POD 8/9/2017

[brucelucenta]

I have only seen one of these machines at a junkyard. It was interesting looking with it's expandable rubber tub. Those machines did not hold too big a load and apparently did not extract the water very well. I have heard they washed fairly well and the agitator looked much like that of a Maytag washer with holes all in it, to allow the water to escape when the tub was squeezing. It was just another interesting machine made in the golden age of automatic washing machines. I personally consider the end of the 40's thru the early 60's to be the golden age of automatic washers and dryers. There were all kinds of different machines made with various ways to complete their task of automatically washing, rinsing and extracting the water from clothes.

 

[frigidaireguy]

Bendix created this machine as an alternative to the "Bolt Down" front loaders.
There were tons of these machines sold in the early 50's. There was of course no vibration but the extraction was not very good.
Bob

 

[ea56]

The Bendix Economat was the first automatic washer that my family ever owned. Its the first washer that I ever watched being used. We had it in our basement and I can still see how the clothes were are plastered against the agitator when my Mom lifted the lid when the cycle was finished. My paternal Grandma had one too, hers was yellow. When my Dad bought her a Mongomery Wards Signature FL in 1959 we took her yellow Economat to our cabin for the laundry there.
Eddie

 

[lotsosudz]

Economat Pictures

Does anyone have pictures of these machines actually washing. I've seen the pics Robert posted, of it extracting the water, but no one seems to post any pics of one washing. I know they had a 8 lb capacity. I would think that with the bell shape tub, and the tall agitator, it would have had strong rollover. Would love to see a vid of it thru a full cycle.
Hugs,
David