You think I'd have learned by now that 'if ain't broke don't fix it'...  But no.  There were a number of things bugging me about two washers in the collection and I decided that it was time to do something about them... 

Now, just as I took this photo, one of the neighbours in Ogden dropped by to see if I was OK (they knew I am here sans hubby).  The comment made by my neighbour, Pierre, was 'Louise! He's fooling around with that Inglis again!'.   It was the way he said it... Like a public security agent who comes to the door to announce 'The river's flooding!  You'd better get to high ground fast!'   As if I was going to cause yet another disaster here... But I digress...

Yes, that is indeed the 66 Inglis, out it's slot and under repair.  After everything I went through you'd think I'd have been happy that it was finally working.  HA!

I decided not to re-install the suds-saver valve in the Inglis until I was sure it was working properly.   

Well dang it, after nearly 3 months of reliable service I thought it was high time to get this back in!   Of course I didn't have the original suds return hose (and knew I probably couldn't find one) so I improvised with some hoses I had lying around the garage. 

Re-installation was a snap!  Then again, I swear that I could remove and re-install a WP-style pump on one of these older belt-drive machines in 4 minutes flat now... LOL 

I even remembered to reconnect the hot lead to the suds valve (remember the fun that caused me on round two of my transmission replacements??)

So, I hooked up my improvised return hose and the drain hose.  All looked good and bonus - no leaks!!

All I needed now was some dirty laundry.  Oh wait!  There's some!

I had a load of lightly-soiled shirts, t-shirts, and underwear for the first load and a load of gardening clothes, slightly more soiled. 

I learned the hard way with the 51 Kenmore that you should always start with the less-soiled load first when you're planning on saving suds!!

So here we go!  The water from the first load was correctly diverted to the laundry tub.   

I did notice that my return hose design was flawed, though...  The pipe I used is kind of light and actually floated in the tub as it filled.   I'll have to figure something out with that... 

And when I set the dial to 'Suds' for the next load, all worked as I had hoped!

And better still, the second load of clothes was cleaned pretty darn well!  

That green hoodie in particular impressed me.  When I washed that in the GE FilterFlo there were lines of lint or soap residue on it when the wash was finished.  Looks like the Inglis just ensured it's place in the Ogden laundry!

As the Inglis was out for service, I just had to install a real germicidal lamp for the tub!  Ooooh!  Aaaah!

And, not shown, I bypassed the lid switch so that the machine will spin with the lid open for the first time ever.  

I replaced the lid switch that was installed where the pilot light should have been on the 51 Frigidaire WO65.  I know it's not the original one, but I thought this modern neon pilot looked pretty darn close.  And well, it does look better with the light!!  Now, all I have to do is find an original one... 

I can now do laundry with a clear conscience and steel my nerves until I decide to take a run at the Hotpoint spin issues...  

At around 8 this evening, there was a big mother of a brownout here in Ogden.  I was wondering if it was just on the line to our house but nope.... Seconds later the phone went and surprise, it was Pierre wondering what the hell I was doing up here!  At least the fire chief didn't show up this time... LOL  

I swear it's like living in a sitcom down here.... 

Greg,

I think Paul found the neon light in a local store but I found a link to a site that seems to sell similar ones. 

ca-en.alliedelec.com/search/produ...

Phil - the germicidal lamp is one of the new ones I found recently.  I decided to modify the socket mount slightly to accommodate the longer bulb (it got really close to the tub deck unlike the older, round style ones).

Greg - I didn't angle the return hose yet; I wanted to see how it worked first.  I should probably do that to avoid having the hose getting stuck on the bottom of the tub.  Well, once I figure out how to adjust the weight...   For the neon lamp,  I got the assembly at one of those electronic 'surplus' stores in Montreal.  If you like me to pick up a couple for you, please send me your mailing address and I'd be happy to send them to you!  They're a near-perfect substitute for the original ones.  

Funny thing about the Inglis, when I first got it, the suds valve had been disconnected and doctored too.  It finished its 'first life' in a bathroom or kitchen installation where there was no laundry tub, but the owners told me that they used the suds saver a lot when they first got the machine and lived in a different house.  

I'm now getting really curious about how a GE suds-saver system works....  The still-unrestored-and-gathering-dust-in-the-garage 57 FilterFlo is a suds-saver model, but the suds return pump is shot... At least that's the excuse I am using for not tearing into that machine...for now!   I have some experience with the WP-Kenmore-Inglis types now and I find it kinda odd that the machine agitates while the suds are being pumped back into the tub.  From what I have gleaned about the GE system, the suds return pump engages, then the water level control determines when to kick in and add 'make-up' water to reach the right level before activation begins.  The WP seems to be on a timer interval... The only other thing I can imagine is that it has to do with the way a WP pump runs (and this is pure guesswork on my part) - it seems that when the pump drains the agitation bar is not engaged, so I can't help but wonder if engaging the agitation cam bar also switches something on the pump...  I'd really like to know more about this.