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So a very nice man in southern WI contacted me who had these. He told me he bought these both 30 at an auction in South Bend, IN. It just so happens that Horton's headquarters and manufacturing plant were located in South Bend, same city as where the Bendix was made. Which means there is a possibility that these originally might have come directly from the Horton plant from when they closed down for good! Really it's anyone's guess.

Where were these marketed?
I assume Al these were marketed across the entire USA.

So, are you going to pour a slab for bolting down purposes?
I'll do the same thing as I did with my bolt-down Bendix Tom, I'll use 3/8 bolts with lag shield anchors in the basement floor.

Is one basket aluminum and one stainless? The name Horton rings a bell in my head but I don't know why.
Hi Walter, I'm thinking they are both aluminum, but the never used one seems to have a green-ish tint to it. Not sure if that comes off in the first washing. I suspect the name Horton may ring a bell with many hear because that was the washer they doctored up to be used on the I Love Lucy episode "Never Do Business with Friends"
10-17-2004-22-19-45--Unimatic1140.jpg


So supposedly this machine has a Bendix like transmission yet somehow does a reverse tumble like the Launderall did. I'm not sure how exactly it reverses, the Launderall used cams and gearing in the transmission to reverse tumble ever 15 seconds, the manual says this machine reverses ever 30 seconds. I'm thinking it may have an early reversing motor in this machine, we will see.
10-18-2004-12-12-43--golittlesport.jpg
 
Holy Hortons Batman!!   My goodness, Robert what a find!!!  

 

I see what you mean about the difference between a Launderall - no pesky motor-driven timing unit!  Plus a separate timer control to end the cycle if desired - a big improvement. 

 

So, what's the backstory here (foot tapping impatiently)??

 

Congratulations on a fascininating find, Robert!!
 
The horizontal, notched dials on the left hand machine are identical to those on your '47 GE. Amazing. Wonder how that happened: brand cross-over or outsourcing--what grand head-scratching fun, these!
 
And the automatic's dials look just the the early AMP's. How I love it when they recognize and acknowledge the "DRAIN" cycle marking it separate from the SPIN. Hooray for the almighty drain.
 
So, what's the backstory here (foot tapping impatiently)??
Hi Paul, as I mentioned above a very nice man in southern WI contacted me who had these. He told me he bought these both 30 at an auction in South Bend, IN. It just so happens that Horton's headquarters and manufacturing plant were located in South Bend, same city as where the Bendix was made. Which means there is a possibility that these originally might have come directly from the Horton plant from when they closed down for good! Really it's anyone's guess.

The newer machines works perfectly. I had to loosen the drain value with very hot water at first and replace the water valve to flume to hose, but otherwise it's ready to be bolted down! It's super cool how quickly the drum reverses, no pausing what so ever between the reverse rotation. It's done with an reverse relay with each 30 second increment impulse click of the timer. I've also measured the spin speed at 380rpm, 155rpm faster than the Bendix. 380rpm is what the Launderall spun at as well. I was also surprised the timer motor worked just fine.

Check out the drain screen, never has seen any lint, I didn't clean this at all...

unimatic1140-2020091012534103237_1.jpg

unimatic1140-2020091012534103237_2.jpg

unimatic1140-2020091012534103237_3.jpg

unimatic1140-2020091012534103237_4.jpg
 
What's also nice is these have timers that can be adjusted for wash length as well as repeating or skipping portion of the cycle vs. the Launderall.
 
WOW ! Who knew ?!?

Amazing, Robert! I'm speechless.

These machines look like a Launderall and early GE and Maytag automatic washers went through a teleporter and had their molecules crossed (like in the mover "The Fly.")
 
well, it's about damn time

Congrats...

Wonder if Horton bought out the factory supply and patent rights of Launderall once they closed shop? Horton saw an opportunity for entry into the automatic washer white goods business to compete with Bendix of South Bend Indiana. I knew of this machine mfg years ago when I found the Launderall in my collection.

I just knew something would turn up for you either a Launderall or a version from the Lucy show the Horton. Enjoy the new toys to tinker with. Lets hope you won't destroy these rare models making a Dr. Frank-n-washer creation.
 
Watch TV While Doing Laundry . . .

Brought to you by the men and women of Fort Wayne, where Capehart Farnsworth was cranking out high-end television sets (we had a 1951 model 325) around the same time these Hortons were coming off the assembly line.

 

So much manufacturing history in that part of the country.
 

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