Hi Everybody !
Got me yet another twin tub !!
I'm tempted to say, as a design, the 'cutest' of all twinnies.
Yep, someone sold (through Kijiji) an Maytag model A50, known as Porta-Washer.
As it happens, i contacted the guy--who had it in the basement of his house.
Moreover, he was located in my vicinity. He graciously offered me to come
to his dwelling to have a look at the machine. Told me the ex-owners of
his house had left the washing machine there. He, thus, had the little
Maytag as a gift when he bought the said house a few years ago. Very
pleasing person, we discussed a lot about my 'passion' for vintage
things, which is (as you might know by now) twin tubs and vacuum
cleaners.
Geez, i'm so excited! I wanted to have one for many many years...
And that little thing (some say the smallest twin tub washer
of its era) still works just fine today. When a company like
Maytag said 'dependable' that was no empty word. A product
like the tiny but heavy A50 portable washer (oh, boy, the
two BIG motors inside that unit whith the M name on it)
was not the least in the 'planned obsolescence' scheme.
And this little marvel, as i said, just runs smoothly.
The only 'fix' i had to do is put a little wood block
at one place in order to prevent the spinner brake to
trigger (that was the reason the machine didn't spin
--i was afraid the spin motor could be dead, but, no
problem here as everything works fine. What i would
need, however, is a belt for the impellers: I will
try finding a replacement, probably the equivalent
part, the closest, not necessarity the exact item.
And, for what its worth, maybe try my luck at
finding the original wash-timer control knob...
I think it is the vintage appliance i am the
most happy with it, as a (needless to say)
rare find. The crown jewel in my collection.
Yesss, as soon as i can (ref.: belt), i plan
to use it and do some of my laundry with it.
No big deal, in terms of size the A50 sits
right between my trusted Hoover twinnies
and my new micro twin tub (-very small)!
Read somewhere on this forum that it is
not recommended to rinse in the spin tub
with that machine as the induction motor
might overheat. In an A50 the rinse soak
etc. is done in the wash tub. No problem!
Finally, i'd say that i like what i see
and hear: one, arguably, beautiful, very
solid and durable washing machine with
a spinner which is not noisy and does
not vibrate a lot, 'as is'. The petite
Maytag reminds one, in fact, of the
Servis, Speed Queen or Simplicity
on a smaller scale. Different, of
course, but in the same league,
IMHO.
Got me yet another twin tub !!
I'm tempted to say, as a design, the 'cutest' of all twinnies.
Yep, someone sold (through Kijiji) an Maytag model A50, known as Porta-Washer.
As it happens, i contacted the guy--who had it in the basement of his house.
Moreover, he was located in my vicinity. He graciously offered me to come
to his dwelling to have a look at the machine. Told me the ex-owners of
his house had left the washing machine there. He, thus, had the little
Maytag as a gift when he bought the said house a few years ago. Very
pleasing person, we discussed a lot about my 'passion' for vintage
things, which is (as you might know by now) twin tubs and vacuum
cleaners.
Geez, i'm so excited! I wanted to have one for many many years...
And that little thing (some say the smallest twin tub washer
of its era) still works just fine today. When a company like
Maytag said 'dependable' that was no empty word. A product
like the tiny but heavy A50 portable washer (oh, boy, the
two BIG motors inside that unit whith the M name on it)
was not the least in the 'planned obsolescence' scheme.
And this little marvel, as i said, just runs smoothly.
The only 'fix' i had to do is put a little wood block
at one place in order to prevent the spinner brake to
trigger (that was the reason the machine didn't spin
--i was afraid the spin motor could be dead, but, no
problem here as everything works fine. What i would
need, however, is a belt for the impellers: I will
try finding a replacement, probably the equivalent
part, the closest, not necessarity the exact item.
And, for what its worth, maybe try my luck at
finding the original wash-timer control knob...
I think it is the vintage appliance i am the
most happy with it, as a (needless to say)
rare find. The crown jewel in my collection.
Yesss, as soon as i can (ref.: belt), i plan
to use it and do some of my laundry with it.
No big deal, in terms of size the A50 sits
right between my trusted Hoover twinnies
and my new micro twin tub (-very small)!
Read somewhere on this forum that it is
not recommended to rinse in the spin tub
with that machine as the induction motor
might overheat. In an A50 the rinse soak
etc. is done in the wash tub. No problem!
Finally, i'd say that i like what i see
and hear: one, arguably, beautiful, very
solid and durable washing machine with
a spinner which is not noisy and does
not vibrate a lot, 'as is'. The petite
Maytag reminds one, in fact, of the
Servis, Speed Queen or Simplicity
on a smaller scale. Different, of
course, but in the same league,
IMHO.
)
