Thread Number: 7969
The Evolution of the Spin |
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Post# 153197   9/8/2006 at 08:46 (6,411 days old) by robm (Buxted)   |   | |
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I have always wondered how spin technology evolved. My particular interest is in the frontloaders in the UK, although, it would be good to know the situation with toploaders too. The sort of things I would like to know are - What spin did the early machines have (the first Bendix for example or early Keymatic)? I believe the early Indesits spun at 420rpm. How did the spin speed evolve in makes like Hoover and Hotpoint. Traditionally, Brit bought Hoover frontloaders were always fast, was the 1100 unusal at the time? When did it come about? Were there any problems with suspension or motors spinning too fast? Finally what are the fastest machines now and are they any good? Any of your thoughts would be great as the spin for me is the most fascinating part of a machine's cycle. Any other comments aside from the above would be great too. Rob |
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Post# 153218 , Reply# 1   9/8/2006 at 11:57 (6,411 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)   |   | |
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Good question Rob The earliest spinner recorded was the savage spinner about 1930`s...this did make its debut along with some twinnies from the US in UK until late 50`s... The British made dryers only really took off 1957+ with the Hoover and Creda brands, saying that the 1961 Which Consumer Mag boasted about 23 models... Hoover Twinny 1957 = 1800rpm Creda Debonair 1959 = 2,800rpm Hoover SpinARinse 1959 = 1800rpm Servis Supertwin 1959 MK1 =2,800rpm Hotpoint Supermatic 1960 1400 = 3,100rpm The first UK automatics had fairly good spins for the time but nowhere near the dryness of the spinner etc.. Servis MK72 1972 = 740rpm Hoover Matchbox series 1970`s = 740rpm Hoover Keymatic 1961 = 740rpm The exception in 1970 was Hotpoint with its 1100 spin Front loader as well as the Top Loader which always did 1050rpm. Then a year later they dropped back to 750rpm until 1980`s. 1976 was the turn with Hoover Electronic 800 spin, and then 1978 with the first Hoover A3060 Electronic 1100. Since then UK machines and others have continued to increase spin speeds along with all sorts of gimmicks such as profile spins, intermediate spins...everything to produce less water & less creasing as well... Of course as well as faster speeds it didnt always mean better machines, Hoover for instance just upgraded the Electronic 800 to 100rpm without beefing up the bearings, result: machines seizing by the dozen, they had to hire a fleet of transit vans just to complete the repairs of replacement drums etc, Same thing happened to Servis when they used lower grade steel in the spin care drums...early models but all sorted later... 1600 spin seems the norm for UK machines, 1800 models sell well but you would only be able to tell the difference by the length of time a dryer might take etc,,you would be hard pushed to feel the difference 1600/1800.. AND, now of course we have the Slovakian company Gorenge, who have just brought out the first 2000rpm spin.. Who knows where it will end, Mike |
Post# 153238 , Reply# 2   9/8/2006 at 14:49 (6,411 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 153267 , Reply# 4   9/8/2006 at 19:08 (6,411 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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I know that French culinarians had the mechanical salad spinner that we are so familiar with today relatively late in the 19th century. I operated much like the large spinning tops some of us enjoyed as children. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if some farmer in France(or elsewhere) figured out how to apply that technology to linens.
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Post# 153300 , Reply# 5   9/9/2006 at 01:28 (6,411 days old) by aquarius1984 (Planet earth)   |   | |
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my mums first automatic was a 600spin Frigidaire Kelvinator i cant remember and this was the norm back in 1980, to imagine a Servis quartz back then at 1000 was like the novelty of having 1500 1600rpm these days. even though there are higher spin speeds i believe 1400 is enough. Im in the mindset my parents have in that 1000 to 1200 is enough and higher spin speeds shake the washer to pieces. But i do like the option of having 1400 of which my old zamussi was but i mainly span at 900 on nice days to cut down on ironing my white work shirts. 1400 is great for the winter as i have mega size bath sheets and for jeans to save tumble drying times. The 800 spin of the hotpoint in my house does IMO spins better than my mums lg 1200 and our old hotpoint 1000 but then it wont dilly dally shooting straight up to 800 which i guess the force of this squeezes out more water than a petty profile spin does. Nick
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Post# 153307 , Reply# 6   9/9/2006 at 03:06 (6,411 days old) by robm (Buxted)   |   | |
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Mike your knowledge is brilliant, you really know your stuff. I can't believe machines went so fast then. I would love to find a photo of that early Hotpoint frontloader, it must pre date the Liberator. I wonder why they cut the spin back. I always thought machines spun at around only 400 until the 70s. I remember a very popular Hotpoint in the 70s that looked a bit like a liberator with a slightly different shaped door and a slow induction motor spin (any ideas)?? Nick I absolutely agree with you on speed. My Miele goes 1200 and is ample for me. I think 400, 800 and 1200 are the ideal speeds which cover most fabrics and types. My Hotpoint goes 1400 and I find that a bit fast. To our american friends, thanks for your comments. The toploaders seem to have great quiet spin programmes with a gradual no nonsense increase in spin. I guess, you can't mess around with clothes in a vertical drum. What's the fastest speed on the toploaders in the states? Rob |
Post# 153314 , Reply# 7   9/9/2006 at 05:09 (6,411 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 153317 , Reply# 8   9/9/2006 at 05:50 (6,411 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)   |   | |
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Post# 153352 , Reply# 10   9/9/2006 at 11:33 (6,410 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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Post# 153359 , Reply# 12   9/9/2006 at 12:50 (6,410 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 153382 , Reply# 13   9/9/2006 at 17:39 (6,410 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)   |   | |
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For most things now, except business shirts and delicates. There is no appreciable creasing in sheets or normal clothes, and even after line drying everything its never a problem. The trick seems to be to unload immediately and then shake the creases out as you hang. |
Post# 153440 , Reply# 14   9/10/2006 at 03:27 (6,410 days old) by robm (Buxted)   |   | |
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I have to say using my Miele, I find my shirts are less creased spun at 900 than 600, which is odd. I think the biggest factor in creasing is probably overloading. Mike - thanks for the pic. I wonder why Hotpoint dropped the speed back? I always noted they were much slower than Hoover. The Hotpoint 400rpm was actually very different from the other machines so I am not suprised to hear they were made by a different company. Toploaders - I'm surprised that they too have dropped their speeds. One would have thought they would have very high speeds, especially as the American machines are so well made. Maybe it's because as Jon said the G force is greater. Does anyone know how fast the early Bendix frontloaders spun? Rob |
Post# 153453 , Reply# 15   9/10/2006 at 05:30 (6,410 days old) by lavamat_jon (UK)   |   | |
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I think the early Bendix washers spun at about 200-300rpm - maybe someone from the other side of the pond could answer this? Jon |
Post# 153465 , Reply# 16   9/10/2006 at 06:12 (6,409 days old) by ricky5050 (Durham Britain)   |   | |
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Hi Rob my Bendix is from 1966 ish and it tumbles at 54 rpm during wash, and spins at 650rom at spin, a solenoid shifter pushes the gearbox in one go so it jumps between the two speeds in a single go. Its quite effective and on long spins towels are as dry as probably a 850 rpm in some modern machines. See vid 6 in the link below, the sound and pictures seem to have become disjointed and the clank you hear is the shifter changing gears and this happens before the spin. cheers Richard CLICK HERE TO GO TO ricky5050's LINK |
Post# 153649 , Reply# 17   9/11/2006 at 05:23 (6,409 days old) by robm (Buxted)   |   | |
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Post# 154977 , Reply# 20   9/16/2006 at 20:23 (6,403 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 154991 , Reply# 22   9/16/2006 at 21:50 (6,403 days old) by westytoploader ()   |   | |
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And...the spin motor for the Hoover twinnie, as mentioned here before, was a Constellation motor. |
Post# 155010 , Reply# 23   9/16/2006 at 23:39 (6,403 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Several years back there was an excellent article in the German publication "Stiftung Warentest" on this subject. The authors, drawing upon research conducted on hundreds of machines over many decades came to the conclusion that it was not enough to simply "go fast". One range of AEGs from the late 70's early 80's for instance "only" spun at 850rpm, yet achieved better water extraction then their Miele competitors spinning at - for those days the enormous speed of - 1000+ rpm. The AEGs had a better thought out spin cycle which, although mechanical, resulted in better extraction. I use a 2,800rpm "schleuder" on clothes which land in the dryer. Some of my shirts are over 15 years old, I only wear natural fibers so know a bit about creasing and ironing. As long as I don't overload and shake everything out properly (and immeadiately) after spinning, there has never been either damage or bad wrinkling/twisting. Side note: American washers vary in their quality and the set-up of their spin cycles tremendously. After the end of the golden era, it wasn't until very recently that effective extraction became a selling point again. As for the "quality", well - my recent trip to the 'States included 3 washer repairs. The best built and most reliable was an A108 from the late 70's.... |