Meet The English Electric Fully Automatic Liberator

[vacbear58]

I had been meaning to do a video of this soundtrack for a long while, it is basically a "disposable" flexible 45rpm record produced to promote the English Electric Liberator 4027 washing machine of 1965/66.

Apologies for the sound quality, but the record is around 50 years old.

I believe this machine to be a development of the Westinghouse Spacemate models - EE introduced a washing machine in 1960 based on the Westinghouse design. In 1967 they produced the all new Reversomat series, which was again based on Westinghouse washers from the mid 1960s.

I hope you enjoy it

Al

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqbps5i8Xlw

 

[turquoisedude]

Thank you for that, Al!  As a Westy fan, it is interesting to compare the English Electric machines to ones on this side of the pond.  

 

Would one of the 'four rinses' have been a spray-rinse?  

 

[vacbear58]

Rinses

Thanks Paul

I doubt that there would have been a spray rinse as that was not a common feature of front loaders at the time, at least that I am aware of. The narrator refers to 4 deep rinses, so I think they would just be soak, tumble and drain/spin.

 

[electron1100]

WOW!

What great machine Al...........I like all the blurb about it, strange he never actually mentions the spin speed ha ha, four rinses aswell nice nice....
Well done
Gary

BTW the record sounds great

 

[robm]

Very interesting, thank you for posting. I saw this video a while back and it seemed very similar. I was under the impression these machines spun around 700rpm but don't quote me on that.

Rob

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt9a_wtIyh8&t=198s

 

[robm]

Actually re-watching the vid I think the spin on the Spacemate was closer to 500

 

[laundromat]

You can be sure.........,if it's Westinghouse.

 

[ricky5050]

Thank Al

Ha ha I love the accent used in this era of appliance advertising, if I owned an EE I feel I should talk to it that way every time I used it.

Richard

 

[gansky1]

Well done, Al! You did a nice job matching the pictures to the recording. EE would be proud

I may have missed this before in some the discussions but, what is the knob on the door glass?

-G

 

[servischris]

Great video Al, love it! Still cant believe it was in a garden for howevermany years and it came up like new! Cant wait to see it running! Must get my Tumble Heat dryer sorted out!

@gansky1 - Detergent dispenser.

 

[gorenje]

Thank you for posting Al. Very interesting !

Ingemar

 

[keymatic3203]

great video Al

you've given the spoken word pictures. i'm really looking forward to helping restore this lovely machine back to life.

As Chris has said, the knob in the middle of the door unscrews allowing extra soap to be added. The main soap was added into the drum before the washing was loaded. The original English electric model came out in 1959, when low lather detergents were either very rare or not yet available on the British market, so over sudsing could easily occur resulting in a poor wash and suds leaking out from the tub vent, so the instructions say to add sufficient soap to give about an inch of lather. As once the wash was underway the water is above the door line, so more could be added with a table spoon.

Which magazine made reference to being able to add small items to the wash once it was started, but I doubt it was intended for that purpose.

Once low later powders were available I doubt they were used, certainly I didn't see this ever opened on the two liberators in my family, both used persil automatic.

As for the spin speed, looking at the pulley ration, looks about 3:1, 1440rpm motor, so about 500rpm is about right.

Hi Paul, no spray rinses, as the laundromats, the motor runs constantly through the cycle apart from the heating phase and one fill point, where you let the machine fill when washing blankets, so it's just deep tumbling rinses, wash 1st rinse, spin 2nd 3rd 4th rinses then a 4min spin.

We had the later reversamatic, from when I was born until I was about 7, and then I don't really remember it working, mum just used it as a spin dryer, money was tight, it's a case of if I knew then what I know now. Anyway I do have vauge memorys of a spray rinse, and videos on youtube make me realise I may not be making it up, see westinghouse tall tumbler.

Looking forward to helping getting this washing again, wonderful

Mathew

 

[combo52]

Nicely Done

This was fun to see the English version of Westinghouse's first more compact automatic washer.

 

These came out in 1955 in the US and the stackable Space-Mate versions came out in 1957 and were built and sold here through 1963 at which WH redesigned the SMs and their larger Slant-Front models to all be 27" wide.

 

Al keep us posted about these cool washers.

 

[keymatic]

Afternoon Al,

Fantastic homage to the English Electric 4027 !! Well done

Cheers
Keith