"What ever happened to the '59 Kelvinator?" UPDATE!

[swestoyz]

For those who were around, you may remember back on New Years Eve 2005 I stumbled upon a Kelvinator that I ended up restoring in January of 2007. While most of the mechanical restoration went fine, there was one very small problem:

A cracked clutch drum.

 

[swestoyz]

One of the big issues was getting the clutch off the original 2 speed motor. I was having a hell of a time getting the set screw out. Tried everything.

I even bought what I thought was a 2 speed motor that would fit from work that ended up not wiring up correctly - that I was going to couple with a spare clutch I got from Chris. Didn't pan out.

So, this fall I brought the original motor to a buddy at work who is a master welder. He was able to get the clutch off without any issues, and TIG welded the original clutch back up! While it isn't perfect, it certainly functions much better than it did before!

 

[swestoyz]

While I had the clutch apart for reassembly, I snapped some photos so folks could see how it works. Pretty simple and ingenious for what it is, but I can see why it was failure prone.

It works like this:

The center shaft is bushed by two bronze sleeve bearings pressed into the outer drum. There are two clutch shoes that fit over the two 'arms' that stick out from the center shaft. As the motor spins up those shoes will glide outwards and grab against the outer clutch drum - thus a clutching motion. When I first got the machine you couldn't even spin the center shaft inside the outer drum. Now it spins like a dream and I no longer have issues with the motor start switch!

The two clutch shoes shown in the photo below are pretty thin on pad material. The spare I have is in much better shape, but I figured I'd get as much mileage out of this as I can.

 

[swestoyz]

Weld from the inside. Almost can't even see where the weld was. While there is a slight dip in the overall circumference of the drum, it works well enough for now. I'm lucky I even have this to use - I figured I'd have to bust the clutch up to get it off the motor.

 

[swestoyz]

Motor center shaft fitting into the shoes -

 

[swestoyz]

Center shaft with shoes in position.

 

[swestoyz]

All buttoned up and ready for a test!

 

[swestoyz]

Almost two years later - ready for power again.

 

[swestoyz]

A side project - I was always having issues getting the hose to not kink. So I fastened some 3/4" PVC pipe up and created a more rigid solution to the issue. Works like a charm!

 

[revvinkevin]

Wow Ben, VERY COOL!

I'm glad you were able to get the problem fixed and bring it back to life! Have you tested it yet? (silly question?)

Kevin

 

[swestoyz]

So Ben, how's it run?

GREAT! There is still some clutch rattle that is present due to the thin pads on the shoes. It has gotten a little better after running a few dozen loads through it as they have re-formed to the new shape of the drum.

I made a video of a full wash, and posted it on YouTube (see link below). I was masking the clutch issue in my 2007 video (purely on accident) with the Cheep Trick song, so the new video does the machine justice. I'll post some more photos of the machine below. Enjoy!

 

[swestoyz]

Love it

 

[swestoyz]

Coasting from spin, filling for rinse

 

[swestoyz]

Filling for rinse

 

[swestoyz]

This load of colors was great for filming

 

[swestoyz]

Shampooing Action

The good stuff

 

[swestoyz]

Pause for the final spin

 

[swestoyz]

Final spin

 

[swestoyz]

Full cabinet assembled. This was the first time she was able to wear her skins since January of 2006!

I've included a link back to one of the first post that includes more photos and a link to the 2007 video.

Glad to have another one checked off the list.

Ben

http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/ARCHIVE/VINTAGE/2007/10031x41.htm