Late St Nicholas delivery: Constructa CA 801

[foraloysius]

Today my St Nicholas gift was delivered. It's a compact H-axis toploader. It washes and it rinses automatically, but it doesn't spin, so you need a separate spindryer. This machine is from the 70's. It has three controls and a button for a rinse hold so you can add softener for the last rinse.

 

[foraloysius]

A picture of the control panel

 

[foraloysius]

A close up of the controls. From left to right: Temperature control, cycle selector and timer.

 

[foraloysius]

Programme chart, rinse hold button and control light.

 

[foraloysius]

Money shot. The SA8 softener left a lot of suds behind.

 

[foraloysius]

I gave this machine a quick clean on the outside, tomorrow at daylight I am giving it a better work over. There was a lot of calcium build up on the inside so I before doing laundry I ran an empty cycle (boil wash) with citric acid.

 

[mielabor]

Louis, that's my first washing machine! Well, it was Siemens branded but for the rest it looks identical. I bought it new in 1981.

 

[spiralator60]

Constructa CA 801

Congratulations on your new machine! What is the capacity of the drum?

 

[foraloysius]

Theo,

I was actually looking for the Siemens version but Santa decided this one was good enough. I love this machine, the softener rinse button always intrigued me. But there are more interesting sides on this machine like the rinse - drain - rinse - drain etc. at the end of the main wash and in the first rinse. Never saw something like it on other cycles than permanent press.

BTW, you must come over for a wash-in sometime in the new year.

Darryl,

I'm actually not sure about the capacity, most of these machines could hold 5 kg, so 11 lbs. But I don't have any documentation about this machine, but my guess is it is the same or just a bit less, 4.5 kg.

Louis

 

[vivalalavatrice]

E bravo GIGI!

Louis, I'm happy for you that Santa let you find under Christmas tree I think our best preferred WM... it's a TLHA though!!!!

I know how much you love them (as I do either!!) so HAPPY CHRISTMAS WASH!

Is the mumbered knob for soaking time? In Seventies here it was very common: you set the prewash and the machine let it last thi time selected then it stepw forward on doing the main wash...Candy, Indesit, Ignis i.e. had it!

What about a pic of the drum oponed?
BYE
Diomede

 

[chestermikeuk]

Washer

Hi Louis , very nice machine there, looks like the Siemens I remember seeing at my friends house early sixties that came back with them from Germany, what does the softener button do?is the softener held in a resavoir and then you press the button the dispense it??

Happy washing, Mike

 

[funguy10]

Why doesn't the machine spin?

 

[foraloysius]

It was designed that way. You need a separate spindryer to spin the laundry. This is a very simple and compact machine and because of that they were cheap and easy to maintain. And they keep going on and on and on.

 

[foraloysius]

Mike,

The softener button stops the machine at the drain increment of the third of four rinses. You drain the detergent compartment by removing the red plug. Then you put in the softener and press the softener button. The machine continues and adds the softener to the last rinse. The detergent compartment is not totally flat so it will hold the softener until it's flushed.

 

[foraloysius]

You can remove the dispenser and the wash basket. When I did it when it was delivered there was a rust spot and a lot of calcium build up. The boil wash with citric acid took care of that. Here's a before picture.

 

[foraloysius]

Here's the after picture.

 

[foraloysius]

I did a full load of white towels today. There is liquid detergent in the dispenser but you can hardly see that.

 

[foraloysius]

X*tra detergent from France with Savon de Marseille.

 

[foraloysius]

Clean towels, still wet.

 

[foraloysius]

Let's give them a good spin in the Miele.

 

[foraloysius]

After a spin at 2800rpm they are ready for the dryer.

 

[foraloysius]

Ah, forgot the inside of the wash basket.

 

[mickeyd]

It's beautiful, Loius

Amazing the way stainless steel seems to have found the fountain of youth

Can you do a tumble rinse with it, drain open, water on

 

[mickeyd]

Didn't see the other new pics--so nice!

How many towels are in that load, please?

 

[gansky1]

Very fun - do you spin the clothes after the wash or is it completely automatic with no spinning.

Does the water flow through the dispenser tray from the back?

Very cool, Louis, have fun - it's OK if St. Nick was a little late if he's bearing gifts like that!

 

[dj-gabriele]

Cool machine! Very interesting the fact that the drum can be removed so easly! Strange that it doesn't spin, but as you said the machine will last longer, plus since you have an extractor it shouldn't be a problem! Indeed cool! Complimenti

 

[foraloysius]

Questions

Diomede,

The dial with the numbers is the program selector, it's for whites, colors, delicates, wool etc.

Michael,

No, you can't do a tumble rinse with the tap open and the drain on. This is a fully automatic machine. However it does fill - drain - fill - drain at the end of the main wash and in the first rinse. It does it in very short bursts, about 10 - 12 times I believe. It uses a lot of water to rinse!

This load was 5 very thick bath towels and a somewhat smaller towel.

Greg,

This machine is completely automatic so you spin the clothes after the last rinse. I guess you could use the softener button to let it stop before the last rinse and give them an extra spin before the softener rinse.

Yes, the water flows in the dispenser from the back. You can see the fill spout at the top left in the picture in post #254296. The larger opening left from the axis is the other fill spout which is used when the dispenser doesn't need to be flushed.

Gabriele,

These machines are a smaller variation on the H-axis twintubs that were so popular in the Netherlands. But some people didn't have the space for them so these smaller machines were designed. They can be put under a table and a separate spindryer can be put away somewhere else.

Louis

 

[jetcone]

Nice machine thanks for sharing

It looks like the tub lid comes completely off for loading and unloading? Does the machine automatically stop with the tub door at the 12 o'clock position or do you have to manuver that there?
The Stabers were a real pain in the A&* for that! You always had to try to flop the tub of wet clothes to the 12 o'clock load position by hand and would always scrape your knuckles!!

What would happen if you forgot to lock the door in and started the cycle? Is there an interlock to prevent the machine from running without the tub door?

jet

 

[foraloysius]

Thank you Jon,

No, this machine doesn't automaticcaly with the opening at te top. You have to turn it manually upward, but it's no problem, the outside of the drum is not sharp, at least I haven't yet scraped anything.

Yes, the tub lid comes completely off. If you hang it on the outer lid handle you won't forget to put it back. And no, there is nothing to prevent to start the machine without that lid on the tub.

It's a very basic machine, probably the reason why there are still a lot of these machines around.

Louis

 

[toggleswitch]

Oh Louis I'm so glad St. Nicholas found your name on the "NICE" list, rather than the "naughty" list! What a lovely gift for him to bring!

Does Santa normally come to Groningen on Christmas day (Dec 25) or Little Christmas (Jan 06)?

~Why doesn't the machine spin?
This avoids the need for a suspension and simplifies construction. It also cuts manufacturing costs and therefore sales price. As mentioned abouve it keep the machine working and like-new for a very long time!

Think: twin-tub washer.