The Hotpoint - Part 1

[gansky1]

Hotpoints and clutches. Who knew? I remember Larry at Modern Parts talking about these machines (his favorite) and their problems and here we (all) are!

My '63-64 is having spinning issues as well so I took the clutch apart this morning and placed an order for the 1/8" high-friction material from McMaster-Carr. Hopefully that will work.

Hotpoint changed so much from their late-40's two-motor Beam design through the late 60's to what Ben has now, even a couple of years can make a huge difference in the assembly and parts needed.

Good luck with yours, Ben, hopefully we'll both have Hotpoint-clean wash very soon.

 

[lowefficiency]

The good news here is that other than perhaps the thickness of the pads, almost everything looks both simple and without critical tolerances... i.e.: it shouldn't be a huge problem to fabricate replacement parts.

That cross piece is really just a rectangular strip with a large hole punched/cut in the center, the corners knocked off, a few slots, and two bends in a press brake. The horizontal dimensions of the replacement pads likely aren't critical, nor are the shape or way in which the corners are removed, nor the slots, or the diameter or absolute centering of that center hole provided it is reasonably close.

Of all of the NLA parts to have to fabricate, I think you lucked out!

 

[turquoisedude]

Ben, thanks for documenting the repairs so well!  You have got me thinking it's time I took that 57 Hotpoint of mine apart...I believe the spin issues I have with it are due to worn linings.

Keep up the good work!

 

[abcomatic]

Looking good there Ben, have fun with this.

 

[Unimatic1140]

You have got me thinking it's time I took that 57 Hotpoint of mine apart...I believe the spin issues I have with it are due to worn linings.

If you have a '57 Paul with the Spider Clutch the problem could simply be that the spin belt is loose. I found on mine that if the belt wasn't reasonable tight it would slip causing the spin acceleration time to be longer than it should be. Also be sure that the spin belt a cogged belt, that helped greatly as well.

 

[turquoisedude]

Spin belt

Robert, thank you!! I hadn't thought that perhaps the belts were loose. Looks like I have a new plan of action here. The 57 Hotpoint was a 2019 'resolution' so...

 

[imperial70]

That washer

is absolutely beautiful to look at. I can imagine how much fun it will be to see it running again.

 

[bajaespuma]

Thanks for this thread; gives hope that others are out there

I saw this machine at a lumber store in 1971 in Kingston NY called "Miron's"; they had a whole appliance department that was exclusively Hotpoint. They had the whole line except for the Duo-Load on the show room floor. I remember this machine because it was close to a BOL so a black agitator instead of the turquoise version with the internal bleach dispenser and a speckled porcelain tub instead of the white porcelain tubs on the others.The agitator mounted FS dispenser was an option.

 

[swestoyz]

Hey guys - thanks for the kind words and responses! Life has been slightly crazy since I originally threw this post up and I'm just now getting around to respond.

Robert - I fear the slice through the brake pad holder is significant enough that I should probably look into bending up a replacement holder, similar to what Dave suggested. The pressure plate cut clean through about 3/4 of it. Even with JB Weld in place I would anticipate that over time the tension against the remaining section in the metal would eventually give out. Also, thanks for the heads up on McMaster stocking a wide array of different clutch material. I'll certainly give it a shot, and probably shoot for something in the 3/16" range to start with.

Dave - prior to this post I was imagining ways of fabricating a brake pad holder. I may look into getting into the local Maker's Space in Waterloo to take advantage of the metal shop tools they have on hand (brake, slicer, etc.). Not sure I'd be able to find a punch the size of the center hole, but I may have luck with getting a metal hole saw bit in the same ball park. Thankfully the tolerances aren't super critical.

At the moment I'm trying to finish up a Maytag project that has been in progress since September. I'll tear the Hotpoint apart once I've got the Maytag wrapped up.

Greg - let us know how the new clutch material works out!

Ken - the snip-it you've shared is super close. It seems the WLW2400 was in production for several years in the 70's, but only has the two fill settings. The LW830 has three fill settings and a lack of "HEAVY DUTY" (LOL), but everything else seems to be the same (tub finish/black agitator, etc.).

Ben[this post was last edited: 1/1/2019-12:38]

 

[lowefficiency]

Ben, does your Makers Space happen to have a CNC waterjet or plasma cutter table? That plate would actually be really easy to lay out and cut everything that way - the outline, the center hole, and the slots - and then it's a simple matter of bending the sides to complete it. Making the CAD model for the part would only take a few minutes.

 

[swestoyz]

Hey Dave - a few buddies and I toured the Makers facility about two years ago. I recall them having a plasma CNC cutting table and a slew of other fabrication goodies.

I personally have never dabbled in CNC before - might be easier/quicker to just cut it on a hand shear and punch or drill the center hole/drill the side slots and bend it on a brake.

EDIT - they have a laser table, not plasma. Interesting...

https://www.cedarvalleymakers.org/page-18049

Ben

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Your friendly, local, dedicated, Hotpoint repairman carries all needed parts on his truck and will have your Appliance ship-shape in a jiffy..

 

[norgeway]

lol

But the picture is a Norge!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

And a UK phone number too.... Hey, maybe I have a new source for Norge parts! LOL

 

[jetcone]

Paul

Send Ben the contact information of our guy in CT who makes brake pads !!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hotpoint..

Great machine Ben , good luck with the repairs am sure it will be up and washing before we know it, very similar parts like the brake spring arrangement as on our UK toploaders..

Paul, that number is UK but alas Hotpoint has been hived off to Indesit company a number of years ago and that's now all gone over to Whirlpool and now Hair we believe !! parts all long gone !!