Fisher & Paykel EW50 Gentle Annie Washer 1987
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- Fisher & Paykel top loading washing machine, produced in New Zealand 1987, this model was sold under license with the brand name Frigidaire for the Australian market. This actual washing machine was brought back to the UK in 2006.
Washload Capacity 10lbs
Hot & Cold fill
3 spin speeds, 460, 800 for woollens, 1000 spin for cottons
Using the Fisher & Paykel patented electronic control system, this washer was one of the last belt drive systems.
I was project manager for this machine. We had been building a fancy machine for about 5 years, still a long way off production, we had one machine on the shop floor to manufacture parts, when the DC stepping motor became available. We threw everything we had into the sea (a lot became mooring weights, there were a lot of sailing enthusiasts), and started again. After a couple of years without a project, they asked me to draw up a plan, and it was all done on the prepainted steel they used for wrappers.
First NZ designed and built washer, first washer with no gearbox, all electronically controlled, some of the electronics in the top deck, a big box down below. Slightly risky from the water point of view, but it worked.
Many Thanks Michael for your information, its always great to hear the stories of machines & development from the people involved. Have never had any issues with this machine. So you where familiar with our Hotpoint top loader built under license by F & P ?
I would love to buy you a beer
@@loganperry8637 Thanks Logan, but I went tee-total when I found out there's two words for wine in the Old Testament, and fermented (old) grape juice is cursed, while new, non-fermented is blessed. But I would enjoy drinking a fruit juice with you :)
If you're familiar with F&P, I was called into the Fridge/Freezer division when they couldn't get the factory up to the planned 1,000 per day. Me and about 5 others. All the work study engineers had been let go, so there was almost no-one left to investigate how to get it up from...450 per day!
And then there was helping Allied as it was called then to get the production of the electronics for the Gentle Annie up from 2 per day. They were fun times, although I didn't get the promotion I was hoping for. Ah well, God had other plans :) Good plans!
@@michaelthompson8548 Nice to hear a believer posting on these sites..God bless brother from U.S.
@@WeHadOneOfThose We sold that under the F&P brand as the 380, although we had modified a number of items compared to the English design. Bear in mind that my core job was work study (time and motion, industrial engineering), so I was mostly interested in production numbers. At one stage the bosses gave out the message that we had to get up to 250 a day (8 hrs), I think the best we had managed previously was 220 including overtime. So purchasing went around our suppliers, and I got help from a contractor, and between us we timed the whole assembly line. I put together a line balance that needed about two extra people (I think it was about 62 before), they were got in, trained everyone in their new roles, got 250 the first day.
The only trouble was from one operator who claimed she couldn't keep up. I went and stood behind her, and she kept up. "So what's the problem Susan?" (not her real name). "Well, you gave me more work, but you didn't give this other one more." "Sorry Susan, I did the best I could."
Oh, one more story. We had this older guy, he was assembling the hoses, we'll call him Fred. I went to time him before the new line balance, see how many more people or whatever we needed. The veins on his neck were bulging when he realised I'd come up to him, he didn't even turn around and said, "I can't do 21 bundles!" Turns out he was doing 19.5 bundles of hoses, couldn't go any faster, was totally stressed because he didn't want to be taken off the job. I tried to calm him down, tried to time him, but his hands were a blur most of the time. I came back to tell him the result, and he still wouldn't turn and face me. "Fred, you need to do 17 bundles a day." He stopped, finally turned around, and said, "But I'm already doing 19 bundles." Biggest laugh I got. He was much friendlier after that. We worked it out with some overtime and him getting help from the rest of the team. One happy man, and one very cheap solution if he'd just fallen back to the quota.
They were a good bunch - great people to work with, all the way up to the foreman.
I had to write one of these off the other day. It’s bittersweet because seeing one in the field always makes my day, but having to write it off due to unavailable parts is sad. I always make sure to quietly congratulate the old girls for reaching such a respectable age.
On a better note, a third hand joke my Master told me when I was an apprentice-
What happened to Gentle Annie?
Kelvinator.
This one is doing well and has been in storage but about to be unpacked and used by a fellow collector, great to see you can give a quiet nod and acknowledge the "Gentle Annie" series for what they are !!
Ha Ha !!
I have one exactly the same, has been very loyal to our family for over 16yrs now. and still going strong, we've only changed the pump once since we brought it. amazing machines!! Oh and I must say, it does an excellent job getting the toughest stains out.
Wow brings back so many memories, they don't do the spin up between each spray on the spray rinse anymore the later EW50's didn't and all models after that through to the SmartDrive direct drive washers.. I believe ECS stands for Extra Care System. That bowl clutch system is a sound I will never forget, Sounds like a car changing down gears when it decelerates, Thanks SO much for doing this video.
It stands for Electronically Commutated System
The braking system makes that noise.
I've noticed they sound similar to the SmartDrive models.
@Parallax They are noisy compared to the modern smart drives, probably the original type motor was the noisy part, F&P modified the motors in smart drives to lower the noise level. These days they are so quiet all you will hear during a wash cycle is the water sloshing around in the machine.
Our IW711 (2002) spins up between water bursts in the spray rinse. A much more sophisticated design, but ECS was ground breaking in its day. We bought a new one in '88 when we first bought a house as my mum had lived with unreliable washers and I was not going down that path LOL.
My wife and I got one as a wedding gift from my folks. It lasted well over 10 years and we sold it on the 2nd hand market. Only because we wanted an upgrade to the new Quantum Intuitive which we still have to this day. It's 18 years old and we've just upgraded again to an F and P frontloader model. I would trust no other washing machine for reliability. The backup service if required is brilliant. F and P for life!
Thats great to hear Doug, all too often its not the case !!
This is how many washers here in the us work. I guess new zealand was 20 years ahead of us.
Hello Cesar , yes it appears so, I was surprised to find this here and absolutely love it, its a great washer with many advanced features and motor control.
Also that looks like the first generation of the big pulley/clutch system, the riveting was prove to failure. Happened to Mum's and was replaced with one with spokes, kind of like a front loader spider. Also they changed the end of cycle beeps to start when the machine was completely stopped. The rinse interim spin between each spray and the end of cycle beeps changed when the motherboard blew up and was replaced, which I may or may not have had something to do with it. :)
Hello Dean, thanks for the info and great memories of these Gentle Annie washers, really pleased I managed to find one here and in good nic, Oh what happened to the control board then .
Nice washer.
Sounds almost identical to my aunts old Fresh 5.0 Smart Drive that was New Zealand made and lasted her 15 years without any maintenance.
Hello and great to hear other stories of these washers , certainly seem to be well made and last well. I love the sounds these make, part mechanical , part like electronic direct drive. Fingers crossed it continues, its going to get an airing with a fellow collector shortly .
This was F & P's very earliest model of the "new" top-loading washing machine area...top suspended bowl, re-designed flexible/variable speed agitator, hugely improved energy & water efficiency and much greater spin speeds. All in all a whole new concept for top-loaders. This fore-runner/prototype later evolved into F&P's series of auto washers comprising eco smart, aqua smart, fabrics mart, quick smart & clean smart. The name Gentle Annie implied that the machine was much gentler on clothes than old-style "fixed" agitator machines. It was badged under various names (NZ'ers we're already familiar with) including Frigidaire and Kelvinator. Although in every sense an amazing machine, the very first commercially available models were plagued with leaky seals, however, F&P not only replaced the seals but the entire control panel as well, with completely updated programmes and electronics - all free of charge !
+stericnz Many thanks for the information, just glad I managed to pick it up and was able to see it in action.
They were branded in NZ as Frigidaire, Kelvinator and Shacklock, all made in NZ (however as F&P also had a factory in Aus it's possible they were assembling there as well)
Thanks for the information , its a great washing machine, really enjoy using it.
Great machine, it looks a lot of fun to use. How long did the wash cycle take?
+J. Griffiths Very flexible washer, average cycle takes about 40 mins.
How do you get the camera under the machine?
Hello, either taking the back off and filming the programme again and editing it in . or some machines have a panel on the front for servicing that you can remove .
Is the spinning during the spray rinse also 1000RPM? Listening to the motor it sounds like 1000RPM and not the 700RPM that the new direct drive models do.
Hello Logan , the spin speed on spray rinsing is much lower than the final fast spin of 1000rpm.
700 rpm spin speed is only used at a hot wash, for warm or cold they do 1000 rpm (1100 on latest models)
Was this belt or direct drive? Sounds an awful lot like the later direct drive to me, unless they put the motor off to the side or something.
Oops, disregard that, you even show the belt drive at the end ;)
hyvahyva You are right they do sound like the later direct drives!!
is this called the gentle annie because it is more gentle on clothes? because the agitation looks more vigorous than the fisher and paykel ecosmart washer
Hays Coleman Hello Hays, not sure on the name, this is gentler than a lot of out top loaders such as Hotpoint & Gala where at the time!!
+Hays Coleman The reason why it would be more vigorous is because modern washing machines aren't made as well. And yes it would be more gentle than say, an old 1986 Hoover because it has a reversing motor instead of a gearbox.
although there is a high speed agitation profile for the newer fisher and paykel washers that is like the one on this machine it would probably rip clothes if they arent tough
washing machine was made in year 1987?
Does this machine still work?
How long did it take to wash?
+Simon Bond Hi Simon, yes its still in working order, average complete programme was 40 mins.
is it suppost to make that noise
Yes it is, all working fine...it may appear noisier than real world as the camera mic is very powerful...
chestermikeuk ok just wondering thanks
chestermikeuk doesn't sound noisy to me, it's exactly as most F&P machines sounded when they built quality
made in new zealand !
grantourismo0109 Yes, The original Fisher & Paykel.
Why dose this sound like the early direct drives (smartdrive)
Not sure Max, this was an imported model here, perhaps other members with earlier washers can explain ??
Also does this machine have a clutch to switch between spin and agitate or is it a floating drum like the smart drives
Sad