What the heck am I looking at here?

[homesteadgal]

Long story short, I’ve been having a bit of a rough few days and after another washer I was looking at didn’t pan out I found this fella.

I messaged the seller and he said everything works as it should and that it was made in the 30s-40s (which seems a bit of an early estimate to me). He says it’s called a model “c” but I can’t find anything online that matches that. It’s definitely an Easy but I’m having trouble finding much about their wringer washers online. The best I can seem to find online is a brochure on here for a model ECM. Is that what this is?

What am I looking at with this thing quality wise? Are the Easy brand wringers hard to find or am I just not “googling” the right thing?

Also my biggest question: what is going on with that drain hose that seems to go into the lid? Does this model have a pump or is it gravity drain?

 

[launderess]

Easy had a variety of washing machines

From spindrier, table top, wringers, automatics.

Not every household had the real estate for those large twin tub spin driers. Some housewives just didn't like them and wanted to stick with wringer washers. So Syracuse Washing Machine company (and later Hupp) covered all bases.

Maytag, SQ, Whirlpool, Kenmore and GE pretty much dominated the wringer washer market. So not sure how deep Easy penetrated, but NOS spares for that washer may prove difficult to find.

 

[rp2813]

Looks like a nice machine and my only concern would be parts availability as L. stated above.

 

It appears to me that the hole in the lid is serving as a holster for the drain hose when it's not in use.

 

[tomturbomatic]

RE: the drain hose & pump questions

 

The hole in the lid serves as a holder for the drain hose to keep it in an upright position when the lid is on the machine and the hose cannot rest over the edge of the tub like in the picture of the washer without the lid.

 

Given the little lever below the larger START/STOP shifter, the machine probably has a pump.

 

One thing that is not visible in the photos is the position of the drain opening in the tub. Models that do not have the opening under the agitator were often thought by CU when rating wringer washers to cause excessive wear on fabrics.  CU preferred drain openings under the agitator like Maytags had. Of course, the also refused to rate any wringer washer higher than a B because of the inherent dangers of the wringers.

 

[jeb]

The agitator is the same one the spindrier used on lower models. I used it and it did not circulate the clothes very well. The spindrier tub appears to be larger so it might work fine in the smaller tub

 

[homesteadgal]

Thank you everyone for your info!

So I went and saw the washer today and I did end up buying it. Everything at the shop looked really good: motor ran well, no leaks, agitator moved water briskly (although it did squeak to high heaven). The only thing I did notice was that the pump seemed to be seized up but after seeing a couple of threads on here about the same thing happening because of water deposits/lint buildup, I'm pretty confident that I can get the pump up and running.

 

Once I got the washer home I set about cleaning things up. I also had to use vice grips to get the knob at the top of the agitator to break free so I could get at the agitator post. Once I did that, I got all of the gunk off the post, gave it a good oiling and let it run for a few minutes to let the oil soak down into the post. That seems to have taken care of the squeaking.

 

As far as the pump, I did pour a good amount of very hot water into the tub to help any seals soften and to hopefully unstick the pump. I am able to gravity drain the hose so I know it's not blocked. After letting that soak a while I wasn't able to get the pump shaft to break free so I tried letting it soak for a bit with some CLR as I had seen someone on here mention but then I noticed that there was a bit of a leak starting at the pump seal. I think the CLR started eating through the gasket! Pump shaft still didn't break free though (I did rinse out the CLR with a good amount of water after seeing the drips start). 

 

All in all the washer seems to work well other than the pump, so as a consolation (and because I had laundry that needed done) I just stuck a pan under the pump and did 5 loads through it before cleaning/drying the tub and setting it aside for the night. The drip is so slow that over the course of a couple of hours I only lost about 1/3 cup of water if that so I'm willing to let that part go for now. 

 

Tom: What does CU stand for? I've never heard of them. (The drain is under the agitator)

 

Jeb: I did notice when I was using this machine earlier today that the agitator doesn't work quite as well as the one in my Maytag Model 32. The main thing I noticed was that if I put in the same amount of clothing that I would in my model 32 there wasn't the clothing "turnover" I think they call it? But I just put in a few less clothes and then it was fine.

 

 

[rp2813]

Sounds like the machine is serving your needs even with that small leak.  Congratulations!

 

CU = Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine.

 

[homesteadgal]

Thank you!

Ahh, that makes more sense. I was thinking it must be something like that but the only thing I could think of was the "Good Housekeeping Seal" LOL

 

[spiderlovesbeer]

My pump was leaking too so I decided to take it apart and cut my own gasket and install just to stop the leak. I wasn’t planning on using the pump because gravity was good enough for me but once I had it open, I could see it was a very easy fix. Well more like just cleaning and a little lube and now She’s pump’n Great. Take a shot... you miss 100% of shots you don’t take.
Good luck. That’s a beautiful machine.

 

[homesteadgal]

Thank you!

I did try to take the pump off last night but I can’t get at it without taking off the motor and possibly not even then. I’m nervous to take it apart and then not be able to put it back together. I was thinking about wiring in an additional electric pump that I could hide under neath the skirt. Should I just take it apart and hope for the best? I’m not sure how the motor comes off because it’s belt less (I think they call it a direct drive?) and it’s attached to one long drive shaft.

 

[spiderlovesbeer]

Mine is the same. There is 3 screws on my water pump that I took off and the pump pulled apart like a clam. If your’s is like that, just cut a gasket to fit and your leak should be gone. Then you can run an electric aquarium pump but I would take to just fix your original.
My pump isn’t connected to the motor. I have some pictures on my post.
Check it out. Maybe it can help you if they’re similar.
Westinghouse Wringer Washer

 

[homesteadgal]

So I must thank you for the push to just dive in and fix the darn thing! The "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" really convinced me to do it and I'm happy to say she's up and running! In the end I figured that worst case if it turns out not to be fixable, I can always bypass the pump and add an electric one.

 

I ended up pulling off the motor and then I was able to get the pump off. I had to put it in a vice and hammer out the impeller shaft and then I cleaned everything out, added new grease, reassembled with a new gasket and she works like new

 

The culprit on my pump turned out to be a small spring that was originally packed with grease to keep the impeller shaft turning freely but all it had left was some residue and calcium deposits. I'll attach some photos to show what the insides turned out to be. Like you said, easy fix once it's taken apart.

 

Photos 2 & 3 show the spring regreased and where it sits.

 

[spiderlovesbeer]

Nice...... I’m glad You took the shot. Aim small, miss small.
I was hesitant too but once I got the impeller out I knew I made the right decision.
A little clean’n and lube made my impeller spin like a top.
You made my day by doing it. Now I know I’m not the only one that tried.
I also just finished this Electrolux LX so I’m on cloud 9 washing clothes and vacuuming.
Hahahahaha
Have fun....