Opinions Needed on Souping-Up a 1970s Helical Drive Maytag

[Unimatic1140]

Some initial pictures. The foil like substance you see on the side of the cabinet is called KnoNoise. It's meant to stop vibration noise which i really didn't need, but I used it as an extra layer of protection (since it's a very dense material) in case the transmission counter weight gave way during testing.

Under the machine:

The motor:

The VFD and Pump:

And my wiring diagram so far:

 

[scrubflex]

You're AWESOME Robert, thanks so much for the additional pics and diagram drawing...continue to lead with more 21st Century 'REDESIGNS'. How about a test video of a full load of jeans? And, maybe a comforter, if it can fit.

 

[akronman]

Hi Robert!

It's all entirely cool and beyond my electronic abilities for sure! One weird thought though: I see there's an added clamp alonf the front edge of the cabinet to hold the motor plastic guard in place, and a small hole drilled on the other side of the cabinet's front edge for a wire. gCan you put the cabit front back on? I always found Maytag's need the front back on once you're done with repairs, to stabilize and square up the entire machine, reduce vibrations, etc. Hmmmm....

Fantastic inspiring work there!

 

[Unimatic1140]

I see there's an added clamp alonf the front edge of the cabinet to hold the motor plastic guard in place, and a small hole drilled on the other side of the cabinet's front edge for a wire. Can you put the cabinet front back on?

Hi Mark, oh yes I definitely want the front panel to be on when I'm running the machine at 1000rpm + speed. It's hard to see but if you look closely the custom bracket I made to hold the water/spray guard over the motor doesn't come out as far as the support bracket to hold the front panel does. So the guard bracket doesn't come out far enough to reach the front panel. Not to mention it wouldn't be too pretty of a machine without it's a front panel!

Btw, yesterday I oiled the Brake Assembly and this stopped the slight burning smell at the end of spin. The dried out brake pads was for sure the culprit.

[this post was last edited: 7/19/2019-07:54]

 

[akronman]

Thank you Robert

For the explanation, you do fine work!

 

[Unimatic1140]

I know, I know, total blasphemy!

And now my new controls and indicator are installed, wired up and working. I will print out decals with text indicating what the do soon. I'll see if I can match the super cute Maytag font that are on the buttons.

Care to guess what even one does from left to right?

 

[repairguy]

HOT ROD MAYTAG!!!

 

[qsd-dan]

Care to guess what even one does from left to right?

My WAG is:

Timer bypass switch

Electric pump bypass switch

Agitation/Spin speed control potentiometer

Indicator light for electric pump operation or just indicating the machine is running.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Those are cool ideas for manual control Dan, but that's not what I did...

 

[scrubflex]

WOW...WOW...just wow, so AMAZING Robert. It's unbelievable that we're in the day and age of being able to "design our own" washing machines.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Maytag Souped Up By the Wand of Unimatic..!!

Another great project Robert, really enjoyed following it and glad your back on the VFD projects...The Maytag sounds like its coping well with the extra speed, very often its the slightly faster speeds that smoothe the revs and reverbs out...

We only had the Hotpoint with SpiraClean agitator that spun a super fast , my partner in crime has just mentioned.."Oh, could the Hotpoint souped up outdo the Unimatic1140 ? have just done the maths and only 95 rpm needed to challenge the Unimatic 1140
Hhmmm….lol , but we all know it takes more than scribbles on paper !! Carry on the great work !!

 

[Unimatic1140]

have just done the maths and only 95 rpm needed to challenge the Unimatic 1140

95 rpm is nearly nothing Mike, that machine surely should be able to take that speed increase easily and even higher if you wish I would assume. Of course "famous last words" but it would be interesting to see what you guys come up with.

The only issue I see so far with spinning the Maytag over 1000rpm is when the tub is completely empty the perforations in the tub cause a loud whistle. This really is a non-issue because I won't run the machine empty normally. Time to increase the speed another 20rpm this morning!

 

[scrubflex]

So the half-point of the VAS will be 66.5 oscillations per min...the new regular speed

 

[Chetlaham]

Thank you for doing this! Please do more! I want to see more VFD machines.

 

[sfh074]

Next time .....

instead of "total blasphemy" ..... please make a separate control panel for the auxiliary controls and mount said control panel to the top or side ..... using 2-sided tape.

I'm still not over the blasphemy committed on the last machine you modified. Don't
get me wrong, I love your mods under the hood! IMHO the original control panel should stay pristine.

 

[Unimatic1140]

So the half-point of the VAS will be 66.5 oscillations per min...the new regular speed

Actually it's not easy to count the agitator strokes and get it exact, but I set the center point of dial (by adjusting it's position on the shaft with it's set screw) to align to 68 strokes per minute or approximately so.

Thank you for doing this! Please do more! I want to see more VFD machines.

I plan on that for sure in time. I'd like to do try this to a 80s or 90s perforated tub Speed Queen at some point as well.

please make a separate control panel for the auxiliary controls and mount said control panel to the top or side ..... using 2-sided tape.

I agree with you Bud for super old or rare machines that no changes or souping up should occur, however in my opinion this machine isn't rare enough to worry about not adding a few controls to the original control panel. There are so many of these style Maytag washers still around which is a testament to Maytag's quality and durability. They are so common in fact that just doing a quick search of Minneapolis Craigslist I see another version of the same style machine for sale, next week I'll probably find another one and so on. Now I was more careful when I did the '58 GE washer to hide the new controls inconspicuously on the side of the control panel as that machine is more rare, but still there are several of those machines out there too.

Now question for the Maytag experts. When I first got this machine I pulled the agitator out and found the bottom of the agitator shaft, seal and protective cover were completely covered in lint and limescale. I assume that means that the air-bubble that is suppose to be under the agitator is no longer working? How important is it to maintain that air-bubble? I also assume this hole in the agitator somehow related to that air-bubble, I wonder what would cause it to stop working?

 

[gizmo]

Hi Robert

Now you need to get a stainless steel basket from an Australian Wilkins Servis version of these machines.

freight would appear a problem, perhaps if you wiggle your nose side-to-side, one will appear?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Now for my next experiment!

This looks so weird! I discovered that the Maytag agitator shaft is exactly 3/4" in diameter, and as it just so happens Beam/Speed Queen and Whirlpool/Kenmore agitator shafts are also exactly 3/4", meaning using a 3/4" shaft coupling and a spare agitator shaft cut to size works! The agitator fits perfectly!

If anyone is wondering the the coupling I used is here: Shaft Coupling. Eventually I will get the more expensive stainless steel version.

I've spent quite a bit of time scrubbing the limescale off of the bottom of the tub, the entire bottom under the agitator was covered, I've got it pretty much off except for the outer ring. Limescale also covered the mounting stem seal and bottom of agitator shaft. This was the reason I asked about the air bubble under the agitator. However it appears after my testing and adding a fresh rubber seal under the Easy agitator cap that the air bubble is maintained with the Easy agitator! The new agitator completely changes the wash action to say the least. I'll get working on some video soon after I find my spare Beam agitator shaft to try Speed Queen, Wizard and Coronado agitators. I can do a comparison of all four agitators. Whirlpool and Kenmore agitators are too tall to fit in the standard machine (and be able to close the lid), but after seeing the video Eugene did I know they will fit perfectly in the big-tub machine. The GE agitator shaft is thinner than 3/4", however a reducing coupling would easily work with GE designed agitators.

I was completely shocked how well this works, the agitator is solid no play or side movement what so ever in the agitator or shaft. For all intents and purposes it looks and feels like this was made in Newton.

 

[frigilux]

Absolutely freaking brilliant. Looking forward to seeing the differences in water/clothes movement patterns with various agitators. Five star review based on ingenuity and fun factor! You've set the bar pretty damn high, Robert.

 

[yogitunes]

PURE INGENIOUS.....Love it!

I tried a few different agitators in Maytags...and found with the long stroke pitman transmission, Ramped versions seemed to be the best, it adds a whole new level of turnover that these machines should have had from the start...even with a machine that has not been modified...

plus your available speed adjustment for agitation, should be easy to find that sweet spot for perfect turnover....

some people don't realize that finding the perfect match of agitator design, length of stroke, and speed of agitation make some machines better than others...

I wouldn't mind doing this mod to a machine, just to be used as a spinner for better extraction before the dryer...

on some machines, that whistle during spin while empty was an indicator that it was running at a perfect speed....if it didn't, you knew something was wrong....