Largest Capacity washer ever made

[combo52]

Reply #38

Because these BD washers were bigger, they held 27 gallons of water, the DDs never held more than 23.

 

Norge was the next largest at around 25 gallons and GE FFs did use 25 gallons of water per fill in their large tub machines but we all know how much space was wasted between the tubs on a FF.

 

The early large tub DDs with Dual Action agitators with the superior short stroke agitation did almost as much as the early super 27 gallon BDs however.

 

John L.

 

[Chetlaham]

That makes sense. I did not know the BDs were bigger, but you learn something new everyday.

How did the post FF super capacity washers compare? Those tubs are huge and go down close to the undercarriage.

 

[smartdrive1100]

I’d have to say it would be a F&P cleansmart, it has a 10kg capacity and no agitator.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

post GE FF

Did they make their outer tubs bigger? What about their motors? What did they do to the drive system to make the tub super size?

 

[Chetlaham]

Post GE filter flos

I'm glad you asked!

The outer tubs got a bit smaller so they would not touch the cabinet during spin, but the inner basket got considerably larger (and deeper) being less than an inch from the outer tub. There were two outer tubs and two wash baskets that I recall. Both the extra large and super capacity inner and outer tubs were same size at the top of the balance ring, but the extra large capacity inner and outer tub slanted inward by about two or three inches to produce a lower capacity machine.

Motors were 1/2 HP, one or two speed, with about half a dozen variants, but they fell into 3 major types in this order before the Hydrowave.

1) A centrifugal start motor with a clutch attached to the output shaft.

2) A PSC motor with clutch on shaft.

3) A PSC without a clutch (pulley direct on shaft)

The transmission was a lot more compact and smaller, it no longer protruded above and through the outer tub.

 

[combo52]

Reply 43

Hi Chet, good information although I don’t think I ever saw a PSC motor with a clutch on it on a GE post Filter Flow washer.

There was a PSC motor that had a huge steel pulley that almost looks like a clutch and then of course as you mentioned there was one that just had a normal pulley on the bottom of the motor shaft.

John L

 

[Chetlaham]

Here is an example that I am thinking of that came immediately after the centrifugal start motors:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2941374900...J%2FMWW4kQ%3D%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:BFBMmtTxjOJf

Granted I played with these washers in the mid to late 2000s, so I could be wrong about the above, however IIRC that is a real clutch that will let the motor spin even if transmission/brake is locked up.

Models that came after this did indeed have a solid pulley in the same shape as the original clutch but did not slip.

Personally I think the clutch is a good idea in that if the washer suds locks it will simply let the clutch slip instead of tripping the motor out on thermal protection several minutes latter. I remember that happened to a member here (ToggleSwitch) when he bought a BOL GE. It took a lot of time for the motor to reset.

Another reason I would put a clutch on washers from a design perspective is so I could run the motor's spin winding straight off the timer's common live rail instead of going through pressure switch and fill circuit. Always place high amps on as few parts as possible. The washer could be forced into spin drain by the user and not overload and trip, or rely on the pressure switch drop over 10 amps of inductive load every 4 seconds.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Post GE filter-flo transmissions

Did these transmissions use a counterweight in them? What about lighter oil? What about gears? I could've sworn I could hear a slight metallic sound when agitating on normal speed especially.