Malleys washer

[gizmo]

I got a phone call from someone whose early 80's model Hoover Zodiac FL I fixed recently. A friend of his has a Malleys Aquarius washer "very old" which has given up - smoke and smells. I phoned the owner tonight to arrange a time for me to see it. It sounds like it is a Whirlpool variant.

Malleys were the Australian manufacturer of Whirlpool washers since way back. They were badged both as "Malleys Whirlpool" and just "Malleys", I'm not sure if one was a deluxe version or what the reason was. Their advertising slogan showed kids in sparkling white clothes with the slogan, "Guess whose Mum's got a Whirlpool?"
Later after being taken over by the Email conglomerate, Simpson technology machines were sold as Whirlpool and Malleys, but the woman who owns this machine said this machine makes interesting clicking noises as it changes into spin, so I am pretty confident it is one of the last true Whirlpools sold here.

The good news is she loves her Malleys washer and wants it fixed, not replaced, even if it needs a motor rewind or whatever.

I will take photos of it when I see it on Wednesday and post here soon. Stay tuned...

Chris.

 

[brisnat81]

Aquarius

Hi Chris,

The times I've seen these, they've all been Early 80's simpsons with highspec control panel. They have the Porcelain tub, with the Olive Green agitator and so forth. The ones I've seen have all had the Tupperware gearbox with the reversing motor.

I'll await your pics to see if it is a true whirlpool.

Hugs

Nathan

 

[pulsatron]

Malleys Aquarius is correct

Hello Chris,
Nathan is quite right about it being a Malleys "Aquarius" washer, they were around in about the mid 1980's as Mum had one after her westinghouse T.L. died.
It wasn't a bad machine but it only laster us about 5 years before it too bit the dust , the only thing with it was that was a terrible water guzzler as it had a feature called "multiple spray rinsing" which consisted of 5 spray rinses in the final spin.
The "Guess who's Mum's got a Whirlpool?" advertising was also done by Dame Edna Everage in the 70"s I believe.
Regards.
Steve.

 

[arrrooohhh]

Is it like this Malleys?

This is the most common "Malleys" machine i see.

 

[westytoploader]

Those Malleys machines sure look interesting, and is that a recirculating filter in the back? IIRC the older Simpson machines had an interior that looked similar to this.

Wasn't there a Malleys belt-drive Whirlpool as well?

 

[arrrooohhh]

Here is a picture of a Simpson interior from that era.

 

[arrrooohhh]

And a shot of the control panel too for good measure

 

[brisnat81]

Both were belt drive

Hi Austin,

The Traditional US Style whirlpools were manufactured by Malleys under the names Malleys, Malleys Whirlpool and Whirlpool by Malleys.

This occured from some time in the late 50's through until 1979, when Malleys was bought by Email.

In late 1979/1980 Whirlpool was dropped from the name of the machines, and the Malley's Aqaurius was based on the Simpson washers of the time. The Simpson machines of that era, were of a two belt type, with a reversing motor. The Malleys machines early on came with an Active lint filter, where as the Simpsons ones always had a passive lint filter.

At this stage, the cabinets on the Malleys machines were still solidly built, like on a Whirlpool. They had different lids to those on a simpson, and they still hinged to the left.

By about 1984/1985 the Malleys Aquarius and the Simpsons machines were just clones of each other. The cabinets were cheap and flimsy, (As they are today) the recirculating filter was gone, and all lids opened to the top. By this stage the Malleys machines where usually lower spec'd than the Simpsons were.

In approx 1986 Simpson released the Genesis range of Washers which were direct drive, with an electric pump, and the Motor controlled the agitation stroke by reversing every 360 odd degrees. It was at about this time that the Malley's name was dropped. By the early 90's however the Simpson Aquarius was back, but it was just a standard Simpson machine.

I hope this helps somewhat, and if I've got any of it wrong, please let me know.

Regards

Nathan

 

[arrrooohhh]

There was a Malleys version of the Genesis machine too.

Here is a picture of one.

 

[gizmo]

Here are a few pix of the Malleys Aquarius I fixed today - new secondhand motor, taken from a Simpson...Yes you guys were right, it is a Simpson clone with Whirlpool top panel and controls, simpson innards, special front panel to adapt Simpson base with Whirly top.

 

[gizmo]

dial

 

[gizmo]

timer

 

[gizmo]

inside

 

[gizmo]

under the hood

 

[gizmo]

tupperware transmisssion

Chris.

 

[westytoploader]

Those certainly are some cool machines!! I'd take one!

Under the hood, the guts bear some resemblance to a Maytag! Especially the damper assembly and the base-mounted pump. Does the transmission spin with the tub, and is there a clutch on the underside as well?

 

[brisnat81]

Transmission Does spin

Hi Austin,

In Agitate mode the outer shell of the gearbox is fixed, during spin it rotates with the tub.

I dont think there is a clutch, (I most likely could be wrong though) these machines spin drained.

These machines could be serviced from the front. The later simpsons were all serviced from behind a masonite panel, much in the same way as a Whirlpool.

Chris, this must've been one of the very early ones of these, as the cycle markings are almost identical to the 2200 series whirlpools (The Last) The other Aquarius's I've seen have had more modern type markings.

Thanks for the Photos

Nathan

 

[shanonabc]

I remember my grandmother used to have an old 7.5kg machine with one of those agitators. It was fun to watch the water surge

 

[Unimatic1140]

Great pictures Chris, the tub-ring on the Malleys washer sort of reminds me of the Hoover Top loaders made here in the late 60's.