Thread Number: 44566
This looks like a really interesting vintage washer.
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Post# 654383   1/18/2013 at 23:59 (4,087 days old) by spinspeed (Far North New South Wales Australia (originally London UK))        

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I have never seen one of these before. Anyone know anything about it. I would love to get it but it is located in Melbourne Victoria, way too far to drive. Check it out.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO spinspeed's LINK on eBay





Post# 654386 , Reply# 1   1/19/2013 at 01:01 (4,087 days old) by whirlaway (Hampton Virginia)        
Strange!!!!!!!

Are you sure its not something you sit on,maybe in an OB-GYN office.Could be an orrifice washer.Whatever!!!!! Its late,my Sominex is kicking in!!!! Gooood Night!!

Post# 654390 , Reply# 2   1/19/2013 at 01:33 (4,087 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
I found this.

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This looks cool. I'd like to see one in operation...

Post# 654391 , Reply# 3   1/19/2013 at 01:38 (4,087 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Ask and ye shall view...

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Post# 654392 , Reply# 4   1/19/2013 at 01:41 (4,087 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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Twin tubs too!


Post# 654402 , Reply# 5   1/19/2013 at 04:11 (4,087 days old) by spinspeed (Far North New South Wales Australia (originally London UK))        

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I would live to get hold of one. The guy in Melbourne says I can organize shipping but apparently it is very heavy. Damn! Could cost a small fortune to ship interstate. Great you tube video thanks for posting it. It is a cool washer.

Post# 654404 , Reply# 6   1/19/2013 at 04:37 (4,087 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

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These Lightburn twintubs (the name hadn't been mentioned yet in this thread, just for the archives. lol) show up now and then. If you use the searchalator you will find several threads about these machines. Here's the thread about Nathan's machine.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO foraloysius's LINK


Post# 656667 , Reply# 7   1/29/2013 at 00:14 (4,077 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
Lightburn

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Did anyone here manage to get this twinny?

Louis ta for posting, seem to have missed that thread, very interesting machine, and the one with the "SpankUlator" wash action, it looks so simple underneath!!


Post# 657498 , Reply# 8   2/1/2013 at 15:20 (4,073 days old) by spinspeed (Far North New South Wales Australia (originally London UK))        

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Yep, happy to say I got this little beauty for $30. Best we don't discuss the shipping cost from melbourne to Sydney. It is being delivered on Monday. I am very excited and can't wait to get the washer up and running. It looks in really good condition for a machine from the 1950s.

I will post some pictures etc soon.

Simon


Post# 657499 , Reply# 9   2/1/2013 at 15:24 (4,073 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
Brilliant

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Great news Simon, look forward to seeing the pics and vids...

Post# 657500 , Reply# 10   2/1/2013 at 15:26 (4,073 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia)        

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Well done Simon.

If you don't like the way it washes, you could always use it as a cement mixer!


Post# 657560 , Reply# 11   2/1/2013 at 23:26 (4,073 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        

Lightburn made more than just washers - for a few years in the early '60s they also produced a very small car, the Lightburn Zeta. Zetas were made with a fiberglass body over a steel chassis, and used a tiny 324cc engine except for the sport model that got a "big block" 498cc engine with 21 hp. Like some other very small and basic cars of the '50s and early '60s there was no reverse gear, instead the engine could be started in either direction so backing up involved killing the engine and then restarting!  The most notable feature of the Zeta was its complete lack of sales success, forcing Lightburn to give up dreams of being a force in the Aussie car market.


Post# 657571 , Reply# 12   2/2/2013 at 03:33 (4,073 days old) by spinspeed (Far North New South Wales Australia (originally London UK))        

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Wow, that is interesting. I did a search on google and found some info on the zeta. Can't figure out how a car could work with no reverse gear. How would restarting the engine make it go in to reverse. Sounds like a very eccentric kind of car.

Post# 657572 , Reply# 13   2/2/2013 at 04:10 (4,073 days old) by gizmo (Victoria, Australia)        

Lightburn Zeta car:
the car had a two-stroke engine. (2-cycle to you Americans) 2-Strokes can run in either direction.
The car has a starter switch in the centre of the dash, you turn the switch one way to start the car in the "forward" direction, or turn it the other way to start it in the "reverse" direction. Imagine how long it would take to do a multi-point turn at the end of a dead end street!

Other interesting trivia about the Lightburn Zeta - there was no traditional fuel gauge, the fuel tank was in the engine compartment and a short length of fuel hose led to a glass tube in the dashboard. You could see the fuel level by seeing the fuel in the glass tube!

the handling of the cars was said to be diabolical. I have read that one lady won a Zeta on a TV game show, was handed the keys to her car when the show finished. She drove the car home but the car ran off the road before she got home and she was killed.

Lightburn twin washing machine:

My Nan had a Lightburn twinnie the same as the one in the original post. I was just a little boy at the time - maybe 4 or 5? I remember steaming hot water sloshing around in the wash drum. To empty the wash drum Nan had to reach down through the hot water to unscrew a drain cap to let the soapy water out. The wash tub is not perforated, it has a drain plug in the edge of the drum which you unscrew to empty.
Nan's Lightburn was older than those shown above and had no lid over the spinner. When you moved the lever to spin, it spun. Keep hands clear!

I remember being fascinated with it.


Post# 657623 , Reply# 14   2/2/2013 at 11:22 (4,072 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Down Under strikes again with unusual flora and fauna.

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A top load front load twin tub. How cool is that?

Excited to hear about the controls. They boast only two. Will there be a motor ON, motor OFF. They show a water return, but is it by gravity (clever) or by pump?

What a fun machine this would be to have.

Please let us know.

The lift and drop looks less dramatic than what we're used too, but who cares. You pull a nappy out, it's still stained a bit, so you just wash the load longer. Watching the whole affair without a lid is a supreme treat for us washer folk.

Just realized there must be a pump. Else, how would the water reach the upper bowl?
They tricked me with the hose shown in the lower bowl. What fun it would be to pull the washed load down into the spinner.



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