Wow
Hi Robert
I did something vaguely similar a few years ago, but much less sophisticated.
As I live with solar power, at the time we had a small PV system and needed to watch every watt.
My first conversion was was a Hoover Keymatic, it lost the timer and keyplate, replaced with two clockwork timers from a twin tub, 15 min for wash and 4 minute for spin. The original reversing motor (Keymatics reverse motor to spin) was replaced by two motors, a 12 volt golf buggy motor for spin and a Renault windscreen wiper motor for wash. Each had its own pulley and clutch on the back of the drum. To use - turn wash timer on full 15 minutes. 12 volts goes to first pressure switch, when low it fills via 12 volt solenoid valves, when high it operates the wiper motor for tumble. (not reversing, but keymatics can't reverse anyway, they are driven through 2 one-way clutches.) Next turn spin timer on for 4 min, 12 volts goes to the second pressure switch. When high the it pumps out and tumbles, when low the spin motor engages too. the pump was a Hoovermatic twinnie pump, belt driven by a car heater fan motor. As the 12 volt golf buggy motor had just enough torque to start the spin, a bit marginal, I had the tumble motor continue at the same time, to keep distributing the load till the spin motor can take over. (In the keymatic, there are two one-way clutches on the drum shaft, whichever is driving faster drives the drum, the other clutch idles along. )....repeat turning the timers for rinses. So I had a 12 volt DC Hoover Keymatic, though the keyplate didn't function.
my second conversion used a Belt Drive Whirlpool, Australian made version of course. This time I kept the original 240 volt timer, solenoids, inlet valves, wiring harness. I replaced the inefficient 240 volt motor with a salvaged computer tape drive motor from an ancient mainframe computer, bought from a recycler. This motor required 60 volts DC, so I used a toroidal transformer connected to the washing machine's original 240 volt motor harness, through a bridge rectifier to give me 60 volts DC. I had to make up an adapter plate to hold the new motor in place. The new motor used under 200 watts but washed and spun WAYYY better than the original 600 watts plus induction motor. I had no way to measure the spin speed but I would guesstimate about 900 to 1000 rpm spin. I also replaced the heavy gunk in the transmission with a lighter oil (ATF or manual gearbox oil, I can't remember) to ease the load on the motor. The transmission sounded "under stress" both washing and spinning due to oscillating faster than designed, but it worked fine for a couple of years. It washed really well, too. It was only replaced when I got a Fisher Paykel washer, which performed similarly and only used about 130 watts.
Hi Robert
I did something vaguely similar a few years ago, but much less sophisticated.
As I live with solar power, at the time we had a small PV system and needed to watch every watt.
My first conversion was was a Hoover Keymatic, it lost the timer and keyplate, replaced with two clockwork timers from a twin tub, 15 min for wash and 4 minute for spin. The original reversing motor (Keymatics reverse motor to spin) was replaced by two motors, a 12 volt golf buggy motor for spin and a Renault windscreen wiper motor for wash. Each had its own pulley and clutch on the back of the drum. To use - turn wash timer on full 15 minutes. 12 volts goes to first pressure switch, when low it fills via 12 volt solenoid valves, when high it operates the wiper motor for tumble. (not reversing, but keymatics can't reverse anyway, they are driven through 2 one-way clutches.) Next turn spin timer on for 4 min, 12 volts goes to the second pressure switch. When high the it pumps out and tumbles, when low the spin motor engages too. the pump was a Hoovermatic twinnie pump, belt driven by a car heater fan motor. As the 12 volt golf buggy motor had just enough torque to start the spin, a bit marginal, I had the tumble motor continue at the same time, to keep distributing the load till the spin motor can take over. (In the keymatic, there are two one-way clutches on the drum shaft, whichever is driving faster drives the drum, the other clutch idles along. )....repeat turning the timers for rinses. So I had a 12 volt DC Hoover Keymatic, though the keyplate didn't function.
my second conversion used a Belt Drive Whirlpool, Australian made version of course. This time I kept the original 240 volt timer, solenoids, inlet valves, wiring harness. I replaced the inefficient 240 volt motor with a salvaged computer tape drive motor from an ancient mainframe computer, bought from a recycler. This motor required 60 volts DC, so I used a toroidal transformer connected to the washing machine's original 240 volt motor harness, through a bridge rectifier to give me 60 volts DC. I had to make up an adapter plate to hold the new motor in place. The new motor used under 200 watts but washed and spun WAYYY better than the original 600 watts plus induction motor. I had no way to measure the spin speed but I would guesstimate about 900 to 1000 rpm spin. I also replaced the heavy gunk in the transmission with a lighter oil (ATF or manual gearbox oil, I can't remember) to ease the load on the motor. The transmission sounded "under stress" both washing and spinning due to oscillating faster than designed, but it worked fine for a couple of years. It washed really well, too. It was only replaced when I got a Fisher Paykel washer, which performed similarly and only used about 130 watts.
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