Hand Crank Clothes Washers?

[FarmerChick]

On the show The Colony----they hooked up an old bike to a pulley.....then tipped a 55 gal. barrel on an angle to hold the clothes and water ....attacked the pulley and rope and "spun" their clothes to wash.

It worked great.

Maybe you can google search the show The Colony and it should have instructions how to make the washing machine. It was very simple.

It was really cool and if the "S" ever hits the fan, I will be making one of those to survive..LOL

You can empty the water and spin out more water to make them drier before hanging.

 

[Bettacreek]

I wish we could get something like that. Or even a wringer washer, but, the efficiency of either is just non-existant. There are seven of us in the household, a 7 month old, a two year old, a two and a half year old, a six year old and three adults. So, yeah, manual washers are out of the question.

 

[TanksHill]

Lehman's also sells something that looks a bit like a toilet plunger. I think you use it with a 5 gallon bucket. It cost a lot less if our washing by hand.

g

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thread resurrection.

I was reading the Foxfire books(a must read for my fellow SSers) and they had a hand washer on there. Normally I would nix a hand washer thinking it wouldn't work as well as a washing machine or that simply it would take to long. I tend to be a creature of conveniance, so if it takes too much of my time in comparison to the bill and conveniance of a machine, I'm going with the machine.

BUT, they had this washer in one of the first 3 books and told how to use them. The washer retailed for $100(back in the day) and I think was made by Sears.

It was basically, a 55 gallon barrel laid on it's side and cut in half. On one end it had what looked like an axe handle that stuck up and you worked the machine by pushing the handle back and forth. So, you would fill it up with water and soap, work the handle according to how dirty the clothes were(I think 50 strokes for average soiled clothes), then you would run the clothes through the wringer at the other end. Put the newly wrung clothes in a clean bucket and then once all the clothes were washed, you would redo it, with clean water and no soap. And then hang to dry.

They said when they first bought it, it leaked here and there a little bit, but with a little ingenuity they fixed it and plugged up the leaks. The lady said she loved it, because now instead of doing laundry in a stuffy room of the house, she would do laundry outside while reading a book and listening to the birds.

I bet you could rig one fairly easy. Theirs was a metal tub, but I'm sure you could make one out of a 55 gallon plastic barrel. Buy a wringer for it and rig up a paddle to turn the laundry. Voila.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I found it! They are called a James Washer.

http://www.readymaderesources.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=846

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I really really really want those books. Yes, I know I can read them online, but I like to curl up with a book & carry it around with me.

That sounds like what I would like to build. If I ever get another day off that isn't pouring rain, all stinking day

There are so many brilliant people who have this figured out. There are bike powered washers, hand powered. I even saw one set of plans (I'll post it if I can find it again) where the guy rigged his setup to drain, almost just like a normal washing machine. Spin dry.

Tell you what, with fels naptha (which took me MONTHS to find local) any laundry gets cleaner. That stuff takes out old stains!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I found it! They are called a James Washer.

http://www.readymaderesources.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=846

Wow! 499 bucks!! And that's without the wringer!!! My cheap side just had a heart attack.

Very cool washer though

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I found it! They are called a James Washer.

http://www.readymaderesources.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=846

Wow! 499 bucks!! And that's without the wringer!!! My cheap side just had a heart attack.

Very cool washer though

Yeah, the price really gave me a fright as well.

Although, it can be used as a simple blue print to rig on up for a LOT less.

Although for the mechanically uninclined, you can compare $500 to the new "energy efficient" washing machines that are pushing $1200! At least this one is simple enough to fix or repair yourself and doesn't tack on an energy bill.

The foxfire books are AWESOME! I'm only on the 3rd one, been reading them from the library. One day, when I have the money to spare, I'll be buying the whole series!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Very good point, Kim.
I don't know whether I've posted this or not, but here is a very cool design.
http://cyclean.biz/mainmenu.html

And another
http://homelessdave.com/hdwashingman.htm

 

[Icu4dzs]

I may be getting in "over my head" here but after reading most of the posts, I see that there is a great deal of consternation over laundry and in particular being "off the grid" or in some cases not having a "grid" if tshtf.

The little portable washer is really cool if you are on a camping trip and need to do unders and socks. Jeans on the other hand propose a very different situation. I would not recommend this for the family washer unless (as one person put it) the clothes do not pass the "sniff test" despite the usual precautions.

There are several issues to consider with respect to Washing machines. Of course, everyone has alluded to the biggest and that is "TIME". Who has the time? Those who have that amount of time, will find the James Machine to be quite handy. Yes, it is $500 without the ringer and can also be found in the Lehman catalogue. Of note is that Lehman catalogue is quite comprehensive but they do add a premium to the price of everything to the items in it because they did the research as to where to get those items. If you do your own research you may often find the same products that they buy and re-sell to you for a bit less, BUT NOT ALWAYS. They do have some "loss leaders in there".

As for the James machine, it is quite simple, well built and as one member noted, comes without the wringer unless you add nearly $180 or so to the price. Now your getting up to a sizable cost for a manually operated machine. So now you have to invest considerable time and manual energy. That isn't a problem if you have it but can be tough when you live alone *(like me) and have a profession that keeps you busy besides tending to your farm, animals and the house.

On the other hand, it has been my good fortune to learn why the "Maytag Repairman" is generally unemployed these days. One of the reasons is that many of the washing machines on the market are NOT that difficult to repair if you have just a little mechanical knowledge and a few very simple tools. The machines are somewhat simple in that they have a motor, a transmission, a pump and a timer mechanism. Rarely is more than one feature dysfunctional. (yes, do unplug it before you go fooling around inside there.)

(Driers are even simpler to fix). There are so many machines that break down every day and are thrown out that if you go to a land fill, you are likely to find a machine that has a part you need. There is also a really good parts supplier on the Internet who sells the repair parts at a reasonable rate such that with a little work, you can fix the machine yourself by installing a brand new "after-market part"made for that specific machine. (where do you think the repair guys get their parts?

I've done it several times over the years because funds were either tight or non existent. Sometimes the only part that is broken is a plastic gear that transfers energy/torque from the axel on the motor to the pump/transmission. Those are obvious but the "surgical approach" to them can be interesting in some cases. Some are just rubber grommets that hold a critical part in place and that is 'really easy" to fix.

The most difficult part of the machine is in the electronic timers when there is a "high button/dollar ratio" for that machine. The cheaper machines have one or two cycles and can be repaired very simply by changing out the parts...again, the land fill/dump can be a wonderful source of parts.

Most of you gals that have a farmer husband know that most farmers can fix nearly anything given a few tools and time to do it. A washing machine is an important part of life these days and even if you can't get it to work on electricity, a few alterations make it possible to use manually. The basket that holds clothes can be made to hold water, clothes and detergent while you modify the agitator and do the same thing that the James machine does...
If you think about it the only thing it won't do is spin cycle when using the "elbow grease" method unless you are "really fast!"

If the timer mechanism is bad, you can frequently get a simpler mechanism from another machine and rig it up to do the basic functions or just by pass the items that are bad.

However, if electricity is a problem, then you can probably use the James type machine rather simply and that can be made from a half barrel and some steel welded by any farmer in the shed during the winter or rainy day when he can't "farm".

Any way you look at it, laundry is an important chore in the SS environment as well as any other. It can be simply annoying or simple wonderful depending on your resources and time.

Best to all,
Trim