What on earth is THIS?

[turquoisedude]

Some progress, but.....

So this past week's mission was to replace the cracked hoses from the tub to the pump and from the pump to the drain port. I tried a few appliance places, got laughed at so I tried some auto parts places and got laughed at again... I tried one of the larger hardware stores and came away with this 1 1/4 reinforced flexible hose. Looked promising!

 

[turquoisedude]

I had a slight problem, though... The hose was just a wee fraction of a hair of a centimetre too narrow for the tub and pump ports.

A good soaking in hot water was suggested by the person who sold me the pipe.

 

[turquoisedude]

And with a little dish soap on the ports, followed by some authentic Latvian cursing, I made the new hoses fit!

 

[turquoisedude]

I needed a new gasket for the pump housing. This one was cut from a sink gasket - it was almost exactly the right size.

 

[turquoisedude]

Everything looked good on reassembly, so I figured it would time to try a water test. As with the previous attempt, I backflowed water through the drain hose into the pump rather than fill the tub and attempt a drain cycle.

There was a bit of drip coming from the pump housing, however...

So I figured the bolt holding the pump cover in place just needed tightening....

 

[turquoisedude]

And I tightened it alright.... Till I heard the 'SNAP'....

I managed to break this brace that holds the pump cover in place. I am now going to have a lot fun trying to find a replacement for this... And you can imagine how colourful my language was (mostly blue...). I could kick myself for not being more careful!!

Now, something tells me that other washer pumps have a similar design. I tried a brace from a Westinghouse Laundromat pump - close but not quite... I don't know why but I seem to think that Maytags have a similar set up, but I am not sure. OR maybe as had been suggested for the gasket, a Speed Queen wringer model may have a similar pump.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, please, please let me know...

 

[d-jones]

This is a sad turn of events. If this piece is cast aluminum as opposed to pot metal, you could try having it welded.

 

[supersuds]

Rats!

You've got to get this one working! It's the find of the year!

 

[combo52]

Broken Pump Cover Clamp

This part looks just like the clamp used on SQ and several Beam designed machines, but I have no way of knowing if one of these other clamps would work without having your old one to make a comparison. Paul you could also try buying 2 or 3 small C clamps and just use these to hold the cover in place. If you measure the diameter of your pump plate where the tabs of the clamp grab the body of the pump I could see if a SQ clamp would work, John.

 

[akronman]

Check Ebay

I searched for "Speed Queen Pump" on Ebay, since your pump looks lots like my wringer washer's pump. Maybe that clamp is the same?

 

Also, the clamp looks similar to a gear puller, left permanently installed? Google up GEAR PULLER and check the images. But leaving a gear puller installed requires quite more space than the pump clamp.

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www.ebay.com

 

[turquoisedude]

John may have a pump bracket that will work here. Not that I was giving up yet!! LOL

I was in the Wellington County area of Ontario yesterday with Brian (rpms) and we visited the Wellington County Museum Archives. I had located a few interesting-looking documents related to Dominion appliances and I wanted to see them for myself. It was well worth it!!

The washer I have is indeed a 1958 model. I found the owners manual and operating instructions for this exact washer in the archives (I made a copy, natch!!) and a fabulous colour ad for it, with the pink version as the star of the ad. Seeing the matched dryer in the ad made me sad to think that the matching dryer to this washer has now been turned into a Kia... Can't win them all, I suppose...

Oh, and this model was the MOL one, called the 'Twinamatic'. I don't get the name, 'cause I immediately pictured some kind of twin-tub unit when I read that name. There was a very basic model with preset wash and rinse temps, no lighted control panel, and possibly only 1 fill level. BUT there was also a 'Wondermatic' model with an electric bleach dispenser. I could have spent a couple of DAYS in those appliance archives - I would very much like to go back there and see the washers they have in their storage area!!

 

[kb0nes]

Paul,

If you end up stymied on the clamp let me know. There isn't much to that part and it would be easy enough to simply machine a replacement out of a piece of aluminum plate. You will break the pump before you break a billet part!

Don't destroy the original clamp, it would be important for replicating the replacement part.

Awesome project you have going there! Let me know if I can lend a hand.

Phil

 

[turquoisedude]

Thanks Phil! I have to find the part of the pump that broke off (I think it got wedged in corner of the washer cabinet), but I am definitely keeping it, just in case....

 

[revvinkevin]

Dimensions?

 

 

Hi Paul, sorry to hear this happened, it more than sucks, I know!   But can you take a few measurements of the broken clamp and post them here?   I have the clamp off my Speed Queen and I could measure to see if it is indeed the same size.

 

Kevin

 

[jetcone]

I'll bet it is a speed queen clamp

as molding costs are high and always have been so a manufacturer like Dominion would try and source a part from a larger manufacturer rather than make it from scratch.

 

I wanna see the water test!!!!

 

 

 

[turquoisedude]

Kevin - the pump housing is 4 inches in diameter. I'll measure and photograph the busted bracket this weekend.

Can't do that water test until the pump holds, Jon... SOMEBODY would have another litter of kittens if I got water on the basement floor.... LOL

 

[gansky1]

Paul, measure the inside of the bracket from the clip edge to the cross-arm, I think this won't be a problem, you just need another one. As John and Jon said, this is a Beam pump and I'll bet they were identical to the SQ pumps in use then. I know I have a couple of the clamps in the SQ parts box, I will dig one out and measure so we can compare. If you need one, I'll get it in the mail. You might try using a cork gasket in the pump cover. Cork is more forgiving of rough edges and uneven sealing faces of things like this.

 

[turquoisedude]

Thanks Greg! I'll get those dimensions as soon as I get down to Ogden this weekend.

Also, I will definitely use a gasket with more 'give' than I first tried.
Seems I learn something new with each washer I turn up (usually the hard way... LOL)!

 

[Unimatic1140]

There is one on ebay this morning Paul...

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www.ebay.com

 

[turquoisedude]

Got the measurements for the clamp: between the two hooks is about 3.5 inches and the distance from the bottom of the clamp to the bottom of the hooks is about 2 inches. The inside diameter of the clamp is 4 inches.

I can't seem to find the hook part that broke off - I figured it feel somewhere in the washer cabinet, but nope...

If anyone might know what the dimensions of the SQ pump are, please let me know!