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r3volution.gurl



Registered: 10/20/21
Posts: 6,250
Loc: Canada
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DIY pedal powered washing machine 1
#27638832 - 01/30/22 05:31 PM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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This is something I've been wanting to have for a while. Unfortunately, it never went to market for obvious reasons like changing the world for the better lol
Just wondering what anyone thinks about it. Any advice or tips? I know I will probably need to get some of the parts on the inside custom made most likely. And if anyone else is ever interested in something like this, this is all the info about it I could find.
http://www.windup-battery.com/wind-up-devices/pedal-powered-gira-dora-washer#aoh=16435795671540&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.windup-battery.com%2Fwind-up-devices%2Fpedal-powered-gira-dora-washer
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  "Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you are souls. Be one, see one. When many people have this heart connection, then we will know that we are all one, we human beings all over the planet. We will be one. One love. And don’t leave out the animals, and trees, and clouds, and galaxies: it’s all one. It’s one energy." -Ram Dass
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Icyurmt
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Registered: 04/02/20
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Loc: 5a
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The pedal mechanism of that design, while cool looking, seems a little complicated to make IMHO. It definitely saves on space though I suppose if that's a consideration. Out of curiosity what do you like most about that design?
It seems like it would be easier to fabricate if you were to turn the barrel on its side and repurpose an old bicycle where you replace the rear wheel with the drum or something like that. This is of pretty simple one that could easily be improved on I think. https://www.instructables.com/SudsCycle-a-Bicycle-Powered-Washing-Machine-Protot/
Personally I am a big fan of simplicity especially with things for use in limited power situations/off grid. I used the ol two buckets and a plunger method, kind of like this setup, for a couple of years with good results. It may not be the most glamorous but it gets the job done, it's cheap and easy to make with very little to break, and stows away nice and neatly.
-------------------- 👁️ 🌊 why you are empty. Hunt for the habitat not the mushroom.
Edited by Icyurmt (01/30/22 08:04 PM)
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dizzy_simmons
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Re: DIY pedal powered washing machine [Re: Icyurmt] 1
#27639676 - 01/31/22 01:05 PM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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Looks like an awful lot of plastic, moving parts, & (probably) Chinese labor for a “sustainable” technology.
If pressed, I’d rather use the buckets like Icyurmt suggested. But ideally we’d wash in the rivers, and go naked - or close to it - 3/4 of the year, so we wouldn’t have so much gottdayum laundry in the first place. I know I know, but one can dream...
-------------------- UNDO YOUR DOMESTICATION Looking for: ***The Land of the Free*** Ps. caerulipes Ps. cubensis Ps. cyanescens Ps. ovoideocystidiata Pan. cinctulus Pan. cyanescens
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r3volution.gurl



Registered: 10/20/21
Posts: 6,250
Loc: Canada
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Re: DIY pedal powered washing machine [Re: dizzy_simmons] 1
#27640494 - 02/01/22 07:23 AM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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Thanks guys super insightful. I can't do the bucket cause I'm a weakling and I also want something that can spin. It would be a permanent washing machine until we could get something low energy. I'll use it honestly for the rest of my life if it lasts and functions well.
I will look into the bike idea cause yeah the foot pedal is what I'd need custom made. I'm not too worried about the plastic cause I could get thicker plastic.
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  "Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you are souls. Be one, see one. When many people have this heart connection, then we will know that we are all one, we human beings all over the planet. We will be one. One love. And don’t leave out the animals, and trees, and clouds, and galaxies: it’s all one. It’s one energy." -Ram Dass
Edited by r3volution.gurl (02/01/22 07:31 AM)
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Icyurmt
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Registered: 04/02/20
Posts: 1,625
Loc: 5a
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Are you in an off-grid/low power situation or are you just looking for something more environmentally friendly/sustainable? Injection molded plastic and sustainability are pretty contradictory imo.
There's a lot of decent options for low power units. If you can spare the Ah, I would highly recommend saving up for one of those. There is a old saying "Fools and paupers will buy twice". The cost of one of the manual ones, or the cost of custom fabrication to make one, could be a good chunk towards a low power washer.
From my experience the manual stuff tends to be more gimmicky than useful in the long run, as they are often geared towards the camping crowd rather than everyday living. You would never see someone in a third world country using something like that mostly because it just wouldn't hold up. In real remote places you'll often see the tried and true washboard and hand wringer or they will rig up solar or something to get power to a traditional washer. If you have the ability/tools, fabricating your own would definitely be the way to go, especially if you want something that's going to last.
If you haven't come across them already, there's this foot powered one for $120
 https://www.wowkuus.com/
Or this one for $400 
 https://www.amazon.com/Yirego-Portable-Washer-Electric-Saving/dp/B08WR9QVZC/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B08WR9QVZC&psc=1
Also if you're not totally set on the footpower but still want easier to use manual powder, then check out this guy for $70. I know a couple of people who used/like them.
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C8HR9A?tag=best1review-20
-------------------- 👁️ 🌊 why you are empty. Hunt for the habitat not the mushroom.
Edited by Icyurmt (02/01/22 12:36 PM)
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r3volution.gurl



Registered: 10/20/21
Posts: 6,250
Loc: Canada
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Re: DIY pedal powered washing machine [Re: Icyurmt] 3
#27640940 - 02/01/22 12:48 PM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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Off grid and low power currently. Eventually we will have more power.
Thank you so much. Super helpful.
Quote:
Injection molded plastic and sustainability are pretty contradictory imo
I agree which is why I want to create it strong enough to last a lifetime. I'm sure you know plastic is a byproduct of oil, not really going anywhere anytime soon unfortunately.
I have not seen that foot powered one so thanks I will check it out. I think the biggest issue in buying the other options is size. I have clothes and blankets which will never fit, which is why the idea of the large barrel is appealing.
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  "Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you are souls. Be one, see one. When many people have this heart connection, then we will know that we are all one, we human beings all over the planet. We will be one. One love. And don’t leave out the animals, and trees, and clouds, and galaxies: it’s all one. It’s one energy." -Ram Dass
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Icyurmt
Strange



Registered: 04/02/20
Posts: 1,625
Loc: 5a
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Quote:
Off grid and low power currently. Eventually we will have more power.
Gotcha I totally understand. Increasing power in that situation is likely no small undertaking then, I've been there before. Got to have more solar for more power but then you got to have a bigger battery bank to store it all which requires a larger charger regulator or inverter ect. It sure adds up..
A washer that was able to run low power when available but also convert to manual power sure would be cool.. I have a sewing machine that works like that and I love it.
If space isn't much of an issue (ie not in a van or a boat) then definitely look more into the bike drum route. I agree, all of those premade ones I linked to are pretty small and you'd likely have to wash one maybe two sheets at a time. There's a bunch of designs online to easily convert an old bike to power a 30 or 55 gallon drum. Some of those look cool and you can use the advantage of the bike gearing. Also no custom parts needed as long as you have a welder, just an old bike, scrap steel, a drum and maybe two pillow block bearings.
Quote:
I agree which is why I want to create it strong enough to last a lifetime. I'm sure you know plastic is a byproduct of oil, not really going anywhere anytime soon unfortunately.
Then I recommend building as much of it out of metal as you can.
Plastic particles and microplastics may last a lifetime but plastic parts likely won't, that's the problem. For the most part its more convenient/cheep than durable with the exception of some specialty stuff like delrin ect. Eventually the plasticizers or other things will leech out or break down and it becomes brittle, cracks or breaks, and when it does it's not easy or oftentimes even possible to fix so your left with trash that most likely cannot even be recycled. Oil/gas companies should be encouraged to properly dispose of their own waste instead polluting our water and food supply by marketing it to people as temporary products. It's certainly difficult if not impossible to avoid buying/using plastic sometimes, but I think we should try when we can. Apologies for the rant.
-------------------- 👁️ 🌊 why you are empty. Hunt for the habitat not the mushroom.
Edited by Icyurmt (02/01/22 03:28 PM)
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r3volution.gurl



Registered: 10/20/21
Posts: 6,250
Loc: Canada
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Re: DIY pedal powered washing machine [Re: Icyurmt] 2
#27641200 - 02/01/22 04:31 PM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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No apology necessary. I completely agree plus I rant all the time about the same things
You're absolutely right, I completely forgot that once the plastic breaks(everything does at some point) it's going to be unrepairable. I will do metal. I will take the extra steps to prevent rust cause we have really high humidity and are by the ocean. I planned to keep it outside in one of the sheds until our cabin is built.
It will be a lot easier to find the metal parts than plastic, that's for sure

I have more than enough space and will have more in the future so the bike is a great idea, thank you. I am thinking I might just use the inside of an old washer cause there's lots at the dump and place it in a barrel.
I use Titan point zero energy 3000w solar generator. Batteries are stackable which is really cool about it. We were going to build our own, but it was actually cheaper to just buy that one. Will be using more solar panels and supplementing with a smaller residential wind turbine because wind is abundant and daily especially on cloudy days.
I haven't gotten as far to figure out a washer's watt use. Same with my freezer, but my freezer is one of the lowest energy efficient ones on the market lol waiting on more batteries for generator because we only have one so far.
Thanks again. I really appreciate your input. Super helpful.
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  "Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you are souls. Be one, see one. When many people have this heart connection, then we will know that we are all one, we human beings all over the planet. We will be one. One love. And don’t leave out the animals, and trees, and clouds, and galaxies: it’s all one. It’s one energy." -Ram Dass
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Icyurmt
Strange



Registered: 04/02/20
Posts: 1,625
Loc: 5a
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Happy to help in any way I can. I like the repurposing old washing machine idea. Alternatively stainless is a little bit more expensive up front then steel, but doesn't require any painting.
Are you on 12 or 24v? Does that one have an excess power divert for hot water? Getting as many appliances to run off of DC as you can could save you a lot of power too, if they are not like that already. Continuously running an inverter just to reconvert that power back to run a DC motor that's likely in your appliances like fridge/freezer, washer, ect can really chew into your power allotment.
How long have you guys been off grid? I spent about 6 years with my ex mostly on 1500 watts solar and 400 wind. I miss it.
-------------------- 👁️ 🌊 why you are empty. Hunt for the habitat not the mushroom.
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r3volution.gurl



Registered: 10/20/21
Posts: 6,250
Loc: Canada
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Re: DIY pedal powered washing machine [Re: Icyurmt] 1
#27641300 - 02/01/22 05:34 PM (1 year, 11 months ago) |
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I'm not versed in electrical talk at all. I just googled it and it said 145v lol so I'll just post the link for the info about it.
https://practicalpreppers.com/product/titan-solar-generator/#:~:text=4%2D%20With%20the%20Titan%20solar,take%20up%20to%20145%20volts.
We've been on and off since we bought the land in 2017. For 2 years now though we have been there from April to November in an RV. Still building our cabin cause we are city people who have no experience at all and it's taking us forever cause we are milling all the lumber ourselves too. Haven't been able to spend a winter there yet, will need a wood stove and ATV with tracks to be able to survive because we have 4kms of logging road before we reach a paved one. It is very remote which we are happy about. Lots of work to do for the rest of our lives
Nice! Yeah I am back in the city now and can't wait to get back.
Thanks again of course.
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  "Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you are souls. Be one, see one. When many people have this heart connection, then we will know that we are all one, we human beings all over the planet. We will be one. One love. And don’t leave out the animals, and trees, and clouds, and galaxies: it’s all one. It’s one energy." -Ram Dass
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