Thread Number: 45634
Mid Century Vis-Matic
[Down to Last]

automaticwasher.org's exclusive eBay Watch:
scroll >>> for more items --- [As an eBay Partner, eBay may compensate automaticwasher.org if you make a purchase using any link to eBay on this page]
Post# 667720   3/22/2013 at 20:26 (4,024 days old) by mixfinder ()        

In deference to the funniest man of all wringing washer's, Mickey D, I am renaming the continuing thread of Church Lady (gansky1) wringer washer.




Post# 667723 , Reply# 1   3/22/2013 at 20:38 (4,024 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Terry and I

At the request of (Northwesty) I found a bucket, some dish soap and a terry towel to wipe the face of this dear 58 year old soul. If you look into the folds under her oversize wringer you can see where I missed a few spots.
I was hoping for a warmer day but as the wind blew and it hovered in the 30's I contented myself with doing a minor water test. The machine holds water, the wringer works great and while the agitator moves freely there wasn't enough water to perform a load test. Like every Kenmore wringer washer I have ever encountered used, the pump is seized. Tomorrow I'll try to lay the old dear on her back and get a hose job, I mean remove the pump. Some mineral build up, pitting of the pump housing and seized pump shaft bushing are waiting for me I am sure. Next week is predicted to be in the 60's and I need to get a real bucket to carry hot water from the kitchen sink to fill the machine. We have a boiler in the garage designed to provide both heat and domestic hot water yet I couldn't locate a drain faucet to attach the hose. For the hot water it's just like the days of my childhood, after heating water on the wood range we carried the hot water by buckets to the washing machine. At least the water it will be hot. I am excited to be able to use bleach on sheets and towels since the machine won't be draining into the septic system.


Post# 667756 , Reply# 2   3/22/2013 at 22:15 (4,024 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
What a pretty Lady!

mickeyd's profile picture
I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting your pump back on line, and I;d love to see your eyebrows raise when you see how powerfully she pumps, just like the Mighty Maytag. I've raced them, and it's always a draw.

I see your Visimatic was made prior to the Ninga Borgean Forcean Vulcan Mind Meld bend in chrome feed trays.

Oh well, Kell, ya can't have everything!


Post# 667758 , Reply# 3   3/22/2013 at 22:24 (4,024 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
YOUR TIMER

mickeyd's profile picture
is advanced with fingertips rather than a grip. It's like the one on the GE AW 6. How cool. I noticed in your other thread in the close-up shot: half the timer is embedded. You can see it here too. "Let your fingers do the walking....." lalalala la la la.

Post# 667769 , Reply# 4   3/22/2013 at 22:57 (4,024 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        
mine too

Hehe,the pump is seized on my '59 visimatic...Was going to fix it last year,but didn't get to it-maybe this year.

Post# 668598 , Reply# 5   3/26/2013 at 20:56 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
The Day Of Reckoning

The pump was easy to fix. It turned by hand and after cleaning and some oil on the shaft it pumps mightily. Next came the water test after reattaching the pump.

Post# 668599 , Reply# 6   3/26/2013 at 20:59 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Holy Sheet

First up a set of king size 800 thread count sheets and pillowcases in hot water with Tide.

Post# 668600 , Reply# 7   3/26/2013 at 21:00 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        

Next up three loads of white Cannon towels with the addition of Purex

Post# 668602 , Reply# 8   3/26/2013 at 21:04 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Half-Pint

Lowered the water level and did a mix of kitchen towels.

Post# 668603 , Reply# 9   3/26/2013 at 21:05 (4,020 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
There's nothing like washing outside! Church Lady Kenmore looks like she's going to earn her keep, I liked that Roto-Swirl in the LK wringers I've had.

Post# 668604 , Reply# 10   3/26/2013 at 21:09 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Cooler and Bigger

Lost some more of the hot wash and added cool to fill the washer. A little more Tide and it was time for colors. The machine did well but the oddity was that all the Nike sportswear and poly blend underwear stuck to the rollers like Velcro and needed to be peeled off before double wrapping the roller. I would normally use the machine for towels and linens and do wearables in the automatic but this was a photo op.

Post# 668606 , Reply# 11   3/26/2013 at 21:14 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Outside

I would love to have a basement and be able to use the wringer and automatic in tandem. I have never perfected splash free wringer washing so a concrete surface would be nice to have. Today was our first "warm" day and it hit 60 so it felt good to open the house and wash in the garage.

Post# 668610 , Reply# 12   3/26/2013 at 22:11 (4,020 days old) by golittlesport (California)        
very cool!

golittlesport's profile picture
That is such a cool wringer washer, Kelly! I love it. Thanks for the great pictures!

Post# 668611 , Reply# 13   3/26/2013 at 22:24 (4,020 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Just look at all that room in that great big tub!!!

mickeyd's profile picture
How beautiful. I'm so happy the pump came back to life so easily. You know Kelly, for sheets and towels, conventional is the way to go. Nothing gets squished or bunched in the tub; there is just so much more room in the conventional tubs than in the automatics.

Ummmmm, nothing gets squished, that is, until the Wringingue, and then, Oh my Lord in Heaven! ;'D

Such satisfying shots. Thank you.


Post# 668616 , Reply# 14   3/26/2013 at 22:37 (4,020 days old) by oldskool (Kansas City, MO)        

Great pictures Kelly.  Thanks for posting.  Looking forward to wringer washing when our weather gets better.  

 

Question - do you find that laundry completed in the wringer washer take longer to dry?  Curious?  Mine seems to.  Sometimes I put the finished load from the wringer into the automatic to spin for better water removal.  I always like to learn more about various processes, and many of your threads serve also as tutorials that have been quite educational.

 

Thanks

John


Post# 668628 , Reply# 15   3/26/2013 at 23:11 (4,020 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Longer?

I always spin them in the washer before adding them to the dryer. Besides taking longer to dry the added weight of the wetter fabric is hard on the dryer. Before we had an automatic as a kid, my mom used to blow through a dryer every 3 years drying all the laundry for 7. She didn't hang anything after she had her first dryer. She'd still be drying 2 days after the wash day.

Post# 668665 , Reply# 16   3/27/2013 at 07:32 (4,019 days old) by oldskool (Kansas City, MO)        
Thanks

Agreed, as my experience has always been.  Can't recall where, but was surprised to read of someone's thought that the wringer did better removing water than the spin process, as mine never has.  Especially effective, the Frigidaire 1-18 seems to spin loads more effectively than the Kenmores.  My Grandmother used a Norge wringer washer - did her laundry early in the day - line dried and some items weren't dry until late afternoon - quilts, heavy towels, etc...   Of course it didn't help that she had a shaded back yard. 


Post# 668669 , Reply# 17   3/27/2013 at 08:33 (4,019 days old) by franksdad (Greenville, South Carolina)        
Kelly...

franksdad's profile picture

That's a great washer you have!  Hope it gives you years of service and fun!  Jim 


Post# 668692 , Reply# 18   3/27/2013 at 11:52 (4,019 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        

mickeyd's profile picture
Wringers always lost the contest in water removal expect for some of the combos and early Bendis.

Up here, many people did the double or triple wring before drying either on the line or in the dryer. You can enjoy watching how much water comes down the tray on the second wring, hankies and silk babushkas excluded.

Like you, I final spin else where, so water retention is moot.

Kelly, I had to smile when I realized you fill your Visi to the max just like you do your mixing bowls. How fun!



Post# 668696 , Reply# 19   3/27/2013 at 11:56 (4,019 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
"EXCEPT" ~ LOL

mickeyd's profile picture
`

Post# 668707 , Reply# 20   3/27/2013 at 13:03 (4,019 days old) by e2l-arry (LAKEWOOD COLORADO)        
Wringing does take longer to dry

I timed it and compared to spinning in my front loader, drying clothes from the wringer alone takes about 25% longer to dry. This summer I going to put up an umbrella clothes line in my back yard. I saw them at Home Depot and Lowe's. In the low humidity Colorado air, I bet stuff still dries almost as fast as the dryer. Plus I don't really like putting them through a spin after the Maytag. Just seems to defeat the purpose of using the wringer over the automatic. But I don't disagree that from an energy usage standpoint that it does make sense, hence the clothesline solution. I do run them through the spin cycle currently myself from time to time.

Post# 668710 , Reply# 21   3/27/2013 at 13:20 (4,019 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Well I'll Be Double Dipped

I never thought of double wringing.  Are your knees weak when you go for seconds?


Post# 668728 , Reply# 22   3/27/2013 at 15:07 (4,019 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Cannot Recall Where One Read It

launderess's profile picture
But IIRC wringers equal about 200rpms to 300rpms of extraction via spinning in a washing machine or spin dryer. This was the "best" with rollers set close enough to wring out as much water as possible without causing textile damage and or creases that would never come out even after ironing.

This all goes far to explain why housewives or anyone else doing laundry that relied upon wringers or mangles for removing water where advised to wash on days with crisp good weather that had a gentle breeze. When you consider often how much heavier linens and clothing were back in the day even then it probably took ages to dry mangled laundry, even on a really good day. Of course if weather didn't cooperate one could have all that wet dripping laundry hanging all over the kitchen/rest of the house.


Post# 668729 , Reply# 23   3/27/2013 at 15:08 (4,019 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Yes, and my biceps bulge, too!

mickeyd's profile picture
If you're hanging out, it really doesn't matter if they're spun rather than wrung, because the clean laundry is usually out all day, so however much moisture there is/ was, it's all up in the air in the end, and the dry laundry is none the wiser;'D

At the other end of the retained moisture spectrum, when hanging a Unimatic load on a warm breezy day, some of the first items are actually dry by the time you get to end of the whole while load of clothes being hung.


Post# 668730 , Reply# 24   3/27/2013 at 15:17 (4,019 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
True, true

launderess's profile picture
But one of the other qualities of good extraction is it "pulls" laundry product residue and so forth out of textiles.

It is interesting watching rinse water drain from washing that appears clear only to become murky or froth laden as the spin portion begins. IMHO laundry is not properly rinsed until water extracted from the final spin is clear.


Post# 668735 , Reply# 25   3/27/2013 at 15:47 (4,019 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Simulposting

mickeyd's profile picture
It would be fun to get the reference. I would have guessed that it's closer to 500, only because Visimatic loads feel just a bit heavier than 62 Lady K Auto loads. My guess could be well off. I'll bet a case of crisps you'll get the right weights and measures.

Post# 668739 , Reply# 26   3/27/2013 at 15:56 (4,019 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)        

I use my wringer machines all of the time, but I must admit that I rinse in the automatics. Wring into a clothes basket and then put them in the automatic for rinsing and spinning. More water is extracted from spinning than from wringing. In the summer, I hang everything outside and in the winter I hang them in the basement. The dryer doesn't get much use. Gary

Post# 668742 , Reply# 27   3/27/2013 at 16:21 (4,019 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Start With This

launderess's profile picture
Post# 668752 , Reply# 28   3/27/2013 at 17:49 (4,019 days old) by oldskool (Kansas City, MO)        
Interesting....

Launderess - that article was interesting and informative.  My how things have changed over the years as product developments have occurred. 

 

Kelly - this thread is great.   Thanks everyone.

 

John


Post# 668758 , Reply# 29   3/27/2013 at 18:43 (4,019 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
The Big Gahoonas

mickeyd's profile picture
Most of the Big Cheeses of the day are on full display in the article: the Easy Spin,* the Bendix, the AW 6, the E2LP, and the Speed Queen.

What a fascinating read. The 72% water weight measure for "excellent" wringing points us in the right direction for what we're trying to find out.

Interesting that research for the automatic was "round-the-clock." We learned elsewhere that the main hold up for Whirlpool was perfecting a system to re-use the wash water.



* Pretty sure it's the uber-elusive (only Darryl frontaloadotomy has one) bottom valve spray rinser.


Post# 668762 , Reply# 30   3/27/2013 at 18:56 (4,019 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Early Automatic Front Loaders

launderess's profile picture
Such as the Bendix were't that great at extraction either, indeed probably not much if any improvement over wringers. One was still left with literally water laden laundry compared to later incarnations of washing machines and certainly against most of today's 1000rpms or above.

Hence early tumble dryers ran at temps that literally baked water out of washing. It was the only way to cope one assumes with laundry that was so poorly extracted.


Post# 668774 , Reply# 31   3/27/2013 at 20:04 (4,019 days old) by mixfinder ()        
Cool Beans

I love vintage articles of vintage machines. I often think of Grandma and all the inventions, innovations and products she witnessed. From no electricity or convenience to Gold Medallion electric homes, freeways and space travel. An automatic washer would have sounded space age in the 20's.

Post# 668776 , Reply# 32   3/27/2013 at 20:11 (4,019 days old) by golittlesport (California)        

golittlesport's profile picture
I think some of the early Consumer magazines posted on this site also compare water removal abilities of wringer washers to the spin drying of automatics. Even the 500 rpms of early Kenmores, Whirlpools and Westinghouses did a much better job of extraction than a wringer. But wringers are fun!

Post# 668819 , Reply# 33   3/28/2013 at 00:53 (4,019 days old) by e2l-arry (LAKEWOOD COLORADO)        
Speaking of early Automatics,

A wringer still extracted more water than the Bendix Economat.

Post# 668982 , Reply# 34   3/28/2013 at 23:55 (4,018 days old) by garyl ()        
Drying

My friends lived in Palm Springs, California in a house that is at least as old as your Kenmore. The back yard had a HUGE clothes line, as did most of the houses in the subdivision. The idea was to wash all of the clothes, then start hanging them. It is usualy hot and very dry there, and there is always a wind from one direction or another. They had a laundry cart, and would start hanging up the clothes at one end of the line. When they got to the other end, they would go back to where they started, and the clothes were dry!! Take them down and they were ready to put away or iron. The wind blew so hard that the clothes were not stiff like some clothes that are line dried. Same thing for the towles. They were fairly fluffy.


Forum Index:       Other Forums:                      



Comes to the Rescue!

The Discuss-o-Mat has stopped, buzzer is sounding!!!
If you would like to reply to this thread please log-in...

Discuss-O-MAT Log-In



New Members
Click Here To Sign Up.



                     


automaticwasher.org home
Discuss-o-Mat Forums
Vintage Brochures, Service and Owners Manuals
Fun Vintage Washer Ephemera
See It Wash!
Video Downloads
Audio Downloads
Picture of the Day
Patent of the Day
Photos of our Collections
The Old Aberdeen Farm
Vintage Service Manuals
Vintage washer/dryer/dishwasher to sell?
Technical/service questions?
Looking for Parts?
Website related questions?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Our Privacy Policy