Patience has its rewards: 1940's Bendix Washer

[sudsmaster]

I responded to an ad on Craigslist some two years ago. Received a voice mail in return, very heavily accented woman, could barely understand her, other than that she'd call again. Well, she never called again.

Then two days ago a fellow called and left a message. He also had an accent, but I could understand him. Short end of it, I picked up the vintage deco Bendix Automatic Washer this morning. It was worth the wait, I think.

Here's a shot of it just off the van:

 

[sudsmaster]

Here's an ISO view...

 

[sudsmaster]

Timer dial and dispenser lid.

I know it looks funky, but I rotated the dial and got the expected clicking etc. The lid appears to be stainless and will polish up. The porcelain all appears to be in good condition, as are the handles (which I understand can break). The painted side and front panels have rust, as you can see in the previous photos, but they can be sanded/blasted and resprayed. I had to fix the leveling feet (one was bent sideways) and got a look at the underside of the drum. It appears not to have leaked and there is little to no rust on the parts that matter. It will still be a project but I have a good feeling about this one. Of course the rubber all probably needs to be replaced, which could be a treasure hunt all in itself.

 

[sudsmaster]

PS-As I recall from when I was a small child, we had this very same model at one point. It lived on an elevated concrete riser in the basement. My older brother had once opened the door when it was in operation, spilling water all over and causing a big mess, so I was forbidden to go near it. But I admired it from afar. A few years later it broke down - don't know what the problem was - and the laundry was done at a local laundromat instead. But I remember that when it worked it washed things well enough.

 

[appnut]

rich, that's the mahcine that started it all for me.  and there's the infamous occurrances of me crawling out to the grage and opening the door like your older brother did.  Fortunately, the water only had to run down the driveway, much to the neighbors delight, which meant bobby had gotten to the washer again, much to my mom's chagrin!!

 

[sudsmaster]

LOL, Bob. Well, the basement would flood from time to time anyway when we had a major hurricane hit (it was in Connecticut) but that was only once a decade or so. But my mom had a zero tolerance for us messing with the washer. I do remember once she was all in a tizzy about it, seemed to me she might have added too much soap (or maybe my brother snuck in and added more soap after she did). I remember suds and water coming out of places it shouldn't have... lol... Might be why the thing eventually broke down, water in motor maybe.

I found the "service" manual in the archives, which is nice. It will come in very handy as I restore the machine. Would be nice to have a copy of the owner's manual as well... hint hint...

 

[appnut]

Rich, there's a 1947 Bendix user manual in the user manual library section and it's your exact washer.

 

[swestoyz]

Very cool find Rich. I'm wondering if it is pre-War as it has the earlier badge.

Is the fill flume at the 3 o'clock position when you open the door?

 

[jetcone]

Nice score!

Its amazing how many of those are still around. Remember HomoDepot has closed cell foam it works wonders when you are starved for rubber parts!

 

[sudsmaster]

Is the fill flume at the 3 o'clock position when you ope

Why, yes, it is.

Does that mean it's Pre-War?

I did read in the service manual today that early machines had the fill on the side, and that was changed to a top fill because "some localities" objected to the side fill as it theoretically might be able to siphon wash water into the tap water system.

 

[swestoyz]

You are correct sir.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

That's pretty cool....Rich

I responded to that ad also , never heard a peep; heavily accented or otherwise. It looks to be in very decent condition, considering

it's 70 something....

 

[foraloysius]

Congratulations on finding a dream machine! Very deco style indeed, especially the timer. Is that top part of the timer bakelite? Considering it's age the machine is in nice condition.

 

[mrboilwash]

Those Bendix are certainly the most beautyfully styled FL washers the world has ever seen. Congratulations !

 

[bendixmark]

bendix

That is the same machine I have mine is a 1949.Make sure before you run it you remove the pump cover and free up the drainvalve plunger with hot water and then check and replace the transmission oil.Lastly pour some hot water into the machine and let it sit for an hour to soften up the pump seals.If it needs a new belt you can get one at Johnstone Supply.

 

[sudsmaster]

This one is a Model 156B, s/n 757.

That looks like the copy I have read, Swestoyz, but for the life of me I can't find it in the service manual now, so where did you find it?

Anyway, also got the user manual, thanks Bob. I've already printed it out in booklet form on my Canon color laser printer, looks great! There sure is a lot of detailed information on soaps and water softeners and how to manipulate the simple controls to wash everything from diapers to lace (although they do recommend hand washing for some delicates, very sensible).

The door seal has an accumulation of hard, dried lint on it it, which I think I'll spray with water to soften up before I attempt to remove it.

What kind of oil should go in the transmission? Would an automotive GL5 90 weight be good?

 

[swestoyz]

Uh, looks like page 116 of 130 on the scanned copy off this site. The screen grab above was from a different scan of the B&S manual I scanned a few years ago.

Ben

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks!

I printed out the service manual and found the copy today as I was perusing its later chapters.

This unit does appear to be a late pre-war version. It has most of the improvements in the line, save for the fill flume location.

I was also interested to learn from the service book that there was a manual version of the machine, with two dials: one for temp, the other manually to select operations such as wash, drain, rinse, spin, etc.

 

[sudsmaster]

Is that top part of the timer bakelite?

Yes, it appears to be bakelite.

Not sure what the dial is made from. It's some sort of white plastic substance. Might be a casein based material.

The machine appears to have been in the "basement" level of a house on a hillside in Piedmont (a tony enclave just east of Oakland). Typical of these homes in the Bay Area, it was just a crude half-basement, with the dirt floor of the crawl space uphill of it open to the half-basement. While not overly damp appearing, it was probably more humid than a proper basement or above grade laundry room would have been. But it was a western exposure, which probably helped to keep it on the dry side. And because it was on a hillside it had better drainage than most half-basements. I've seen some flood on a regular basis in the winter in homes built on more level ground in the "flatlands".