Thread Number: 9013
Lightburn Easy Twin
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Post# 168547   11/19/2006 at 04:35 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        

Can we all say Windscreen wiper :)

We picked this machine up this afternoon.

It was the pinacle of simplicity in 70's twintubs.

You turn it on at the mains, and start and stop it by opening or closing the spinner lid.

There is a single control which opens the drain valve, but other than that, it all runs from one motor with spaghetti pulleys.





Post# 168548 , Reply# 1   11/19/2006 at 04:36 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Top View

The Yellow and grey go so well together


Post# 168549 , Reply# 2   11/19/2006 at 04:37 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Wash Tub

When I plugged the machine in, it tripped the earth leakage switch rather than the circuit breaker, so I'll need to get my multimeter out and find out where the problem is.

Post# 168550 , Reply# 3   11/19/2006 at 04:38 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Spin Basket



Post# 168551 , Reply# 4   11/19/2006 at 04:39 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Pump Control

This valve only controls the draining from the wash tub.

Whenever the Spinner is running, it drains water from the spin side. Thus the cute suds saver hole in the wash lid to allow the water back in.


Post# 168552 , Reply# 5   11/19/2006 at 04:40 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
View from the back

With the cute wire cord holder

Post# 168553 , Reply# 6   11/19/2006 at 04:41 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Identification plate



Post# 168554 , Reply# 7   11/19/2006 at 04:42 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Finally a fronton view

With the great 60's/70's logos.

And a big thankyou to Michael for his efforts in making it shine. It was dull and filthy when we picked it up.

Lots of Windex and car polish later its as good as new.


Post# 168556 , Reply# 8   11/19/2006 at 04:48 (6,340 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
Cute machine! But how does this machine work? I mean, what's the wash action like?

Post# 168558 , Reply# 9   11/19/2006 at 05:05 (6,340 days old) by gizmo (Victoria, Australia)        

Hi Nat

I LOVE those Lightburn Twinnies. There must have been a wide variety of models as I have seen about a dozen and no two identical. I haven't seen one for over 10 years, though.

The spinner outer tub is galvanized sheetmetal which rusts away - check you don't have any leaks dripping onto the motor or wiring.

There is no seal where the spinner shaft passes through the spinner outer tub. The tub has a raised "collar" in the centre, about 3 or 4 inches high, and the spinner can has a dished base which goes down around the collar at the outside. So the collar fits up under the spin can into the dished section. To not leak, it depends on the spinner pumping out the water faster than water is spun out of the clothes. It is possible to load too much water into the spinner, it overflows over the collar and over the spin motor, though there is a shroud over the motor too. Not really up to modern safety standards...
Another cause of overflowing in the spin can - there is a one-way valve between the spinner and the wash tub, so that if you open the drain valve when the motor isn't operating, you don't drain the wash tub into the spin tub. If the non-return valve (from memory it's a rubber flap inside the pump??) is damaged, then when you open the drain valve and the pump isn't running, water flows from wash tub to pump to spin tub over collar onto motor and floor.
If any of these events have happened, the wiring or motor will be wet, which would trip the safety switch.

Another trouble I had with one of these - the wash tub seals to the top via a rubber seal like a diaphragm - a rubber sheet which fits over the wash tub and has a square hole in it to fit the aperture in the grey fibreglass top panel. The rubber disintegrates over time, the wash paddle is very vigorous and flings water up against the seal with every stroke. If the seal is damaged, water gets up and over the edge of the wash tub.
about 15 years ago I did rust repairs on one of these twinnies, the same as yours except twin motor. The old Scottish lady who owned it was the grandmother of a friend of my partner. She had owned it since new, about 25 years at the time. She bought it on the recommendation of a farmer she knew who ran a sheep staion. they said no other machine coped with serious farm dirt like the Lightburn.

Best of luck with it.

Chris.


Post# 168559 , Reply# 10   11/19/2006 at 05:13 (6,340 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
Thanks for the info Chris

Next weekend I'll have a look underneath and see if I can figure it out.

Its such a complicated design.

There's no rust underneath that I can see, but I'll take the top off during the week and have a look.


Post# 168561 , Reply# 11   11/19/2006 at 05:37 (6,340 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
OMG!!!

chestermikeuk's profile picture
Hi Nathan

What an absolute find, you guys are finding some classic stuff...now we can actually see what these machines look like instead of the adverts etc,,

Is this the one with the "Wonder Wand Wash Action"...is it a back & forth wash action that "Spanks" the clothes....hey Louis I think this is what Jet means by "Spankulation" wash action...LOL

Looking forward to seeing it wash, nice yellow colour as well, the spinner looks very much like the rolls machines , also the wash filter bowl as well...

Well done and to Michael for the polish & shine...

Mike


Post# 168562 , Reply# 12   11/19/2006 at 05:47 (6,340 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
Oh dear, you mean that paddle does the wash action? And I was wondering why that thing was in the way. LOL Not my brightest day!

Better not sit on that washer! LOL


Post# 168567 , Reply# 13   11/19/2006 at 07:38 (6,339 days old) by hoovermatic (UK)        

For years I have wondered about the wash action of these machines and having had it described to me have never really understood it. Great to actually see the water wand. If must make for a very splashy and violent wash action although I wonder how rough it is on the fabric? What an unusual design for a wash action!

Post# 168582 , Reply# 14   11/19/2006 at 09:02 (6,339 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Ahhh.... to see that paddle going

mickeyd's profile picture
in an empty tub and then watch as the tub fills--how cool and never-before-seen that would be.

What a lucky find and the Scotch Lady, too :-D


Post# 168585 , Reply# 15   11/19/2006 at 10:05 (6,339 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
At first glance I was wondering the same thing Louis, what is that big thing sticking down into the wash tub. VERY COOL Nathan! I would love to see what this thing looks like washing.

Post# 168598 , Reply# 16   11/19/2006 at 10:43 (6,339 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
I have some clothes that are calling out for a good paddlin' - this is too fun! I've seen ads for these before but it's still difficult to imagine the action. Does the paddle move rather slowly?

Post# 168610 , Reply# 17   11/19/2006 at 11:54 (6,339 days old) by golittlesport (California)        

golittlesport's profile picture
Now there is a different kind of wash action! Yeah, it would be fun to see that machine in action!

Post# 168633 , Reply# 18   11/19/2006 at 14:13 (6,339 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        
I'm not sure how fast yet

I dont know how fast yet the paddle moves, I'm assuming it is pretty slowly.

The machine was reported on in one of my choice magazines, it was rated ok, the thing that Choice loved, was how simple the controls were.

I'll try this week to find out where its shorting and bring it to life :)


Post# 168663 , Reply# 19   11/19/2006 at 17:35 (6,339 days old) by sheerlookhomes (U.K.)        

Hi Nathan,
congratulations on your new machine..it's cool...coincidence as today's POD say's no more 'yellow and gray'
Let's say 'YAY! FOR YELLOW AND GRAY!!'
Can't wait to see some pics of that paddle in action, thanks for sharing, Denis


Post# 168708 , Reply# 20   11/19/2006 at 21:55 (6,339 days old) by westytoploader ()        

WOW, you certainly are picking up some gems lately! That Lightburn looks like it's in great shape; I saw an ad that Mike posted but couldn't really see how the paddle was positioned in the tub...I thought it swung back & forth vertically! I'm very curious to see what the mechanism looks like; could you post some pictures?

Post# 168743 , Reply# 21   11/20/2006 at 08:48 (6,338 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Congratulations, Nathan! Gray and yellow go very well together. I remember tiled bathrooms with that color combination. We will have to see the spankulator in operation and it will be intersting to have a look underneath to see how the circular motion is converted to reciprocal motion for the big paddle, if I correctly understand the description of the operation. Have fun.
Tom


Post# 168882 , Reply# 22   11/21/2006 at 03:38 (6,338 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
Wash Wand!!

chestermikeuk's profile picture
My guess is it swings corner to corner at the front, so I reckon a 45d swing at 45/60 opm or swings per minute...

I wonder if you can move the wand to the middle of the tub for loading whilst its switched off??...Otherwise I bet this could beat the Frigidaires for PROBLEMATIC loading issues, if you where to load it as it is now, how would you do it?? one third two thirds and hope for the best!!!

I first thought like Austin & Tom that it swung up and down and the pic of the earlier machine looked like it had no centre to the wand, could this have been the case on the earlier machines??

Mike


Post# 168901 , Reply# 23   11/21/2006 at 06:34 (6,338 days old) by gizmo (Victoria, Australia)        

The paddle doesn't get in the way of loading at all. The clothes slide past the paddle pretty easily so it doesn't matter if you bunch it up on one side or divide evenly, it's all the same after a couple of strokes.
The agitation rate is pretty fast - about the same as windscreen wipers on High speed. At first you'd swear it's going to fling water and clothes right up and out of the tub, but the paddle swings back as fast as it went over, pulls the clothes back before they can escape. Fantastic to watch, but you need the lid on or it splashes a bit.

Chris.


Post# 168966 , Reply# 24   11/21/2006 at 13:20 (6,337 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
Video, please!


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