BajaNomad

Washing machines

maspacifico - 2-20-2015 at 11:58 AM

I just got done wringing out laundry so it would dry. We've been fighting the junk we have for 4 years and I've given up. I don't want to pay a lot for another piece of garbage that won't hold up.

When we bought our present one I was tempted to get one of those cheap round Mexican washers but don't know how they work. Does anyone know if they spin the clothes after washing? What's the drawback?

We catch the drain water for plants. And, we fill it with cubetas so the generator doesn't run so long. I don't care about 30 programs for our delicates.

nother option for you.

durrelllrobert - 2-20-2015 at 12:12 PM

While driving off the highway to check out remote villages between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo I was amazed that nearly every village had a community gas powered wringer washing machine. However, as far as I could tell, they were never used because the women preferred washing clothes in the river and drying them on the rocks. Even more amazing were the crispy white school uniforms that the children all seemed to be wearing.

washing machine

J.P. - 2-20-2015 at 12:36 PM

When I first mover to Ensenada over 12 years ago We went to Los Globas segunda and purchased a New scratch and dent Kenmore commercial grade washer and gas dryer for 300.00 dls. its still working today.

Pompano - 2-20-2015 at 12:37 PM

I used a 'Mabe' washer for 'maybe' 12 years... a good-sized top-loader that had all the ranges, etc...and also a good spin cycle. Like all things in Baja, it just needed a little tweeking from time to time.

Mabe is a large Mexican company that makes all kinds of appliances. I replaced the old one with a new one from an appliance store in Sta. Rosalia. The only downside was that buying the new trouble-free washer made my Mulege repairman, who we called, 'The Diamond', a little disappointed he was losing a steady customer.

maspacifico - 2-20-2015 at 02:29 PM

Not ready to beat the clothes on a rock! I think Mabe is Whirlpool, or the other way around. So far no one knows what I'm asking about? They are round and as tall as a regular washer....and when you think about it, that's really what a top loader is, just with a box around it. I just looked at a Copel website that shows them but from the description I can't tell if they have a spin cycle. Here's the webpage
http://www.coppel.com/lavadora-iem-lic15tm-15kg/601748/4

Pompano - 2-20-2015 at 03:13 PM

Not so strange at all. The old style wringer washer was pretty popular among a lot of folks where I was raised. For many seasons I used one of these at my hunting cottage in ND. Just don't get anything personal caught in the wringer! There was no spin cycle...you needed to re-soak and put in the wringer, then hang on the line. Whirpool - Mabe..all the same.



[Edited on 2-20-2015 by Pompano]

rhintransit - 2-20-2015 at 03:14 PM

I had a mexican washer, perhaps it was made in the far east...not round but an inexpensive one from Soriana that I had to hook up to a hose, turn the water on to fill, start the generator to run (electricity would have been nice but I ddnt have it then), it washed well and spun the clothes very dry. have seen them around, kinda rectangular with a see thru flip up lid. sold it when I left the beach and it's still going strong.

ringer washer

Stiktime - 2-20-2015 at 03:51 PM

I bought a SpeedQueen in the states. Ringer type comes with stainless steel tub. 12 years and still going strong. Believe they still make this machine.

maspacifico - 2-20-2015 at 04:17 PM

Thanks for the help. Guess it won't work any better than the one I've got if I still have to wring out the clothes! I'm going to rip into it and see if I can find where the connections are that tell the thing the lid is open.

bledito - 2-20-2015 at 07:32 PM

on mine it was the door or lid switch failed I just removed it and slpiced the wires taped em up real good and it's been working great the last 4 more years I did have to replace the water removal pump and that could have been fixed as well with some epoxy. mcguyver it.

maspacifico - 2-21-2015 at 05:31 AM

Thanks bledito. I'm pretty sure it has somewhere to do with that lid switch.

Pescador - 2-21-2015 at 07:52 AM

Mabe is a Mexican company and the favorite saying of the locals is Maybe it work and Maybe it don't. Acros is the division of Whirlpool that is made in Mexico even though some Whirlpool products are produced here now as well.
I have a good friend who has gone to the front load Sears that was bought in La Paz and uses it commercially to do sheets and towels for a motel. It worked so good that they bought a second one and have now had it in use for close to 5 years. Evidently the savings in amount of water is substantial.

monoloco - 2-21-2015 at 08:34 AM

About 10 years ago we bought a used Maytag Neptune washer from a segunda in La Paz, it has been the best washing machine we've ever had, not one repair in all that time. The nicest thing about it is that the thing spins so fast the clothes dry in about 1/2 hour on the line. It's an older model with a mechanical timer.

maspacifico - 2-24-2015 at 04:11 PM

The problem was somewhere with that lid switch. It has been defeated and I'm spinning again. Thanks for the help.

MitchMan - 2-25-2015 at 10:47 AM

Any body know how many gallons of water is used for one load of clothes in one of those round ringer type washing machines? Also, can you leave those washing machines outside? in the rain? in the sun? on an ongoing basis?

bledito - 2-25-2015 at 11:10 AM

you nailed it now just make sure the cycle stops spinning before you try to get any clothes out of it next thing to go will probabally be the discharge pump also an easy fix.

Pompano - 2-25-2015 at 12:34 PM

Quote: Originally posted by MitchMan  
Any body know how many gallons of water is used for one load of clothes in one of those round ringer type washing machines? Also, can you leave those washing machines outside? in the rain? in the sun? on an ongoing basis?


Newer washers use about 40-45 gallons of water, while the old-style wringer like the one below use only 8-10 gallons plus the two smaller tubs of rinse water. Most old-timers I know swear the clothes get cleaner when using the wringer-style.

You can save even more water by using the old rinse water when you are ready to change your soapy water. And, old rinse water could be put on your lawn or in the rainbarrel if you are using mild soap. My Duk Shak lawn looks green and great.



I left mine outside year-round in northern ND for about 10 years before a certain Co-pilot insisted on building an inside laundry. All I did was cover it with a tarp when the place was unused. Try as I might, I couldn't kill it...and nobody would steal it. ;)




[Edited on 2-25-2015 by Pompano]

MitchMan - 2-26-2015 at 12:11 PM

Thanks, Pompano

weebray - 2-26-2015 at 06:17 PM

I have a water fetish and this is a pet peeve. A modern 15kg top load washing machine uses approx. 30 gal./wash and 30 gal./ rinse cycle. I know cuz I drain the wash water into the garden and catch the rinse water to use for the next wash. The rinse water is perfect for the next wash. Why don't they make a machine that does this automatically? How many washing machines are there in just California? Multiply by 30 gal./ wash savings and we're talking a what-cha call a lake. Somehow I seem to remember something like this many many moons ago.

bledito - 2-26-2015 at 10:00 PM

present day high effeciency machines use less than half that amount. when the cost of water or scarcity of it commences you'll see a lot more folks washings a lot less, clothes included

weebray - 2-27-2015 at 07:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bledito  
present day high effeciency machines use less than half that amount. when the cost of water or scarcity of it commences you'll see a lot more folks washings a lot less, clothes included


I don't believe that the majority of machines being sold are "high efficiency". Go check out your local store. But even if they were if we could save only 15 gal./wash the numbers are staggering. I also don't believe market forces will change the wasteful practices of the masses. They will simply sigh and pay the forking water bill. Only the poorest will be affected.

vandenberg - 2-27-2015 at 08:50 AM

Quote: Originally posted by weebray  
The rinse water is perfect for the next wash. Why don't they make a machine that does this automatically? /rquote]

Could be done easily but for one matter.
Where do you store the 30 gallons of water before the next wash?
Can't be done in the machine so have to have another storage basin.
Manufacturing engineers would have thought of this long ago.:P:spingrin:

weebray - 2-27-2015 at 05:21 PM

Just found what I was looking for.........thanks to Wikipedia!

The early electric washers were single-tub, wringer-type machines, as fully automatic washing machines were extremely expensive. During the 1960s, twin tub machines briefly became very popular, helped by the low price of the Rolls Razor washers. Some machines had the ability to pump used wash water into a separate tub for temporary storage, and to later pump it back for re-use. This was done not to save water or soap, but because heated water was expensive and time-consuming to produce.

willardguy - 2-27-2015 at 05:47 PM

okay riddle me this. it sounds like fresh water is running low, especially in baja sur. why not take a page from Avalon and start using saltwater to flush toilets,wash cloths and shower in? sailors wash clothes in seawater,heck you could wash em in seawater then rinse in freshwater. the water we use in gonzaga bay is damn near saltwater, showers still feel great to me. I can remember many seaside hotels in baja having saltwater showers,some were even hot! (well warm)

bufeo - 2-28-2015 at 09:06 AM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
okay riddle me this. it sounds like fresh water is running low, especially in baja sur. why not take a page from Avalon and start using saltwater to flush toilets,wash cloths and shower in? sailors wash clothes in seawater,heck you could wash em in seawater then rinse in freshwater. the water we use in gonzaga bay is damn near saltwater, showers still feel great to me. I can remember many seaside hotels in baja having saltwater showers,some were even hot! (well warm)


Our house at Punta Bufeo had two water systems. Fresh went to kitchen and baths (basins and showers). Salt went to baths (toilets and showers, with separate faucets for salt/fresh). We showered with salt and rinsed off with fresh. Toilets functioned fine with salt water. We had water heaters for both salt and fresh.

I don't know if the new occupants have made any changes or not, but this system worked really well.

Our washing machine was the wringer type and we always re-used the rinse water for the next load.

Allen R.

bledito - 2-28-2015 at 09:43 AM

sounds interesting salt and fresh. what type of piping was used? was the salt water from a well near the beach or pumped directly from the sea/ocean? was it filtered first? how well did the fixtures hold up to the salt and what kind of residuale was left over in the showers sinks and toilets?

bufeo - 2-28-2015 at 02:12 PM

Plastic for everything up to the ends, if I remember correctly. I say that because a friend of ours built the house and I don't remember seeing/repairing anything other than PVC.

The saltwater came from a sand spike punched into the sand/pumice. Neither of the waters were filtered. We always cleaned off the saltwater shower head with fresh water before leaving it for an extended time. Occasionally there would be some salt buildup in the toilet tank, but it easily cleaned. In the nine years we had the house I think I replaced the float systems (two toilets) once.

The kitchen sink and the bathroom basins were freshwater only.

In point of fact the whole plumbing system was exactly like the system we had on our trawler.

Allen R.

Floatflyer - 3-1-2015 at 01:53 PM

We bought a Whirlpool washing machine, model # 7MWC87730, from Costco in Cabo in April 2009. This has worked great for us, we start a 2800 watt generator to power it and to do a bit of charging of the solar batteries. Just never tried to run it solely on the solar system, might have to try it and see. Wife prefers this machine to the front loading Maytag we bought new on 8-12 in Washington.