laundromat season

[christfr]

well it seems like its laundromat season yeah.. so i need to ask a few questions.. i have an L-5 here when i got the machine a few years ago it ran fine and did everything it was supposed to do.. then it came apart for a boot retro fit and all.. while apart i noticed the changer was out of oil so i filled it and since that time it wont run with a load.. now i know the prawl is broken and am sure the changer is bad so what id like to ask is if anyone has a used changer they would like to sell off id be happy to pay a proper price for it, but in the mean time does anyone have a diagram or pic of the internal workings of a changer or a discription of what inside and how it works? i sort of guess there are some sort of clutch discs in there or something that break the speed down for wash.. is there a way to either by pass or tinker with the changers to get them to run again? i so want to get the child up and running its been here for such a long time and its the one machine i just cant seem to master.. any ideas or leads would be fantastic.. remember im so in the market for a used changer its not funny.. thanks for listening to me go on and on again ha ha .. always chris

 

[mattywashboy]

does anyone have any vids of a Laundromat in action apart from the one already on this site. Would anyone be willing to take on of their going through a cycle (wash, drain, spin etc) Just coz thats one machine we've never actually had videos taken of.
Its okay if noone can
I love the look of the laundromats, so stylish
I guess they were well recieved in their time, any major problems reported since the laundromats was introduced?
Matt

 

[christfr]

wish i could ha ha mine wont run

 

[mayken4now]

keep your fingers crossed and ebay close by. wish I could help you after all the advice you coached to me.

Steve

 

[northwesty]

Since it doesn't work anyway

Is there anyway to crack the changer open and look inside? It would be great if you could fix it since if mine ever goes out I'd be in the same boat. Seems like the laundromats that are found are kept so there's no parts machines.

 

[christfr]

that thing is like a sealed unit i think you would have to cut it open and then weld it back up.. what i dont understand is that the book says its suppose to have oil in it and since it was dry i filled it with oil and she dont like it ha ha.. i used thin oil at first and it got to hot so i put in heaver oil and not it runs cool but wont go under a load and have tried belt adj and spin accuator arm adj nothing works.. i know the prawl is broken but you would think that would not matter.. if i knew how it really should work and what all was in there i think id have a shot at riggin something.. there has to be something we can do.. cause one by one they crap out and then what do we do ??

 

[Unimatic1140]

Chris the Westinghouse Drive unit is sealed and was not meant to be serviced. I do believe back in the 50's, service personnel could put in a new Speed Changer unit and send the old one back to the factory for service and eventual resale as a rebuilt unit. I know of know one who has ever cracked on open before, nor have I ever seen a drawing or picture of the inside of one.

 

[christfr]

thats what i figured ha ha.. hum i guess ill have to be the first ill figure something out, but in the mean time im on bended knee for someone to sell me a used one.. ill do anything for one ha ha.. well sort of

 

[christfr]

well tinkered for a few hours.. i guess i could cut this changer in half but then would have to figure a way to weld it back together...not...i tried diff weights of oil didnt do it and played with the adj screw on the back end of the unit and now i can get it to run a full cycle of just water but not with any cloths in the drum.. so at least for now i got to hear the slosh slosh sound

 

[tlee618]

hey Chris, way to go at least you are making progress!!

 

[christfr]

still not enough to suit me.. i wonder if its more of a belt issue? hum

 

[tumbler]

Speed changer

If you are able to get your hands on a copy of Audel's Appliance Guide (long out of print), it will have a breakdown of the speed changer, both for the Laundromat and for the Bendix-type units. Audel published generic repair manuals for all kinds of equipment-refrigeration, appliances, heating systems, you name it. I believe they were published until the late '60's or early '70's. I used to have the Appliance Guide and the Oil Burner Guide, but they've long since disappeared. I haven't tried a Google search for them yet-you might try that.

 

[christfr]

well i did more adj on the belts and now it will run with water and a small load of rags but it tumbles slower than normal and the chager gets really hot like really. i just really need to find a diff changer but the million dollar question is who has one ha ha..