Potato Pulley

[veg-o-matic]

Steve was kind enough to send me a picture of the Westy potato pulley. So now I know why it's called that.

All righty then, what's the point of the shape?

a confused veg

 

[retromom]

Don't make me guess!

Will somebody post the dang picture here? I'd like to see the *spud* for myself!

 

[veg-o-matic]

Ooops

How's this?

veg

 

[retromom]

This ain't no baker.......

Veg:

Well, I guess under the influence of the right mood modifier, it could be a potato. "boil 'em, mash 'em, put 'em in a stew....."

Venus

 

[frigilux]

Thanks for the picture! I've also wondered what the oft-referenced potato pulley looked like.

Venus, you've made me hungry, but it's still an hour 'til lunch up here on the thunderstorm-y northern plains....

 

[veg-o-matic]

Mystery solved!

Well Venus, I wasn't the one who chose the name. To me it looks like naked people. But then, everything looks like naked people to me.
I got an email from MAM (Mystery Appliance Maven) who confirmed what I had been thinking. The eccentric shape of the pulley makes the drum tumble slowly, then it speeds up as the end (or side, can't remember which) passes over the drive.
From the front looking in, I think it would be something like this: your clothes take a leisurely trip up the side of the drum, when suddenly WHAM--they're flung across to the other side and fall back down to the bottom. Repeat.
(Yeah, I'm sure there's a much better way to explain it, but my explanation has a WHAM in it.)
veg, accepting the Nobel prize for science

 

[gansky1]

Excellent WHAM!!

You explained it quite well Veg, the eccentric shape of the pulley gives the variable speed washing action Westinghouse advertised for years. The drum speed was constantly changing and it helped to increase cleaning action and reduce tangling in a one-way tumble washer.

 

[alr2903]

hiya veg

see my post # 2028 in imperial, montgomery wards ran the whole story, the way i understood the catalogue, the cheaper signature made by westy had the 3 vane "original tumbler" rated at 9lbs. the eccentric wash cam or potato pulley changed the 2 baffle positions (only two baffles with the potato pulley/eccentric wash cam, and they changed the capacity claim to 11 or 12 lbs without mention of the drum being larger. wards always had the square front signature by westy, while westinghouse badged machines continued with the slant front until i beleive 1963. the 2 baffle eccentric wash cam models changed the baffle positon to roughly 12 oclock and 7 oclock. one was the strainer lint ejector that apparently would sling the lint out during spin. the "shuffling wash action" produced by the potato pulley was much ballyhooed, to reduce tangling.

 

[drmitch]

Potato!

Boil em, Boil em, Boil em!

 

[Designgeek]

The same shape can be used for the driving sprocket on a bicycle (the one that's attached to the pedals) to even out the torque load while pedaling, and increase the ease of riding and/or your road speed. The sprocket is set up so the larger-diameter section comes into play at the point where your legs can exert the most effort, and the smaller-diameter section comes into play during the "dead center" position when your legs are at their least efficient.

I've seen pictures of something like this, they're probably available at any decent bike shop as an aftermarket add-on. Probably at the expense of not being able to use a front derailleur, but then what you do is get a rear cluster with seven sprockets covering a wider gear range than the normal cluster (so you still have a good low gear for climbing, and a good high gear for speed). (Personally I like having really low gears, for "climbing up the sides of buildings." Makes it easier to pedal up hills and/or with a load on the back carrier.)