New control unit for a 1947 Bendix

[jond]

Let me know if anyone is interested in me posting continued progress on this. I am having alot of fun and thought I would share it. This surmounts antique washer enthusiast's big issue of dead controls and no new parts available.

I found a 1947 Bendix washing machine around a year ago and was fascinated as a water/wastewater process design engineer, particularly on the electromechanical controls. So I knocked in a set of new tub bearings, replaced my hoses and set to work reverse engineering the wiring diagram and timer on the Bendix. My original timer does work, but looks and sounds crusty, particularly the non servicable motor so I figured I would record what it does while it still does it. I was dumb enough to run a load of cloths through it without bolting it down and got a thorough ab workout keeping it on the ground while under the original timer wheel power. I did rebuild the timer as best I could first by cleaning the gear box and polishing the reed switches.

Once I determined my machine actually worked. I started building a new control head that will "directly plug in" to the wires in the back of the machine with no more "rewiring effort" than pulling the bullet plugs out of my original timer and into my new timer wiring harness. In the finishing stages of completing it. It is arduino microcontroller based but interfaces with the original washer. Waiting on a few parts to wire up the line voltage side, but I did finish my programming and wired the low voltage side and the brains are online and clicking the right relays at the right time.

I built this head to look like it could have been made in 1947. The new 120 volt power cord will go to my control head and a wire harness with a large rubber amphenol plug will send juice to the washer. Left to right, I have a power switch, cycle select knob which waves the needle on the volt meter (I will paint the cycles on the dial face when I am done), start/stop button, and a feature I added: a switch to allow the machine to continue on its own from the soak to the wash cycle. Indicator lamps on the left show whether the machine is in "set" or "run" mode. Indicators to the right show whether the machine is in "Soak" or "Wash". I also programmed my control so it will hold the volt meter pegged to the right to indicate "finished" after completing the requested cycle. There will also be a hot/cold selector switch added just below my volt meter. When in run mode, the arduino advances the needle automatically across the volt meter, much as the original timer wheel clicked around while running, in 45 second discreet intervals.

 

[slowspin66]

Keep the progress coming

Really interesting thread . I’m always interested in creative ways to keep Bendix washers going . The electromechanical processes the machines use are fascinating . Do you have any video of the machine running and the mechanical restoration . Keep us updated please with the progress . Many thanks Darren

 

[jond]

I didn't restore so much as fix. My videos died with my last phone. However, I can take a mechanical timer/electronic timer comparison video when i finish the electronic one. I just don't have any way to get it up here because I don't have anywhere on the web to put it. If there is a particular site you use to link videos, let me know and I will set up an account.

Attached are what photos I was able to recover. Mainly more on the timer and the bearing removal. The front bearing was so stuck I had to build a bearing puller from some large all-thread rod and some steel flanges and even so it took a week of heat PB blaster and banging to get it out. When it did pop out I rang that back like a gong and it went flying. I am pretty sure the original bearing seal was leather which was fascinating as much as the original rubber drum seal was still perfectly usable. I was probably the first person to ever take the machine apart.

 

[slowspin66]

It’s all very similar

Here in the UK we didn’t have many automatic machines in the 1950s-1970s but what we did have were a front loader semi automatic Bendix washer which performed all the functions of an automatic machine in a manual form
The machines I’ve worked on and tinkered with all have water heaters as some domestic hot water systems in the UK were not as plentiful as In the US .
This is the most recent machine I’ve worked on . Needed a full sort out but pleased with the results

 

[slowspin66]

Progress of Bendix

All done and ready for washing .

 

[DADoES]

 
JonD, majority of peeps on here use YouTube for videos.  The custom-written site coding here recognizes YouTube URLs pasted into posts and automatically embeds the video into the post.  The video will appear in the post preview if the URL is in the proper format.

 

[jond]

Electronic Timer Update

Got the electronic timer assembled and working with the Bendix. Only spot engaged a few key points on the cycle with it dry in my office to test it but the results look promising. Didn't let any smoke out of anything. Just need to connect my 120V grounds for safety.

Attached are some updated photos, a schematic, and block diagram of the soak and wash cycles as I recorded them from the original timer and programmed them into the new one. Will get the Bendix relocated to my garage when I can get some help and make a video of the result of the machine doing laundry with the new timer versus the old.

I also plan to paint the dial this weekend so other viewers can understand what pretty blinking lights do and the volt meter scale gradations. Waiting on another jewel to come in to cap the center "cycle complete" lamp.

 

[swestoyz]

Impressive work! A few here have tossed around using an Arduino to take over control of the machine - I believe you may be the first to actually do so! Looking forward to seeing some of the vids!

By any chance - do you happen to have the bearing numbers of the new equivalents you used? How did you go about replacing the seal between the front bearing and the back of the tub?

Ben

 

[Unimatic1140]

Super cool Jon, this is very impressive. I need to do some research into how to work with an Arduino, I don't recall of ever hearing of that name before. It gives me some ideas for the future. ***scratches chin***

I did do some similar about 10-12 years ago to a 1952 Frigidaire washer, I used an old windows computer and created an interface and wrote software to run the washer. I also added a lot of components to the washer such as recirculation pump, in-line water heater, jet-circle spray and lots of other things.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/00ShowCollectionGETD.cgi?photoshow=020@Inside%20the%20Super%20Unimatic.jpg&dir=/COLLECTIONS/_SUPER_UNIMATIC_2_point_0

 

[jond]

My machine is just not rotten enough to work and have fun with. Couldn't find properly fitting bearings or seal though it wasn't for lack of trying. At some point I will remove my back pulley and get the bearing number I went with. Bearings were slightly loose on the outer side and I jammed them in with tin foil which acted as a great shim. Tub seal was slightly too big and I jammed it in with a big hammer. The shoulder on my shaft was rusted so much that after rust removal it was way out round. However, I find my seal is good enough that there isn't any water dripping from the bearing weep hole at the bottom of the back cover. To fix this right I would have a machinist cut out and weld in a new pipe in the back cover with a modern standard-sized fit for a bearing and mechanical lip seal. Then would have to have my drum shaft seal surface lathed to a standard size. Ain't nobody got time for that... except maybe Unimatic1140.

Unimatic1140, that was an impressive amount of additional engineering on your Frigidaire. Looks like you had a blast! Arduinos are great for simple projects like what I wanted to do, but susceptible to noise interference. Having that issue now after I got the machine hooked up this evening. I am going to try some shielding and additional code to store in non-volatile memory that if the machine is in run mode, during an unplanned reboot, it will resume where it left off kind of like the Apollo space computer. My controller only glitched out 3 times over the nearly 1 hour soak and wash cycle so I am assuming its noise problem isn't severe or it wouldn't make it more than a few seconds at a time. Seems to only happen when a relay under load kicks off and an arc is undoubtedly generated. I had an Arduino run my 240V pool pump and salt system for three years straight (until I moved) with a rare few glitches so they can be very reliable in the right conditions.

 

[jond]

I resolved the issues with my timer. My washer developed a leak around the pump which I need to fix and I want to paint the labels on the timer before I make a video in a week or two. Here were the final snags that held me up on the Arduino:

1) RF interference. I used a cheap 12V LED ballast. My Arduino would work on USB power from the computer, but acted crazy on the 12V power supply. I replaced this noisy LED ballast with an apple phone charger and helped me quite a bit. However, my timer then still randomly shut down every 10 mins or so.

2) Next I figured I would implement a band aid solution and try using the software to automatically restart the washer run sequence at the exact spot it glitched out in. This worked on my desk and on the washer when I forced a power loss or Arduino reset. However, the Arduino continued to kick out of the run sequence and back into the set sequence without restarting.

3) Now realizing I was getting a false "start/stop" button trip I took a closer look at my power distribution. The start/stop button works by shorting a 5V sensor pin directly to ground and can experience false trips if the 5V supply dips much below 5V when say a relay kicks on. I had my 5V bus being supplied from the "5V" pin on the Arduino. I relocated this lead soldered it directly to the 5V pin off of my Apple phone charger USB line in and this gave me a more robust power supply. I then ran a full successful wash cycle through the machine.

 

[lowefficiency]

Jon, it sounds like you have the problem solved, but you might actually reconsider the Apple power adapter in general.. ie: consider using an alternate power supply.

Although they are high quality units, they are designed first and foremost as chargers. As such, they do tend to let the voltage sag quite a bit (down to 4.4-4.6v) as the current demand increases, moreso than some of the other "5V" USB power adapters on the market.

Quite a few folks have been tripped up by this when using Apple power adapters for projects, especially with the Raspberry Pi and other devices that pull a bit more current. For electronics projects, some companies produce USB-compliant power supplies that are instead designed to put out the upper limit of the USB spec (5.25V), allowing a higher tolerance for losses through connectors and cabling when under load, before dropping too far for the "5V" computing devices being powered.

More info:
http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

 

[jetcone]

Wow Jond

Very impressive work and I learned a ton here. I bought an Arduino setup 15 or so years ago for the same project but back then it was a little harder to get into and couldn’t find any good books on the subject so it sat. I bet today its a whole new ball game gonna study up again. I have a cute little bolt down Westinghouse I’d like to supe up and generate new wash cycles. Great thread, would love to see your machine when I’m down in Maryland!!

 

[jond]

That is a good post on the power supply I did notice I was only getting 4.8v when running. If my video happens you will see my 5v meter doesnt quite make it to 5.

I say if because my pump rattled itself partially off and the impeller which blocks the rear housing screws is stuck. We shall see if i can manage to fix this without breaking anything. If nothing else I can still shoot the timer and walk through my program.

Arduinos are much easier than the Microchip and TI equivalent predecessors to program. Anyone can do it and books are out there. I used Exploring Arduino by Jeremy Blum when I got into it. Great book but doesnt cover using non volatile eeprom memory which the Arduino does have. I don't mind showing the machine and shooting the breeze sometime but I am in southeast VA FYI.

 

[jond]

Video Uploads

I shot my very first youtube videos here on an older camera. This is why there aren't that many engineers on TV...

Anyway one runs through operation of the timer, one shows it working with the washer and another one shows the washing cycles. Also will have one up later annotating my program but not sure if it will be watchable since youtube reduced what little video quality I had and made my last video pretty hard to follow now since you can't read the computer screen. On the original file the computer screen is clearly legible.

 

[toploader55]

Brilliant.

So this technology can pretty much run any vintage machine that timers are No Longer Available.

Bravo.

 

[appnut]

Jon, amazing and mind-boggling.  Congratulations!!  Welcome.  That Bendix is what got me interested in washers when I was a baby.  

 

[toploader55]

Bob, Agreed

Our neighbor across the street Elenor Boscarelli had a Tombstone model. My grandmother went over to visit her and she just started the machine. There is something about the wash action, amount of water and the sound that intrigued me. I wouldn't leave the basement until the cycle was over.

 

[ea56]

My siblings and I had a babysitter that had one of the rounded top Bendix washers on her back porch. I loved to watch that machine. And like Eddie said above, there was a lot of water splashing around, and the sound was intriguing too.

I don’t recall that it was loud, except for when it entered the spin cycle. During the wash portion it seemed to have a soft, kind of surging sound. I’ve mentioned here before that the train ran behind her home, and I recall once when the vibration from the train passing caused the door of the Bendix to fly open unexpectedly. Boy, was Mrs. Krenzer ever pissed off about that mess!

She used Cheer, and just haphazardly dumped it into the soap door on top of the Bendix, never measuring it, and there was always a blue crust of Cheer around the opening and an abundance of suds. Back then, any kind of FL just fascinated me.

Eddie