Wave gear washing machine
Wave wheel washing machines are relatively small, very simply constructed washing machines with few functional elements. Because of their small dimensions and moderate costs, they became increasingly popular as floor-to-ceiling models in the post-war period. The wave-wheel washing machine was replaced by the more powerful washing machines and fully automatic washing machines from the mid-1960s. In the GDR , wave gear washing machines were still widespread until the early 1990s. Smaller numbers are produced in Germany for special areas of application (e.g. weekend homes, camping sites). The popular Romo model from the Czech Republic, for example, is still available.
The wave gear principle
A ribbed rotating disk, the so-called wave wheel, is arranged in the container bottom or on the container side wall. It usually has a speed of 500 to 600 revolutions per minute and sets the washing solution in motion like a vortex. The laundry is taken from the strudel and moves in the washing water. The cleaning effect results from the intensive relative movement between the laundry and the detergent solution. The washing time without rinsing is only five to eight minutes with this method. The disadvantage of the wave wheel system is the relatively high wear and tear of the laundry, as the laundry is partly caught by the rotating wave wheel. Cleaning that is gentle on the textile is not possible. It can be several batches of laundry in a liquor and wash the same as these in the system-related adverse liquor ratio is not yet fully utilized of 1:20 (kg laundry / liter of wash liquor) for a wash load. With this machine the housewife was relieved from washing with the washboard. But the workload was still around 70% compared to hand washing with the washboard . With the wave wheel system, an automatic sequence of the entire washing program, as with today's fully automatic washing machines with drum, cannot be realized.
The wave gear principle was only used for simple machines. These initially only had a switch for the engine and heating. Later they were also equipped with a timer to limit the washing time, a remote thermometer or a thermostat for the suds temperature and a suds pump to empty the washing container.
history
A forerunner of the wave wheel washing machine was a wooden tub washing machine developed in 1869 with a rotating disk (3) provided with ribs (2) on the container bottom (1). The disc was set in rotation with a hand crank (4) and a crank joint (5) and a gear drive (6). As with the wave wheel principle, the cleaning effect was created by the movement of the laundry and the detergent solution in the container (7) caused by the rotation of the ribbed disc.
In the USA, Maytag Corporation produced a metal shaft gear washing machine with an electric drive in 1925. The water had to be heated outside of the machine in a pot or in a kettle. Other models are known from Japan. Wave wheel washing machines were not manufactured in Germany before World War II.
In the post-war period, the following situation often arose when washing clothes in households:
- Many people were able to move into their own apartment again, although there was usually no room for a laundry room.
- The pre-war models produced during this period were large and heavy. The washing process was associated with an enormous amount of steam and moisture.
- In the absence of alternatives, the laundry often had to be washed with the washboard.
The re-emerging industry after the war was looking for new solutions for washing clothes:
- Floor washing machines were developed and produced that made it possible to wash laundry in the kitchen or bathroom.
- This increasingly gave way to the "big laundry" that took place every 4 to 6 weeks for a whole day in the laundry room. With the smaller washing machines, the laundry was washed at shorter intervals (weekly or, in the case of larger families, even more often).
- The new machines had to be relatively cheap for many families to be able to afford one.
Washing machines with the wave gear system, with their simple design and compact dimensions, met these requirements.
Manufacturer in West Germany
In the Federal Republic of Germany, wave wheel washing machines were manufactured by the following companies:
- AEG, Nuremberg
- Alaska plant Berning & Co., Schwelm
- Brocke, Schwelm
- Cordes, Lette
- Fripa-Maschinenbau, Wülfrath
- Hoover GmbH, Hamburg-Altona
- Ideal washing machines HP Döring
- Kobbelöer, food
- A. Kraus & Co. Nuremberg
- Machine works Alfred Klein, Unterwilden, Krs. Siegen
- Wamsler, Munich
- Winkelsträter GmbH, Schwelm
- Wohlhöfer, Bamberg
The production figures of the wave gear washing machines fell sharply in the Western European countries as early as the 1960s, as higher quality devices were in demand. From around 1970, shaft wheel washing machines were no longer produced in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Manufacturer in East Germany
In 1952 in the GDR the development of wave wheel washing machines was started at VEB Waschgerätewerk Schwarzenberg . Numerous further developments arose from the first model. The most important series (WM) was produced in large numbers over 45 years. It was only finally discontinued in 2005 in a successor company to VEB Waschgerätewerk Schwarzenberg (TARAK Gerätebau GmbH).
The Combi, Reni and Bella models
The first model, the Combi, already offered the option of dewatering the laundry after the washing process using a spin dryer (2) that could be inserted in the washing container (1). At the time, this washing machine was considered to be a major step forward in the GDR, because it was designed for floors and could be connected to the usual household electricity network. The spin dryer was driven by the air flow generated by an attachable wind vane (3). The wave wheel (4) was pulled off and the wind vane was pushed onto the inner shaft (5). The motor (6) drives the inner shaft for the wind vane at 2000 rpm via a double V-belt pulley (7) and the outer shaft (8) for the shaft wheel at 550 rpm. The bottom of the centrifugal drum (9) is designed as a semi-closed wind turbine (10). The air flow generated by the wind wing drives the wind turbine attached to the centrifugal drum and thus the centrifugal drum. The spin drum is pivoted on a ball (11) to compensate for the laundry unbalance. The centrifugal drum is braked by hand using a cone brake (12). The Combi is a frame construction, i. H. the washing tank with the drive is carried by a frame (13) and the enamelled cladding walls (14) are screwed to the frame.
The Combi was produced from 1955. It was protected by patent no. 10871 (class 8d, group 6/30) in the GDR.
Technical data of the Combi
| Capacity | 1.5 kg dry laundry |
| Amount of water in the washing tank | 30 liters |
| drive | Single-phase AC motor (250 W) with start-up winding, double V-belt to the wave wheel and the wind vane |
| circuit | Package switch for engine, package switch for heating, indicator lights |
| Speed shaft gear | 550 rpm |
| Speed wind blade | 2000 rpm |
| Spin drum speed | 1200 to 1400 rpm |
| heater | 2000 W tubular radiator |
| Control of the suds temperature | Handheld thermometer |
| Housing and cover | enamelled |
| Washing tank | galvanized |
| Wave gear | galvanized |
| Spin insert | galvanized |
| Dimensions | (H × W × D in cm): 83 × 43 × 43 |
| Weight | 60 kg |
Between 1956 and 1958, the Combi II , Bella and Reni types were developed as a further development of the Combi . 108,200 of these devices were produced between 1955 and 1960 before they were replaced by a new series of wave gear washing machines in 1960.
Combi II
Bella
Reni; in the background a hydraulic laundry press
The WM series
WM 60, WM 63, WM 64
The conversion effort from washing to spinning or vice versa was relatively high with Combi and Bella. A parallel operation of washing and spinning was not possible. The disadvantages of the Combi design meant that a new wave gear washing machine with the type designation WM 60 with a self-supporting full jacket housing and a new centrifuge with the type designation TS 60 was developed. The slingshot had its own motor. It was designed as a small extractor so that it could still be stored in the washing container of the WM 60 to save space. The full jacket housing (1) is the cladding and load-bearing element of the washing machine. The main components are pulled together by tensioning straps (2) so that a stable unit is created. Two brackets (4) welded to the container (3) carry the motor clamping plate (5) with motor (6) and operating capacitor (7) for the motor. The container and the shaft wheel (8) were hot-dip galvanized, the housing painted.
Furnishing:
- 8-minute timer to limit the washing time
- Remote thermometer to check the current washing water temperature
- Switch with the positions "washing", "washing and heating", "heating" and "off"
The WM 60 has been further developed. The types WM 63 and WM 64 were produced from 1960 to 1965, of which around 739,000 pieces were produced together with the WM 60 in the years 1960 to 1965.
Technical data of the WM 60, WM 63, WM 64
| Capacity | 1.5 kg dry laundry |
| Amount of water in the washing tank | 30 liters |
| drive | Single-phase AC motor, 220 V, 150 W, 1420 / min, operating capacitor 6 µF with V-belt from the motor to the V-belt pulley of the shaft wheel |
| Speed shaft gear | 530 rpm |
| heater | 2000 W electric heating |
| Delivery rate of the pump | 24 l / min, delivery head: 2.5 m, shaded pole motor (only with WM 64) |
| Dimensions | (H × W × D in cm): 85 × 45 × 45 |
| Weight | approx. 37 kg |
WM 66
The basic structure of the WM 66 corresponds to that of the predecessor model WM 60 with a few new features:
- Undercounter model with the dimensions (H × W × D) 66 × 44 × 49 cm
- Shapely design
- Reduction of the sheet steel insert due to the shortened housing jacket
- Polypropylene for the top frame and aluminum for the container lid
- Use of further developed sub-components such as motor and drain pump
- Manufacturing time savings
Control elements:
- Thermometer to control the suds temperature
- Timer to limit the washing time
- Switch for setting the operations "washing", "washing and heating", "heating", "draining" and "off"
WM 600
The further development WM 600 was developed on the basis of WM 66.
Innovations are:
- Embossing in the casing. This enabled the material thickness of the housing jacket to be reduced.
- The lower frame has been omitted.
- In addition to being equipped with a thermometer, a device variant with a thermostat was produced. The washing temperature can be preselected with the thermostat.
Of the WM 66 and WM 600, 4,623,200 pieces were produced between 1966 and 1990. The price of a WM600 shaft gear washing machine with a drain pump was last at 647 GDR marks .
swell
- Private customer prospectus collection as well as private records