What If WE Made 'Em!

[spinmon]

With the love we have for machines done right,I was wondering today about making a washer of our OWN. Good capacity,balance,sounds,some chrome,NO electronic boards,proper water levels,etc. Front/top/slant,even Staber/Euro style.Whatever seems best. Called something like "Overbuilt" because it would be,so you know you'll get proper (8years+) use without constant breakdowns after 1-5 years. With washers going for $800-$1500+ the norm,I'd think there is a market for one that works right with "old school" engineering in the right places & a 5 year warranty.(obvious abuse NOT covered).If we pool our resources(brains/brawn/bucks),who knows! I'm sure not impressed with most of the new stuff & many who've been "burned" might embrace a new product built by "people who KNOW washers". Just throwing it out there...

 

[deedub]

already been done

they are called Miele.

 

[davek]

Electronic controls

There's no reason why it couldn't have electronic controls. They're both cheaper and more reliable these days. The problem is proprietary electronic controls based on parts which the manufacturer may or may not continue to supply. They're too expensive to fix. Even in industrial applications, a lot of computerized machine tools use a protected commodity PC for a controller just for simplicity. Don't reinvent the wheel just to build a car. What would be ideal would be for something like an iPaq or Palm to control it. Replaceable and available, and have it set up so that cycles can be customized either by its touchscreen or with a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection to the control computer. If the computer recognized a general upward trend in motor load or fill time, it could notify the user of possibly pending problems.

True user control over wash/rinse temps, spin RPM and length, and water level would be a must.

I remember seeing video on here a while back of an old Frigidaire washer that was controlled by an adjacent computer. Most people don't have their computer in a room with the washer, but that's the level of control that folks here would like.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

spinmon, I'm doing just that. It's called Primus W10X^2. Industrial machine controls last pretty long and are repairable. Buying the parts is what will cost you. Check the link

Primus W-10X^2 update "I need Control!!!"

I've done a few things to Primus W-10X^2 over the Thanksgiving break. Something interesting came in today. Can you guess what it is? The video should give you a good hint. And, yes it has to do with Primus W-10X^2 and it's all about CONTROL!

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[gmmcnair]

Personally....

....I wouldn't mind seeing the original Bendix back in its original incarnation. Lousy extraction yeah, but otherwise a workhorse that could be made inexpensively and is frugal with water and detergent....you could always dumb down the water temps a little bit and make it even more efficient.

I think there would be a market for those of us who line dry our clothes. They had some of the ancient Philco Bendix coin-ops at a laundromat I used to use, and I loved them....washed well, gentle on clothes, decent capacity, and a simple opening for additives.

 

[volvoguy87]

Robert did it.

The Super Unimatic 2.0.

I would love to do some of that myself,
Dave

 

[mrb627]

Fisher and Paykel

I would love to see Fisher and Paykel make a hybrid version of their Intuitive with a JETCONE agitator in it. That would be SWEET! I would order one today!

Malcolm

 

[gyrafoam]

Yes, a modern-day 1-18. Tighter suspension and AND a Rapidry spin. Full-size window-lid. Self-cleaning filter. Console and tub lighting. Of course, whatever would they do about the water consumption--------------ALTHOUGH the 1-18 get much better roll-over with less water not more, so it might not be a terrible issue to adjust things!

 

[mrb627]

Water Consumption

They could always default to the shower-spray rinse rather than a deep rinse. A fine mist of water makes for a great suds killer too, but then, the 1-18's already knew that...

Plus, the direct drive would make for a quieter pulsing.

Malcolm

 

[cornutt]

I have to admit I like the concept of the GE Harmony -- direct drive from a big-ass stepper motor. It's a wash plate machine, but you could do the same thing with an agitator. Very simple mechanically.

DaveK hit on a lot of the current problem... electronics using proprietary parts, few if any spares made, and closed firmware. There are plenty of off-the-shelf microcontroller boards around that could do the job, and if I were a manufacturer I'd make a pledge to make the firmware open source after 3 years or so, so anyone with a programmer can repair a board that's lost its firmware. The other thing is under-spec'ed power parts, such as triacs. Too many manufacturers are specing those things with damn near zero design margin.

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is proper manuals. Get people who know the subject and know technical writing to write the manual, and get proper translators to translate the manual into whatever other languages it needs to be in. And yeah, make the service manuals available to the consumer.

 

[whirlpolf]

manuals, suggestions please

been doing just that for a while (tech writing).
I would LOVE the challenge to do just that on household appliances.
But for the time being, I am willing to provide you a dictionary about all words on washers, vacuums, kitchen appliances and so on. Suggestions please! What should be included?
Files can be had in any format.
J.

 

[norgeway]

Just !!!!

Make Borg Warner Norges and Belt Drive Whirlpools...Maybe a 63 Lady Kenmore,who would want anything any better,or more conveinent!