and I guess they had no idea of what that meant! I tried sawing the bolt at first but that was a waste of time and effort. A trip to the local hardware store was in order... a selection of wrenches were purchased - fortunately one fit and the bolts came out.
The stairway out of the basement was wide, but steep. I lost my footing as I stepped from the doorway into the snow-covered yard and zing went the muscles of my lower back! Fortunately the heavy-duty arthritis pain meds were waiting for me in Ogden...

Overall, the washer is in really good shape. The wash tub is clean and rust-free. The timer still turns and I was able to manually turn the tub so I have high hopes that the drive mechanism is still good. Can't wait to retrieve this from storage and play with it!!

 

[philr]

Paul talked to me about getting my grinder with a cutting disc and my Sawsall two days before we went there but then he told me it wouldn't be necessary as the washer was supposed to have already been uninstalled!

 

When I saw that Paul was disconnecting the hoses that were still connected to the huge laundry sink, I began to seriously doubt that it had been unbolted from the concrete floor and moved recently as Paul was told!  Didn't take long after that to see it was still bolted and that we had nothing to remove the bolts! (and I doubt I could have plugged a non-battery operated power tool anywhere in that basement as the two outlets (on the ceiling and not accessible without a stool!) dated from around 1910 and didn't look like modern ones at all! There was still a rotary switch on a porcelain fixture on the wall and a socket hanging from a similar fixture on the ceiling but no light bulb in it! The washer's power cord was disconnected but I guess it used to be connected somewhere on the ceiling with an extension cord.

 

We went with the seller to the local hardware store to buy a saw and wrenches but the wrenches were too small (I didn't notice that the bolts had large square-shaped heads before we went there), then we tried to manually saw the bolts with the new saw as there was enough space left under the machine to do that but it didn't work at all. I went a second time with the seller to the hardware store to get some larger wrenches while I think Paul removed the ground cable and continued to try to saw the first bolt but I think the saw got more wear than the bolt itself!  Then, with the larger wrenches we removed both bolts, 1/8th of a turn at a time as the access on the side of the Bendix didn't allow to turn the bolt a full 1/4 turn with the wrench. So we had to reverse the wrench each time...

 

Too bad we didn't take pictures at this moment!