POD 12-8-15 Bendix flexible tub washer

[tomturbomatic]

I can't say much for the water extraction ability, which was on a par with the early bolt down front loaders, but the agitation in one of these is powerful. If you ever have an opportunity to watch one in action, particularly with the back cabinet panel removed, don't miss it. The tub actually flexes during agitation as the water currents pull it in and push it out. It has to be filled before the clothing is added because the water capacity is measured by the force of the tub pushing against a part of the frame that surrounds it. Once the agitation begins, the detergent is added, but the agitation is so strong that the only way that you can see suds is to pull the plug to stop the agitation and that will let the suds rise to the top of the water. Once you got familiar with how much detergent the machine takes for an average load, that test was no longer necessary. It is amazing that with an agitator shaped like Maytag's Gyrator, but with perforations in the fins and skirt and in a wider tub, the washing action is so powerful.

The machines were cheap to make because they used a wringer washer transmission since it did not need to spin. Unfortunately, the seals were not of the best quality and eventually water got into the transmission so people got rid of them. I remember families with them, but generally not for long. One guy in my class had to sit on the lid to hold it down when the springs weakened. Friends with Unimatic washers had to sit on it during spin to limit the vibrations through the wooden floors.

 

[frigidaireguy]

I had one of these

When I was a kid my cousin's family had one of the first one of these Economats.
They had stopped using it because the springs in the top would no longer let the suction work for the tub to squeeze. They gave it to me to "Play With" and it was transported to my Grandparent's house. My Granddad had a friend that adjusted the springs and fixed it. I had lots of fun with that machine. It did move the clothes extremely well as Tom had said. I wish I had kept it along with lots of others that I got rid of in later teenage years.
Bob

 

[ea56]

My very first recollection

of watching a washing machine was one of these machines. My Mom's first automatic washer was a Bendix Economat. It was located in our basement and when I was 3 yrs. old I can recall watching Mom do the family laundry in this machine and hanging it up on clothes lines that were strung under the rafters of the basement ceiling. I especially remember how the damp clothes were all smashed up against the agitator when she lifted the lid. We didn't get a dryer untill 1955 and it was a Norge with a "Timeline" control panel. When the Bendix was replaced in 1956 it was with a Hamilton with the anodized blue and gold control panel.

 

[tomturbomatic]

People who moved to our new subdivision in 1955 and had previously lived in apartments often brought one of these with them. Many apartments would allow them because they did not spin and create vibrations in wood-framed buildings. On our block, in 1958, one was replaced with a Lady Kenmore and the other was replaced by the TOL Maytag that rated so well in the 1958 Consumer Reports washing machine test reported in the issue with the aqua cover. The third lasted a year or two longer. That was the family with the boy who had to sit on the lid.

A couple of blocks closer to the elementary school, a classmate's family had one. His father was a professor at Emory. We never knew what his mother did to his Cub Scout uniform in that machine, but after one wearing, it was washed and looked like stone-washed jeans about 10 years before they came out. It was not just a lighter blue, but the twill material sort of looked a little fuzzy, like flannel. Maybe it was in the machine, unnoticed, when a load of towels was thrown in with bleach and hot water. This was back in the days when you wore your uniform to school on the day your Scout den had their meeting after school so everyone saw his uniform, the poor soul. [this post was last edited: 12/8/2015-12:18]

 

[peteski50]

Bendix!

Old friends of ours had one of these - I remember when it was draining and squezing the cloths it did sound like it was spinning. They really didnt wring out that well but did wash well!

 

[launderess]

Consumer Reports didn't think much of those units

IIRC they rated the extraction lowest of any automatic or even semi-automatic washer tested (1950's). In fact IIRC wringers got out more water...

Interesting because modern tunnel washing machines use the same principle to extract water.

 

[wayupnorth]

My aunt had one and she had her old Maytag wringer next to it to squeeze as much water out of the clothes as the Bendix left everything soaking and she wanted to get them on the clothesline and dry ASAP.

 

[e2l-arry]

Our Neighbors had one.. .

I remember the last time I was there she had a problem when it was finished. The pressure wouldn't release and the top remained tightly closed. You could not force it open. Just wait for 30 minutes to an hour for it to finally release. This was in 1969 and they moved away shortly after so I don't know when it was eventually replaced.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Bob, and anyone else who might have seen the first Economat: did you see the machine with the deep drum in the lid? There was a little round stopper or diaphragm in the center of the bottom of the drum in the lid. The gray plastic lid handle had a red button in the middle of it that, when pushed, lifted the little stopper to allow air from the drum in the lid into the machine's tub to break the vacuum. I think that the later machines automatically broke the vacuum at the end of the cycle, but I don't know how. I would imagine that it was somehow done with something under the agitator, maybe related to the fill valve assembly. I thought it was neat the way they filled from underneath the agitator.

 

[frigidaireguy]

Little Red Button

Yes, Tom mine did have the little red button to release the pressure. These first machines only had one timer knob which controlled the water temp and had the automatic 2 rinses. Later generation models didn't have the red button and the lid "Hinges" were much stronger which eliminated the problem with the lids not sealing properly for the squeeze action. The first machines had hinges similar to the first ones on the Frigidaire washers. Also the later machines had 2 dials which gave the option for one or two rinses - If one rinse was chosen the machine would just stop after the squeezing of the first rinse water. I thought they were cool machines. There were probably at least 10 families in our town that had the 2nd generation ones.