POD 11-4-07 Please explain.....


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Thread Number: 14445
POD 11-4-07 Please explain.....

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Post# 246248 11/4/2007 at 11:23 (6,015 days old) by crevicetool (Snellville Ga.)
Checkrate/Likes I'm not real familiar, as you all are, with washing machines. But could someone please explain the TUB feature on that Bendix? How did it change shape etc.?

Post# 246264 , Reply# 1 11/4/2007 at 12:19 (6,015 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes It's referred to as the rubber tub Bendix. The machine formed a vaccume which caused the tub to collapse around the clothes and do the squeezing action.

Post# 246310 , Reply# 2 11/4/2007 at 17:45 (6,015 days old) by crevicetool (Snellville Ga.)
Checkrate/Likes That just seems crazy. Surely, it could not be as effective as spinning. And don't call me Shirley. Was there a vacuum motor and fan arrangement similar to a vacuum cleaner?

Post# 246539 , Reply# 3 11/5/2007 at 09:12 (6,014 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes No it was not as effective as spinning, but it did get the job done without any vibration. The water pump was used to both pump the water and create a vacuum so the rubber tub would collapse and press the clothes against the perforated agitator.

Post# 246544 , Reply# 4 11/5/2007 at 09:37 (6,014 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes The wild thing to watch is how the tub started collapsing. The pump pulled water through the agitator. The wide side walls at the base of the tub started falling toward the agitator forcing the water up toward the top of the tub and the agitator. The top of the tub had the rigid collar around it which formed the opening where the dome in the lid sealed. The pump was the same on used on the first WP-made combos. It could suck air as well as water which was important in the combo because the pump had to lift water out of the sump and up to the flat comb filter before it actually got to the pump. Being able to suck air meant it was able to prime itself. The Bendix rubber tubs were able to use a wringer washer transmission since it did not have to shift to spin and that helped make them cheaper to buy also. They were allowed in apartment houses because they produced no vibrations from spinning. For that same reason, the proposed laundry appliance for the space station plans to use a similar method of extracting the water from the fabrics. It will be a tumbler type washer, but the extraction will be accomplished by an inflatable bladder that will push the load against the tub to squeeze out the water. It seems like they could use the vacuum of space to pull the water out of the clothes except I think most of it has to be recycled. The wet clothes could be locked in some sort of perforated container, put out through an air lock and brought then back in and they would be freeze dried. That would be neat to watch out of a window; all of a sudden this blast of moisture out in space. Of course, it might freeze on the side of the station and cause balance problems.

Post# 246571 , Reply# 5 11/5/2007 at 11:32 (6,014 days old) by fa_f3_20 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Getting you whites whiter and your brights brighter in space* "It seems like they could use the vacuum of space to pull the water out of the clothes except I think most of it has to be recycled." Right. Unlike the Shuttle, ISS doesn't make its own water. In fact, it's the opposite: it has a maching that disassociates gray water to make oxygen. "Of course, it might freeze on the side of the station and cause balance problems." Yeah, and everybody hates the sound of that off-balance buzzer on ISS!

Post# 246611 , Reply# 6 11/5/2007 at 15:10 (6,014 days old) by crevicetool (Snellville Ga.)
Checkrate/Likes *Pretty ingenious then....* Were they good sellers? Did they finally end up being more conventional and switch to a spin-type tub?

Post# 246629 , Reply# 7 11/5/2007 at 16:39 (6,014 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *I don't know how well they sold,* but I do know that they were subject to several failure conditions - perforation being one of them. Just forget something sharp in a pocket or have a whale-bone come lose which you didn't pull out of that corset...or one of those whopping big safety-pins they used on diapers back then. Still, it was a neat idea. We don't see too much innovation which is way out of the box these days. Only really crazy idea I can think of in recent years was the use of heat-pump technology to dry clothes in very expensive (but very efficient) tumble-dryers here in Europe. It seems so funny to have cosmonauts wearing clothes in the space station. Wouldn't it be better in such a climatised environment to just take them all off? The topic must Shirley have come up before, nyet? I wish some manufacturer would have the guts to introduce the quality and the designs of some of these vintage machines back into the market. With today's technology, I bet you could make this vacuum tub work and not have it be as easily damaged. Self-healing, like a high-end tyre even.

Post# 246658 , Reply# 8 11/5/2007 at 18:42 (6,014 days old) by crevicetool (Snellville Ga.)
Checkrate/Likes *See, ya ask a question....* and you get answers. Thank you.

Post# 246719 , Reply# 9 11/6/2007 at 05:31 (6,013 days old) by easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)
Checkrate/Likes *rubber tub Bendix* Can someone tell me how to get back to the POD of 11/4/07??? I missed it and would love to see it. I have used the rubber tub Bendix -- I think it was called the Economat. They washed really well. But the water extraction was another thing. I saw only one that really worked. You must remember, in the early 1950's when these machines were made, housewives were used to either wringer washers or the front load Bendix that had to be bolted to the floor, thus shaking the whole house when it went into the spin cycle -- all of 300 rpm. The Economat could be purchased, hooked up to the water and electricity, and that's all there was to it. Brings back a lot of memories. Jerry Gay

Post# 247217 , Reply# 10 11/8/2007 at 18:17 (6,011 days old) by stevet (West Melbourne, FL)
Checkrate/Likes *Sitting on top of the world!* Both my mom and my aunt had the squeeze o matics from Bendix.I remember very distinctly having to sit on the top of the lid to make sure the vacuum would be accomplished. I was way too young to know why but obviously the top seal would wear out. Same went for my Aunt"s machine..she would sit her twin boys on top to make it work. They had that machine into the early 60's and then she got a center dial maytag washer and dryer set. The dryer was one of the earliest auto dry units and would never shut off. Apparantly, the basement location was too damp and it would sense the moisture in the air and keep heating. So my Uncle claimed! He fixed the problem by hooking up a 60 minute time and the machine just stopped at that point whether the clothes were dry or not! That Bendix had an easily removably agitator with a drain screen in the botton to catch all the heavy debris like coind and an occasional metallic object. Am I recalling the facts correctly?

Post# 247229 , Reply# 11 11/8/2007 at 18:54 (6,010 days old) by funguy10 ()
Checkrate/Likes Could somebody post a full vid of a cycle on the "Bendix Economat"? I'd love to see the tub collapse.

Post# 247232 , Reply# 12 11/8/2007 at 19:06 (6,010 days old) by dadoes (TX,�U.S. of A.)
Checkrate/Likes ^ Uh, that's not possible. The tub won't collapse unless a vacuum is pulled on it, which can't happen if the lid is open. The lid seals with an air-tight gasket.

Post# 247292 , Reply# 13 11/9/2007 at 08:21 (6,010 days old) by frigidaireguy (Wiston-Salem, NC)
Checkrate/Likes *PIC of 11/4* I also missed this pic and would love to see it. I'm with Jerry is there a way to go back and look at previous pics??? Thanks!!!! Bob

Post# 247296 , Reply# 14 11/9/2007 at 08:33 (6,010 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes Could somebody post a full vid of a cycle on the "Bendix Economat"? Yea that would be really cool to see! ;) I have one of those...

Post# 247297 , Reply# 15 11/9/2007 at 08:33 (6,010 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes Rubber Tub

Post# 247298 , Reply# 16 11/9/2007 at 08:34 (6,010 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes Controls

Post# 247303 , Reply# 17 11/9/2007 at 09:25 (6,010 days old) by hooverwheelaway ()
Checkrate/Likes *Scratches head* Hmm.. interesting. Definitely something I've never seen before! I love that after actively coming to this site for 2+ years now, there is still always something new to be learned! Thanks for that! ~Fred

Post# 247315 , Reply# 18 11/9/2007 at 10:45 (6,010 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes Definitely something I've never seen before! It's quite an interesting machine to see and hear operate. You can see the lid closing down even further as the inside of the washer starts pulling a vacuum. Hey I just used the "v" word, a washer with a vacuum, Yay for another bridge between our two great clubs! If you take a look at the silly music video I made, at 2:39 you can see me opening the lid of the rubber tub Bendix right after the vacuum is released and all the clothes are plastered to the side of the agitator. Totally reverse of what happens in any other washer where they are plastered as far away from the agitator as possible. CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK

Post# 247321 , Reply# 19 11/9/2007 at 11:41 (6,010 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa)
Checkrate/Likes Wow robert that agitator looks like a maytag gyrator with holes at the bottom very nice can u wash with the lid open? Darren k

Post# 247322 , Reply# 20 11/9/2007 at 11:47 (6,010 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa)
Checkrate/Likes ooh! does the holes in the bottom create a different wave action, compared to a gyrator? thanks Darren k.

Post# 247352 , Reply# 21 11/9/2007 at 14:43 (6,010 days old) by hilovane (Columbus OH)
Checkrate/Likes I'd love to see that b&w commercial for DASH detergent with all those Westinghouse Laundromats in its entirety. Any chance?

Post# 247354 , Reply# 22 11/9/2007 at 14:59 (6,010 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa)
Checkrate/Likes Daaaah lol . The holes are for draining at the bottom as well as the top right? sigh! Darren k

Post# 247357 , Reply# 23 11/9/2007 at 15:12 (6,010 days old) by funguy10 ()
Checkrate/Likes Well maybe somebody could modify the machine to have glass in the lid.

Post# 247683 , Reply# 24 11/11/2007 at 06:17 (6,008 days old) by easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)
Checkrate/Likes *Economat* That's it!!!! The picture that Robert posted of his Bendix Economat -- that's the model that worked. There was one other model that I saw which had only one dial on the front of the machine. On the top, there was a red button incorporated with the lid handle. You had to push that button to release the pressure in order to open the lid once the cycle was completed. I never saw one of that model that worked. It would wash fine, but it never got the suction right. And YES, you could watch the action during the wash and rinse portion of the cycle. When filling with hot water, the water would sort of ooze in from under the agitator. But when filling with warm water, there was enough water pressure that the water would bubble up through the top of the agitator. It was an exciting machine in the early 1950's. Jerry Gay

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