QUESTIONS FOR THE 'ROLLERMATIC' EXPERTS!!!

[soberleaf]

i would appreciate any info you guys can give me on the proper maintenance of my new 1965 jet action rollermatic washer. i want to start using it on a semi regular basis but am paranoid i will do it harm unless i lubricate it first. it is 44 years old and even though everything seems fine and it looks like it has had a very good life i want to take every precaution. here goes.

i wanted to lubricate all bearings in the part of the transmission i can get to. will it hurt machine to lay it on it's side or flip it upside down (removing top ofcourse)? will i put any undue stress on any part of the tub drive system or tub bearings or water seal?

i know i can't get any oil on the rollers but i feel i should lubricate the bearings associated with them. what oil should i use, 3 in 1 oil or 10w30 or any special oil?

what weight oil do i lubricate motor bearings with. i always use 3 in 1 oil on my hobart motors?

i plan on making it a gravity drain and am going to bypass the pump, the logic being that all water will flow out of machine keeping it dry between uses. any feedback on this?

i did start researching old "rollermatic" posts on this site last nite and found some good stuff! you guys are really great! that one post about the history of the rollermatic was very interesting and informative!

the inner tub has one small chip in it, i was gonna use enamol paint on it, anything better?

if i did happen to get oil on a roller is alcohol the best to use to clean it off?

how often should i lubricate it's bearing points?

is there any way to get lubrication to the main tub bearing without a major dissasembly of the tub?

that's enough for now, again this site is wonderful for sharing info on our treasured appliances and i would greatly appreciate any feedback you have. i can see there are a lot of "rollermatic" guys out there!

up until now i have only dealt with hobart issues!

thanks a lot!!!!

pete

 

[gyrafoam]

DO NOT OIL THE MECHANISM!!!!!!!!

DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE WORD "OIL" TO THE MECHANISM!!!!!!!

Will be a good idea to get a new set of bellows.
Be sure to run some hot water down the drain hose and into the pump. Let it stand a while before starting the machine up.

Keep us appraised of what is happening. Happy washday!

 

[gyrafoam]

Oh, and you will want to check-out all the hoses. You may need to replace them.

 

[gyrafoam]

You will know it if it needs bearings.If the spin bearing needs replacement it will really be loud.
If you want to lubricate anything on the motor it should be the start-switch!

Check your e-mail.

 

[soberleaf]

about the oil??????

are the bearings lubricated for life then?

 

[soberleaf]

i have just spent 3 hours

reviewing the old posts on "rollermatics" and have learned a lot from you guys! a very good crash course on this machine!

one question i still have is do i want to bypass pump and use a gravity drain? idea was that it would drain all water out of outer tub, hence less moisture and possible rust and corrosion problems. but if i do that will it be harmful to the main tub seal due that it will be dry, or drier than normal during the high speed spin and wear it out?

any feedback will be appreciated!

 

[gyrafoam]

I don't understand why you would by-pass a pump that is in good working condition, although in the old days lots of people did gravity-drain their Frigidaires.
Usually, they ran the hose outside, into the yard, or down the driveway to the street. They didn't by-pass the pump, however. Its just that it would gravity drain anyway-----helped along by the pump.

This used to be a common sight out in the country. A lot of those folks did not want the wash water draining into their septic system as many times it contained (bacteria killing) chlorine bleach.

 

[soberleaf]

the idea to bypass pump

has 2 objectives here. one "everythingold" did see a small leak in the pump when he had the machine. i have not seen any leaks yet myself and i may have found a pump seal on the web.

second, and most importantly the idea is that if i gravity drain it there will be no residual water left in pump and possibly outer tub resulting in a drier machine, less moisture etc. and less chance for long term moisture related problems to occur.

probably what i will do (at least for now) is simply run drain hose down thru floor and not completely bypass pump as you mentioned. this way pump will still aid in the water flow out of machine. pump seals will stay moist so no more damage is done to pump and machine will still exit all water completely. i live in the country and my house does sit up on a crawl space and i have no issues with simply draining it underneath house. a little bleach water under the house can't hurt! and this washer isn't going to be used very much, i will only run it when i want a good dose of nostalgia and to hear those wonderful sounds of it's jet cone pulsator that i remember so well as a teen! i'm keeping it in the living room anyway, my laundry room has 3 washers and a dryer in it already! plus in the living room i can monitor it for leaks much better than if it were shoved in between other washers in my small laudry room! what can i say, i don't have a normal house anyway with 26 dishwashers, one washer in the living room is no big deal!!!!!!!

thanks for all your help and keep the feedback coming please! i am learning a lot here!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[everythingold]

Having done a bearing job, I know that when a rollermatic sounds like a 747 during agitation, it is not necessarily the bearing. The agitator shaft can build up corrosion and cause the noise. Another question: do the tranie's ever go? I know they can, but I've never seen a bad one. Perhaps it is because the tranie is stationary? Also, why the change from a direct drive on the '65 to a belt on the 1-18's? matt

 

[cornutt]

Change to belt on the 1-18s

Didn't they do that so they could put in a deeper tub? They had to get the motor out from under the tub to make room.

 

[joelippard]

Rollermatic Info

I'll emphasize what Gyrafoam had to say about oiling. Keep any oil away from those precious rollers, they are impregnated internally. I've yet to see a bad tranny on one either, maybe just the need for a roller replacement every 30-40 years!!! Drain it how you choose but I don't think you're going to get any more water out of the other tub than the pump does, the outer tub is long pumped dry before the final spin cycle ends. My suggestion is to leave it open a day after you wash in it. I do that on all my machines..

From my understanding the change to the belt drive was for multiple reasons. They did in fact need the extra room for the bigger tub. I've been told the belt drive was an "improvement" and I'd say that it probably is easier to work on but I've never done tranny work on my 1-18 or my DD Rollermatic.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it soberleaf. I had my eye on it as well but one came up closer to me. There is nothing like The Frigidaire! and each of the varieties has it's own specialness about it. I love the splashyness and the high spin speed of my Rollermatic, and I also love the huge capacity of the 1-18, until I got the solid tub model I didn't realize just how gargantuan the 1-18's capacity is.

Congratulations!

Joe

 

[norfolksouthern]

Withdrawal symptoms!

I hope to be getting a 1-18 fairly soon, and it'll be my first ever GM Frigidaire. I remember a friend who had one, and its capacity was huge for back then. One can never get over the sites, and sounds of a Jet Cone washing machine to cheer up a glum day. I've suffered without it for more than 20 years and now I'm having a Frigidaire fit!

NorfolkSouthern

 

[soberleaf]

"everythingold" has a 1-18 in his shop

in fact i'm going to include a pic of it when i finish my post of my road trip to visit him, but he did tell me it was sold. but you never know till you inquire!

i feel the same way, i collected a ton of dishwashers, 26 last count, but i really really really wanted a frigidaire jet action washer like the one i had when i was a teenager! i did all the laundry just so i could use it, my aunt was def happy about that!

that's why i'm so paranoid over this one, i want it to last and am afraid that i'll screw it up if i use it and it needs maintenance like a new water bellows or bearing lubrication.

i am going to oil the motor at least, a little! i was told to oil the start switch mechanism at the top.

thanks

 

[norfolksouthern]

Yes! Yes! DO post soberleaf! Thanks!

NorfolkSouthern

 

[soberleaf]

i'm going to finish it tonite

and it will be posted in the next hour

 

[jetcone]

From someone who has worked on TONS of these

I second the Gyra-motion:

"DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE WORD "OIL" TO THE MECHANISM!!!!!!! "

The bearings are lubed for life until they start screaming. There are only two bearings in that mechanism at the top and bottom of the spin shaft, mounted in the tranny casting about 3 inches apart. They can be replaced easily if you are experienced with bearings.

You won't get a drier tub by gravity drain, the best you can do there is always leave the lid up between washings. Or install a hair dryer to blow the outer tub at the end of cycle. Thats something Robert would do!! But he charges a fortune!!

ON ROLLERMATICS
Rumble througout spin is a bad bearing.
Squeaking on spin up is a badly worn or adjusted clutch.

ON 1-18's
Squeaking on spin up is usually a poorly adjusted belt or worn belt.

When you change the bellows you can smartly put 3 drops of Lubit-8 Teflon Oil used in Jet Engines, around the agitate shaft to relube the bronze oil bearing at the top of the spin tube, this will years to the life of the machine.

 

[soberleaf]

thank you jetcone

with a screen name like that i am sure you must be very well trained on these machines, probably from tearing into them for years and years! kinda like me and my kitchenaids.

this is my first collectable washer and my first solid tub since i was a teen. i'm pretty good with mechanical things but i can always learn more and when it comes to rollermatics i am not very knowlegable on them. that's why i really appreciate your comments and expertise!

i did read the old posts from this site on rollermatics, it helped me a lot. and i did work on this one yesterday, will post pics here soon on a seperate post. it is running perfectly i would say, spin is very quiet, washes fine, everything is cleaned up, all rollers are perfect looking to me at least. it acts like a new machine, think it had an easy life!

i was curious how far apart the two spin bearings were, thanks for cleaning that up.

for now i'm gonna use it gently and hopefully it will never need a bearing job.

would like to find a bellows, any suggestions on who might have one?

thanks again, pete