scary vintage bradford automatic washer...

[vintagekitchen]

full of water

If nothing else, all that water standing in the tub means it still holds water, so at least you know the tub seal and hopefully the inner hoses are still good.

 

[cfz2882]

year

I think franklin came out with perforated washtub~1967,so that one would be earlier-perhaps around 1964-66? A rare survivor,could be a real prize in someones collection.

 

[hippiedoll]

thank you's......

turquoisedude:
we don't get down to the house very often but i am starting to get pretty anxious, to start cleaning the house out. so hopefully we'll be making trips down there more frequently! and hopefully the pictures will be better & clearer the next time i take pictures. i will definitely keep you all updated & posting pictures.

goatfarmer:
i was thinking the same thing, about the drain hose, just laying it on the ground to see how much water i could drain. i did read another "tip" on the internet that said you could also use a hose to drain the water. you connect a garden hose to a faucet and put the other end into the washtub. then turn the hose on until the water has filled up in the hose and no more air bubbles are coming out of the water. then, you turn the faucet off and bend it so that it is doubled up in your hand, about 2 feet from the faucet, so that you have a water tight bended seal in the hose. hold that kink in the hose and disconnect it from the faucet. now at this point, the hose is going to be full of water (from the washtub all the way through, to where you have it bent). now all you do is make sure that the end that was connected to the faucet, is lower than the end that is inside of the washtub. and that when you let go of the kink in the hose, it should start draining the water out. i'm sure once you lay the unconnected end of the hose, down on the ground, you have to go to the washer and hold that end down into the bottom of the washtub as it drains, to make sure it doesn't fall out or get any air in it, causing it to stop draining.

you saying that you've seen alot worse washers brought back to life, gives me a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe i might be able to get this washer "living" again!? thank you.
)

vintagekitchen:
talk about looking at a glass as "half full" instead of "half empty"!! you are so right!! i didn't think about it like that. i was thinking, all that water in there is probably doing it's rust damage to the metal parts in the washer. but if it's been holding water for so long, it must mean that there are no leaks!?! that is a good point you made there!! thank you.
)

cfz2882:
1964-1966, WOW!! that is wild!! thank you for the information & for stating that franklin came out with the perforated washtub around 1967. that is very interesting & informative. thank you.
)

 

[alr2903]

W.T. Grant has the stranges credit policy known to man. I will link that. My Aunt always bragged about their drapery sales. Hippiedoll, thanks for posting. IIRC, Robert hauled his "Wizard" all the way from Oklahoma. The thread is somewhere in the archives. Here the wiki link to W.T. Grant. can you believe it, "NO credit check". I did not remember The W.T. Grant was the second largest bankruptycy in U.S. history. No intent to hi jack.

Loading…

en.wikipedia.org

 

[gansky1]

This is a solid tub washer so laying the hose down won't help much unless there is water in the outer tub.  You can siphon the water from the washer tub or lay the machine down outside and let it spill out, then stand it up and drain the remaining water from the outer tub.  That's how we did it on the SD farm with machines full of water.  Hopefully this machine is close to an outside door and won't take too much wrangling to get it out.  Is there a leaky pipe or roof above the washer?  

 

I don't recall Robert's "Pig" needing too much to get running properly, hopefully this one won't either.  Machines always are "put aside" for a good reason, usually a failure of some sort.  Larry at Modern Parts in OH may still have a few parts for this machine.  But the battle will of course begin with the extraction of the machine from it's crypt first - good luck and thanks for keeping us posted.

 

For it's age and being a solid-tub machine, it holds a surprising amount of wash.  The smallish-looking agitator is no slouch either, I've seen it rip riveted buttons from jeans.

 

Is that a Kenmore dryer next to it?  Looks like "Soft Heat" on the right side of it's panel.

 

[vacbear58]

Tub Full Of Water

Christina

You mention that the electricity was turned off. Did you mean just shut off at the board or shut off by the supply company. If just at the board, if you have or can lay your hands on a wet duty shop vac, that may be an easy way to get that tub emptied, and of course it will make the machine a lot easier to move without that water in it. Even if shut off, is there someone you can borrow a generator from to run such a vacuum? Or an extension cord from a neighbour?

After the previous disappointments you have had, it seems like this is destiny that it should fall into your hands right from in your own family. I truly hope you can get it going and in use again

Al

 

[hippiedoll]

alr2903...

very interesting information on the w.t. grants stores. i have never heard of that store before, except from roger & ross, fellow members to this group, here in tucson, who said that roger bought a bradford twin tub washer from the w.t. grants store here in tucson.

thanks for posting that link to read about the store.

 

[hippiedoll]

gansky1...

Is there a leaky pipe or roof above the washer:

not that i'm aware of? but i couldn't say for sure, cuz i've never really been in the house when it was raining, or when my mom's great aunt (who willed her the house) or aunt (who lived in the house last) washed clothes. to be honest, i don't think the aunt,who lived there las & recently passed away, ever washed clothes in the washer, but i don't know for sure??

as for draining the water, i think i'll try that water hose trick i read about & hopefully i can drain the water down the bathtub. if not, then the next thing would be to siphon it out /

i don't think i could try to get the washer out of that washroom (door), through the bathroom (another door), then through the kitchen and out the back door, with it having that much water in it. and if i tried to lay it down to drain out, i'm afraid it would be too heavy for me and i would end up dropping it and possibly damaging something or some part of the washer.

i don't think this washer was "put aside", as it is the only washer in the house. i think the last aunt that lived there probably just didn't know how to use it. you see, she was born "special needs". and wasn't the best housekeeper. so it just may work fine, after all? i won't know until we get the electricity back on, in the house.

as for the dryer next to it, yes, i think it is a brown/coppertone kenmore dryer. i'm not real sure, cuz the dryer was deeper into the dirty, dark, spider webbed, narrow washroom. and i felt very eerie/uneasy about going past the front of the washer. so, i didn't get a good look at the dryer. but i think i did flash the light from the phone over there to see it real quick and i think i remember it saying kenmore. and it was dark brown in color. that's all i could see!!

 

[alr2903]

Hippiedoll, surely there is an old saucepan or large cup to dip out most of the standing water. USE GLOVES and protect your eyes. A cheap pack of disposable diapers from the dollar store would blot up any remaining water and you could do your initial wipe down with them. I also doubt dropping the drain hose would allow the water to drain from the inner tub, I would still lower the drain hose, there could be old foul water in the outer tub. Amazing Find ! Good for you!

 

[hippiedoll]

al/vacbear58...

thanks al
)

the electric was turned off for the whole house. when my mom's aunt passed away recently, my mom's cousin (one of the ones who was clearing out the house, called the water & electric companies and had the utilities turned off. so, there is no electricity going into the house at the moment.

as for the wet/dry shop vac, believe it or not, but i was thinking about that. and i was looking at a wet/dry shop vac that was on ebay. but it was $50+ dollars to buy + the shipping. at right now, i don't have the extra money to do that. but i was thinking the same thing as you, "how easy it would be to just stick the shop vac hose in there and drain all that water out. even if i just bought a cigarette lighter converter for the plug.

but i was trying to think who we know that might have a generator we could borrow from too. cuz we are definitely going to need electricity when we go to clean up the house. i plan to take my vacuum cleaners to suck up alot of that dust, dirt, & spiderwebs. i think it would make it so much easier. i have 2 canister vacuum cleaners, with attachments, which would be ideal for cleaning, dusting, & vacuuming the spiderwebs. but we are definitely going to need electricity.

we heard from a friend/co-worker of my mom's that, if the electricity has been turned off, on a house, for more than 30 days (i think it was?) that in order to get the electricity turned back on, you had to have them come out and inspect & approve the electricity in the house.
i told my mom, that one of our relatives, that lives in this small town, has to know somebody that works at the electric company. so that we could have them turn the lights on for us.

hopefully we can get the lights turned back on with no problems, so that we can clean up the house and get that washer drained & running. we'll see what happens??

keep your fingers crossed for us. i'll keep you posted...
;o)

 

[hippiedoll]

alr2903...

you know what, there is some old pots that are still there in the cupboards. GOOD IDEA!!! i didn't even think about that. UGGGHHH, i'm so dumb!! LOL....

and another good idea about the cheap disposable diapers, from the dollarstore, to blot up any remaining water & wipe out the bottom of the washtub! i guess that old saying is true; "two heads are better than one" but in this case, the more heads the better!!! so many great ideas, that i wouldn't have thought about doing. of course, i've never done anything like this before too. that's probably why i feel like a fish out of water. LOL...

thanks alr2903!!!

 

[ozzie908]

@hippiedoll

If you want to check to see if its stuck before running electricity through it, Once the water is gone try tilting the machine to locate a belt and move it with your hand that will move the belt from a flat spot which could stall the motor, Also another thing that has sprung to mind is over here we can get a siphon device thats used for draining fish tanks its a plastic tube with a pipe and small plastic bellows that siphon the water for you as its near to a bath tub maybe that will suffice till the power is back on?

Good luck as Al.vacbear says you deserve it !!

Austin

 

[alr2903]

HD, Once you bail the water out, and check the inner tub by lowering the hose as suggested. Something mfr in 1965 is going to be much heavier that a modern machine. I just wanted to make sure you protect yourself from that foul water. You also want to get all the water out to make it somewhat lighter and easier to move it back thru the house, the way you think it came in.** Please do not plug this washer in until someone "looks it over"****. It has set a long time with water in it. Someone could of tried to repair it years ago. A mouse could of chewed on the wiring. Anything is possible from 1965 till the present. Just be cautious. Arthur

 

[hippiedoll]

ozzie908/austin....

thank you for the tip about moving the belt, under the machine, after i've gotten all the water out of it. and also for the tip about the siphoning device that's used for fish tanks. that's a good idea. and something else i will look into.

thank you again.

i'll keep you all posted on what happens....

 

[hippiedoll]

alr2903/arthur...

thank you so much for all the helpful hints & tips. i don't doubt that this is going to be one heavy machine. it's pretty hard to move my maytag around. i can't do it with just a simple push or pull. i have to give my maytag a few pushes/knudges and pulls/tugs to get it into positions i want it in. and i'm not what you would call petite, at 5'6"!! LOL.....

so, when i do get over to the house to clean up & remove the washer, i do plan on taking our dolly that has the inflatable tires on it, to make it easier to move that bradford around & out of the house.
(now how we'll get it on the back of the truck, to bring it to tucson?) that'll be another story!!!
ha ha....

thank you sooo much for letting me know, not to plug this washer in, until someone looks it over!! i wouldn't have thought about a mouse chewing on the wires. and that would have been my first instinct to do, plug the washer in to see if;
A. it works
B. if i can get the washer to spin the old water out.

but now that know not to plug it in until someone looks it over, the next time we go over there, i will unplug it from the outlet. so that if & when the electricity get turned on again, it won't be plugged in.

and now i know, to just drain the water & remove it from the house are the first steps (besides giving it a good wipe down on the outside of the washer & inside of the tub. and of course that outta sight control panel!!

i do have a question though.....

do you or anybody on here know what the "RESET" button on the control panel is for?? what is it supposed to "RESET"???

thank you again, to you & everybody on here. i GREATLY appreciate all of your comments, suggestions, enthusiasm & motivation so much!!!
)

 

[alr2903]

HD I think it is a safety "reset" to protect the motor if it is overloaded or severely oversudsed. That is a very good question. I have never owned a machine that had a reset button. Good Luck alr

 

[norgeway]

Re Reset..

All the old Frigidaires had a reset button.

 

[toploader55]

Wouldn't it be something if all that was wrong with the machine was that it tripped the reset after all these years ???

 

[hippiedoll]

reset button....

norgeway:
so, what would happen when the "RESET" button was triggered/tripped?
would the motor just shut off. and to get the motor/washer going again, you had to push the "RESET" button and it would start the motor up again?? is that how the "RESET" button would or does work??

toploader55:
you know, now that you mention it, it wouldn't surprise me one bit, if this is exactly what could have happened. like i told you, the last aunt who lived there, she was "special needs" and IF (and i use "if" heavily) this aunt did use wash clothes in the washer, i could see this exact thing happening. the washer stopping cuz of the "RESET" button being triggered and her thinking it was broken.

but to tell you the truth, wouldn't the water be soapy or cloudy looking? or would the detergent have settled to the bottom of the washtub and turned black after so many years?? cuz the water in the washtub looks pretty clear & there is dead bugs floating in the water, and there is something black at the bottom of the washtub, which i assumed was dirt and dead leaves (although there's no tree in the washroom/house)???

if that is all that is wrong with this washer, that the "RESET" button was tripped/triggered, that would be nothing short of a miracle. but just very possible as well. God does work in mysterious ways. and i guess we'll find out soon enough!!!

keep your fingers crossed that this is the only thing that is wrong with this washer!!!
ha ha ha.....

we'll see???

 

[ozzie908]

I have a question about the reset button too ....

Could it possibly be anything to do with a out of balance switch?

@hippiedoll you say it was plugged into the outlet so does this mean its been alive/hot all the while the power was on?

If so surely there is a good chance it won't have chewed wires etc ??? Well we can hope can't we ?

How long is it since the power was cut off to the house do you know ?

Austin