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Thread Number: 325
Work Continues on the Kelvinator |
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Post# 47365 10/18/2004 at 22:47 (7,122 days old) by Unimatic1140  (Minneapolis) |
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I've been working the past week or so on restoring that Kelvinator that I got down in Tulsa. The machine was in rough shape to say the least, plus the outer tub boot was ripped so water poured all over the floor. The ABC/Kelvinator mechanism is lubricated with grease as opposed to having a transmission filled with oil. The restoration process means that the entire drive assembly has to be taken apart and cleaned with paint thinner (or other suitable solvent). Here is a shot of the most of the drive system parts after a good cleaning.  After reassembly I have to take a grease gun and shoot the inners of the mechanism full of fresh new lithium grease. Poor Kelvinator, waiting to have its parts back all fresh and clean. 
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Post# 47368 , Reply# 1 10/18/2004 at 22:57 (7,122 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
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Post# 47370 , Reply# 2 10/18/2004 at 23:03 (7,122 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 47395 , Reply# 4 10/19/2004 at 08:45 (7,122 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Yes I have two '56 Frigidaire Dishwashers. The one in the workshop is not installed, its only been used about 5 to 10 times in it entire life so its in just pristine shape. It's my dishwasher for later on in life. As for the Kelvinator if all goes well I might even be able to get some water into it tonight. Boy are my hands dirty, I scrub and scrub, it takes a few days to get all the grease off. Yuk, grease pan hands! | ||
| Post# 47405 , Reply# 5 10/19/2004 at 11:14 (7,122 days old) by jaxsunst () | ||
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Cool! Can't wait to see the Kelvy in action. I am very mechanically challenged, and I admire the skill of everyone who does this work. I can only appreciate it from afar. | ||
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Post# 47440 , Reply# 6 10/19/2004 at 23:11 (7,121 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Kelvinator is Back Together Tonight
Well I finished putting the Kelvinator mechanism back together tonight and I did a few tester washloads. It performed rather well and its now water tight YAY. Lots more work to go with the dispensers and cosmetics, but otherwise its getting ready to take its place in the main room. Thought everyone would enjoy a few more pictures...   
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Post# 47448 , Reply# 7 10/20/2004 at 03:07 (7,121 days old) by arrrooohhh (Sydney Australia) |
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Oh WOW! I just love Kelvinators. What a beauty! Cant wait for the DVD, I will be putting my name down for that one. Well done Uni on your hard work. | ||
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Post# 47455 , Reply# 8 10/20/2004 at 06:47 (7,121 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Robert, another miraculous endeavor performed by you!! I love those blue Kelvi agitators. Seeing the drive mechanism laid out on the counter top, kinda had a flashback in my head of the My Three Sons episode where Steve Doublas does the bedding in the Custom Frigidaire (overloading it and oversudsing it) and one part of the scene shows a big spoked gear rolling across the kitchen floor. Sure glad Uncle Charley showed up an episode or two later to rescue domestic tranquility.
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Post# 47462 , Reply# 9 10/20/2004 at 08:10 (7,121 days old) by Gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA) |
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Very cool Robert. Thanks for the photos!!! What was the last year this type of machine was built? | ||
| Post# 47464 , Reply# 10 10/20/2004 at 10:06 (7,121 days old) by jaxsunst () | ||
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Wow! Beautiful, just beautiful, I am so excited for you. The one that I lost had the blue agitator with a darker cap with a cross pattern on it. Congratulations, I am glad to see that you plan to put it in the main room. Keep the pics coming. | ||
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Post# 47471 , Reply# 11 10/20/2004 at 12:29 (7,121 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
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| Post# 47474 , Reply# 12 10/20/2004 at 12:36 (7,121 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN) | ||
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Get you centric on! Wonderful! a great Kelvy lives again. An angel gets her wings. I want one. | ||
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Post# 47482 , Reply# 13 10/20/2004 at 14:17 (7,120 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Bleach and Rinse Dispensers
I’ve seem to have cured about 95% of the knocking during spin by using a combination of shims on the cross brace, adjusting the 4 centering springs and adjusting the belt tension. The ABC/Kelvinator Centric design just seems to always have a spin knocking problem, some worse than others, I wonder if they did that when they were brand new? As for the dispensers they need to be taken apart and thoroughly cleaned and one of the two solenoids is dead, but I have extras. Unfortunately the Kelvinator engineers didn’t design the dispersers to have water flowing through them during the dispensing process. Instead a solenoid opens and simply lets gravity pull the liquid into the fill flume. I think I have an idea on how to reengineer the softener dispenser system to tap off a bit of the incoming rinse water and direct it into the softener dispenser. I would only do that to the rinse dispenser as fabric softener is much thicker than bleach. Besides with all the new good rubber parts in the Kelvinator I would never risk using bleach on them. I will look into that later after I get both dispensers working they way there were meant to. | ||
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Post# 47483 , Reply# 14 10/20/2004 at 14:33 (7,120 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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They all knock eventually
Even my ABC knocks and they knock for different reasons. My '52 ABC knocks in spin because the trip lever is just too close to the damper assembly and I can't seem to get the tub centered. My '61 Kelvinator knocks after spin finishes and the dasher mechanism does its famous aknocka aknocka aknocka.... I think it goes with the turf like the famous Unimatic | ||
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Post# 47484 , Reply# 15 10/20/2004 at 14:34 (7,120 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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WHOLE MESSAGE BELOW
Even my ABC knocks and they knock for different reasons. My '52 ABC knocks in spin because the trip lever is just too close to the damper assembly and I can't seem to get the tub centered. My '61 Kelvinator knocks after spin finishes and the dasher mechanism does its famous aknocka aknocka aknocka.... I think it goes with the turf like the famous Unimatic "errk" at tub stop. And the reeky creaky,.. reeky creaky,... reeky creaky of the GE filter flo at the end of suds kill and spin. WOW the server just cut off my message!! Robert........?? | ||
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Post# 47486 , Reply# 16 10/20/2004 at 14:44 (7,120 days old) by peteski50 (New York) |
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Work Continues on the Kelvinator
Robert, This is a real gem. On some of these top of the line models with the dispenser on top didn't some have a detergent dispenser also. I thought from other pictures from different machines there were 3 seperate doors to add formulars. I could be mistaken! Anyway if you are going to do a DVD on this baby - Please put me at the top of the list. Thanks, Peter | ||
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Post# 47487 , Reply# 17 10/20/2004 at 14:44 (7,120 days old) by peteski50 (New York) |
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Work Continues on the Kelvinator
Robert, This is a real gem. On some of these top of the line models with the dispenser on top didn't some have a detergent dispenser also. I thought from other pictures from different machines there were 3 seperate doors to add formulars. I could be mistaken! Anyway if you are going to do a DVD on this baby - Please put me at the top of the list. Thanks, Peter | ||
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Post# 47495 , Reply# 19 10/20/2004 at 16:41 (7,120 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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| Post# 47508 , Reply# 22 10/20/2004 at 20:23 (7,120 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River) | ||
kelvinator dvd  | ||
| Post# 47517 , Reply# 24 10/20/2004 at 21:56 (7,120 days old) by kenmore1978 () | ||
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Sounds and there's the "click CLACK vrooOOM" of the start relay and motor in a non-impeller D & M DW as it starts up, and the "s q u EEAK!" as it spins down from pumpout. I think it's caused by the carbon/ceramic motor shaft seal. | ||
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Post# 47519 , Reply# 25 10/20/2004 at 22:58 (7,120 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Hi Austin, to answer you questions, first of all the plastic and rubber finned Kelvinator dasher/agitators splash about the same, which is a lot of splashing. No Kelvinator washers like Frigidaire get very sudsy, those pictures were taken at the beginning of the wash cycle so it did not have time to get as sudsy as it did. But one very important point that I must clarify. You referred to sudsing as a "problem". Vintage Frigidaire's (especially Unimatics) and Kelvinators as well as other solid basket washers with large outer tubs were designed to handle lots of suds, the more suds the better in those machines. It is front loaders and modern perforated basket top loaders that have trouble with suds and you have to be careful with the detergent. Of course vintage Belt-drive Whirlpool washers were terrible with too much suds and GE washers too you had to be careful not to cause a suds lock. We've all seen the WCI-58 Unimatic video which show exactly how those machines handle suds. By the way here is the before shot of the softener dispenser, yuk. This is why it needs to be flushed with water during its dispensing phase... 
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