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Post# 150857   8/27/2006 at 11:43 (6,423 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
We've tried to caputure the very "energetic" Frigdaire Pulsamatic Washer on video before but because of frame rates it always looked like the agitator was standing nearly still. Well will my new digital hard drive video camera it appears it has no problem capturing the Pulsamatic in action if you record it in very high resolution!!! Here are two video (they are exactly the same) one in high res the other in medium res (for dial-up modem users)

The Pulsamatic in High Res 22mb for Cable/DLS users

The Pulsamatic in Medium Res 8mb for slower dial-up connections.






Post# 150860 , Reply# 1   8/27/2006 at 12:01 (6,423 days old) by hoover3060 ()        

Thats FANTASTIC Robert!!!!

What a fab wash action.

Its really great you can now film it.Am very impressed with the camera.

A real treat indeed sir.

Thank you very much!

Mark


Post# 150865 , Reply# 2   8/27/2006 at 12:32 (6,423 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia)        
What Turnover!

mayfan69's profile picture
Great video Robert!

Talk about quick turnover!

Hopefully one day i'll be able to see them in action in real life.

Leon


Post# 150867 , Reply# 3   8/27/2006 at 12:38 (6,423 days old) by westytoploader ()        

Robert, AWESOME video! Glad you could finally capture the "energized water" on camera...lots of vubulations with this machine as well!

I'm glad I was able to play with this machine at the Convention and experience the Pulsamatic in person; there's really nothing quite like it! I brought my old VHS-C camcorder last year and had no problem getting it on video since the frame rate is rather high for analog, IMHO. However, in Tucson I brought a new Sony mini-DVD digital camcorder, and I know the frame rate was considerably slower because some of the spin cycles had that "warp-speed" look to them.

--Austin


Post# 150868 , Reply# 4   8/27/2006 at 12:44 (6,423 days old) by cleanteamofny ((Monroe, New York)        

cleanteamofny's profile picture
For me this was a double treat!
I clicked on both links and one played with Quicktime player and the other with Creative player and boy did I have a double pulsating treat!

Thanks Robert for sharing!!!


Post# 150869 , Reply# 5   8/27/2006 at 12:50 (6,423 days old) by compwhiz128 ()        

Wow, I remeber seeing this on someones webpage, and it looked like it was vibrating rather than pulsating up and down.

Post# 150872 , Reply# 6   8/27/2006 at 13:20 (6,423 days old) by customline (pennsylvania)        
I luv it !!!!!!!!

I know that timer sound anywhere. Thanx Robert.

Post# 150880 , Reply# 7   8/27/2006 at 14:21 (6,423 days old) by gregm ()        
question?

great vid robert, thanks, is that the same "tranny" as the regular unimatic ? oil-filled tranny? but just engineered/designed for a faster and shorter stroke ? why didn't they stick with that mechanism ? seems like it turns over VERY well yet would not tangle or roll sheets as badly or quickly as a regular unimatic would ... basically I am curious as to how each tranny differs

Post# 150887 , Reply# 8   8/27/2006 at 15:02 (6,423 days old) by nickuk (chelmsford UK)        
Wonderful video

Thanks for this video, what a great wash action! I loved watching the water grow murkier as the soil was gradually and very effectively being removed over the duration of the wash.

Nick


Post# 150899 , Reply# 9   8/27/2006 at 16:37 (6,423 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
My GOD that's fast pulsating! Have never seen the Pulsamatic before. Thanks, Robert.

Post# 150903 , Reply# 10   8/27/2006 at 16:58 (6,423 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Pulsamatic

peteski50's profile picture
Hi Robert,
Thank you Loved the video
Peter


Post# 150904 , Reply# 11   8/27/2006 at 17:29 (6,423 days old) by rickr (.)        

rickr's profile picture
Great video Robert! I can recall watching this machine at Greg's house. Brings back lots of good memories!

Post# 150917 , Reply# 12   8/27/2006 at 17:53 (6,423 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
Eyes!!!

chestermikeuk's profile picture
Robert thats so realistic its making my eyes dance...love those sounds...

This was the machine we tested the Amp Meter on wasnt it, when we where getting it ready for Gregs convention??

I have the video, I`ll post it on U-tube...


Mike


Post# 151007 , Reply# 13   8/28/2006 at 00:35 (6,422 days old) by mrcleanjeans (milwaukee wi)        
what goes up must come down

those magnificant men with their washing machines that go upity-up-up and go down-deda-down-down...

Post# 151016 , Reply# 14   8/28/2006 at 03:29 (6,422 days old) by sudsman ()        
Thanks Rober

How neat I love it. Never Seen such good turnover. Sudsman

Post# 151020 , Reply# 15   8/28/2006 at 03:46 (6,422 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
Thank you Robert for the video, it's awesome. What a wonderful detailed video. Which camera did you get?

Post# 151045 , Reply# 16   8/28/2006 at 07:28 (6,422 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Thanks, Robert. Which Pulsamatic do you feel performs better, this one with a 3 Ring agitator and the rubber "Energy Ring" or the earlier one with the solid black Bakelite agitator? I would not want to dry that load in a Filtrator after the slow spin of the Pulsamatic. Why do you suppose Frigidaire emphasized the longer stroke trannies over this one when the later ones were modified Pulsamatics, right? I think that the engineers had too much money to play around with.

Post# 151066 , Reply# 17   8/28/2006 at 09:00 (6,422 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)        

peterh770's profile picture
The Pulsamatic mechanism evolved into the Multimatic mechanism. This mechanism was GM's way to try to produce a less expensive machine. The Pulsa/Multimatic transmission is belt-driven and designed to be fixed while still in the home, while the Unimatic was direct drive and usually needed to be removed to a shop to be repaired. Both are oil filled. I beleive the evolved Multimatic allowed better multi-speed use than the Unimatic.

I think the Pulsamatics are by far the most interesting and captivating machines to watch. Thanks for the video, Robert!


Post# 151067 , Reply# 18   8/28/2006 at 09:06 (6,422 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
, is that the same "tranny" as the regular Unimatic ? oil-filled tranny? but just engineered/designed for a faster and shorter stroke ? why didn't they stick with that mechanism ? seems like it turns over VERY well yet would not tangle or roll sheets as badly or quickly as a regular unimatic would

Greg, it’s not a Unimatic transmission it’s a Pulsamatic Transmission, it looks very similar to a Mutlimatic, but only one belt and no clutch. I have almost no tangling in my Three-Ring agitator Unimatic when I take an extra moment to load it properly, but with the Pulsamatic even with properly loading it can tangle more. But really tangling can be eliminated by proper sorting and loading. What you really have to be careful with is not to wash all long sleeve shirts together in on wash load, I just sort and mix other things together. Sheets need to be picked up from the center and loaded into two sections of the washtub, intermixed with the pillowcases. Really the only Frigidaire washer I have found that is difficult to stop the tangling in is the 1947 Frigidaire and that's because of the bowl shape in the wash tub that they changed in 1950. Even consumer reports said in 1958 "Special care required in loading to avoid tangling". Obviously the people at CU figured out how to prevent tangling or they would not have been so kind.

Which Pulsamatic do you feel performs better, this one with a 3 Ring agitator and the rubber "Energy Ring" or the earlier one with the solid black Bakelite agitator.

Hi Tom, I don't know what you mean by the solid black Bakelite agitator, the earlier Pulsamatic agitator had a rubber pulsator as well, but the upper section was black bakelite. I think the '57 performs a bit better with the redesigned wash tub, but I find there really is very little difference.


Post# 151172 , Reply# 19   8/28/2006 at 17:17 (6,422 days old) by hoover1060 ()        
how about spin?

How fast does it spin? as fast as a Unimatic?

Post# 151178 , Reply# 20   8/28/2006 at 17:55 (6,422 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        
Save HOURS of unloading time with Frigidaire!

gansky1's profile picture
I think printing the loading directions on the underside of the lid helped a lot.

Did CR ever rate the pulsamatics during their four-year production run?


Post# 151271 , Reply# 21   8/29/2006 at 00:35 (6,421 days old) by scott55405 ()        

Unfortunately Jeff that's one of the drawbacks, I think the spin is only in the 600s range, as compared to 1140 for the Unimatic. The wash action is sure fun to watch though!

Oh Bob A....


Post# 151325 , Reply# 22   8/29/2006 at 09:08 (6,421 days old) by westyslantfront ()        

Hi Robert. Great video. Enjoyed the waves created by pulsamatic action.


Ross


Post# 151327 , Reply# 23   8/29/2006 at 09:35 (6,421 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)        

mayken4now's profile picture
Robert, thanks for sharing, what a magnificant design. Never saw that before.

Steve


Post# 151328 , Reply# 24   8/29/2006 at 09:40 (6,421 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        
Laundry harmonics

bajaespuma's profile picture
It would be interesting to have that video looked at by a physicist. The continuous "bumps" of water on the surface of the load indicate that there might be a lot more going on in that washbasket than simple "turnover". I wonder if the cleaning ability of the Pulsmatic wasn't augmented by some low-level sonic wave activity. Pity that the spin speed wasn't anywhere near as vigorous and the wash action.

Post# 151329 , Reply# 25   8/29/2006 at 09:51 (6,421 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Hi Jeff, the pulsamatic pulsates and spins at the exact same rate, 630ppm and 630rpm respectively.

Consumer Reports nor Consumer Research Bulletin never tested a Pulsamatic as far as I ever found.

It is a very fun machine to watch to say the least and after the White Perforated Double Tub early Unimatic its the next most rare Frigidaire washer.


Post# 151333 , Reply# 26   8/29/2006 at 10:14 (6,421 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)        

peterh770's profile picture
Who all has Pulsamatics?
me (not working)
Robert
Don Haggarty
Somebody Down Under has the semi-automatic one

Greg M? Jetcone? Tomturbomatic?


Post# 151334 , Reply# 27   8/29/2006 at 10:14 (6,421 days old) by hoover1060 ()        
very cool...

That pulsator is smaller too than the Unimatic's right?
Thats a belt drive mechanism too?


Post# 151337 , Reply# 28   8/29/2006 at 10:38 (6,421 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Peter I think there are three surviving models in the USA and two in Australia if I remember correctly.

Jeff the rubber Pulsator is the exact same size between the Unimatic and Pulsamatic (same part number), but the plastic agitator column above the rubber pulsator is slighly smaller on the Pulsamatic.


Post# 151368 , Reply# 29   8/29/2006 at 16:08 (6,421 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia)        
Who has the surviving ones??

mayfan69's profile picture
Hi Peter and Robert,

Robert is correct: Nathan (Brisnat81)has the semi automatic version and somebody in Victoria has a fully automatic one: i was outbid on it from ebay a few months ago...see the attached pic.

Leon


Post# 151369 , Reply# 30   8/29/2006 at 16:12 (6,421 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Cool picture Leon, are you sure that is a Pulsamtic in the picture and not a Multimatic? Greg and I once tried putting the Deep Action Agitator in the Pulsamatic and it couldn't turn over anything with the short fast stroke.

Post# 151373 , Reply# 31   8/29/2006 at 16:26 (6,421 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia)        
Multimatic: I think so...

mayfan69's profile picture
Hey Roebrt,

I think you are correct:I think this one was a Multimatic, the owner at the time couldn't really say.

Leon


Post# 154722 , Reply# 32   9/15/2006 at 14:38 (6,404 days old) by trainguy (Key West, FL)        
Thank You

trainguy's profile picture
Robert,

This was very exciting to watch. It certainly is a beautiful machine.

Rich


Post# 154745 , Reply# 33   9/15/2006 at 16:32 (6,404 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Thanks Rich, I sure do love my Pulsamatic! It was the washer that started my love of washers.

Post# 154761 , Reply# 34   9/15/2006 at 18:29 (6,404 days old) by sudsman ()        
Robert

Was the Pulsamatic sold in all markets? I never saw one here in Texas

Post# 154767 , Reply# 35   9/15/2006 at 18:55 (6,404 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
I believe they were Lee, but I have no way of knowing for sure. Pulsamatics are just very rare machines as they were only made for four years.

Post# 154771 , Reply# 36   9/15/2006 at 19:02 (6,404 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Pretty Freaky, Robert

mickeyd's profile picture
As you know, the Tower unimatic, which we had at home thru most of my childhood, has a hidden lid switch which I was too young to figure out how to bypass. But on the weekends at my grandmother's I could not get enough of her pulsamatic which had NO LID SWITCH at all. YAY ! I played with it for hours, and one summer when i was about 10 or 11, the fill selenoid broke and I got to fill the machine with the hoses, each one hooked at the sides of the lid. I'm sure you can read my mind: overflow rinses of course, but killer SPRAY RINSES as long as I wanted--and long before Frigidaire wanted them too,haha. It became a semi-automatic automatic. We waited the whole summer for that part, and i was so sad when it came. Your machine with the aqua/turk dials is the same model as Grammy's. I really like the slower, steadier throw of the water in the pulsamatic; the sound is way cooler, don't ya think? So nice to be back, Robert--missed everyone.

Post# 154792 , Reply# 37   9/15/2006 at 20:50 (6,404 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
OK, I see what you're talking about, now. That must have been fun, mickeyd!

I wanted a Frigidaire washer so badly when I was a kid. Ours was a Kenmore/Sears household.

Much to my delight, my Dad worked for Miller-Meteor in Minneapolis for the last year of his life. They sold/leased/serviced hearses and ambulances. I spent the summer of 1971 with him and worked in the garage washing vehicles ( I was 12). A horrible job, you say? Yes, you're right. Ever had to clean the interior of an ambulance that's just come from the scene of a car accident? But there was a '58 Frigidaire washer/dryer pair in the garage to wash all the towels/rags. Guess which lucky kid got that job? Over the freakin' MOON, I was. I got to wash several loads every day all summer.


Post# 154796 , Reply# 38   9/15/2006 at 21:16 (6,404 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        
Wow! It's the...

roto204's profile picture
...vertical-action Automagic :-D

Thanks for the awesome videos, Robert!


Post# 154850 , Reply# 39   9/16/2006 at 08:08 (6,403 days old) by gizmo (Victoria, Australia)        
Manual pulsamatic

I have the manual round body Pulsamatic. You couldn't really call it semi-auto as it doesn't even have a clockwork minutes timer, the only control is you select either pulsate or spin.

I LOVE that auto in Leon's picture, It is very similar to the one my Mum had when I was a kid, but ours was the Deluxe (fairly basic) and had brown controls not blue.

I think it MIGHT be a multimatic as I have very vague memories of working on the machine with my dad, and I seem to recall it had two drive belts. I am not super confident of that though.

chris


Post# 154871 , Reply# 40   9/16/2006 at 10:11 (6,403 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
HAHAHHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAA

jetcone's profile picture
tha tha thasss thats all folks.............

Post# 154969 , Reply# 41   9/16/2006 at 20:15 (6,403 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Jetcone you made me laugh sooooooo hard. Thanks, Daffy Duck

mickeyd's profile picture
I think I caught my mother's stroke, or maybe Gizmo, Frigi, and I are all tripping on LSD. The pulsamatic in the video is the tower twin to the unimatic. But Robert has another pulsamatic with matching turquoise knobs, left and right on the back of the machine, just like may grandmother's. I watched the video in the summer one night running back and forth to my Mother's, and when I responded so late I forgot which pulsamatic was in the video. Also when the fill valve broke on the machine in question, we unscrewed the hoses and filled it manually; hence the first spray rinse on a Frigidaire, at least for me. I'd let it spray all the way through the "DRY" setting, then spin again.

Thank you for making me shake and quake in my belly with laughter; it was great.

Frigi and Gizmo, thanks for your empathy. I sure can use it; LSD wouldn't hurt either. Later, Dudes.


Post# 155011 , Reply# 42   9/16/2006 at 23:55 (6,402 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Robert,

panthera's profile picture
This is great - I really appreciate the time and creativity you invest in making us happy.
I often wonder why nobody has returned to this outstanding design. Given the cheap, high quality production available today I would think it a shoe-in for a manufacturer to ramp up and produce.


Post# 155292 , Reply# 43   9/18/2006 at 07:10 (6,401 days old) by irishwashguy (Salem,Oregon.............A Capital City)        
Hey Robert!

irishwashguy's profile picture
That is amazing.i think that I have found another dream machine for my upcoming collection. The turnover on that was just amazing. My Rollermatic woluld tie things together. It sounds like i needed to attend the ' Unibatic Institute for higher Laundry' .when I had mine I was only 19.BTW, these machines outertub, the cabinet? What is the top spin speed? One more, How many strokes per minute does it do?

Post# 155617 , Reply# 44   9/19/2006 at 20:01 (6,400 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Other Videos?

mrb627's profile picture
Robert,

Weren't there a couple of other videos posted of this project? I can't find them anymore.

MRB


Post# 155619 , Reply# 45   9/19/2006 at 20:05 (6,400 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Wrong Thread

mrb627's profile picture
Please disregard the above post. I'm in the wrong thread.

MRB


Post# 155665 , Reply# 46   9/19/2006 at 23:05 (6,399 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Ritchie the pulsamatic washes at 630 ppm and spins at 630rpm. Starting in 1955 all Frigidaire washers were given an outer tub, the only models that used the cabinet as the outer tub were the 1947-1954 models.

Post# 155848 , Reply# 47   9/20/2006 at 19:10 (6,399 days old) by mcmodern ()        
Pulsamatics in Texas

Lee,
My cousin had a later model pulsamatic in Amarillo in the early sixties. It had a different agitator (gray with the spring-loaded detergent cap) and ran much faster than our neighbor's Frigidaire, probably a uni- or multi-matic. Always wondered about the difference, and as someone pointed out, the pulsamatics were the lower priced models and my cousin's appeared to be a less-featured machine. Robert's video is just as I rembered her's, almost a blur!

So, they were available, at least out there. But out of many Frigidaires, that was the only pulsamatic I recall.


Post# 155864 , Reply# 48   9/20/2006 at 20:47 (6,399 days old) by arrrooohhh (Sydney Australia)        

I enjoyed that video very much.

Thanks.

I enjoy all the videos posted on this site.


Post# 156272 , Reply# 49   9/22/2006 at 07:40 (6,397 days old) by irishwashguy (Salem,Oregon.............A Capital City)        
Thank you for the clarification

irishwashguy's profile picture
Before I saw this,and I have seen alot of Washers and Dryers in my life, I can promise you that I have never seen anything like this before. I have dreams of walking into Wolfs Home applinces and seeing these on the showroom floor brand new.:)

Post# 159153 , Reply# 50   10/6/2006 at 19:47 (6,383 days old) by lovewahsers ()        
FIRGIDARE WASHERS

MY AUNT HAS A FRIGIDARE (WHITE)AND DRYER SITTING IN HER BASEMENT WAITING FOR ME TO PICK UP IT HAS THE JET ACTION AGI
WITH FAB DISP ON TOP WHAT YEAR IS THIS FROM



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