Every Mum’s got a Whirlpool

When I was a young apprentice that seemed to be the case, ” Everyone’s Mum has got a Whirlpool Washing Machine.” The very popular Whirlpool Company ran a very successful advertising campaign. Although there were two other major brands in the large automatic market place, Whirlpool washers were very popular.  Even after years of washing these machines were brought into the workshop for a complete overhaul. As an apprentice it was my job to completely dismantle these washing machines and replace worn gears and bearings, clean and lubricate and reassemble. These were a very mechanical machine. They had a system of coils and cams which change the operation of the machine from wash to drain and then spin. These were an Australian made machine.

This is a send up of the old Whirlpool adds by Dave Hughes.

The original Whirlpool Company was bought out by Simpson which was then bought by Email Pty Ltd. The old design Whirlpool washer was replaced by a Simpson designed machine and was then rebadged as a Malleys Whirlpool. That design has now been discontinued as well.

The present day Whirlpool machine available in retailer’s shops is an American design and built machine. Although the American Built machine has some of the same features the gearbox and motor assembly is completely different machine. The motor has direct drive rubber coupling to the gearbox. On the other end of the motor directly fitted to the shaft is the drain pump. It is quite a unique design. When the motor drives in one direction it drives through the gearbox giving agitating movement to the agitator. At the end of the wash cycle the motor is paused and then it turns in the reverse direction and this drives the pump to pump the water out of the machine. The gearbox sit in a neutral position. After a set amount of time the motor is paused again. Then when the motor starts up it goes in the same direction as pump out, but this time the neutral pack disengages and the clutch picks up the inner bowl and begins to spin. This design is used in all the Whirlpool manufactured machines including the new Maytag Machines which now come out of the Whirlpool factory.

I doubt if there are any of the old Australian made Whirlpools left still working in homes around Mackay, but if they are and you want it repaired give me a call. As for all the other styles of Whirlpool washing machines I also repair those so give me a call if you live in the Mackay District on 0408776405

This add was done by Bert Newton & Molly Meldrum

Washing machine will not drain

Electric Drain Pump

A washing machine full of water and will not drain is one of the most common problems with washing machines. This is usually caused by things that have been left in the pockets of clothing. There are a large variety of things I have pulled out of washing machine pumps, from tooth picks, nails, bobby pins, earrings, chains, shoe laces, plastic bread clips and the list goes on. Not as common now but the old style Hoover washing machines were a common hiding place for frogs and they are not pretty to pull out of a pump.

Woollen seat covers or blanket, bath mats and old blankets can fall apart and then the lint and fluff from them can become caught around the impeller of the pump. The other common article that can cause a problem are under bra wires. These articles of clothing are best washed in a wash bag.

Pumps

Whirlpool Mechanical Pump

On machines older than 20 years many of the machines had mechanical pumps that were driven by a belt. If the pump became jammed, the belt would stretch and burn out. There are still a couple brands that have mechanical pump and are directly connected to the main drive motor. These include the Whirlpool and Speed Queen Machines. All the rest of the washing machine including front loaders and twin tub washer have electric pumps. All the modern washing machines have a button trap attached to the pump. This traps most objects from entering the pump. It is a good idea to check the button trap on your machine every six months to make sure nothing is blocked in it. If the pump is not blocked and still will not turn you will most likely need a new pump.

Hoses

If the pump is not blocked and is working Ok, the problem must be in the hoses. Check for blockages and kinks. The modern drain hoses are usually corrugated giving them extra strength and they are very hard to kink. For service to your washing machine call your local White Goods repairer.

In the Mackay area, Queensland, you can call me Rod Swan, Andergrove Appliance Service.

Domestic Washing Machines

Domestic Washing machines covers a huge variety of machines over the last thirty years and I say that because that is how long I have been repairing machines for. Here is Mackay, Queensland, there were not a large number of manufacturers back then. All were Australian made and they included Whirlpool, Simpson, Westinghouse, GE, Hoover. The twin tub washer was still very popular, although there were a lot of top loading automatic washers (as they were called then) and very few front loader washers. Hoover made a front loader and Simpson imported a front loader from Goringi,

Now of course front loading washing machines are taking over the market with more brands than you can poke a stick at. The twin tub has almost died out and the top loader is on the decline. The white goods manufacturing business in Australia is almost dead with all the manufacturers importing all their appliances from overseas now.

Mackay Area

As I previously mentioned I have been servicing and repairing washing machines for a long time around Mackay. So just to mention some of the suburbs I cover on a day to day basis around Mackay are: Bakers Creek, Plainlands, South Mackay, Walkerston, East Mackay, Glenella, Farleigh, North View, Mount Pleasant, North Mackay, Habana, Rural View, Bucasia, Shoal Point, Eimeo, Blacks Beach, Slade Point, Mackay Harbour. I do travel out of town a little further than that when required.

Workshop

I do have a workshop at 63 Malcomson Street, North Mackay. As most of my service calls are at customer’s houses, I am rarely at my workshop so an appointment is necessary if you want to drop a machine off to me.