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Thread Number: 4484
THE VERY VERY VERY FIRST GE AUTOMATIC WASHER |
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Post# 101739 1/4/2006 at 21:28 (6,679 days old) by unimatic1140  (Minneapolis) |
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I’m a very lucky washer-boy this week and I couldn’t be more excited. John Lefever and Warren from Washington DC arrived with their 1947 General Electric AW6 washer to trade with me for my 1957 Westinghouse Wash and Dry Combo. I can’t tell you all how excited I am to add this very rare washer to my collection. First of all the Model # is 1AW6A2 which is very, very early in the production line. The first version of the AW6 was produced under the model # 1AW6A1 and continued through 1948 with the 1AW6A8, this being a AW6A-'2' is only the first production revision from the original machine! The machine is so early that it doesn’t even have a vacuum breaker in its fill flume, which even in 1947 was against plumbing codes in many places. They corrected this with the 1AW6A3. The AW6 design was only made until 1950 which they completely redesigned the machine with the belt-drive AW5. Mechanically the machine is in great shape, the transmission was rebuilt and the outer tub boot was replaced only a year before John found it almost 30 years ago! It’s has had very light use ever since. Structurally the machine is going to need some work which is going to be a bit of a challenge, but nothing that can’t be fixed with some time and energy. The poor dear also needs a paint job, and it shall get one as this machine deservers to be brought to its true splendor. After the ‘47 Frigidaire which I have and an Apex Wash-A-Matic which is still a dream, this machine is next on my list for my most wanted dream machines. It’s a wonderful machine and it’s the only other washer ever to Spin at 1140RPM besides the Unimatics! The machine is a wonder of design with a self-cleaning lint filter, built in rinse water saver (to be used in the next wash cycle) without needing an extra laundry sink to store the water. Pre-wash and an automatic advance to wash with a soap dispenser to add detergent into the wash cycle after the pre-wash. So advanced for its time and to this day it really hasn’t had much competition for features with the exception of electronic controls. In the pictures you can see the lint filter screens at the top of the wash basket, anyone care to guess how it cleans itself? Here are the first round of pictures… CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK | ||
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Post# 101742 , Reply# 1 1/4/2006 at 21:43 (6,679 days old) by pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI) |
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| Post# 101746 , Reply# 2 1/4/2006 at 21:54 (6,679 days old) by jamman_98 (Columbia, SC) | ||
Classic TV | ||
| Post# 101748 , Reply# 3 1/4/2006 at 22:00 (6,679 days old) by rickr (.) | ||
Way to go Uni!! | ||
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Post# 101750 , Reply# 4 1/4/2006 at 22:04 (6,679 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
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Post# 101753 , Reply# 6 1/4/2006 at 22:09 (6,679 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Amazing Find! | ||
| Post# 101754 , Reply# 7 1/4/2006 at 22:19 (6,679 days old) by rickr (.) | ||
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Hi Greg!! (: | ||
| Post# 101755 , Reply# 8 1/4/2006 at 22:21 (6,679 days old) by automagic () | ||
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Impressive Hey Robert, congratulations on the new machine. I can't wait to see the pics of her clean, shiny and running!!! Donnie | ||
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Post# 101759 , Reply# 10 1/4/2006 at 22:52 (6,679 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Hi Everyone, thanks for all the good wishes, I sure am excited to have this machine. I’m seeing John again on Friday night and I will get the details from him and let everyone know, he found the machine over 30 years ago, not another one has been seen since! Jamie you are correct, the way the lint filter cleans itself is a combination of the water spinning out of the top of the tub as well as a 30 second blast from the recirculation pump blasting a stream of high pressure water from the sump onto the spinning screens at 1140RPM! I can’t wait to hear the sound it makes!! Rick, thanks for the advice, I was thinking that I would have to find a good auto body shop. I stopped into one last year but they told me they only worked on cars, I will have to find a small shop who would be willing to work on a washer. Hi Nathan, let me try to explain how this works. The machine always saves the rinse water. You have to set the dial to “EMP” to empty the outer tub of the final rinse water if you want a fresh charge of water or you done washing for the day. Remember there are two water level sensors, a float cork (water inlet valve shutoff sensor) and a metal Overflow Detector Float Cup (agitation/timer motor sensor). When the outer tub is full of rinse water, the cork float is in the up (or full) position. This prevents any more fresh water from being filled into the outer tub. But Overflow Detector Float Cup is in the Up position (no agitation position). I bet with the outer tub filled with water, the water surrounding the outside of the metal cup acts as a cushion and keeps the metal float cup in the up position due to spring pressure. So now our little happy homemaker (me) selects “Soak” or “Wash” on the control dial and the recirculation pump starts. No fresh water is being filled in because the cork float is satisfied. As the wash basket fills with water from the pump, the water level in the outer tub slowly goes down and moves below the metal Overflow Detector Float Cup. The metal cup is kept in the up position by spring pressure. When the water reaches the top of the agitator it overflows down the top-center of the agitator, onto the top of the transmission, through the funnel and lowers the Overflow Detector Float Cup because of the weight of the water in the cup. This starts the timer and agitation. Since there is still over an 1” of water in the outer tub, no new water is ever needed. | ||
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Post# 101760 , Reply# 11 1/4/2006 at 23:14 (6,679 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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| Post# 101763 , Reply# 12 1/4/2006 at 23:22 (6,679 days old) by hoover1060 () | ||
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Congrats Robert Neat machine, and the mechanicals! WOW! I know you'll make that a beauty in no time! | ||
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Post# 101767 , Reply# 14 1/4/2006 at 23:48 (6,679 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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KLLLUUNNKKK!!! I just hit the floor. I knew John had it. Never thought he'd trade it for anything. Emotional here, this was my Dad's Mother's (grandmother to me) washing machine that I saw from a distance but never was allowed to go near it nor was I ever around on a Monday for wash day. Machine was in a wash room in the garage building. She had this washer until she moved to an apartment in 1963.
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| Post# 101771 , Reply# 15 1/5/2006 at 00:32 (6,679 days old) by golittlesport (California) | ||
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Post# 101780 , Reply# 16 1/5/2006 at 02:50 (6,678 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia) |
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Congrats Robert! | ||
| Post# 101781 , Reply# 17 1/5/2006 at 02:52 (6,678 days old) by lavamat_jon (UK) | ||
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OOOHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYY GOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!! Wow!!! | ||
| Post# 101789 , Reply# 18 1/5/2006 at 06:30 (6,678 days old) by jasonl (Cookeville, TN) | ||
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Only thing that comes to mind Is the song "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott. You know the song that you hear in the Bugs Bunny cartoons when they're in a factory or machinery "dun dun dun DUN DUN dun dun DUN..." It's the Rube Goldberg washer, and I bet it works like a charm. I can't wait to see videos of it. | ||
| Post# 101793 , Reply# 20 1/5/2006 at 06:48 (6,678 days old) by westyslantfront () | ||
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Hi Robert. Congratulations on the GE. I know it will be a project for you. Thank you for the great pictures and hope to see it someday in operation. Ross | ||
| Post# 101795 , Reply# 21 1/5/2006 at 06:56 (6,678 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida) | ||
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Post# 101810 , Reply# 24 1/5/2006 at 08:33 (6,678 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 101811 , Reply# 25 1/5/2006 at 08:35 (6,678 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 101813 , Reply# 26 1/5/2006 at 08:46 (6,678 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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I assume the main drive motor is reversing, for agitate and spin? Glenn no simply reversing motor here in our Rue Goldberg machine, the transmission and motor are sealed in oil just like a refrigerator compressor. There is a rubber bellows deep in the transmission that when spin is called for is pumped with oil. The makes part of the mechanism rise away from the brake and towards the spin clutch. It will be interesting to see how this work, I bet it slowly shifts from activate to spin as this bellows rise. Inside the AW6 Drive Mechanism Mechansim Detail “I think they call it the "extrac" tion basket or something.” Leslie, I recently met a GE engineer who worked for GE in the early 1980’s and was partly involved in the design of that never built GE washer with the orbital tub wash action. He said back in the early 80’s they figured out that having ribs in the wash tub helps extract more water from the clothes at lower spin speeds. I wonder if they had any idea that their very same own company (GE) had figured this out over 40 years earlier! Eugene, the way the lint filter cleans itself is a combination of the water spinning out of the top of the tub as well as a 30 second blast from the recirculation pump blasting a stream of high pressure water from the sump onto the spinning screens at 1140RPM! I can’t wait to hear the sound it makes!! | ||
| Post# 101816 , Reply# 28 1/5/2006 at 09:06 (6,678 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA) | ||
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| Post# 101843 , Reply# 30 1/5/2006 at 13:24 (6,678 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA) | ||
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Post# 101848 , Reply# 31 1/5/2006 at 14:16 (6,678 days old) by nurdlinger (Tucson AZ) |
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I remember, I remember, I remember...
This was the washing machine my mother had from the time I was an infant (around 1949) until I was in high school. When I was a little kid I watched her use it hundreds of times. She more than once took it apart to clean it. Lid off, agitator unscrewed, wash basket removed. I remember the triangular shape to the top of the agitator shaft, and the fact that the water inlets were different (recirculate flume vs. fresh water inlet flumes). You had to mash back the recirculate flume when reinstalling the tub. I remember the screened holes in the upper tub flange. My mother was not interested in the thing as a machine, so she couldn't answer half of the quesions I posed. My dad, however, did self-repair many times over the years. He marveled many times over the fact that the machine had three separate electric motors: main drive, recirculator pump, and drain pump. When he was finally ready to replace it he kept the two pump motors lying about the basement for another 25 years until they sold the house. He kept them because he was a dedicated believer of reusing stuff in new, unthought-of applications; and he wanted to do something with them. When I was a little kid, this was the highest-technology device in our home. Seeing it opened up taught me that such things could be done, and I am sure drove my own interests in that direction. What a treat to see this machine once again. | ||
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Post# 101850 , Reply# 32 1/5/2006 at 14:33 (6,678 days old) by nurdlinger (Tucson AZ) |
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And another thing
I mentioned in the earlier post about my dad reusing things in different ways. The washing machine which the GE replaced was an old Maytag wringer washer that had been my grandmother's. I have no idea from what era but I could guess the 30's. It had a solid cast aluminum tub with a big red Maytag script cast right into the side (instead of the decal sort of thing later ones had) and a metal agitator. Once the 'tag had breathed its last my dad decided to use the tub as the firepot in an outdoor grill which he would build. We collected rocks from streambeds for a couple of years, finally we had a sufficient quantity and he mixed mortar and he did build the thing. I was so impressed as a kid that he could conceive of such a thing and then accomplish it.
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| Post# 101933 , Reply# 34 1/5/2006 at 21:47 (6,678 days old) by thirtyater () | ||
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$350 :O Wow what a find! At $350 new, there couldn't have been very many around when they were new. This could be the only one left. Between this and the turquoise machine you recently acquired, you make this GE nut want to cry. | ||
| Post# 101948 , Reply# 35 1/5/2006 at 22:54 (6,678 days old) by golittlesport (California) | ||
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Post# 101952 , Reply# 36 1/5/2006 at 23:41 (6,678 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Post# 101969 , Reply# 38 1/6/2006 at 05:48 (6,677 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Post# 102000 , Reply# 39 1/6/2006 at 09:29 (6,677 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK) |
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GE Suspension...!!!
Wow...Robert Congrats on the GE...just goes to show how the solid & heavy machines can spin so fast ...AND...all mounted on just THREE castors instead of four as per usual... Looking forward to seeing this restoration in action.. So..the principle of the Sudz Save built in tank...is it similar to the Parnall setup?? Cheers, Mike | ||
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Post# 102007 , Reply# 40 1/6/2006 at 10:23 (6,677 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Wow, I’m glad to hear so many stores of people actually remembering this washer. As it was made only for two years, I’m surprised any of us have ever seen one. How long have you been wanting this machine? Hi Peter, I’ve wanted this machine for 24 years since I first found that Consumer Reports article on this washer. I was always curious how exactly this machine works, now I know. YAY. I'd also suggest calling up GE Corporate and letting them know you have this I did that before with both Frigidaire and Whirlpool, both of them were completely uninterested, Frigidaire didn’t even have the courtesy to respond. Now what happens to the little AW5 GE washer that you've had for a while? I’m planning on keep my old 1951 GE in my collection and hooked up as it’s the very first belt drive GE design washer, with some modifications it was the same design that used all the up to 1995. I’m thinking of totally rearranging the basement by moving my 4 “very first” machines (’47 Frigidaire, ’49 ABC, ’49 Maytag and ’47 GE) all together in a row. Then I would like to get all my matching washer/dryer sets in one central location. I might move the ’55 Unimatic into storage to make room for the ’47 GE and the Super Unimatic will replace the Asko. Robert, thank you for all the detailed pictures. My pleasure Bob, I know how you love those “Dial Shots”! This must be the FIRST DD washer? Actually from what I can tell from the documentation I have, the Unimatic was the first DD washer, it was in production before the AW6 and the Unimatic was available on the market about six months earlier. is it similar to the Parnall setup Hi Mike, I’m not sure what Parnall did to save water, the GE simply saves the rinse water in the outer tub, ready for use for the next wash load. To me this make more sense than saving the dirty wash water, the rinse water has to be a lot cleaner. This was about 10 years before fabric softener was introduced so that wouldn’t have a made any difference in the rinse water. | ||
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Post# 102050 , Reply# 42 1/6/2006 at 16:03 (6,677 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Speaking of the GE's, are you still planning on doing a DVD of the 51 or will you wait and do the 47 instead? It's been awhile since you produced the Wizard DVD and I'm sure we'd all love another one whenever you have a chance to shoot one. Hi Les, I've have 3/4 of the work done on the '51 GE DVD, I just need to find time to finish it which has been next to impossible. I wish I had more time to work on this stuff, I do know how much some of you guys enjoy these DVD's. My ultimate dream is not any washer or any dishwasher or any vintage television set, my ultimate dream is retirement. Once I've reached that goal I will have so much more time to work on stuff like this and I could put so much more effort into this web site and the machines, but that is still a ways off yet. So for now if I able to get a DVD out once every two or three years I'll be pleased. | ||
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