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Thread Number: 91893
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
From the West Coast to the Midwest - a Bendix restoration |
[Down to Last] |  |
Post# 1164219 11/18/2022 at 15:34 (523 days old) by swestoyz  (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Hello AW family! I wanted to share with everyone the recent completion of a restoration here on my end. But first, let’s start at the beginning.
Some of you may recall our RevvinKevin finding a 1955 Bendix Gyromatic about 12 years ago, stashed away in a storage unit in SoCal for God only knows how long, along with the matched Bendix dryer. From Kevin’s vantage the washer wasn’t in the best cosmetic shape but everything appeared to be intact at first glance in 2010. While he and a few other collectors did take a second look at the Bendix during his big wash in a few years later, things weren’t looking up for the little Gyro. They were able to get the motor to start, but it would quickly overheat and pop the breaker (sure signs of a Delco start switch stuck in start). The boot, while somewhat pliable, didn’t show signs of lasting more than a few washes. And from there the Bendix sat in the corner. In 2017 I contacted Kevin and asked about buying the Gyro, and we both agreed that it would probably get the attention it deserved in my care. Just a few days before my wedding that July, a delivery truck dropped off the Bendix at its new home. On top of that, just a few weeks later I was lucky enough to stop by gyromatic’s house to visit his amazing collection. John was kind enough to donate a good motor/trans power unit and door boot for the cause! Things then were looking up for the little Gyro! However, by the time school started that fall life was in a full swing of change, bringing us a new house in a neighboring town and our daughter in the late spring of 2018. While I desperately wanted to dive into the Bendix, the timing wasn’t quite right. www.automaticwasher.org/c... Show photos from Kevin’s initial find, as well as a few from when I got it | ||
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Post# 1164220 , Reply# 1 11/18/2022 at 15:35 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Time to fast forward through the next few years. My wife and I settled in at our new place in Cedar Falls, lots of bottles and diapers were cleaned and changed, house renovation projects to our 1932 bungalow were checked off, a few other appliance restoration projects were completed. By the spring/summer of 2022 it was clear that it was time to dive into the ‘55 Bendix restoration. Little did I know on April 18th that it would be almost six months later before the first wash would be done…
After pulling the top panel on the first day to see how things looked, it was clear this wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as the ‘61 Frigidaire restoration. EVERYTHING was screaming for attention and that attention was going to equal a lot of time. Out of sheer curiosity the original power unit was pulled and the donor spare unit from John E was thrown into the machine to test the tub back bearings. While they were screamers things certainly didn’t sound great as it sounded like something was amuck with the rear tub seal. A quick inspection of the original power unit revealed that it more than likely wasn’t actually original to the machine! The grey paint throughout the entirety of the motor, as well as a mostly flaked off ink stamp indicating some sort of rebuild service, revealed that I wasn’t the first person to tackle this particular Bendix. The original Delco motor would have painted black and had a green print motor tag with a date code ranging from mid 1954 through mid 1955. This rebuild had no tag at all. In fact, the capacitor cover wasn’t positioned correctly in relation to the brackets. Outside of the shoddy work and the leaking oil all over the belly of it, this thing was a mess and would have no business using as-is, even if it did start up just fine. It was pulling well over 8 amps during the quick test, far too high and a tell tale sign that it was stuck in the start position. | ||
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Post# 1164222 , Reply# 2 11/18/2022 at 15:37 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the initial assessment out of the way it was time to tear the washer downto a bare cabinet. First step, after removing the spare power unit, was to remove the tub back/tub assembly from the washer. While the video clip earlier demonstrated that the bearings weren’t all that bad when spun at full speed, spinning them by hand using the tub back told a whole different story. Those bearings were toast. The tub back bearings for the bolt down B/S Bendix washers and Gyros are custom sized and thus are not easy to come by. More on that in a little bit.
With the tub assembly now out the next task that I faced was getting the tub back and wash tub separated. After several rounds of torch heat + PB Blaster + 2x4 + 6 pound mini sledge hammer, they were free. And, oh boy, the sins that were revealed! Outside of the caked lint around the heating element and tub back, there were signs of water intrusion around the tub back seal that was also coated with lint. While it is possible that lint is what did this seal in, I suspect the fault of the previous tech is what ultimately caused the problem. The stainless holder didn’t have the necessary gasket installed between the holder and the tub back, allowing water to seep in between the tub back and holder. This holder and boot seal assembly is the revised style that I’ve seen with a Customline tub back seal kit, dated from the mid 60’s, almost identical to a Frigidaire solid tub mechanism seal. It is possible that Philco also offered a similar stainless seal holder, too. And while the leak was ongoing and causing all kinds of problems, the boot seal was free to ride on the tub shaft hub, wearing it down almost a ¼ inch in some places. Thankfully there was enough material left in place on the hub along the surface where the bronze mating seal would sit. And yes, the baffling on the back of the tub was PACKED with lint. Oh so much lint. While things were certainly not looking great so far, there was a bit of silver lining that came out of the tub back disassembly. Bearings and seals can be replaced but the heating element absolutely could not. And guess what, the element showed signs of life! Resistance was measuring out at 12 ohms - right in line with where it needed it be. This baby was going to heat some water again! Having a working heating element was important to me due to this particular Gyromatic being the last model that featured the Magic Heater, as an option on the ‘55 models. Prior to the heater was available standard on the 1952 G-314 and 1953 WCG models, and optional on the 1954 WDG-H and 1955 WEG-H. Starting in 1956 the heater was dropped on the WFG-D and would soon be dropped on the Duomatic models after 1958. | ||
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Post# 1164223 , Reply# 3 11/18/2022 at 15:39 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the tub halves separated the rest of the washer was torn down and cleaned piece by piece. First up were the wash tub items, and man was that green and red play-doh a real joy to deal with around the fill flume. The play-doh was used as a makeshift dam around the fill flume drain, which does appear in later factory service lit but I can’t imagine Bendix would suggest going down to your local toy distributor to solve for complaints of water being found at the bottom of the cabinet.
Years of caked on soap crud bubbled off with some Lime Away, and after a few hours of elbow grease the outer tub and tub back started looking decent again. I wish I had taken more pictures of the cleaning process of the baffle on the backside of the wash tub. In the one photo I do have the lint and remains of a towel can be seen packed inside. Getting all of it out took several attempts over a few days. If left unaddressed loose pieces certainly would be heard rattling around during tumble. Lastly, the heating element was polished up to a factory copper shine. Made new by Cutler Hammer, rated at 1190 watts over 115v. In the clip we seem the top fill flume demonstrated. Bendix begrudgingly revised the fill method starting with the 1946 post war bolt down machines to comply with plumbing regulations. While the water isn’t forced on the clothes during the spray rinse it does do a great job of washing down on the door, cleaning off any excess built up soap between the door glass and boot during the assured spray rinse and rinse fills. | ||
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Post# 1164224 , Reply# 4 11/18/2022 at 15:40 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the cabinet full stripped down it was time to give it a bath and attend to the excessive rust damage along the base of the cabinet. While there were no signs of water leaking from the tub back there were clear signs that water was leaking out from the soap diaphragm.
After a good degreasing and cleaning the base was treated with some time from the corded drill and various wire brushes. Sadly because of the damage the base would never look new again but I could prevent it from degrading further. Several coats of grey POR-15 were applied with a final top coat of some Rustoleum spray enamel. Once inside, the outer cabinet paint along the service door opening was also cleaned up and treated to my paint rejuvenating processes. Prior to the restoration I spent some time with the cabinet paint to see if the original luster could come out. After buffing away all the old oxidation and dead paint with both rubbing compound and Turtle Wax chrome polish, the single stage coating was treated with some Meguiars Number 7 Mirror Glaze and finished up with some Collinite 845 Insulator Wax. The Meguiars rejuvenates the oils within the paint and brings out the original luster. What was original hidden for decades was finally popping and reflecting like a mirror, factory runs and all included. Knowing that the chrome was heavily pitted as well, the decision was made to clean up the cabinet and chrome as best as possible and not paint the cabinet, with hopes of bring home a best in the Patina Class award. :) www.meguiars.com/professi... www.collinite.com/product/no-845... One last note on the cabinet. The original leveling legs were a complete disaster. After cutting them out the spring nuts were replaced with new ½-13 thread count spring nuts from Grainger. I went with the ½-13 so the leveling legs could be replaced with the commonly found larger sized Maytag automatic washer leveling leg. Grainger SKU 1LBF1. Paired with a large ½” fender washer between the cabinet base and the leveling leg nut, they worked perfectly. | ||
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Post# 1164225 , Reply# 5 11/18/2022 at 15:41 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the cabinet and outer tub installed, next in line was finishing up the tub back restoration and installing the tub back/wash tub assembly within the cabinet. Rust issues in critical areas was addressed with POR-15 and the drain clean out case was coated with KDS Coatings Rust Seal. This stuff is great and I would highly recommend for applications where pot metal is exposed to water or detergents. I wish I had used this when the ‘58 Unimatic was restored as it would have been great for the impeller and the inner surfaces of the pump housing
www.kbs-coatings.com/rust... The drain clean out was installed using all new fasteners to replaced the rusted or broken brass/steel originals. I had to go to McMaster to source replacements. If anyone needs any of these I have a lifetime supply, LOL. Bendix 17395 carriage bolt (long, 10-24 SS carriage bolt - ¾”, 5 ea) - McMaster-Carr 92356A245 Bendix 17396 carriage bolt (short, 10-24 SS carriage bolt - ⅝”, 1 ea) - McMaster-Carr 92356A243 Bendix 11173 bonded rubber washer (SS sealing washer, ¼” screw size, 6 ea) - McMaster-Carr 94709A214 Local hardware store for the necessary washers, lock washers, and 10-24 nuts As for the tub back bearings, this is an area where things get a bit tricky. Bendix used a custom sized bearing for all bolt down and Gyromatic washers (1937-1958), which translates to a New Departure 77505C25, with the C25 designating that it is custom. The custom sizing is the ID at .9964 and OD at 2.0150, which deviates from a standard ND 77505 / SKF 6205 at 25mm x 52mm x 15mm (see photo 4 from the 1967 ND Bearing catalog). While the bearing is no longer being made there are some distributors out there selling the following NOS varieties: Bendix 98293 = New Departure 77505C25 (double shielded) / Fafnir 205KDD9 -OR- = New Departure 97505C25 (sealed/shielded) / Fafnir 205PD2 (ND also can be listed as Z97505C25, Z meaning sealed) -OR- = New Departure 99505C25 (double sealed) / Fafnir 205PP5 (ND also can be listed as Z99505C25, Z meaning sealed) Bendix did use the 98193 from 1938 through the early 50’s for the wash tub side of the tub back. All sizing is identical except the inner race protrudes by 0.020~ on the sealed side. This was meant to push the bearing closer to the wash tub when pressed against the bearing spacer. New Departure did have a 87505B25 with the same dimensions and the inner race coming out further on one side, but it isn’t available anywhere. I suspect the 98293 bearing can be used on almost all bolt down tub backs for the inner bearing and I look forward to testing this theory on a future restoration project. The rest of the tub back restoration was fairly straight forward. The seal holder/boot seal/gasket can be substituted for a Dexter 9702-119-000 seal kit, and the tub back gasket is the Dexter 9206-229-002 and would be trimmed for bolt down and Gyromatic washers. The 9702-119-000 seal kit can be used on all 1948 and later Bendix/Philco and Dexter washers using a bellows/boot seal. Previous bolt down washers from the late 30’s through 1947 models would use a National/Timken lip seal, number 473210. | ||
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Post# 1164227 , Reply# 6 11/18/2022 at 15:43 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the tub assembly complete, the next step in the restoration is to address the electrical system. I knew going into this that some parts were not in great shape, and also that some improvements to the overall circuit design would be necessary.
First off, the timer itself had a broken mounting stud that appeared to have had a previous repair already attempted. As I was considering different options I even put a feeler out here on AW to get suggestions. Ultimately, I decided to fuse threaded rod to the timer in hopes that future removal would only require a nut to be removed from the rod rather than removing a screw from a weak point on the timer housing. To facilitate this a small piece of ⅜ vinyl tubing was cut to fit around the broken stud, in hopes to act not only as a fill in for the missing Bakelite but to also add rigidity to the overall housing and act as a cushion along the top portion of the mounting stud, up against the cabinet. 2 part epoxy was filled into the open cavity just moments before permanently threading the rod in. This ended up being the perfect repair and has effectively held the timer in place without any issue. I also went through the timer and cleaned up the contacts for the heater and power unit/transmission motor, and cleaned up all rust from the really cool escapement, lubricated and made the necessary adjustments, per the service manual. Next up, the pressure switch and temp switch bracket needed some attention. It was quite rusty from years of water and soap splashing on it from a leaky soap dispenser diaphragm. It was all torn down, all parts cleaned on a wire wheel, and painted with some mirror finish. While not perfect it does look a lot better. Finally, the overall wiring harness needed a lot of attention. There were stress and heat fractures in the wiring for the Magic Heater at the temp switch, and the temp switch had part of the Bakelite housing busted out. The bad wiring was removed and the switch was wrapped with electrical tape to keep any moisture out. New wiring was added to power the Magic Heater via an auxiliary power relay, and new wiring was then added to the harness to power to control solenoid within the relay, from the pressure switch/water temp switch. The original tech who worked on this machine also removed the circuit breaker so the executive decision was to permanently remove the wiring provisions for the breaker. While not flashy and not seen by most, there was a lot of work done to get the electrical side of the washer in tip-top shape. | ||
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Post# 1164228 , Reply# 7 11/18/2022 at 15:44 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the wiring now complete it was time to address the mess of the original Power Unit / Motor-Transmission assembly. I do plan on drafting a much more in depth thread on Bendix two-speed transmissions at some point, so for now the focus for this post will be getting the pump in tip top shape.
The decision early on was to use the donor Power Unit from John E, and substitute any items needed from the original transmission. Once everything was disassembled, all parts were cleaned and polished or received a new coat of black enamel paint. The interior pieces of the pump housing were coated in the same KBS Coatings Rust Seal used on the Drain Screen housing. While brush streaks are visible you cannot feel then by touch and they are impervious to water. The executive decision was also made to source new fasteners for the pump housing to the motor end bell. The original slotted screws were toast and are a pain to remove. Those were replaced with new Stainless button head hex cap screws with new internal lock washers, special sized flat washer, and new o-rings. All items were sourced from McMaster-Carr Bendix 18484 / Dexter 8639-535-000 - Stainless 14-28 button head hex cap screw, McMaster-Carr 92949A563 Bendix 18510 / Dexter 8641-223-000 - ¼” flat washer, special sized, McMaster-Carr 90770A029 Bendix 461x7 / Dexter 8641-582-008 - Stainless ¼” internal lock washer, McMaster-Carr 91757A109 Bendix 16829 / Dexter 9487-018-000 - O-ring Dash Number 009, McMaster-Carr 4061T114 The new pump shaft seal is the full boot style seal from Dexter, PN 9532-094-001. I’m not sure how much longer Dexter will be selling these, so grab a few while you still can as the last Double Load pump model was made in the late 80’s/early 90’s - so well over 30 years ago. In fact, anything pump or tub back related should be sourced now for future restorations while items are still on the shelves of Dexter parts distributors. The motor shaft was thinly coated with Permatex Anti-Seize to ensure the impeller does not get stuck to the motor shaft, and The Right Stuff sealant was used to seal the pump housing gasket, Dexter PN 9206-414-001. Overall, the Power Unit assembly came out looking fantastic due to patience and lots of time polishing, prepping, and painting all the parts. John E certainly is the inspiration for this type of meticulous restoration effort. | ||
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Post# 1164229 , Reply# 8 11/18/2022 at 15:46 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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While working on the Power Unit assembly, a side project was to get the water valve in order. While the original wasn’t in horrible shape I didn’t want to deal with the possibility that it would leak or the thermostat would be stuck in hot or cold due to hard water scaling.
A few years ago I ran across an NOS all brass Dole valve for a Norge washer on eBay, and instantly grabbed it for this project. While parts were required to be swapped between the original Bendix valve and the Norge valve (the all brass stems/plungers/springs, mounting brackets, and swapping the Douglass connector coils out for the encapsulated spaded versions), it turned out looking fantastic. A new flow washer was also installed from a cache of water valve parts I stumbled across a few years ago. Overall, it looks great and the original Dec 1954 date coded solenoid coils are just too cool. | ||
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Post# 1164230 , Reply# 9 11/18/2022 at 15:47 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Shortly after starting this project I visited John E and discussed with him the door on this washer and their unfortunate door glass seal.
This particular door and boot arrangement was used on the 1953 WCG, 1954 WDG, 1955 WEG Gyromatic washers, and the 1953 CCR and 1955 CER Duomatic combinations. The door seal gasket on all the listed models above was the 17065, with the door boot diaphragm being the 18120. Not only is the 18120 boot smaller in diameter by a ½” than the later 1956 through 1967 boots, the sealing side on the door is the 17065 gasket rather than the glass itself on the later models. The previous ‘flat door’ Gyromatics, the G311/G312/G314 all use the same 18120 door boot diaphragm but a different door seal gasket, the 14772. This makes sealing up any pre-1956 non bolt-down Bendix somewhat difficult, if not impossible on this side of the year 2000. In the case of this particular Gyromatic, John as kind enough to donate a good 18120 door boot to the cause, for which I’ll forever be grateful for. While the front lip of a Westinghouse/WCI boot fits perfectly on the 1955 and older Bendix cabinets, the WCI boot is too narrow in diameter to fit around the outer tub opening, by like a lot. I tried to stretch an NOS WCI boot on the Bendix outer tub to no avail. There have been rumors that a small door Speed Queen door boot will fit the 1955 and older Bendix washers, but I personally have not attempted this, yet. I imagine it is probably similar to the WCI boot in that it will fit on the cabinet but not easily on the outer tub. With the door boot out of the way, I looked to find an alternate way to not only hold the door glass in place within the door, but also seal it up. I researched several options across all the major modern players and nothing seemed like it would work. However, this spring I took a field trip to a laundromat to look at some of the modern Dexter doors and their door seal arrangement. The smaller capacity machines had a single piece rubber seal that not only held the glass within the frame but also sealed along the front edge of the wash tub. So, after figuring out what the door diameters were for the modern Dexter washers I landed on ordering a door seal for a T-300 washer, PN 9206-411-002. This was a 13” diameter seal with the inner and outer profile lips needed to seal up the Bendix door. After getting the seal I cut it down to size around the glass and sure enough I was able to get a nice seal around the frame AND around the glass. Sadly I undercut the gasket and had to order a second one, of which I made sure to oversize the cut to ensure that the gasket would press against itself to seal at the top of the door. The extra flap on the backside of the gasket is not needed and can be cut off. Once removed and pressed into the frame, fit the glass inside the glass flap and press the frame into the chrome trim ring. Sure enough, it looked PERFECT! In fact, the backing on the flap side that would press against the door boot had a reinforcement that matched the door frame profile. It’s almost as if the engineers in Fairfield took a look at the old Bendix stuff from decades ago. Lastly, the Gulmite socket size for the size Bendix and Philco used is number 14, which is one size smaller than the Maytag wrench or sockets fit. It is quite difficult to find and it took several years for one to pop up on eBay. Keep a daily search in place and be patient. With the door nicely sealed up and a new 14” hose clamp holding the door diaphragm in place, this puppy was ready for a water test! | ||
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Post# 1164231 , Reply# 10 11/18/2022 at 15:51 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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The last major part of the restoration was the part I was dreading the most - the top panel. While the porcelain top was in pretty good shape the rest of it was far from nice. All the chrome was pitted or missing the infill paint. The dials were missing a lot of infill paint. And the really neat instructions on the inside of the tip-top control panel were flaked off from years of abuse.
The first part that was tackled were the dials. Sadly, during the transmission cleanup process some brake cleaner got on the dials and caused the plastic and ink to turn into a total mess. In an attempt to fix the issue I found a plastic paint color that matched the green on the door boot, and infilled the lettering with a really nice navy blue. They looked fantastic, along with the cleaned up chrome and fixed infill paint. Sadly, I decided to spray the dials with a clear coat in hopes to preserve the infill paint, which ended up in a disaster. The clear coat pulled on the paint, but at least it did seal the dials up, LOL. At that point it was time to move on and just enjoy the machine with all of its flaws - include those that were generated by me. The tip-top control panel was scanned on a flatbed scanner and I spent several evenings restoring the imagines and recreating letters that did not exist elsewhere within the text. Thankfully a lot of the verbiage was also used in the 1956 owners manual, which can be found on this site. That made the guessing game of trying to figure out what the missing sentences said much easier! The paint was then stripped from both sides of panel with a fresh coat of white paint on the top on the top and almond on the inside. The raised letters were hand pained with a paint marker, using a dabbing method after attempting to do it with a brush. It’s not perfect but sure better than what it looked like before. I then had the scans printed on overhead transparencies and used a spray adhesive to adhere the prints to the inside of the panel. While the scaling isn’t perfect on the right hand image it sure does look a lot better than what was there before. Lastly, the soap dispenser diaphragm was complete dumb luck. I called on a few appliance distributors and found a place that had a few NOS in stock, Philco-Bendix PN 9118-024. I bought all they had left on the shelf and hoped this later style, which was used on the ‘56 and later Duos and the ‘57 and ‘58 Gyromatics, could be used on this ‘55 Gyro. The original was totally different and had a natural offset when new. Sure enough, while it doesn’t look pretty it works perfectly! | ||
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Post# 1164232 , Reply# 11 11/18/2022 at 15:51 (523 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA) |
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Bendix! That was a very nice washer! What cycles and options are available? What about dispensers? | ||
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Post# 1164233 , Reply# 12 11/18/2022 at 15:51 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With the machine just about complete, the last piece that would technically go back on a machine is the rear panel, after all the tests are done and the machine is totally leak free. The wiring diagram for this machine was in rough shape, so similar to the control panel instructions the diagram was scanned and touched up over several evenings while watching television. Again, it’s not perfect but it looks great on the freshly painted rear panel.
A keen eye too will notice that the cycle chart is slightly different than what your typical Bendix would have. Can any guess on what might be different? The answer can be found on the last photo. Here’s a hint - this Gyro has a Cramer/Kingston timer and NOT a Mallory timer. | ||
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Post# 1164234 , Reply# 13 11/18/2022 at 15:53 (523 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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With that being said and done, here is the final product! This has been a fun but challenging restoration and I’m glad that it’s mostly complete. I say mostly as they are never fully done and sometimes need a little bit of help later on down the road. I’ve included a few pictures of wash, as well as full length video for everyone to enjoy. | ||
| Post# 1164237 , Reply# 14 11/18/2022 at 18:41 (523 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas) | ||
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Post# 1164239 , Reply# 15 11/18/2022 at 18:51 (523 days old) by peteski50 (New York) |
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Bendix! | ||
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Post# 1164245 , Reply# 16 11/18/2022 at 19:47 (523 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL) |
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Beautiful! | ||
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Post# 1164252 , Reply# 17 11/18/2022 at 20:30 (523 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Wow, Ben another great restoration
It’s too bad that Philco Bendix didn’t make it in the laundry industry with their front loading washers leaving the US really to only have Westinghouse and a handful of combination washer dryers.
Unfortunately consumers didn’t get used to the advantages of a front loading washer, you could never calculate the amount of water and energy and detergent we wasted in this country with top loading washers. This Bendix design could’ve been updated enlarged a little bit and built for another couple decades. What’s the next project Ben, I’m still working on the 71 lady Kenmore Combination restoration, Hoping to get one of the early whirlpool combos from you and take a crack At restoring a 61 whirlpool combination. John L | ||
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Post# 1164253 , Reply# 18 11/18/2022 at 20:30 (523 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Ben, thank you for undertaking this restoration project. This particular model has very special meaning to me. I had "grandparents" in Dallas that had this model (although I'm not sure if it was the model with Magic Heater or not--I don't remember that (I was 9-12 at the time) as well as a companion Bendix gas dryer; a Youngstown JetTower Electric Sink (with red-vinyl coated racks); 48" gas double oven range; and large bottom mount fridge from the late 1950s. As far as I know, she continued having the dryer until she ceased living there in the late 1970s/early 1980s. She only used that dryer during winter cuz she liked hanging out her clothes. The washer was replaced with a large capacity solid tub SQ and the dishwasher was replaced with a KDI17 and the sink area was remodeled too.
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Post# 1164261 , Reply# 19 11/18/2022 at 21:44 (523 days old) by 48bencix (Sacramento CA) |
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Beautiful job Your job is truly beautiful as is your presentation! Our 44 Bendix had a similar if not the same filter/coin catcher. | ||
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Post# 1164264 , Reply# 20 11/18/2022 at 21:52 (523 days old) by luxflairguy (Wilmington NC) |
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Stunning restoration! Congrats! | ||
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Post# 1164268 , Reply# 21 11/18/2022 at 22:36 (523 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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 Ben, I am honored and amazed by the amount of time, energy and love you put into the restoration of this beautiful little Bendix washer! I knew I made the right decision passing this machine on to you! I am truly in awe of your ability and attention to detail in recreating the printed directions under the control lid, just amazing! I look forward to more full cycle videos of different wash loads! Happy washing! Kevin | ||
| Post# 1164284 , Reply# 22 11/19/2022 at 05:11 (523 days old) by statomatic (France) | ||
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Post# 1164287 , Reply# 23 11/19/2022 at 07:40 (522 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK) |
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Ben if you get bored  | ||
| Post# 1164288 , Reply# 24 11/19/2022 at 07:40 (522 days old) by lesto (Atlanta) | ||
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Amazing restoration! Thanks for the great video both of the full cycle and the mechanicals in operation. | ||
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Post# 1164290 , Reply# 25 11/19/2022 at 08:58 (522 days old) by Jetaction (Minneapolis) |
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It's all in the details | ||
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Post# 1164291 , Reply# 26 11/19/2022 at 09:25 (522 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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AW Seal of Approval
Wow Ben super impressive!!! That sure was a lot of work similar to what it was like to restore a machine off of the Aberdeen Farm.
The only difference I can see in the Mallory vs Kingston timer cycle is the 1st spin seems to be 45 seconds in the Kingston vs 90 seconds in the Mallory. Both have a 90 second spin in the 2nd spin. Great demo of the fill flume by the way, really cool seeing how the water flows in and runs down the front of the outer tub. | ||
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Post# 1164293 , Reply# 27 11/19/2022 at 09:41 (522 days old) by Marky_mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Dublin) |
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Post# 1164297 , Reply# 28 11/19/2022 at 11:18 (522 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Reply # 27 | ||
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Post# 1164306 , Reply# 29 11/19/2022 at 13:54 (522 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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Post# 1164320 , Reply# 30 11/19/2022 at 16:17 (522 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Thank you for the kind comments and remarks, everyone!
Bob, I'm glad seeing this machine running again has spurred up good memories from your childhood. Impressive that dryer lasted as long as it did!
And John, I agree about it being a shame that Philco didn't continue with this platform considering the majority of the necessary parts to make these were being used to produce the Duos.
Robert, I'm glad you took the time to look at the timer charts! Yes, the Kingston timers lose out on one interval during the spin after the wash/first rinse. They also loose out on one interval of tumble at the end of the final spin, as well. Fascinating too that the timer chart on that post indicates that the drain value is left open for one increment during off, when in fact it does not. But yes, this certainly felt like an Aberdeen machine restoration when compared to your '57 Kenmore restoration photo gallery.
There was a question asked by Jerome about what type of cycles the Bendix has. This Gyro has the same two cycles Bendix patented and used for years - the Soak cycle and Wash Cycle. Over time both cycles changed slightly (spray rinse changed with the top fill change, etc). Reply 12 has the full timer charts posted, in case you're interested.
After I finished publishing the thread yesterday afternoon it dawned on me that I totally forgot to include photos of the power unit installed, as well as close ups of the controls and official money shots of the wash tub. See below for extra photos!
Early on while working on the washer a 1955 Bendix compete specifications catalog popped up on eBay and of course I snagged it. This would be a great addition to AE if Robert would be interested in adding it!
Ben | ||
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Post# 1164382 , Reply# 31 11/20/2022 at 10:24 (521 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Looking a 2nd time Ben it also appears that the Kingston timer has both rinse cycles at 2 minutes 15 seconds and the Mallory has each rinse cycle at 3 minutes each. This includes the fill time, so overall the Mallory rinses at 90 seconds less over the entire cycle. It is very odd that they did this.
Another thing I noticed is the Kingston rotates 6 degrees each click and the Mallory 5 degrees with each click. I wonder if the plastic timer dial diameter is smaller for the Mallory machines? Or maybe the Mallory has a larger OFF section and they are the same size which would make more sense. | ||
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Post# 1164424 , Reply# 32 11/20/2022 at 18:20 (521 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!) |
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Post# 1164434 , Reply# 33 11/20/2022 at 19:33 (521 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Philco-Bendix washers seem like heaven.
On related note think Bendix laundry appliances were just sold too often (Bendix Home Appliances - AVCO - Philco) and got lost in shuffle somehow. Last owner of Philco brand was Ford IIRC, and by end of things they wanted to drop consumer appliances and electronics period as they say. | ||
| Post# 1164492 , Reply# 35 11/21/2022 at 20:41 (520 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT) | ||
Wow... just wow! | ||
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Post# 1164533 , Reply# 36 11/22/2022 at 07:13 (519 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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Well done! | ||
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Post# 1164569 , Reply# 38 11/22/2022 at 17:39 (519 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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By 1960's and later post war boom in appliance sales (driven by pent up demand, post war baby boom, mass movement to suburbs and other new housing), was beginning to wane. Piled on were various social and economic issues hitting American economy such as "stagflation" of 1970's
For reasons above and others many in major appliance game decided it was time to cut bait rather than fish. Ford, General Motors and so forth streamlined by getting shot of divisions that weren't or deemed not profitable. White Sewing Machine Company (later White Consolidated Industries) went on a shopping spree, gobbling up Philco, Westinghouse, Kelvinator, Gibson and others. One of if not only front loading washer still about at that time was Westinghouse, and WCI got their mitts on that brand for good or bad. Whirlpool and others really didn't see h-axis washing machines for domestic USA households as anything more than what they were, a niche market. Of course we know different today. Bendix commercial/industrial laundry division could have survived. But even there coin-op laundry sector was still dominated by top loaders from likes of Maytag, GE, Whirlpool, Speed Queen. | ||
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Post# 1164582 , Reply# 39 11/22/2022 at 19:41 (519 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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Bendix commercial laundry continued as Dexter. | ||
| Post# 1164584 , Reply# 40 11/22/2022 at 20:43 (519 days old) by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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Post# 1164631 , Reply# 41 11/23/2022 at 08:48 (518 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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If it wasn't for determined employees at the time Dexter laundry would likely not have survived.
www.thegazette.com/busine... | ||
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Post# 1164833 , Reply# 42 11/25/2022 at 11:21 (516 days old) by Slowspin66 (lincoln uk) |
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Fantastic job 
Ben it’s a really good job and love the colour of the dials and the door boot …The work is fabulous .. I remember seeing the machine in its unrestored state ….
It’s unusual to have a water heater in an American washer .. water heaters in the Uk Bendix are on most of the Semi automatics but only in the combo machines . If the water isn’t hot enough for the programme selected then the washer will pause at the heat section of the programme until the water is at the right temperature . It’s only then the wash will advance for the selected time .. once the water temperature drops during the wash then the water heater comes on again to boost the temperature to where it should be . The heater turns off in the last minute of the wash . How does the water heater work on your machine ?? Have loved the thread been great … best wishes Darren | ||
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Post# 1164882 , Reply# 44 11/25/2022 at 23:16 (516 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Post# 1164884 , Reply# 45 11/26/2022 at 03:03 (516 days old) by Slowspin66 (lincoln uk) |
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Brilliant
John that “ Snow White Bendix “ looks very similar to the bolt down Triomatic in the UK .. Obviously the units in the UK run on 240 v but interestingly the element is always in the bottom of the tubs and not on the tub back like Bens Gyromatic … The Triomatic pauses until the water temperature is reached then restarts the programme . Many thanks for the information . Really super . Best wishes Darren
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Post# 1164889 , Reply# 46 11/26/2022 at 05:47 (516 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Post# 1164896 , Reply# 48 11/26/2022 at 08:17 (515 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA) |
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Darren - great question on how the Magic Heater operates of which I can add additional detail to Tom's comments.
The single loop heater along the tub back runs on the same 120v line that the rest of the washer operates on. When the wash cycle is activated AND the temp selector is set for HOT, the circuit for the heater remains open until the pressure switch is satisfied and the machine stops filling. From there the heater remains on for the duration of the wash cycle. No cycling thermostats, no check points within the timer/cycle program. Considering the purpose is to maintain the HOT wash and not boost the water, it doesn't need any additional complexity with the circuit, helped by the low wattage due to the 120v supply. The heater is then shut off one increment before the drain is activated at the end of the wash cycle.
Of the half dozen hot washes I've run through the machine it does just that - maintains the hot wash. What I've observed is if the wash temp is below 120 degrees the heater will eventually boost the temp up to around 120 degrees by the time the wash cycle is complete. If I can get the incoming temp at or above 130 it will hold that for the full wash cycle. I've also used the heater to maintain the temp for WARM wash as well, observing that it will boost the temp around 10 degrees by the time the wash cycle is complete.
As I mentioned earlier in the post, the 1952 G314 was the first with the heater, and is what many here call the Snow White Bendix. This would have been a full model design before the 1953 Duomatic CCR and '53 Gyromatic WCG, which share similar styling traits. The 1949 G311 -1952 G314 share the same look and several design components to many of the early UK machines from the late 50's and early 60's.
Steve - thank you for your kind comments! The idea of women converting over from what they new with their wringers to a Bendix echo what many households went through when transitioning from a top loader to a Neptune in the late 90's. No one listened and filled those things full of detergent (well, maybe it was just my mother, LOL).
Ben
This post was last edited 11/26/2022 at 09:59 | ||
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Post# 1164996 , Reply# 49 11/27/2022 at 04:22 (515 days old) by Slowspin66 (lincoln uk) |
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Heaters
I do love the heaters in the machines and the reasons behind the popularity of them in the UK semi automatics is down to inadequate domestic hot water systems and also the washing powders on the market at the time . We were a little obsessed with boiling things up to get things white where as in the US I think the detergent market was possibly more advanced ..?? Who knows
However the Bendix Triomatic has a hot water boost like the US gyromatic . Anything above a boost on the hot wash stops the machine to a stationary heat then resumes the wash once the temperature is reached .. That continued into the next series of our LT AND LA machines that were suspended tub models . Many thanks everyone for the info and chat . Regards Darren | ||
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Post# 1164998 , Reply# 50 11/27/2022 at 07:36 (514 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Ever since Henkel invented the first self activating laundry "detergent" in 1907 hot or boiling water washing for whites and colourfast became standard.
As a soap based product Persil and others that followed worked best in warm, hot or boiling water. But it was also because these products contained sodium perborate (oxygen bleach) moderate to high wash temps were required. This went on until energy crisis of 1970's hit everyone on both sides of pond. Governments gave consumers and detergent makers their marching orders; "turn down the dial" was the new mantra. Chemists responded by inventing bleach activators (TAED, NOBS), that gave boil wash performance at temps of 40 degrees C to 140 degrees C. Of course boil washing had long been part of laundry day going back years. Be it a copper in scullery, boiling pot in back yard, or washers in "steam laundries". Again when all you've got working for you on wash day is soap high temperatures have several advantages. | ||
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