Restored 1958 PhilcoBendix Duomatic

[jetcone]

Thank you Youngstown!!

Come out and see it run any time! Now that I have had it up and running for several weeks I am really taken with it! The condenser dryer never shrinks things just like my GE Combo even wool socks and shirts come out perfect with no shrinkage!
But unlike the GE you can do a complete cycle wash to dry in 40 minutes! The GE comes in at 1.5 to 2 hours/cycle!
And I don't know about everyone else but it cleans GREAT!! I have been using GAIN powder which has a good scent and using CHeer Liquid HE which really cleans the clothes!
I know I told everyone I would list what about this machine makes it the best combo but I got sidetracked installing my Westy Streamliner so I'll post the listing soon.

Cheers
Jetcone

 

[Cybrvanr]

I love the look of the control panel on that washer! It looks more like a Jukebox than a washer's control panel!

 

[mrcleanjeans]

bendix BEAUTY

Jetcone, that is the most gorgeous washer ever, and you did a great job restoring it. By the way, when did Philco-Bendix go out of the home appliance division,I know Philco alone went on for awhile. When was the last Philco-Bendix made?Wasnt it the early 60s?And what about Apex and Thor?

 

[mrcleanjeans]

p.s. is this your favorite washer?

 

[kenmore1978]

still waiting

for the reasons you think this is the best combo

 

[jetcone]

Best Reasons

I like the Bendix Duomatic best as a Combination because:

1) It was the first ever Combination, that makes it a pioneer.

2) It uses a blow dryer for the heating cycle which speeds up the drying , it "blows" the door off my GE Combos!

3) It never goes above 155 degrees so there has been no shrinkage of my clothing , and condensor drying is very gentle compared with vented drying.

4) Using the soak and wash cycle gives 17 minutes of laundering at Different temperatures. Something I learned just recently that makes a power cleaning combination because different soiling responds to different temperatures. You'd think I'd know that one already!!!!! ADUH!!!

5) Bendix researched the whole wash cycle and concluded correctly that the tub to outer tub gap had to be no less than 20% of the inner tub diameter. This allows all the washing solution to be carried in and out of the drum by washing currents that develop between the inner and outer tubs. Any smaller gap and the currents don't form so there is no circulation--- REMEMBER Maytag had to install a pump system in the Neptune sumps to get all that concentrated detergent solution back up into the wash??

6) Bendix discovered uneven baffles in the tub will break up tangleling when tumbling in one direction. My Combo never tangles! YAY!

7) Spinning at 505 RPM compared to GE's 225 really cuts the drying time down because the major amount of water is extracted after 275 RPM's.

8) Bendix worked out and patented the cause of "pasting" in Combination Washer-Dryers so that pasting is a thing of the past with Bendix higher spin speeds.
My Kenmore goes through ridiculous gyrations for a long time before it settles into 525 RPM spin. Not necessary Bendix already worked it all out!

9) WAY COOL STYLING!

10) It is built like a Caddilac of the 50's and is as quiet as one! My GE's are great but they wail along!

 

[gansky1]

20% of drum diameter? Wow... That's like 5.4" of a 27" drum. So the space between the inner basket and outer drum wall needs to be that TOTAL, 2.7" all the way around the drum or just at the lower portion where the water circulation is happening?

"Pasting" is the clothes sticking to the drum after spin?

To add another benefit of the Bendix, there is no need for a sump access plate or hatch inside the Bendix drum, the pump protector/filter is located under the drum and removed for easier cleaning through the access door on the front of the cabinet. Smooth, unobstructed drum surfaces lessen the possibility of rough edges and latches catching and snagging your delicate fabrics.

 

[kenmore1978]

Superiority

"It uses a blow dryer for the heating cycle which speeds up the drying , it "blows" the door off my GE Combos!"

Doesn't every dryer, combo or otherwise, use a blower to move the air through the drum?

"and condensor drying is very gentle compared with vented drying."

It is? Because? It's still hot air being blown through a drum.

And these questions are not to denigrate the Duomatic, just curious.

 

[peteski50]

Best Reasons

I agree with these best reasons. I wonder what Bendix would be like today if they were still making combos! As much as I like my LG I am still sure Bendix would still be superior today.
Peter

 

[gansky1]

Condenser drying...

Many condenser dryers, especially early ones, did not use any blower to move the air through the drum. The Maytag, Hotpoint, Frigidaire among others used only the cool surface of the water on the side of the drum, or in the case of the Frigidaire, the cool surface of the aluminum Filtrator unit to attract and condense the warm moist air. They really are a wonderful way to dry clothes - towels especially come out incredibly soft and fluffy.

I think maybe Jon was referring to the gentleness of the Bendix versus other condenser dryers that did not move air via a blower or fan, the cutoff temps for a non-blower condenser dryer were 180F + on the highest setting although most had temp controls that could be dialed down. Especially in the early days of condenser dryers, the man-made fibers and elastics weren't as common as they are in the typical washload today so the higher temps weren't as harmful.

 

[kenmore1978]

no blower

I still don't understand. How can clothes dry in a drum that no air is moving through? I understand how the water is condensed out after leaving the clothes, and not having to be vented, but how are the clothes heated to drive out the moisture if there is no air flowing through the drum? How would the moist air get out of the drum to the condensor mechanism with no blower?

 

[jetcone]

Kenmore:

The condensors that do not utilize blowers have the condensing surface somewhere inside the drum. As the drum turns it churns the moisture laden air across the condensor surface and moisture is removed.
The heating process in a non blower machine is always done by broiling the clothes under radian tubes, as the clothes heat they release moisture into the drum air.

Bendix had the patents for blow dry condensors which is why no one else made them in the 50's unless they paid royalties.

As to clothes conditioning, in a condensor dryer the clothes never approach the dryness of a vented model for two reasons:
1) the use of cold water to condense never allows the interior air to become completely dry like room air.
2) the reuse of the sealed interior air and not the introduction of outside air prevents the clothes from coming into contact with bone dry air.

Did you know that shrinkage in a dryer only occurs in the last ten minutes of a cycle IF the clothes are kept hot and allowed to reach a point of 0% moisture content? At that point they start shrinking and you can easily reach that degree of dryness in a vented model.

When you remove your clothes from a condenser they have just the slightest tinge of moisture left in them, so slight that you feel it for a moment and as they hang it is gone. The best time to take your clothes out is right at the end because the residual heat will actually cause the clothes to steam slightly and if you hang or flatten them out they will drop all their wrinkles and self press.

So you never really want to get your clothes BONE dry.

Hope this clarifys

Jet

 

[kenmore1978]

Bone Dry

Yes, I knew that it's not good to dry clothes bone dry. Fortunately, the sensor in my LK is pretty accurate, plus it has the cool down period. Then there was the "Soft Heat" of earlier dryers.

So since the drum is rotating, how are the radiant tubes mounted? Which brands used this system?

 

[chestermikeuk]

European Condensor Dryers....No Blowers....

In the seventies a lot of the combined washer dryers where condensor dryers but didnt have a blower to distribute a stream of warm air...

Manufactures such as Frigidaire and Miele offered top loading slimline automatics, others such as Ariston, Newpol, Eastham & Fagor offered standard front loaders, most had low spin speeds of 460 although the Miele had a faster spin the tumble dryer took over 2 hours to dry half the washload.

They simply used the water heater situated under the drum, this used to cycle on and off linked to a thermostat at the top of the outer drum.The cold water would trickle slowly through the drum intermittently and the steam would condense and be pumped out from the wash drain.

Bendix always offered the warm air blower machines with seperate warm air blowers, these machines really took off over here in the 80`s when Hoover & Hotpoint offered fast spin autos (1,000rpm) with a blower tumble dryer etc .

Very interesting how they work (well to us anyway!!!) the earlier full size condensor dryers used a lot more electricity due due the time the condensor took to dry the loads, I remember being in a test centre and using one of these dryers.....with a full load of towels spun at 1200rpm placed on a high heat setting, after 20 mins the clothes where steaming hot, we took them all out and shook them, steam all over the place but they dryed almost immediatly, whereas if the dryer had continued it would have taken over an hour extra to fully dry...

I think more work needs to be done on condensor dryers, very interested in the heat pump method form AEG...my old Servis 9lb vented dryer work on a low heat of 1.9kw and a high airflow....this world dry a full load of towels spun at 850rpm in 45 mins and very economical to use...

 

[jetcone]

AEG vs LG

Mike, what does the Heat Pump do in the AEG? Does it try to recover heat in the condensed water stream and put it back into circulation in the drum??

I am really wondering about the LG drying times because it spins at 1400 I think and has a blower, in fact it is configures identical to the Bendix of 50 years ago!

Peteski, Jeff want to weigh in here on drying times??

Jon

 

[peteski50]

AEG vs LG

Hi Jon,
My LG spins at 1100 its the larger unit. The drying times are somewhat better than my equator was. I can actually dry a full set of sheets in 35 minutes and a full size conforter in 45 minutes. Towels take the longest 6 would take maybe 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
Peter

 

[jetcone]

Hi Peter:
Wow that 35-45 minutes seems fast for the sheets but 1 1/2 hours for towels?? Now I must go time 6 towels in my Neptune dryer and see how long it takes to get them dry. So I can make a fair comparison.
Off to wet towels..........................

Jet