Export thread

2-stroke washing machine.....

#1

twall

twall

This is NOT a joke. The owner of this thing said Maytag made washing machines powered by a pedal-started 2 stroke engine in the late 20's to the late 30's, when electricity was scarce in the country.

As electricity came to more and more rural areas, they replaced the gasonine power with an electric motor, and they all but quit manufacturing the two stroke engines. But, they had such a overstock of the 2-strokes, that they sold them as utility engines and made a mower.

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/5192-maytag-monitor-anyone.html

But, by 1940, they were out of the engine business.

Notice the long tube. This isn't a drain - it's the exhaust pipe. This was an indoor machine!

The pic of the reel mower is an example of the useage of the engine. It was a homebuilt gitney, using the washer's engine.

Attachments











#2

K

KennyV

Yep... Maytag gas engine... in the mid 50's My brother & I mounted one to a wagon and made a Go cart of sorts... It was fun but not very practical ... have not seen any of those around in decades... is that yours... very cool.... :smile:KennyV


#3

twall

twall

KennyV said:
Yep... Maytag gas engine... in the mid 50's My brother & I mounted one to a wagon and made a Go cart of sorts... It was fun but not very practical ... have not seen any of those around in decades... is that yours... very cool.... :smile:KennyV
Click to expand...

Nope was at the CCAEA Antique Equipment show Me and my son went to.


#4

JDgreen

JDgreen

I can just imagine how long it would take me to mow 5 acres with that little thing....


#5

twall

twall

JDgreen said:
I can just imagine how long it would take me to mow 5 acres with that little thing....
Click to expand...

....about as long as starting the washer and doing a load of laundry.......:laughing:


#6

jmurray01

jmurray01

Wow, I gotta get one of those! I'll make mine 4 stroke though, more power! :laughing:

Then I'll make a 4 stroke fridge and freezer :thumbsup:


#7

Grass ala Mowed

Grass ala Mowed

I have some Amish friends in NY and these days the 160 cc Honda OHV seems to be the engine of choice. They had one engine they would move from the washing machine to the table saw etc. with quick attach mounts. Pretty resourceful and got more work done without the connection to the "English" a power line represents.


#8

Two-Stroke

Two-Stroke

Grass ala Mowed said:
I have some Amish friends in NY and these days the 160 cc Honda OHV seems to be the engine of choice. They had one engine they would move from the washing machine to the table saw etc. with quick attach mounts. Pretty resourceful and got more work done without the connection to the "English" a power line represents.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I think if I really wanted to go "off the grid" I'd try to build a steam engine powered by a wood stove and run various things on that power. I also imagined a system of insulated, pressurized pipes to carry the steam power (stove in a separate building to avoid heating the house in the summer :eek: ) wherever it needs to go.


#9

Two-Stroke

Two-Stroke

But a gasoline-powered appliance in the house? As partial as I am to two-stroke engines I don't think I want one in running in the house.


#10

jmurray01

jmurray01

Two-Stroke said:
But a gasoline-powered appliance in the house? As partial as I am to two-stroke engines I don't think I want one in running in the house.
Click to expand...
But why not!? Instead of the smell of bread, you could have the smell of exhaust fumes! :laughing:


#11

JDgreen

JDgreen

jmurray01 said:
But why not!? Instead of the smell of bread, you could have the spell of exhaust fumes! :laughing:
Click to expand...

Direct quote here: "SPELL of exhaust fumes...." :confused2::eek: Guess you are joking about getting dazed and dizzy about carbon monoxide gas? :laughing::laughing:

HEY has that Maytag run 10,000 mowing hours yet?


#12

twall

twall

The exhaust goes out that 10 foot tube with the muffler on the end of it. (probably didn't get a pic of the muffler.) I'd think you'd put up a fire-proof ring thingy on the wall and run the tube outside. I doubt it's so it could be run into the kitchen.....:rolleyes:


#13

twall

twall

Two-Stroke said:
But a gasoline-powered appliance in the house? As partial as I am to two-stroke engines I don't think I want one in running in the house.
Click to expand...

These are the same people, in the same time period, that ran gas lines in their house to power the chandelier, and they used candles on dried out old trees at Christmastime. Running a 2-stroke engine inside with a pipe routing the exhaust outside probably was one of the LEAST dangerous things they did.........

As far as noise - look at the Model T........once again, the same sophisticated crowd. :biggrin:

I'd imagine 80 years from now, they'll be laughing at us, too. Or saying They used THAT? REALLY?


#14

jmurray01

jmurray01

JDgreen said:
Direct quote here: "SPELL of exhaust fumes...." :confused2::eek: Guess you are joking about getting dazed and dizzy about carbon monoxide gas? :laughing::laughing:

HEY has that Maytag run 10,000 mowing hours yet?
Click to expand...
No, I meant smell...


#15

Two-Stroke

Two-Stroke

twall said:
These are the same people, in the same time period, that ran gas lines in their house to power the chandelier, and they used candles on dried out old trees at Christmastime. Running a 2-stroke engine inside with a pipe routing the exhaust outside probably was one of the LEAST dangerous things they did.........

As far as noise - look at the Model T........once again, the same sophisticated crowd. :biggrin:

I'd imagine 80 years from now, they'll be laughing at us, too. Or saying They used THAT? REALLY?
Click to expand...

It is interesting that the Amish would find electricity objectionable while a gasoline engine is OK. It seems to me that if you want to go back to the 19th century you would be consistent -- candles, wood stove, etc.


#16

JDgreen

JDgreen

Two-Stroke said:
It is interesting that the Amish would find electricity objectionable while a gasoline engine is OK. It seems to me that if you want to go back to the 19th century you would be consistent -- candles, wood stove, etc.
Click to expand...

Been thinking about that 2 stroke Maytag, anybody know what ratio of gas to oil that would use? First 2 stroke engine in had in '88 was a chain saw, that used a 16 to 1 mix. Seems like every other two stroke I have owned since has been 40 to 1.


#17

Grass ala Mowed

Grass ala Mowed

It's the connection to the outside world that the Amish object to. Apparently gasoline, kerosine, and diesel fuel purchased from the English and brought home in the horse drawn buggy is okay, as is using an English neighbor's landline telephone for an emergency call, but having the electric or phone lines coming into their dwelling or workshop is not. Go through Lancaster, PA some morning, at all the larger Amish farms you'll hear a diesel or gas genset powering the flash milk chiller so they can comply with USDA regulations and sell their surplus milk to the local dairy COOP. I have also been inside a woodshop full of Delta woodworking tools with the electric motors removed and replaced with flat belts to a jackshaft driven by a diesel engine. Just like stepping back 125 years, except it a diesel engine and not a waterwheel powering the shaft.


#18

Two-Stroke

Two-Stroke

JDgreen said:
Been thinking about that 2 stroke Maytag, anybody know what ratio of gas to oil that would use? First 2 stroke engine in had in '88 was a chain saw, that used a 16 to 1 mix. Seems like every other two stroke I have owned since has been 40 to 1.
Click to expand...

I'll bet it was about 16 to 1. Maybe lower -- some early two-strokes ran on 8:1, I think.

I sure would like to see one of those washers. I've been a loyal Maytag user for decades.


#19

Two-Stroke

Two-Stroke

Grass ala Mowed said:
It's the connection to the outside world that the Amish object to. Apparently gasoline, kerosine, and diesel fuel purchased from the English and brought home in the horse drawn buggy is okay, as is using an English neighbor's landline telephone for an emergency call, but having the electric or phone lines coming into their dwelling or workshop is not. Go through Lancaster, PA some morning, at all the larger Amish farms you'll hear a diesel or gas genset powering the flash milk chiller so they can comply with USDA regulations and sell their surplus milk to the local dairy COOP. I have also been inside a woodshop full of Delta woodworking tools with the electric motors removed and replaced with flat belts to a jackshaft driven by a diesel engine. Just like stepping back 125 years, except it a diesel engine and not a waterwheel powering the shaft.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting but I would think it would be much easier to just get a generator that cranks out 110vac and then you can use anything that runs on regular house current.

By getting a wood-powered generator, they wouldn't need to deal with buying gas from the "English". Where I live, firewood is so abundant that it could be used for all household needs -- you just have to do the cutting, splitting, carrying, stacking, etc.


#20

twall

twall

One thing I know about the Dutchmen; if they aren't inconsistent, they aren't Amish. :smile:

We are as surrounded with Amish clans as areas in PA (who are far more famous for their Amish contingency), but they aren't the same as the PA kind. They all seem to evolve differently. For them up here, generator electric is OK in their shops, but not in their houses. But not Grid electric. Same with phones (OK in the business). 20 years ago, they weren't allowed anywhere on Amish property; today seems to be a new day.

They also use Wisconsin V4-powered equipment like it's going out of style (well - I guess it did). Old McCormic-deering balers, grain elevators, bale elevators, etc., but they pull the old stuff with a horse. City folks seem to adore them, thinking they're quaint - they are just another hypocritical religious cult. :thumbdown:


#21

JDgreen

JDgreen

twall said:
One thing I know about the Dutchmen; if they aren't inconsistent, they aren't Amish. :smile:

We are as surrounded with Amish clans as areas in PA (who are far more famous for their Amish contingency), but they aren't the same as the PA kind. They all seem to evolve differently. For them up here, generator electric is OK in their shops, but not in their houses. But not Grid electric. Same with phones (OK in the business). 20 years ago, they weren't allowed anywhere on Amish property; today seems to be a new day.

They also use Wisconsin V4-powered equipment like it's going out of style (well - I guess it did). Old McCormic-deering balers, grain elevators, bale elevators, etc., but they pull the old stuff with a horse. City folks seem to adore them, thinking they're quaint - they are just another hypocritical religious cult. :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

Way off topic here, but I have always wondered about the multitude of religions and why there are so many different beliefs, because it is pretty much the same God we all worship, isn't it?


Footer Links 1

Top