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Thread Number: 51647
Laundromat in Westchester NY |
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| Post# 740352 , Reply# 1 3/8/2014 at 12:07 (3,693 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY) | ||
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Pictures continued Cycle dial, load size. 
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| Post# 740354 , Reply# 2 3/8/2014 at 12:09 (3,693 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY) | ||
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Lastly Tub view. 
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| Post# 740395 , Reply# 3 3/8/2014 at 16:22 (3,693 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Post# 740423 , Reply# 4 3/8/2014 at 18:12 (3,693 days old) by combo52  (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Westinghouse L-4 Clothes Tangeler | ||
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Post# 740432 , Reply# 5 3/8/2014 at 19:37 (3,693 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Know These Machines Are Known As "Ropemakers" | ||
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Post# 740434 , Reply# 6 3/8/2014 at 19:41 (3,693 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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The Westinghouse New Way To Wash | ||
| Post# 740451 , Reply# 7 3/8/2014 at 20:24 (3,693 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY) | ||
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And leave room for... A couple of cabinet TVs in the same home! 
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| Post# 740469 , Reply# 8 3/8/2014 at 21:15 (3,693 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Post# 740833 , Reply# 9 3/9/2014 at 22:49 (3,692 days old) by countryford (Austin, MN) |
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Post# 740834 , Reply# 10 3/9/2014 at 22:56 (3,692 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles) |
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Just the right TV for watching episodes of My Favorite Martian . . . | ||
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Post# 740872 , Reply# 11 3/10/2014 at 07:51 (3,691 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Westinghouse L-4 Clothes Washer
Cleaning ability of these early WH Slant Front washers [ with slanted tubs, - 1958 ] was usually rated only fair to poor in cleaning ability. they were not a good choice if their was a auto mechanic in the family, and they sometimes made women wish they had there wringer washer back for really dirty clothing.
The poor performance, tangling, cleaning, is one of the reasons that we have seen so many of these early SF WHs show up over the years that are not completely worn out, people would set them aside when they had enough money to buy something that worked better. Much the same thing happened with the early bolt-down Bendix washers and also with Frigidaire Uni-Matics, even thought these are all fun machines many owners just got tired of the short comings. | ||
| Post# 740873 , Reply# 12 3/10/2014 at 08:01 (3,691 days old) by ken (NYS) | ||
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Post# 740944 , Reply# 13 3/10/2014 at 15:34 (3,691 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Thanks Combo!
From one's early days of interest in laundry appliances kind of gleaned that the poor performance of early front loaders gave them a bad name. This helped cement the dominance of top loaders with central beaters.
Shame that unlike across the pond American manufacturers of washing machines didn't really put more R&D into domestic H-Axis washers. Know the problems with Bendix and their patents, but still Miele and countless other European manufacturers made things work. | ||
| Post# 741047 , Reply# 14 3/10/2014 at 22:22 (3,691 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY) | ||
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You asked for it. A table top Sylvania? Relax, gold center dial insert lays nearby. 
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Post# 741058 , Reply# 15 3/11/2014 at 01:15 (3,690 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.) |
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Sylvania with Halo light | ||
| Post# 741060 , Reply# 16 3/11/2014 at 02:36 (3,690 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
Yeh, nothing like trying to look at something through glare from the same something. Set the brand apart in ad copy, less so in use.
We had SF Westys for a family of 6, they were very busy and very reliable. Wouldn't rate our soil level as 'challenging' though. Infant socks could find their way into the pump but easily removed without tools or damage. That and resetting the snubbers were the first appliance repairs I learned, around age 9. | ||
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Post# 741077 , Reply# 17 3/11/2014 at 07:28 (3,690 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Westinghouse L-4 Clothes Washer
Rick brings up a good point, these early to mid 1950s SF WH washers were among the most reliable of all early automatic washers according to CRs early readers surveys that they reported on in the late 50s. Unfortunately once WH cheapened the machine and lost the Sealed-In-Steel transmission around 1956-7 in favor of the three belt drive system the machines started to lose their reliability advantage. Many other brands also started to improve, Maytag for example didn't really get the kinks out of the Helical Drive washers till the early 1960s.
But poor old WH never built an AW or dryer again that set any reliability records, but rather records for among the worst in reliability. Ironically one of the worst things about WH home laundry appliances were the WH built motors they used and once WCI bough WH they immediately started to use GE and Emerson motors and things got better for a while. | ||
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Post# 741088 , Reply# 18 3/11/2014 at 09:09 (3,690 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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that scrubbing dome in the back of the tub | ||
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Post# 741095 , Reply# 20 3/11/2014 at 09:50 (3,690 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Scrubbing Dome ?
That one is one of the more ridiculous ad claims I ever saw, when WH finally redesigned their SF washers in 1959 the scrubbing dome disappeared along with the poor cleaning, and they did this themselves, they knew darn well that they had a inferior performing product, the government didn't make them do it LOL.
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| Post# 741097 , Reply# 21 3/11/2014 at 09:58 (3,690 days old) by golittlesport (California) | ||
Part of the problem with cleaning
had to go to the quality of low-suds detergents at the time. These machines used a lot more water than front loaders of today, which created a lot more suds and combined with the high water levels cushioned the clothing as it fell to the bottom of the tub. While high water levels are good for rinsing, lower water levels are better for washing in H axis machines.
The top cleaning detergents of the day -- Tide, Cheer, Etc -- would overwhelm these poor machines. | ||
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Post# 741099 , Reply# 22 3/11/2014 at 10:07 (3,690 days old) by countryford (Austin, MN) |
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Post# 741128 , Reply# 23 3/11/2014 at 13:10 (3,690 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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Xactl;y Rich | ||
| Post# 741192 , Reply# 24 3/11/2014 at 18:48 (3,690 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 741220 , Reply# 25 3/11/2014 at 20:42 (3,690 days old) by golittlesport (California) | ||
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You got that right, Jon! | ||
| Post# 741271 , Reply# 26 3/12/2014 at 02:11 (3,689 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
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We always ran All in our SFs. Perhaps the only good thing Monsanto ever did for mankind (though not outweighing the bad).
Never had a motor problem. Did have to rebuild the spin sheave on the 3-belt, but if a 13yo can do it who can't? The sealed gearbox failed in the bootless SF, that was over my head at the time though I had already replaced the timer, unsupervised, around 10yo. I'm an Asperger. Machines and I always understood each other. I could even make a Lawn Boy run, and if you've ever owned one you know how hard that can be. | ||
| Post# 741360 , Reply# 28 3/12/2014 at 14:37 (3,689 days old) by reversajet (Westchester, NY) | ||
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Good news Will I called Pat this a.m. and the washer is available though the 2 TVs are sold. He wll be at the home Thurs. a.m. if you want me to stop and claim it for you or make arrangements with him by phone. Also try the business website "tinsignantiques.com" for alternate phone. Don't let it slip away! Mike | ||
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Post# 741389 , Reply# 29 3/12/2014 at 15:33 (3,689 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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| Post# 741417 , Reply# 30 3/12/2014 at 17:34 (3,689 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 741583 , Reply# 31 3/13/2014 at 11:33 (3,688 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 741598 , Reply# 33 3/13/2014 at 13:00 (3,688 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 741614 , Reply# 34 3/13/2014 at 13:54 (3,688 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 741678 , Reply# 35 3/13/2014 at 20:16 (3,688 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Good news/bad news | ||
| Post# 742178 , Reply# 36 3/15/2014 at 16:05 (3,686 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
I got it!!
She's a little rough and needs all of the springs reattached and some paint. The bottom is completely rusted out and disintegrated, so a new piece of sheet metal is in the works. I have a question about the door boot. Right now it's intact, but It needs some lovin'. I would like to hydrate it and actually remove it so I can touch up some rust and give her a good paint job. What would you recommend to treat it with? I would slowly bring it back to hydration before attempting to remove it completely and soak it. Let me know what you think! Thanks! -Mark | ||
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Post# 742190 , Reply# 37 3/15/2014 at 17:33 (3,686 days old) by ultramatic (New York City) |
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| Post# 742255 , Reply# 38 3/15/2014 at 20:55 (3,686 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
Mark | ||
| Post# 742515 , Reply# 39 3/16/2014 at 19:38 (3,685 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Post# 742519 , Reply# 40 3/16/2014 at 19:54 (3,685 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Congrats on a great machine to save! | ||
| Post# 742522 , Reply# 41 3/16/2014 at 20:03 (3,685 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Thanks, I was thinking the same. The tub is all off of every one of it's leaf springs and is going to take some work to realign it all properly. Any tips on that? Does anyone have a photo of the water inlet on the top? It looks like at one time there would have been a rubber sleeve, but that's long gone and there is just a copper pipe about 2 inches away from the inlet.
The bottom is completely rusted out, but I have a spare. Are the 4 stay bars bolted to the bottom floor, or the chassis where the feet mount? First I'm going to get the tub back on all of its springs, wire in a new plug, replace the drain hose and possibly the inlet hose, reattach the balance weights, then I will feel safe to try and fire it up. Any tips on getting this tub back in line would be greatly appreciated! | ||
| Post# 742591 , Reply# 42 3/17/2014 at 00:47 (3,684 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
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Never took one that far apart but if the weights are off the tub will be out of range of all the damper plates except perhaps the bottom one. The leaf spring for that one attaches at the front of the base which will need replacing before the spring will bear weight. Depending upon condition that may be why the weights were removed.
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| Post# 742631 , Reply# 44 3/17/2014 at 08:18 (3,684 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Put me on the list for the new boots, I'm sure I will need it at some point!
All of the leaf springs and rubber buffers are there and intact, just all off place. I removed the weights to be able to pick it up and load it into the car, so they're all there. I will work on it tonight trying to get it all back in place, then reattach the weights. There is some rust in the door and along the bottom. Any tips on rust work other than sanding down and repainting? My daily driver Easy has a slight drip, and I use it anyway, so if there's a little leak, I'm not concerned. | ||
| Post# 742999 , Reply# 45 3/18/2014 at 14:37 (3,683 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Got some time to mess around with the Westy and here are the issues:
The motor appears to be dead! It will turn by hand, but just gets hot and smokes. Any tips other than sending it out for repair? The mixing valve is dead and just keeps letting water in. I have a spare maytag one, will that work? Otherwise, the boot is solid! It came without a top, so I will be harvesting parts from somewhere... | ||
| Post# 743116 , Reply# 46 3/18/2014 at 21:22 (3,683 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 743168 , Reply# 47 3/19/2014 at 01:17 (3,682 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
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How long was it on before the motor smoked?
The start capacitor may be bad. They don't always age well. With the motor sitting still, current through it doubles and it gets hot pretty fast. You can test the capacitor for open or short with an ohmmeter. Short the terminals before touching just in case it's still charged. Short again just before each metering. On the 2K or 20K ohms scale a short will read near zero and stay there. If it's good the reading should go up pretty quickly from near zero then read overrange (usually blanks the right digits). Better multimeters can have a scale that will read capacitors directly. The charging action is easier to see on analog meters. This post was last edited 03/19/2014 at 01:46 | ||
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Post# 743231 , Reply# 48 3/19/2014 at 10:36 (3,682 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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WH L-4 Problems
The inlet valve needs be dissembled, cleaned and new diaphragms, unfortunately the diaphragms are hard to find for these early valves, it is usually easier to use a newer style inlet valve and then you will have hot-warm-and cold water temps.
The motor is an issue with most of these older two belt slant front WH washers, the best thing to do is adapt the motor from a late 70s-1988 3 belt WH-FL washer, after WCI bought WH they started using GE motors and I never saw a bad motor on these later 3B machines. | ||
| Post# 743361 , Reply# 49 3/19/2014 at 19:42 (3,682 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Post# 743372 , Reply# 50 3/19/2014 at 20:31 (3,682 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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L-4 Inlet Valve and Motors | ||
| Post# 743696 , Reply# 51 3/20/2014 at 19:58 (3,681 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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Post# 743795 , Reply# 52 3/21/2014 at 06:07 (3,680 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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Mark | ||
| Post# 743857 , Reply# 53 3/21/2014 at 10:46 (3,680 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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I posted this a few weeks ago when someone else asked
Thread 43746
To sum up the thread (which was 63 replies long)... On 11/30/12, sudslock1 (i.e. Dave from St. Louis) wrote: "I've spoken with a rubber extrusion company and I am making final arrangements now to have (the) Westinghouse Laundromat door boot Q4688 reproduced." This is the boot used on 1949-1963 slant front laundromats. "Another member on here supplied me with NIB boot from Westinghouse that I could use to have a new dye made. I need to know how many people would like to have one (or more) of these so I can start coming up with a solid number ot have produced. The dye would belong ot me so I could have more made down the road if I wanted, but I think it would be wise to just make enough to last for a good long while. The gentleman at the rubber company gave me some ideas of different materials I could use but there is a cost factor so if there are only a few needed I'm not going to use anything super high grade and just try to go with OEM specs. Please let me know either by replying to this or sending me an email on here so I can get a number together. Thanks" On 12/4/12 he said, "I am waiting on a final quote from the company and then I will place the order for an initial run of 100 boots to be made. I will give a couple of options for material on here and color before I make the final decision to see where the cost will be and if everyone agrees..." I received an email from him in June 2013 that said "I am going to have 50 made but they won't be ready till fall. I will let you know a final cost when I have them in hand." On 11/1/13 he said, "I've been kinda waiting to see if any more people wanted these boots because the more I get the cheaper it makes them. I have about 35 soft commitments for boots. I guess I will just go ahead with making 75 and sell them on here or on eBay. I will call the company Monday and give the go ahead for production. When they are done I will post on here and start selling them. I am going to guess they will (go) between $75 and $100 with no garter ring. They will be white in color." That is the last we've heard about it. I bumped the thread three times through January, but no response. www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/T... | ||
| Post# 745145 , Reply# 54 3/25/2014 at 19:36 (3,676 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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| Post# 748450 , Reply# 55 4/7/2014 at 13:06 (3,663 days old) by marks (Tucker, GA) | ||
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