POD 8/13/2017

[brucelucenta]

This design of Speed Queen washers was used in the commercial machines until 1980. Unfortunately it was only used until about 1970 in the home units. These machines were very durable in laundromats everywhere and would run practically none stop in many places for a good 10 years or more. There were some parts that were made out of less durable material such as the center post that attached to the bottom of the tub that the agitator post fit inside of. That seemed to be a somewhat weak spot in these machines, but even so they were still very durable machines. Speed Queen always made an attractive looking machine too. Many of the home machines had light up consoles in the TOL models. One of the things I always liked about these machines is that you go instantly from fill to wash to spin and back again without any pause at all. It seems to go quickly. That is probably one of the reasons they were the top machine in laundromats everywhere. Their durability rivaled that of Maytag machines, the other machine that were in many laundromats too.

 

[helicaldrive]

How did the sediment ejector work?

I'm having a hard time envisioning how it could be connected to the inner tub since it spins...

 

[brucelucenta]

At the bottom of the tub there was an agitator post holder that attached to the actual tub and there was a hole in the very bottom intended for sediment and sand that would make their way to the bottom of the tub. There was a sediment ejector tube attached at the hole in the bottom which ran along the bottom of the tub and up the side closely and attached at the top of the tub. When the water was spun out, the idea was that the sediment in the tube was spun out with the waste water down the drain. Unfortunately most of these got plugged with coins and other things people had in their pockets that found their way under the agitator, so they really didn't work too well unless you constantly cleaned under the agitator all the time. The sediment tube also had a habit of coming loose from the tub and rubbing along the side when the washer went into spin also, but that seemed to be more in the later home models with reversing motors.

 

[gyrafoam]

The stupid Sediment Ejector-------

was mostly a sales gimmick, IMO. As Bruce stated the cheap metal attachment point would rust and break and allow the tube to contact the inside of the outer tub during the spin due to centrifugal force. It made a terrible noise and alarmed a lot of people into thinking they were under attack or the end of the world was happening.
Some would tinker around and discover that a slow spin worked ok.

I cant imagine a world without a SQ solid-tub machine. One of the first things I do is get rid of that sediment ejector. I remove the agitator and allow the area underneath to dry completely. Then I take some High-Temp. Liquid Gasket and completely plug the hole leading to the ejector. Then I take the top off of the machine grasp the tube and break the damned thing off! I think I learned this nifty trick from Greg years ago.

Problem solved.

 

[gansky1]

There was a small coiled wire guard that was to prevent items from being lodged in the sediment tube. This often did little to stop sand and sediment from clogging the indent in the agitator post base, rendering the tube useless for the very thing it was supposed to do.