Philco-Bendix Coin-Op Motherload in North Minneapolis

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

Hi Robert. I spent plenty of time hanging out in the laundromat down the road that was filled with those Philco Bendix front loaders. I also remember how many people used Wisk in them and withing 3 seconds, the suds were coming out the top of the washer. I would tell them to use fabric softener (Sta-Puff or NuSoft) and then the suds would come down.

Ross
 
My favorite was the red pull knob on the side of the coin slides. You'd start the washer, and then pull the knob if you didn't want the prewash. The lever bumped the timer past the prewash directly into the main wash. Primative, but it worked.

Robert, were you considering taking one of these home? Install it in the garage or back porch and let it drain onto the lawn?
 
The Double Load machines had the larger tub of the old Duomatics, easy to do without space consuming suspension. Life is so much simpler without the pump, no clogs, no sudslocks, no bearings to go bad. The design of the Bendix machines used a drain valve that opened to allow water to enter the always turning pump so leave off the pump and you still have the drain valve opening to allow water to drain. It was always fun to walk to the end of the row and watch the water splash into the trough. Coin-op Frigidaires often used gravity draining as did the Milnors, Troy Big Boys, and I guess almost all of the front loaders. I never got to check out the Kelvinator and Hotpoint coin-op machines for drain type.
 
Say, great machines from the past, I remember my mom going to the local laundromat when the westinghouse front loader died, that had those very same machines. They were neat to watch as they had lots of action. No hesitation when it came time to spin either, click/klunk drain and on to the spin cycle, no hesitation and re-distributing the load to make sure it was balanced. Say were these machines bolted down to the floor, does anyone know? What a blast from the past!
 
I believe even today's Wascomats have a gravity drain. Water exits by gravity via a 4 inch (100mm) flexible rubber hose at the base of the machine.

IIRC the drain solenoid is energized to PREVENT draining. In a power outage, therfore, the machine automatically drains and unlocks.
 
It would be interesting to see what the drain assembly looks like. I would imagine it would be easy to convert these with an electric pump. Here I go, talking myself into one...

The Wascomat I use at one of my commercial accounts for rags, etc. is a triple loader (30lbs) and uses a drain valve actuated (closed) with cold water pressure. The valve is open all times other than wash/rinse cycles.
 
Think "softmounts" are the exception in commercial front loaders in that they have pumps. Gravity draining units have been around for ages and with good reason. No muss, no fuss, all one needs is a pit and or trough, and that is all she wrote. Lacking a pump is the reason so many commercial/laundromat front loaders last ages. OTHO have been told when units are moved, and or the trough cleaned, one finds all sorts of things down there.

Oh yes, lack of a pump means less chance of suds lock during spinning, and or the washer having to slow down spinning because too much water (as when doing a heavy load of very absorbent items like towels), enters the drain at once. Always find it amazing when the 40lb Speed Queen is at our local laundromat is packed to the gills, and goes into a spin. Cascades of water start streaming down the window glass, enough water that would surely choke a domestic machine.

L.

L.
 
Commercial softmounts don't have pumps and do gravity drain. Some of the smaller, newer ones may be ordered with a pump, but that is only because some owners are using them to replace toploaders. To ease the installation, they can come with pumps for the existing standpipes; otherwise an owner would need to take on the added expense of removing standpipes from a row to accommodate a gravity drain.

As far as cleaning out a trough or any drain system, it is an ugly, dirty, smelly endevour. It is mostly full of sludge and coins, some jewelry, and some bra wires that catch the lint. Besides tending to a public restroom, it is the most unpleasant task in a laundry. Ick!

I will see about getting a pic of a Wasco drain valve over the weekend while I do some repairs.
 
In the early '80s, the Norge Village where I did my laundry as a college student took out its Norge top-loaders and installed White-Westinghouse front loaders. And they did that very thing: they took out all of the standpipes that served the Norges and installed a trough. And they did drain through the floppy rubber hoses. Sometimes those things would flop around like a balloon losing air and spray water everywhere. And sometimes they'd jump out of the trough and drain on the floor. They tried all kinds of things to prevent that from happening; they eventually wound up encasing them in short lengths of PVC pipe.
 
The key here to what Jeff says is

IT WAS NEW IN THE BOX!

About the only thing these machines are good for is motor and transmission parts as they pop right into the DUOMATICS.
I have two motor tranny sets in storage already to go.
Oh and the doors would be good to have around. Oh and the Drain screens are stainless steel and would be good to have around!

Get your tools out Robert an throw'em in your Rig!

jetcone
 

Latest posts

Back
Top