Naco Home Laundry - Model 5

[brisnat81]

Hi Everyone,

There was an ad in this weekends paper for a vintage 50yo washing machine. Leon spoke to the lady and decided he wasnt interested, so Michael and I picked it up today.

Asthetically the paint is falling off everywhere, however mechanically there seems to be little wrong with it other than the wiring, and needing new belts (The Spin belt is leather)

It came with the Operation card, which is a little tatty, but I'll scan and post that too.

 

[brisnat81]

The Control Knob

This is the control knob in the wash position.

Moving the lever shifts the motor and a tension pulley and transfers power between 1 of 2 belts.

 

[brisnat81]

Wash and Rinse label

You close the stop cock, fill the machine to the bottom of the chute, add soap or detergent, turn the control knob to wash and turn the power on at the power point.

You let the machine tumble until there are enough suds and then turn the machine off at the power point again and add the clothes.

You turn the power back on, let the machine tumble for the appropriate amount of time and then open the stopcock and drain the water. (Machine is gravity Drain)

Once empty, you turn the taps back on and let the machine do a spray tumble rinse.

You turn the level to spin, transferring power directly to the tub pulley, and spin the water out.

Then you close the stop cock, turn the lever back to wash and rinse, and fill with water for the rinse.

 

[brisnat81]

10lb Load

This is the view with the red lid removed, down the chute into the wash basket.

This machine is pretty much the same as the first machine my grandmother had, when she replaced the copper.

 

[brisnat81]

The Back view - 6 Pulleys 3 belts

The belt that goes from the motor to the bottom pulley is engaged all the time.

The second belt on the motor is engaged when the lever is turned to spin. This causes the whole motor assembley to drop down, engaging the belt, and releasing the tension pulley that activates the wash belt.

When you turn the lever to wash and rinse, the motor raises up allowing the spin belt to slip, and applies tension to the wash belt, which is driven from the pulley at the bottom right.

The instructions state, that you dont need to turn the power off after you load the clothes, you can just keep adding and removing water.

The two white dots at the top are when the aluminium inlet pipes have corroded off over time. Usually the machine has two hoses attached permenently to the taps.

 

[panthera]

Neat!

I wonder about the spin, tho'...if you get the chance, could you post some shots of her innards...
I have never seen anything similar. Looks like a serious attempt at simplest solution possible to each difficult task.
Leather? Whow! I had to replace a leather sewing machine belt not too long ago for a nonogenarian friend. I cheated and wet it...still working, so guess that was not too bad. How do you replace and tension them correctly (I assume the load on this machines belt is a bit higher than the peddle sewing machine.)

 

[brisnat81]

Overload switch

Behind the right access panel is an overload switch.

Its rated at 3.5 amps 240v, and is rusted solid and full of old wasps nests.

The supply cord is totally perished also, so I'll take the whole assembley to an elextrician and have it tested/rewired.

 

[brisnat81]

Drain Cock

The drain hose is connected directly to the bottom of the outer tub.

There is then a flexible hose that goes through a clamp of sorts, and by rotating the knob on the bottom left of the machine, you either clamp or unclamp the drainhose allowing the water to run out.

 

[brisnat81]

What do you mean by Innards?

Other than the motor, those pulleys at the back is as complicated as it gets.

When I remove the belts, I'll take the tub pulley off to see what sort of bearing is in place.

 

[brisnat81]

Operation Card - Page 1

 

[brisnat81]

Operation Card - Page 2

 

[brisnat81]

Operation Card - Page 3

 

[brisnat81]

Operation Card - Page 4 plus Installation Instructions

 

[panthera]

Nathan,

This is just great - you and I were both posting at the same time and mine slipped in just ahead of your shots - the ones I was begging for.
Thanks!
(And people say you can't conceptualize the speed of light...)

 

[foraloysius]

Wonderful find Nathan!! I remember we had pictures of such a machine quite a while ago. Fascinating machine!! Do you know what the spinspeed of this machine is?

 

[chestermikeuk]

Naco

Wow, another great find, no sleep for you two tonight!!!

That Naco logo looks very "Hooveresque", look like a cross between a Bendix for innards and performance, ie.e bolt down etc and a mini sloping Westinghouse, and the best bit with the shute it does away with the traditional door seal, wont take much to have a spa bath & paint job to get this beauty pristine again....

My guess is the spin will be 460 rpm... and a good 10lb load not bad..

Enjoy, Mike

 

[gizmo]

WOW

Nat you are giving me a trip down memory lane tonight.

When we lived in Richmond, I worked nights and generally got home around 1 or 2 am. I used to keep an eye out for hard rubbish collections on my way to work, if I spotted anything I would take note and have a good look on my way home. I got pretty adept at silently flinging a washing machine into the wagon in the wee hours.
One night I saw a Naco like yours, but with cream paint not white. The chute cap was missing and no back panel. I remember it as being a very tall machine, is yours? I didn't pick it up despite being fascinated, because 1. It was scruffy, 2. It weighed a ton, I could barely move it. I stood at about 2am in the dark, looking at it with a torch (flashlight) and studying how it works. It was a hard decision not to get it.

Here's how to work out the spin speed.
1. Look on the motor for an ID plate which may list motor RPM. It is most likely 2800 rpm.
2. measure the diameter of the motor spin pulley.
3. measure diameter of the drum spin pulley.
4. work out a ratio of the pulley sizes.
5. divide the motor speed by the ratio to get the drum speed.

For example, if the motor pulley is 35 mm and the drum pulley is 290 mm, then the ratio is 290:35 which = approx. 8.3:1
2800rpm / 8.3 = 337 rpm.

so how fast does a Naco spin??

Chris.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Nathan that is so cool! Congratulations, what a great find. I think I've seen an ad before showing a machine like this with a shoot to load the clothes down into???

 

[gansky1]

A washer with a chute for the clothes!

Who cares about splashing? Leave the lid off!