New (to me) Maytag A50 in like-new condition

[thomasortega]

Guys, let me share with you a great surprise i had today>

I am the new owner of a Maytag A50 washer that looks like new, except for some minor (really insignificant) scratches on the front.

Pics to come after I detail it.

 

[hippiedoll]

very cool!

Can't wait to see pictures.
And read what you think about it
)

 

[repairguy]

Nice! I’ve always wanted one, but I have never run across one. I have 2 DE50 dryers. One is a 1968 and the other is a 1973. They are fun to use and dry really fast for portable machines but only if you don’t overload them. They don’t hold much.

 

[revvinkevin]

AWESOME!

 

 

Congrats Thomas, I know you will have fun with it!  So how many loads have you run through it so far.... a dozen or so??  

  Hmm.... I wonder from where you acquired it?

 

 

 

 

[ea56]

Congratulations on your score Thomas! I owned an A50 that I bought new in 1977 and used exclusively until the spring of 1981 when I bought a new Maytag Fabricmatic. I loved that A50! During the time I used it I lived in apartments with no hookup for an automatic. That little A50 never let me down. It was fast and thorough and really not a hassle to use at all once you get the routine down. I hope that you will also enjoy this great little washer.

Eddie

 

[thomasortega]

Guys, all I can say is I'm loving it!

Now the next model on my wanted list is a "hoovah" TT, followed by a Frigidaire pair.

And I just discovered a good friend of mine has no security cameras or high voltage fences around his Disneyland...

I think I'll have to visit him late night, when he's sleeping. (Evil laughs)

 

[akronman]

Congratulations

We like pictures and videos, so we can OOOH and AAAH

 

[thomasortega]

ASAP

 

[thomasortega]

It took a little bit longer but I've made the videos.

And I discovered something that may help A50 owners all over the US!

I ran a test load with towels and did something very stupid. I kinda overloaded it. Not a huge overload, maybe 1 face towel more. At certain point, the impeller got stuck and I heard that scary silence. The belt broke.

We all know that the A50 belt is NLA and it's a pain to find a replacement. Well, I design appliances, something had to be done. It's IMPOSSIBLE that a washer will die just because of a broken belt.

I first contacted Martin, because I know he also owns an A50.
He said he had good results using those cut-to-fit hollow urethane belts.

Ok, That would be an alternative. Those U-thane hollow belts work very well, they last for a long time but there would be always that concern "will the connector resist?"

Then a giant lightbulb came on, over my head. If I were designing this washer and going to make a prototype the old school way, what would I do? Bingo!

I first grabbed my caliper and measured the pulleys. I discovered something interesting. The original belt is 1/4" thick, but the pulley can accept thicker belts... I don't need to say a thicker belt will last longer.

The original belt could be worn so it wouldn't make sense to measure its lenght.

So i measured the whole washer and redesigned it using solidworks. the number i got was that the belt had to be 1/4 inch shorter.

Ok, now I have 5/16" and the lenght 1/4 inch shorter than the 49 inches we always believed.

Google comes to the rescure! I've found this company in East Los Angeles. only 10 miles away from home. It was worth a drive there (except that I did the stupidity to leave right on rush hour and it took almost 2 hours to arrive there.)

Madsen Electric Mechanical Drives & Belting Co.
2915 East Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90023
(323) 263-4131

I arrived there with the broken belt, I said I needed a belt to replace it and that I had the exact dimensions. I mentioned "It's for a washing machine" the attendant froze. "I know this belt. Your machine is a Maytag A50. My mom had the washer in Avocado. I didn't know they still make those washers.

Well, they don't... my washer is from 1973.

That's smart. take care of your washer I wish I had kept my mom's washer when she died... Now I have a modern Maytag and it sucks. I don't know what those engineers do nowadays because the modern ones are all junk. (I wanted to punch his face)

Making the story short.

I spent $38.33 exactly and it took 2 days to have the belt made.

The result was impressive. I can barely see the welding, the belt is not hollow, it fits perfectly and the only difference is that my belt is orange because they didn't have clear in stock.

On Friday I picked it up and rushed back home to test it. It fits perfectly and looks 100% like original (except for the color)
The belt rests more accurately in the pulley just because it's a nail thicker.

And the A-50 is running smooth as brand new.

It made me so excited that I'm seriously thinking about replacing the other belt.

I'll post the pictures later as they're still on my phone.

First video, with old belt (the belt broke during the rinse right after i made this video) Later I could hear on the video the belt starting to fail.



Test AFTER the belt was replaced.

 

[combo52]

Maytag A50

Hi Thomas, glad you are having fun with this washer, we used to sell them back in the day as well as repair of course.

 

The wash belt had a limited life as do all urethane belts, the belt breaking had little or nothing to do with washing an extra towel, it would have just broken the next load any way, it was old.

 

There are many companies in the US that can custom make these short lived belts, we have to have them custom made for the Kenmore combos.

 

I am surprised as a laundry engineer you just don't call up one of your suppliers and ask for a sample, we have a friend who was a refrigeration engineer and he would always be able to get suppliers to help such situations.

 

John

 

[thomasortega]

I do, but my suppliers are all in Argentina, Brazil, England or China. It would take forever to have a sample sent to me and I'd have to pay shipping anyway. So it was faster to do it locally.

 

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Maytag Portables, KA50 washer and KDE50 dryer in Chicago

This is a set in avocado from around 1970-71, they were used for a time in an apartment, then they moved. Now they're in an estate sale in Chicago and they haven't sold this because most people don't really know how to use or repair them. They're not in perfect condition, although they're clean and were safely stored. I tried plugging in and turning on the dryer, and na-da. I don't know why it won't turn on, it could be something simple.... maybe someone is interested and can fix it.

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