UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items

Notices

Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 15th Oct 2020, 10:10 pm   #1
Joe_Lorenz
Hexode
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Hohenroda, Eastern Hesse, Germany
Posts: 453
Default Maytag A 612 washing machine

Hello,

I have got an old but still nice Maytag A 612. It was left over (in Germany) from an American soldier returning to the US. It runs on 120 V AC 60 Hz, but our mains here is 230 V AC 50 Hz. Well, I have got a 2 kVA transformer with 120 V output, but it is still 50 Hz, so the Maytag runs and spins at 5/6 of original speed only.

Any practical ideas to solve the problem are appreciated: Yes I could use something like a "Simovert" or "Altivar" frequency converter but I would still need the transformer. It would be smart to have a single unit that could do both jobs: Frequency and Voltage conversion.

Regards, Joe
Joe_Lorenz is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 1:16 pm   #2
Brigham
Octode
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Co. Durham, UK.
Posts: 1,111
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Is there actually a problem?

Most of my workshop machinery (Drills, compressors &c.) is working fine on 50 cycles, despite being originally supplied for 40c/s.
Brigham is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 1:42 pm   #3
Hampus
Pentode
 
Hampus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Sandviken, Sweden
Posts: 233
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

As far as i know, on most (all?) washing machines with a "mechanical programme" the knob is driven by a synchronous motor so it will take somewhat longer time to finish your laundry.

Not a problem in reality I guess.
Hampus is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 1:54 pm   #4
Tractorfan
Dekatron
 
Tractorfan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Frajou, l'Isle en Dodon, Haute Garonne, France.(Previously: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK.)
Posts: 3,177
Smile Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Hi,
If the main motor is belt driven, maybe the pulley ratios could be altered to bring the machine back up to its correct speed? Perhaps a small frequency converter to run the mechanical timer, if it has one.
Just a thought.
Cheers, Pete.
__________________
"Hello?, Yes, I'm on the train, I might lose the signal soon as we're just going into a tunn..."
Tractorfan is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 8:10 pm   #5
Joe_Lorenz
Hexode
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Hohenroda, Eastern Hesse, Germany
Posts: 453
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Hello,
no it is no severe problem though the spinning speed is not what it should be.

Changing the pulley ratio is a good idea. I will do some research if Maytag did supply a set of "50 Hz" pulleys. There is some chance they did as these machines were sold to several countries.

Regards, Joe
Joe_Lorenz is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 9:19 pm   #6
Ed_Dinning
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK.
Posts: 8,173
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Hi Brigham, that dates the equipment a bit: 40Hz was the old NESCo frequency and was upped to 50Hz in the 30's when a grid system (proposed originally by NESCo) was introduced nationally

Ed
Ed_Dinning is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 10:46 pm   #7
Tractorfan
Dekatron
 
Tractorfan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Frajou, l'Isle en Dodon, Haute Garonne, France.(Previously: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK.)
Posts: 3,177
Smile Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Hi,
I'd be very surprised if these machines weren't sold in Europe, although I never saw one in the UK.
Cheers, Pete.
__________________
"Hello?, Yes, I'm on the train, I might lose the signal soon as we're just going into a tunn..."
Tractorfan is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 11:14 pm   #8
broadgage
Nonode
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
Posts: 2,129
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

I suspect that 50 cycles will be fine. An induction motor will run slower perhaps giving a slightly less effective wash and spin action.
The motor in the program controller will also run slower thereby extending the cycle time and perhaps making up for the slower agitation and spinning.

The main wash motor may be a commutator type and not be affected by frequency.
Where was it used previously ? Private housing would be 50 cycles, but an American base might well have had its own 60 cycle generating plant.
broadgage is offline  
Old 16th Oct 2020, 11:51 pm   #9
McMurdo
Dekatron
 
McMurdo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK.
Posts: 5,263
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

the mechanical timer in our first microwave oven (an american Litton) had a resistor in series with the 120V, 60hz synchronous motor. The rest was dual voltage 50/60hz stuff like the fan and transformer.
__________________
Kevin
McMurdo is offline  
Old 17th Oct 2020, 10:04 am   #10
Brigham
Octode
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Co. Durham, UK.
Posts: 1,111
Default Re: Maytag A 612 washing machine

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed_Dinning View Post
Hi Brigham, that dates the equipment a bit: 40Hz was the old NESCo frequency and was upped to 50Hz in the 30's when a grid system (proposed originally by NESCo) was introduced nationally

Ed
It's mainly 1960s gear. Although NESCo went to 50 cycles pre-war, ICI Billingham remained on 40 c/s until the mid-sixties at least.
There were more homes on the ICI power station than on NESCo until the end of the '50s!
Brigham is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 9:44 am.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.