With the Kelvinator restoration done and splashing away, I’m ready and eager to tackle the next machine so I moved the 1956 Hotpoint into the workshop. Greg (Gansky1) found this washer about three years ago at an estate sale in Omaha and since we’ve given each other machines and he knew I wanted an earlier Hotpoint he was kind enough to give me this beautiful machine. When it was found it appeared to have been taken apart and put back together by some unknown person. I can get the machine to move the agitator back and forth, but the spin clutch which should completely disengage during agitation and engage during spin appears to be stuck half way between the agitate and spin position and makes a terrible “clickity-clacking” sound in either agitation or spin. So its time to go in and take everything apart and see exactly what is wrong. I’m not totally convinced that I’m going to be able to successfully make this washer run properly again, it all depends on what is wrong with the spin clutch. If all the parts are there, but they are assembled incorrectly, then I have a good chance. But if a specific clutch part is broken or worse yet missing I might be out of luck, because I have absolutely no mechanical parts (new, used or otherwise) for this very unusual Hotpoint except for a new pump.
The reason I say this is a very unusual washer is due to the history of Hotpoint Automatics, this design is from the #2 major Hotpoint automatic washer redesign and was only produced for a couple of years. Here is a quick rundown of the Hotpoint Automatic Washer history, all of the years are my best guess, I should be close, but I might be off by a year or so on a few. This information is not written in any one place but I have compiled it from my many readings over the years. If anyone has any further clarifications, revisions or additions they would be very welcomed.
Design #1 1949-1955 Hotpoint outsourced the production of their very first automatic washer to Beam (who also made the familiar Speed Queen design). Their first washer didn’t even have a spin clutch, they used two separate full sized motors of all things, one for agitate the other for spin! In ’50 or ’51 in their second washer model they kept the same similar design but began using the Beam “Fluid Drive” to drive the spin tub and got rid of that silly (and heavy) extra motor.
Design #2 1956-1957 (This is my machine pictured above). Hotpoint continued to use the Beam style transmission but created their very own, completely unique, spin clutch system. The machine used one single solenoid to shift from agitation to spin. When the timer called for agitation the solenoid was energized and it pulled down a lever that engaged the agitator shaft to the transmission and at the same time it used a spider disk the literally move the spin clutch shoes away from the clutch drum which prevented the tub from spinning. When the timer calls for spin, the solenoid is de-energized and a spring pulls the solenoid back up to the off position. This upward movement of the solenoid disengaged the agitator shaft from the transmission and at the same time moved the spider disk upward to allow the clutch shoes to press against the clutch drum and the tub started to spin. All this was done in one quick movement without a need to pause between agitation and spin.
Design #3 1958-1969 In 1958 it appears that Hotpoint completely discontinued outsourcing any of their washer parts to Beam/Speed Queen and completely made their own washer. They designed their own transmission called the “Co-Axial” transmission and once again redesigned their clutch, but unlike in previous models this clutch drove both agitation as well as spin. Their new transmission was now a reversing style in which the motor rotated it in one direction for agitation and the other direction for spin, which means the washer now needed to pause between the wash and spin. For the next ten years other non mechanical changes were incorporated, such as the lint-filter agitator in about ’64 and multiple cycle machines but the mechanics generally stayed the same.
Design #4 1969-1974 The same, pump, transmission, snubber, solid tub ect, were used for this new redesign except for the fact Hotpoint made a major change to the Clutch assembly. The clutch now incorporated a spin brake to bring the spinning tub to a complete stop within 10 seconds. This transmission was called the "Positive Brake Transmission", its the style of machine that Todd in New Orleans recently found. In some high-end models in the early 70’s, Hotpoint made their solid tub slightly larger referring to it as the Hotpoint “16”.
Design #5 1975-1995. Hotpoint completely discontinued producing its own washer and General Electric now produced washers for Hotpoint, using their perforated basket design. Except for some of the esthetics of the machine, a side opening lid and self cleaning filter ring as opposed to using GE’s filter-flo system the machines were essentially the exact same as the GE washers of the time.
Design #6 1996 to Today: We all know what GE started making in ’95 or ’96 so I wont even bother to mention it because, oh forget it, we all know why it doesn’t need mentioning.
Here is a link to the beginning of the restoration album...
