Young Couple Buys 80 year old Wringer Washer for Off-Grid Living!

We bought our first tool to help us pursue our off-grid life! This wringer washer is a beast and over 80 years old! See our first experiences with using this old-fashioned washing machine.

[@kaycure8629]

You definitely need more rinse water. My mother had 2 rinse tubs, square metal ones. One with just water the other with water and fabric softner.

[@OffWithTheGrid]

After a lot of trial and error this past year we’ve found out clothes come out cleanest with the washer as the first cycle, wring out then rinse in the first tub of water, and then wring out and rinse in a tub with water and vinegar, and one last wring before hanging. Thanks so much for your advice!

[@drewk1514]

HE washers run 60-90 minutes per load. Your clothing doesn't need to beat around that much. 5 minutes or less for delicate or lightly soiled items, 10 minutes for regular, 20 for heavily soiled. The more you use this machine, you will learn how to better use it.

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Isn't that amazing how much more time efficient it is? In my experience even with the longer times HE washers just don't clean like these good old washers.

[@navyspook79]

Those are old but they wash 100% better than most of this new garbage that's out today Just a little more labor intensive.

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Gerry most definitely more labor intensive but very rewarding to get yourself elbow deep in some good work ;-) I’m amazed how much better this cleans my clothes than both front loader and top loader style washers.

[@ncreba]

I grew up using one. Have one I use now. I've seen kids get hurt bad with the ringers. It grabs their fingers and roll all the way up the arm. I have a cousin that has damaged to her arm.They're excellent washers just be safe

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Oh wow, that’s horrible about your cousin, I’m so sorry to hear that! We definitely keep a sharp eye on our oldest son while he’s helping and the little ones stick with “agitating” the rinse bins

[@freddiestinson1117]

Yes that happened to me when I was 5 years old, lucky no bones broken but boy did it hurt.

[@sylviaruth5008]

When I was a kid I got my fingers caught up between those rollers a time or two. I learned to be careful though.

[@blurayneblurayne8569]

I remember washer/wringers . Washers were in their infancy an dryers weren't invented , tv also in its infancy , 2 transistor radio was big deal , automobile power steering/power brakes , it was a wonderous time to witness the evolution of stuff

[@OffWithTheGrid]

I can only imagine! What great memories!

[@harveypost7799]

Oh yea memories memories as stated b4 ,1954 + and -...it was fun c it work and frustrate my mother..water from sink,hose..drain sink ..mom never swore, but ,I hate this machine..I thought it was great specially the wringer.. enjoy.

[@jeffporterfield4401]

well, the stuff you saw when unloading was the transmission fluid leaking from hole on top of the drive mechanism, should never lay wringers on their side.

[@CoopyKat]

I'm lost as to why you didn't just put the hose in the machine? Wouldn't it reach? You can get extensions for hoses. I really love these old washing machines. When my parents bought an old farm in Michigan, the previous owners left behind one of these cool machines. Us kids used to play with it, watching the water agitate. It was actually scary to me as a kid at first!

[@JodiW]

❤️

[@kenneth6731]

Awesome! I hope you gave it an oil change.

[@berylwhite2983]

I don't know if you've already figured them out but always release the ringers when you're done. Because I can get flat spots and I think you'd probably still can get it through an Amish catalog but there's a moisturizer you can put on the rubber keep the rubber from totally rotting out on the ringers the other thing if you have a lot of laundry it's much easier if you have several baskets wash the clothes ring them out set them aside change the water to your rinse water and then of course like you did with your first clothing rinse the cleanest clothing first and work your way to the heaviest dirtiest. And as each load is rinsed wring it out and start another in the rinse water and hang out the baskets you rang out. It's kind of an easy way to do it if you want to do it without a lot of work. At least that's way we did it 2 steel tub it made it much easier period when I was growing up. Great Grandma had a Maytag washer with a one cylinder engine and the metal pipe that went out the window to take out the fumes. She used it way up until 1978 when she passed away. She got electricity in 1973 and she never used it she still use the cellar keep things cool she had a coal cook stove and heating stove. And she had an outhouse. She used oil lamps to light up the house even though the light fixtures are on the ceiling. So I wish you the best of luck.

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Your great grandma sounds amazing! I didn’t know about releasing the rollers so I will definitely start doing that right away! Thank you so much for your suggestions!

[@suewinchester3674]

And if you have blue jeans to put through their hold the button in word of the blue jeans so the ringer don't screw the button of the blue jeans up and if you have a button-down shirt you hold the button down shirt with the buttons in work and put through the wringer so it don't eat the buttons off the shirt either

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Such good advice! Thank you for sharing!

[@smilingdog54]

Exactly the washer we want to get! Any idea on how much electricity it will use on a solar system?

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Rebecca Stack sorry this took so long to respond to, we are currently off grid and cell service is limited. As far as the amount of electricity I am unsure. We use this when we are running our generator so I have not monitored it. My suggestion would be to connect a small gas motor to it as I know a lot of Amish do so it’s self contained. This is my intention for the future, just haven’t got to that project yet :-) Thanks so much for your question and feel free to connect if you have any more!

[@Thisisit120]

Man I wouldn’t trade places with you, a 45 minute drive. We drove five hours to pick up ours.

[@OffWithTheGrid]

5 hours! Wow! I bet it was worth it though!!

[@garylee9738]

A truly off grid washer would be be a Maytag with a gas engine.

[@dayrider]

I use to help my mum in the 50's with her washing , now i'm 70 & i wash off grid to save money no electric for me

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Carol Oakes that’s so great! Do you use a wringer washer or something else now?

[@dayrider]

@@OffWithTheGrid i use a wonder washer ( it seems to have different names ) & i have wringers that go on a table or i use like the salad spinner for spinning ( not much good that ) but at the min while in winter i just let them drip over my bath & thats were i do all the washing & rinsing my bathroom .

[@caseyleeoliver9335]

@@OffWithTheGrid I have to say that washer is way better than the today's Garbage high-efficiency washers these days I rather have a wringer washer piece of crap high efficiency washers today because that high efficiency washers are trash and they break down so easily wringer washers is the way to go very nice machine that you have I may get one myself

[@dawnhirsh6263]

Hi! This machine is electric, though. Right?

[@OffWithTheGrid]

This is electric and we connect it to a generator right now.

[@jimtomassetti4817]

Not to be a pain.... But you should NOT be laying down the washer. Any appliance should not to be laying down. It will leak oil out!

[@OffWithTheGrid]

Not a pain at all! Such a great tip and unfortunately we learned this the hard way. We had no other option though as it was the only way it would fit in such a tiny car. Thanks for the comment!

[@detric9508]

@@OffWithTheGrid What exactly happened in your case? Did you have leaking oil etc, Im in a similar position. I just dont have the space to not lay down my old washer

[@OffWithTheGrid]

@@detric9508 yes, oil/grease leaked out of what I’d call the gear box (I’m totally not a mechanic and no idea what the actual terms are). Once this started it just kept slowly leaking.

[@jbooks888]

Not sure that an electric washing machine qualifies for "off grid".

[@ryanwright4415]

Don’t need to be tied into the Grid to have some power. Besides this machine helps keep the energy use to a minimum since it has a ringer instead of a dryer

[@OffWithTheGrid]

There’s definitely a lot of variations to living off grid. We are working towards a balance of utilizing modern amenities and traditional non-electric amenities- it’s definitely a process.

[@lillybell2557]

Your husband should buy himself a 1940 tractor.

[@rustyfolts3298]

Off grid? Gas for the generator, is not off grid.