In recent days I watched part of a 45 minute long video in which a hobbyist restored a Maytag gasoline engine.
In the nearly 40 years the Maytag Company of Newton, Iowa, manufactured engines, several models were made. Production ended in the early 1950s.
As a youngster I didn’t know about the models. I thought all engines with a starter pedal were Maytags and I wanted one.
My father wasn’t fond of the Maytag engine and didn’t understood why I would want a Maytag when I had access to other engines. (Perhaps he disliked the Maytag because he didn’t sell them. The Mullet store was the local Maytag dealer.)
The lawn mowers he sold came with either Briggs & Stratton or Clinton engines. He also sold the West Bend brand of go-kart engines.
I didn’t know which was best engine but I liked the Maytag’s starting pedal. I had a hard time starting the rope pull engines. Though I did my best, Dad said I didn’t pull fast enough. Often, after I had given up on an engine, he would come along, wrap the rope up and give a hard pull to show me the engine would start when the rope was properly pulled.
The West Bend engines had automatic rewind rope starters. I liked those better but they weren’t trouble free. All too frequently I pulled too far and separated the rope from the engine.
When that happened, my only option was to remove the starter mechanism and rewind the spring and rope. A process that usually took a long time.
To start a cold lawn mower engine, I sometimes removed the drive belt which allowed the motor to spin faster when I yanked on the rope. After the engine warmed up, I would shut it off, replace the belt and hope I could restart the warm engine.
Many of the farms I visited while my dad was driving the tank wagon delivering fuel had Maytag engines which, after electricty arrived on the farm, had been adapted to powering things other than washing machines. The motors were used to power such things as grain mills, garden tractors, ice cream freezers, butter churns, lawn mowers and generators.
My favorite adaptation used the motor to power a farm youngster’s version of a soap box derby racer.
Oh how I wished for one of those Maytag vehicles to drive on Blauvelt’s Hill. I thought the hit and miss Maytag engine would be simple to adjust and easy to start.
I did have a three-wheeled bicycle with a Briggs engine. I don’t remember if the engine was hard to start but I remember the rig was easy to upset.
It worked on level ground but we didn’t have much level ground on Blauvelt’s Hill. When going across a slope, the rider had to be constantly watchful to make sure the unbalanced bike didn’t turn over.
After joining the newspaper crew, I bought a Bike Bug. This was a gasoline engine mounted on the front of the bicycle. It transferred power via a friction wheel that rested on the bike’s front wheel. The engine was started by first getting the bicycle moving then lowering the the friction wheel onto the bike’s front wheel. I didn’t have much trouble starting it but it was a challenge to make rapid speed changes as the rider had to lift the motor off the bicycle wheel. It would have been perfect for trips on a bicycle between Blauvelt’s Hill and town. It wasn’t suited for the two or three block long trips I frequently take around town.
Searching the internet for information about the Maytag motor, I found the following advertisement for a Maytag Model 92 washer which was manufactured from 1927 to 1930. This remarkable appliance was the Toyota Prius of washing machines because it could be powered either by electricity or gasoline.
The ad reads as follows:
You have not one but two choices for power.
1. If you have electricity available in your house, you’ll want to motivate your new Maytag washer with a quiet, powerful motor made by the General Electric Company.
2. If you have no electricity yet, simply connect the optional 3/4 HP two-stroke gasoline engine to your Maytag’s drive belt.
How to operate the Maytag “multi-motor” gasoline engine:
Pour a little gasoline and oil mix into the integrated tank, being careful not to spill any on your shoes. (Best to stub out your cigarette first.) Give it a little choke, then step on the starter pedal once or twice and you’re in business! It’s no louder than your average lawnmower. We recommend that you connect the flexible exhaust pipe (included) which channels most of the blue smoke and carbon monoxide outdoors.
Wash up to 30 lbs. of clothing per hour in the cast aluminum tub (which will never rust). To drain the tub, simply unhook the drain hose and let her dangle. This will empty 21 gallons of soapy water onto your shoes, to wash off any gasoline you may have spilled.
The motorized wringer will wring your clothes mostly dry; it adjusts itself automatically for handkerchiefs and blankets and does not crush buttons. (Please keep your fingers and other body parts away from the wringer at all times.)
Once you have washed all your clothes and wrung them dry, you’ll step back to admire your new Maytag Model 92 and ask, “What else can this wonderful machine do?”
It does much more.
Can you grind meat with your new Maytag washer?
Of course your can! Simply lift off the motorized wringer and install the Maytag meat grinder attachment.
Do you prefer butter and whipped cream?
Simply remove the agitators from the washtub and install the Maytag Churn and Cream whipper. Don’t worry, your butter won’t taste soapy for the cream goes inside the all-aluminum churn.
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Though she never had a Maytag gasoline engine or any of the accessories, my mother had an electrified Maytag washing machine. Even after getting an automatic washer, she preferred to use her square-tub Maytag on wash day. After putting the clothes through the wringer, she preferred to hang the clothes outside to dry. On cold winter days the clothes would be frozen stiff when she brought them in. Once inside, they were hung over the floor furnace to thaw out.
On a cold winter’s night, I enjoyed putting on pajamas that had been drying over the furnace grate and crawling into a bed freshly made with sheets warmed by the thawing fire.
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