POD - 2015/02/01

This was a VERY short lived idea that failed quickly for several reasons. About 1967-69.

1; It did not solve ANY washing problems for the user of the washer, many brands already had three speed washers that were just as gentile at washing.

2; The speed control system was expensive to build and in Frigidaire and GEs case troublesome.

3; The only reason that these machines were ever built was because the technology made it possible and the male engineers thought they had solved every women's most pressing wash-day problem and it became a misguided race between many of the major washer manufactures to bring it to market quickly. I don't think that anyone ever stopped to consider whether it made any difference whether you clothing was spinning at 370 RPMs or 425 RPMs, or again whether the agitation was 54 SPM or 57 SPM, having such a fine adjustment just would not make any difference to the final result.

Interestingly GE and FD each came up with very different clutch systems that allowed constant slippage when the washer was not set for full speed operation.

Interestingly again GE made the variable speed induction motors that all the other makers used in their infinite speed controlled washers.

Norge had one and also made a re-badged Wards Signature with this feature.

Hotpoint Solid Tub washers had this feature, and HP was building Easy washers by this time and Easy also had one.

And not to be left out Whirlpool made one for Sears on a LKM model, but it never appeared on a WP branded machine.

And wisely Maytag , Westinghouse, Speed Queen and a few others resisted this costly mistake.

John L.


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Post# 806991 2/1/2015 at 02:37 (3,370 days old) by qualin (Canada)
Checkrate/Likes This POD is an interesting ad involving a GE Versatronic Filter-Flo. This is my dream GE Filter-Flo, although the Dispense All would come in second. So, I know that GE did a bit of "Solid State" trickery to get these machines to run at different infinite speeds. How exactly did the Versatronic system work? I also recall reading on a previous forum post that these Versatronics had really serious issues with reliability and longevity. Would someone care to elaborate as to why?

Post# 807002 , Reply# 1 2/1/2015 at 04:42 (3,370 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))
Checkrate/Likes Indeed, how did variable speed work? Induction motors can't readily be made happy at speeds other than their number of poles. Even variable-frequency drive-- difficult to implement at any power and range to speak of-- doesn't work well as that changes impedance. Duty-cycle choppers like incandescent dimmers don't work well either. Motor BEMF tends to overheat/explode the dimmer, and the motor itself tends to stall/overheat as its duty cycle is reduced. What decade was the Versatronic? Solidstate DC drive wasn't particularly practical until suitable components were developed. Neither was electronically-commutated multiphase (forgot the word it's commonly called today, pre-alzheimers). Strongly suspect the above problems and compromised solutions led to the reliability deficit.

Post# 807039 , Reply# 2 2/1/2015 at 10:40 (3,369 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)
Checkrate/Likes *friction clutch?* IIRC,when frigidaire came out with a varible speed rollermatic~1968,a disc type friction clutch was used-clutch pressure applied magneticly and modulated with a transistorized feedback circuit.Years ago,details of the frigidaire system were posted on a thread on this site-frigidaire only had that washer a year or two as i recall.The two speed filter flo clutch is also a constant slippage device...

Post# 807040 , Reply# 3 2/1/2015 at 10:43 (3,369 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes These machines used a magnetic clutch with variable power input yielding variable "gripping" between the plates for transmitting of energy from the motor to the washer transmission. You will remember that GE washers used a one speed motor so that the pump would be driven at its highest speed at all times for the Filter Flo to operate at maximum power and provided the gentle speed with a two speed clutch. Whirlpool used a two speed motor to achieve the gentle speed, but if you remember the still photos of Whirlpool's two speed washer agitation, the filter stream is stronger at the high speed than at the gentle speed. As John has said several times, Whirlpool's introduction of the three speed motor eliminated the need for the costly solid state clutch control and trouble prone feature on top loader washing machines.

Post# 807219 , Reply# 4 2/2/2015 at 01:23 (3,369 days old) by qualin (Canada)
Checkrate/Likes Hmm.. I can see this system having a short lifespan due to GE getting tired of having to replace burnt clutches from lots of customers using gentle cycles on a frequent basis.

Post# 807252 , Reply# 5 2/2/2015 at 06:56 (3,369 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Infinite Speed Washers* This was a VERY short lived idea that failed quickly for several reasons. About 1967-69. 1; It did not solve ANY washing problems for the user of the washer, many brands already had three speed washers that were just as gentile at washing. 2; The speed control system was expensive to build and in Frigidaire and GEs case troublesome. 3; The only reason that these machines were ever built was because the technology made it possible and the male engineers thought they had solved every women's most pressing wash-day problem and it became a misguided race between many of the major washer manufactures to bring it to market quickly. I don't think that anyone ever stopped to consider whether it made any difference whether you clothing was spinning at 370 RPMs or 425 RPMs, or again whether the agitation was 54 SPM or 57 SPM, having such a fine adjustment just would not make any difference to the final result. Interestingly GE and FD each came up with very different clutch systems that allowed constant slippage when the washer was not set for full speed operation. Interestingly again GE made the variable speed induction motors that all the other makers used in their infinite speed controlled washers. Norge had one and also made a re-badged Wards Signature with this feature. Hotpoint Solid Tub washers had this feature, and HP was building Easy washers by this time and Easy also had one. And not to be left out Whirlpool made one for Sears on a LKM model, but it never appeared on a WP branded machine. And wisely Maytag , Westinghouse, Speed Queen and a few others resisted this costly mistake. John L.