Oh Now You've Went n' Done It!
Dave, I own all 4 of the washers that you mention. The Speed Queen being the rarest of them all. My SQ is in pieces so I can't comment on how it works, but I have several Hoovers, 2 A-50's and 2 Easy's.
As Jerry said, the Easy is a hoot, it's a spiral ramp agitator base giant twin-tub. It's portability is highly in question as neither of mine roll worth a damn even with good casters. To me, the Easy is more like a wringer washer, in terms of size and "feel". My Easy needs a replacement pump belt, but it's a neat machine. The spinner is not that fast in it, and both the Hoover and the Maytag can far out-extract it, but it IS a good rinser and I thank the "cone spray" for this. If you've never seen one, most Easy's have a slightly cone shaped center shaft in the spin can with a mesh screen on top and tiny perforation along the walls. There are 2 "faucets" if you will on the top of the machine, one for filling (small) and one for the drain (large). The fill tap swivels right over the spinning center cone and creates spray jets that seem to really get the job done. The wash side does a really good job as well with it's low water level and aggressive agitator. A good machine.
The Maytag A-50 is the ultimate in portability (US market) IMO. Coming in at a mere 24" wide and 15" deep it's tiny. Like most Maytags from this era, it's a well-built machine and certainly the heaviest smaller machine. Easily a 2 to 1 on the Hoover in weight with it's 2 big heavy induction motors and the extensive, overly built chassis. Vibration is not bad in the A-50 nor is the operation noise. Unlike the Easy and the Hoover which can vibrate a lot, the A-50 for the most part seems to balance itself quite well. The dual impellers in the wash tub are something unique and they are very aggressive. They are placed much higher in the tub than Hoover's single pulsator which is strange, but they certainly whip the soap up. My experience with the A-50 has been good. My 1st A-50 was a 1st year 1970 model that I drove to Georgia to get. At the time I didn't even know that Maytag even made a twinnie as I had never seen or heard of one. The only drawback (and coincidentally a plus as well) is the size of the machine. The wash tub is small and there is no way around that. If you are washing lighter garments such as t-shirts or light button ups or such, it's great. But larger, bulky items like heavy pants and jeans are a different story. I can get around 6-8 shirts in the machine depending on the fabric, but only 2 pairs of khakis and 1 pair of jeans at a time. To ME this is acceptable because it is a portable washer. I think for those with serious size constraints, many were pleased to just have a washer that fits in the kitchen nicely. It's also just the right height to roll under a counter and they are lets face it, adorable little things. The spinner is pretty rugged being porcelain coated and the speed is ~2000 rpm. As others have mentioned, there is no spin-rinsing with the A50. To me, this is a non issue as I have the dryer to go with the machine. Since the dryer and washer are so close in times when you have to do a deep rinse, you really don't have any downtime. Hoover's dryer is painfully slow (or at least mine is...) and one can finish 3 laundry baskets in the Hoover before the dryer finishes 1. The Maytag DE-50 takes ~60 minutes with a small laundry basket full which is impressive for me. The mechanical weak points in this machine are the poly-belt for the impellers and the drain diverter valve. Maytag used a urethane belt for the impellers, which is great until it becomes hard. I'm under the impression that use keeps it flexible in its age. If they can be found, and they still seem to be available, then you're golden. The other issue is with the pot metal diverter valve. This piece can be susceptible to soap and other wash residue build up when the machine was not properly rinsed out after use. The pot metal actuator rod disintegrates and the plunger falls off causing water to bleed into the other tub causing obvious issues.
My (best for) last entry is the Hoover. There are 2 Hoovers: Stainless steel models (pre-1970) and polypropylene tub models (post-1970). I love them both, but MY heart is with the poly-tub models of later (avocado in particular). The early machine with the SS tubs were extremely robust, and also crude. They were reliable and had serious washing power for a portable. The SS models were aside from the 110v specifics identical to the British versions. The suction style pump used on the SS models can still be had overseas as that was the style that Hoover used there until production ended in the 90's. The wash motor on the SS models (0510/0512) was huge. It was solid mounted to the frame on rubber bushings only and used an elastic belt for tensioning. It is a VERY torquey setup and requires that the lid be placed on the machine at all times unless one wants a flood. It has what seems to be a slightly larger tub than the newer models and because of the extra power of the motor can handle more clothing. The spinner is a little crude, earlier models had an dull metal spin can with a coned bottom while 1968-1970 model had the newer flat-bottomed polished aluminum can which carried on into the newer machines. The spin motor is a bit more hushed on the older models, but vibration dampening and sound levels are much worse. The SS models are good performers, but as launderess mentions (she has a 0510 SS model), they are a ride.
My favorite machine of all the twinnies however is the late 1970+ Hoovers. With all of the cool colors and the squared off goodness what's not to like
The newer style models offered many differences from the old ones, the most notable being the plastic tubs. There is no real need in the US to have a stainless steel tub for these machines. We don't have water heaters in the machines, which was the main reason for the SS interiors of the older models. It was a shared design with the machines being made at Merthyr Tydfil at the time and polypropylene was also probably not advanced and cheap enough to be feasible for use in the late 50's anyway. The poly-tubs had different pumps, motors and introduced the automatic rinse system to the line. There were several models with the 0519 being queen of the roost. These machines used a lower rpm impeller and a slightly different shaped tub to keep the splashing to a minimum. There were 2 wash motor setups, the early one with the fixed motors and elastic belt and in 74 a smaller motor with a floating mount was introduced with a fixed belt. These machine wash really good. They hold considerably more than the A-50 and the clothes seem to move through the water more and faster. The auto-rinse feature on the 0519 is a nice feature utilizing a water sensor to automatically turn the spinner on and off. These are loud washers for the most part, but simple washers. They are lightly built, but for the most part seem to last. They're weak point is the pump bearing. These also use a different pump than the UK models and the earlier SS models, so sourcing one can be difficult. They used a pinch-valve style system. This also made the machine pump slower when draining the wash tub due the new designs ability to suck air from the spin tub while trying to drain the wash tub. This was my 1st washer and my all time favorite machine.
Whew, I'm tired of typing
-Tim
Here is a pic of my lineup that I have in the kitchen:
