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How about this for an oldy… Came in today as a posible refurb. Havn’t tested it yet so no idea if it works or not yet.
Has anyone got any info on this… My guess is about 1950’s – 1960s.
George
Re: Anyone got any Tech on this?
No tech info George,
What type of gearbox/motor set up has it got. Is it the gearbox with the rotor and stator connected directly to the gearbox or has it got the huge BTH motor linked to the very large gearbox via two rubber couplings.Is the agitator bakalite or alloy?
If you open the door at the front and feel inside for the drain pump actuating lever what type of lever is it, if it is a round knob/round shaft like an old style gear lever then it is the earlier machine, if the lever is a flat bar its the later one.
Looking at the on/off switch, the Hotpoint decal and the fact that it has no heater, I would say 1950’s at the very latest.
It has definitely had the rubber rollers changed at some time.Jim.
Re: Anyone got any Tech on this?
If it is the early type then the drain pump is all metal or alloy.
It will almost certainly be corroded away or badly siezed. In fact some of the earliest Empress machines didn’t even have a drain pump, there was a drain tap just inside the door.The motor will always be worth saving, I’ll bet there are still many hundreds of these old BTH motors in peoples sheds and garages driving all sorts of contraptions. 😀
Re: Anyone got any Tech on this?
Done this job for thirty years now.
Been a long time since I saw an empress .
I remember working on the odd one , did more with the countess model .
I once collected the baby of the family known as the princess (only ever saw one of these).
Ah when machines were worth repairing and worth reconditioning too .
CollyRe: Anyone got any Tech on this?
I used to repair as many Empress, Countess and Princess machines as twin tubs years ago.
The major changes to the safety laws around 1972 killed the wringer machines stone dead, it was just impossible to make the wringer mechanism compatible with the new regulations, that was when interlocks were introduced across all washing machines for the first time.
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