Pedal Powered Spin Dryer Home-made

Detailed step-by-step - How to make a viable spin dryer from a discarded washing machine drum,  an abandoned bicycle and a pallet. After over a decade of doing our laundry with a home-made bicycle washing machine, we finally decided we needed the spin function too. With our 'new' spin dryer we can achieve a spin cycle of between 320 and 400 rpm which gives us 'non-drip' laundry, which we could never achieve with our bicycle washing machine.

At the end of the washing cycle, the water is drained out of the machine and to ensure that the water drains more freely, the drum is continually turned. As one pedals at low speed, you can feel the washing dropping down to the bottom of the drum, as you want it to do when washing. At slightly elevated pedaling speeds, the 'jerky' motion of the falling wet washing, ceases as the washing starts to stick to the drum wall due to the centripetal/centrifugal force.

Important - Units of Measurement

This is not a one-size-fits-all project, you have to reference your actual machine and all its component sizes (drain hose diameter, screw threads, etc.,) to the build. My machine being French, means all the threaded components are metric and I have also noted that some of the threaded bar/rod, sold in the US, for example, is now also in metric.  So rather than my directly translating these dimensions into Imperial, which would not be appropriate, just substitute your machine's fastener sizes.

The Main Components

The Bicycle: These wonderful machines are very often discarded long before their useful life has ceased, so can be bought, very cheaply, from secondhand shops, yard sales and many other sources. Alternatively, one can just intercept them before they get thrown into the dumpster. In my case, items like these are 'fly-tipped' behind our village bottle-bank and it is always worth my checking occasionally to see if any have been left there. The one I'm using for this project is from this latter source and is a well-used Rolland (now Jacquot) of Versailles. The major components of this i.e. frame, crankset and rear wheel hub were still O.K. for my needs.

The Washing Machine Drum: An old top-loading model that was badly corroded around the base was given to me by a friend. The drum and drum housing, including the bearings were still serviceable. 

The Pallet: A non-standard sized pallet long enough to fit the bicycle and the supported drum was selected. For the layout of my components the pallet size was: 135cm x 80cm (53" x 32").

Extra Materials

Stands - I used the metal ones I had created for a previous pedal-powered washing machine but at the end I'll post a link on how I make wooden ones from untreated pallet wood.

Pallet Wood Planks Various sizes and thicknesses

Nuts, Bolts and Washers to fit:

Threaded bar - with regard to sizes as detailed above, this will need to correspond to the existing threads on the washing machine.

Additional Bicycle Chain - approximately 10" (250mm)

Tools

All of this build can be achieved with hand tools but if you have them and the power to run them, then obviously it will be quicker if you use power tools for some of the build:

• taps and dies
• spanners
• screwdriver
• wood saw
• hacksaw
• vice
• angle grinder
• electric drill
• lathe (optional)
• tape measure

The Design

The criteria for making a successful spin-dryer was to be able to increase the drum rotation speed such that the wet contents of the drum would be forced against the drum wall by centrifugal/centripetal force and the water would pass through the perforated drum wall. The faster the spin speed the greater the force and hence the more water should be expressed out of the laundry. In addition, the duration of spin would also affect the water removal.

The position of the drum in relation to the bicycle was also an important consideration: whether the drum is in front of the bicycle or behind makes a difference to the overall pallet size and chain length. I had already found that the smallest footprint would be achieved with the drum in front of the pedals rather than behind.

The washing machine had a direct drive from the crankset to a chainwheel attached to the drum shaft. They were the same size and thus had a 1:1 gear ratio. For the new project I used the smallest gear from the rear wheel gear cluster on the drum shaft which would raise the ratio to 1:3.2. Initially I had thought of having the same 'fixed wheel' arrangement between bicycle and drum as on the washing machine (see above) but after a discussion with some undergrad students on design choices for the spin-dryer I decided to see if it were possible to use a freewheel hub instead.

The Build - The Gearing Cluster

As I mentioned earlier, the exterior housing of the washing machine was not in a sound state, so I removed the drum/pulley wheel assembly from it.

The first part of the build was to obtain the rear wheel cluster and hub from the bicycle. I clamped the wheel by its spindle in the vice and removed the spokes using a cutting disc in the angle grinder. The spokes from the wheel hub on the other side to the gear cluster were the first to be removed, allowing easier access for the cutting disc to those fixed nearest the cluster. Once all removed the last remaining portions of the spokes could be ground out from the rear of the hub.

I then needed the bearing and housing removed from the remainder of the rear wheel spindle housing. Once again using the cutting disc I removed the other end of the spindle housing which then enabled me to clamp it in the vice and cut the bearing and its housing from the rest with a hacksaw.

The bearing and housing fitted into the gear cluster and a 10mm threaded bar was used instead of the wheel spindle. Matching nuts either side of the cluster held the cluster securely in place.

The problem I was now faced with was, for the bicycle/drum configuration I had opted for, the hub would have to fit into the drum shaft with the smallest gear of the cluster nearest to the drum. This would still let me pedal in the conventional, cycling direction to turn the drum. The drum shaft was threaded at the end to accommodate an 8mm screw so I needed to reduce the threaded spindle from 10mm to 8mm and cut a new thread to fit.

I held the free end of the 10mm shaft in the chuck of my wood-turning lathe and reduced the shaft diameter using the angle grinder whilst the lathe was in motion. I had an 8mm washer as a go/no go gauge, checking the fit frequently to ensure I did not remove too much from the spindle diameter. Once I got my gauge washer to fit down the ground portion, I clamped the 10mm end of the shaft between two pieces of wood in the vice (to prevent damage to the thread), filed a chamfer on the free end of the 8mm section and cut the thread with an 8mm die.

The newly-made shaft could then be screwed into the drum shaft and the gear cluster secured to the 10mm portion of this shaft. A visual check was made to ensure the gear cluster was running concentrically with the drum shaft

The Build - Attaching the Bicycle

It was now time to attach the bicycle and the drum onto the pallet. The bicycle was supported on two axle stands that I had made for our original; pedal-powered washing machine. These were of welded construction. If I had not had these available, I would have made new ones using pallet wood:- see how to make these under Related Articles. The metal supports were fixed to the pallet using wood screws.

The  Build - Attaching the Drum

The drum mounting was more difficult. As was explained at the beginning of this post, the housing of the machine was very badly corroded and could not be used. Thus I had to make wooden supports that could in turn be fixed to the pallet. The biggest problem with this was that there was no common datum on the bottom of the drum housing, in effect the drum if placed onto a flat level surface could not stand upright. In order to obtain a level across the three mounting points, I turned the drum over onto its lid, ensuring that the lid opening catch was not touching the workbench surface. The height difference between the mounting points could then be determined and wooden planks and spacers cut to the appropriate length and thickness and attached, using the original mounting bolts and nuts (recuperated). These supports were in turn screwed to the 'carrier' planks which were parallel to the drum axis, so as to fit across the pallet, next to the bicycle. These two 'carrier' planks were slotted, two slots per plank, the slots coincided with the approximate centre line of planks on the main pallet and with four holes drilled therein. Securing bolts and washers secured the drum to the pallet.

Drainage of water from the drum was as with the pedal washing machine via gravity. I had established that once the redundant pump assembly had been removed from the bottom of the drum, a conventional vacuum cleaner hose would fit neatly over the exit port where the pump had been attached. 

At this stage of the construction, I was still unsure as to how much additional bracing would be needed in order to hold the drum steady at the elevated speeds  of spinning. As a provisional measure, I took advantage of four moulded stubs integral to the drum housing, these originally held the shock- absorbers. Down the centre of each stub I drilled a hole and then tapped it to 6mm. I then attached planks which spanned the pairs of stubs on each side of the drum housing using 6mm bolts. 

Now the drum was fixed to the pallet, I could extend and attach the chain from the bicycle to the smallest gear of the cluster on the drum shaft. It is possible to ensure the chain is running straight between the two sets of gears simply by looking along the faces of the two gear sprockets (driving and driven). Optimum chain tension and alignment was attained by moving the drum assembly on its slotted mounting holes prior to tightening the mounting bolts.

Test Run

Once the bicycle and drum were connected, a quick pedal with the drum empty established that there were no problems with alignment and chain tension. So it was then time for the acid test.

Wet washing was transferred from the washing machine into the spin dryer and the lid closed. The starting load on the pedals was noticeably higher compared to the lower 1:1 gear ratio of the washing machine but it was not difficult to set the drum in motion. Slowly accelerating it became apparent that for what seemed a relatively slow pedal speed, water was exiting rapidly from the drain tube. Accelerating further the water flow increased and then as the contents became drier, diminished. Timing my pedaling speed I determined that the drum spin speed was about 350 rpm which could be maintained for at least a couple of minutes until the water flow was nil. Letting the drum freewheel to a halt, the contents were examined and were definitely much drier, to the extent that no further water could be extracted when it was attempted to wring it by hand.

Here's the film to see it in action:

After using the spin dryer for several months I think we've established that the configuration works really well but the distribution of the wet load within the drum is crucial. Uneven loading results in shaking of the whole machine and pallet and it is often the case when the wet washing comprises just a few items. With a single large item though - Sue washed our feather duvet, the spin dryer was amazing.

Improvements

The first thing that would improve the spin dryer will be to obtain another top loading machine and keep the drum in its original housing. This would obviate the need of making elaborate supports to hold the drum level and steady.

Secondly I think that the drive to the drum should be direct i.e. not freewheel. This I believe will enable the 'cyclist' to rotate the drum in both directions at the start of the spin-cycle to distribute the wet contents evenly within the drum and thus prevent the need to stop spinning to even the load in the drum.

Hope you enjoyed this project and much as we do having non-drip washing! If you read this article and found it interesting then share it with your friends on social media or suchlike. Please also feel free to ask questions and or make comments and if you found this helpful and would like to support this site you can always 

You can also find all my films Youtube and also now on Odysee 

Until next time and from a sunny day in Normandie,

Cheers, Andy

© Andy Colley 2022

How to Convert your Washing Machine to Pedal Power 1 - The Basic Model (Front-loader)

Many years ago now, we heard a radio report on a guy who had built his own pedal-powered washing machine. We both decided that once our own electrically-powered machine developed an irreparable fault, we would convert it. In fact this is what we have been doing systematically with all our electrical appliances, as they breakdown. We divide them into unnecessary, (the case of the hair-dryer is a good example of this, its only function being an extra aid to heat up cold baby pigeons) or we convert them to human-powered. The following appliance has now been running manually (or rather, by being pedalled), for over four years and we would recommend the conversion to anyone who wants clean clothes, healthy exercise, a well watered flowerbed and help in getting off the grid.

Please note in this simplified version of our pedal-powered machine there is some welding involved, both for the pinion and the  bicycle supports. However, in Part Two, (the modified version), the transmission layout does not require any welding and the bike supports could of course be fabricated from timber. In effect, the modified version worked better but all of the steps needed to complete the project, excepting the transmission, are contained within the following. I also wanted to show how I developed the idea, I think it is a useful exercise both for myself and to share with others that I show how the design process works. In the event, with this first version I got the feel for the effect of a full washing load versus the effort required to pedal.

Note 2 - I have recently completed a 'new' pedal-powered washing machine as this one finally sprung a leak after years of great service. The new one is a top loader and also has wooden stands. Due to requests from subscribers, I am writing this project up in step-by-step detail. There are also tips on removing and recuperating materials and complete photographic documentation of each step in the conversion. The first in this series of what will probably comprise 5 articles with their respective films has just been published and is available through the link at the end of this article.

Test-drive with the approval of the fantails!

The Backstory

The electronic fault that arose in our automatic washing machine rendered it useless - an extremely frustrating but frequent problem in today’s world. I knew that the machine was watertight and that there was no problem with the rest of its mechanics and hence I started to think about doing away entirely with the electric motor and all the fancy pumps and stuff and converting the machine to human power.

Pedal power was the ideal choice as the washing machine functioned by the drum rotating with the laundry, water and detergent within it and leg power was much greater than arm power - and could keep going longer. The rotary motion of a bicycle was perfectly suited to this requirement.

A Word About Tools 

All the work involved in this conversion can be achieved with hand tools but it might be a good idea to invest in at least one power tool just to save time and effort. I work on the premise that tools are a great investment and that if you are going to consider DIY then they are essential. Similarly Safety Equipment is also a necessity, in particular when handling heavy objects and using power tools. Buying these items has an initial outlay but if you buy wisely these will last you for years of projects, for example my current electric drill is well over ten years old.

Electric Drill - Two of my favourite makes are Makita and Black & Decker
Set of Bits for the Above
Wood Saw
Set of Spanners
Range of Screwdrivers
Pliers, Drift or Chain Splitting Tool
Hammer
Centre Punch
Tape Measure
Safety Gloves, Boots and Glasses
Metal File
Tri Square
Additional if Possible:
Jigsaw with blades for sheet metal

Wood Screws, Nuts, Bolts, Washers and Wood Glue

Method

The first step I made after I had moved the machine into an outbuilding was to investigate the layout of its moving parts. This I did by removing the rear panel where the motor, pulleys and flat drive belt could be clearly seen.

At the time of removing the rear panel I decided to also remove the massive ballast weights (see above) that were bolted to the machine; these are fitted to help absorb vibrations caused by off-centre loads in the machine especially during the spin-drying cycles. I also lifted off the top of the machine so that I could take out any other superfluous items.

I decided to keep everything as simple as possible choosing to weld a small gear from the rear hub of a bicycle to the end of the electric motor shaft, a chain would then connect this gear to that of the pedal crank of the bicycle and the original pulley/flat belt transmission would remain.

I wanted the two machines to be on a common base and this I chose to be a wooden pallet (of course) this was a non-standard sized one of  140cm x 80cm (55” x 31½”). I could fit the two machines on this pallet because I’d decided that the chain from the pedal crank would go forward to a gear on the electric motor shaft, the limiting factor became that of the proximity of the pedals to the side of the washing machine. I established that I required a clearance of 75mm (3”) between the pedal at its closest approach. to the machine to allow me an unobstructed pedal action.

Now I had obtained the layout and positions of the two machines with respect to each other, I had to decide a means of supporting the wheel-less bicycle. As luck would have it, one of the shops that furnish me with wooden pallets had just thrown out a steel framed, wheeled dolly used to transport a ride-on lawnmower crate. This I cut up in the workshop to furnish me with the necessary steel angle for the support frames and four castors which I subsequently used in the fabrication of my cross-cut saw table. (link at end of post)

I welded two cradles from the steel angle to support the bicycle at the front and rear dropouts (the points where the wheels fit). The rear cradle was a  right-angled triangular frame and the front cradle comprised two vertical tubes welded to a base frame both had  a 10mm threaded bar welded at the cradle top to fit into the dropout. The cradles were screwed in place to the pallet, the critical positions for these cradles were at the proper distance between the front and rear dropouts and at the correct lateral position for the bicycle’s pedal crank to align with the gear on the motor shaft.

When the bicycle had been lowered onto the threaded bar ‘axles’, it was secured to the cradles using 10mm nuts, I found it necessary to put a spacer tube between the rear dropouts to give the nuts something to tighten up to, otherwise the process of tightening would squeeze the frame/fork tubes out of shape instead of clamping them.

The drive chain could then be attached.

I had already noted that the force from the drive chain was twisting the drum on its support springs so, to avoid the problem of the chain coming off, I forced two wooden wedges between opposite sides of the drum and the outer walls of the machine.

After a quick pedal to see if it worked I prepared for the first wash.

The Wash Cycle (pun intended)

It was only when I started to put the water into the machine for the first wash that I realised the need for a modification, that being the fact that pouring in water into the machine via the drawer destined for the powder was too slow - if I went too quickly the water just overflowed out of it. As the top of the machine was no longer in place, I sawed the top off the drawer compartment permitting a larger opening for the water.

I was surprised at how easy it was to pedal the full machine. In fact it was too easy due to the speed reduction of the belt drive between the motor shaft and the pulley on the drum. The reduction meant that: at normal pedaling speeds the drum was moving very slowly and I found it very hard to pedal when there was little to no resistance. Nevertheless, the initial laundry results were good and so the logical step was to alter the gearing to a more practicable level.

Emptying the Machine

Normally, an electric pump empties the water from the machine and discharges it via a flexible hose down the drain. Washing machine pumps are of the centrifugal type, a vaned rotating impeller pushes the water up the pipe. If one lowers the pipe to below that of the water in the drum then the water will flow out, simply by the effect of gravity. I, therefore, used this simple technique, the additional height due to the machine being sited on the pallet made it easier for it to be completely emptied. I used the waste water on the flower borders in front of the house so I collected the water in watering cans and buckets.

There you have it, Mark One of our pedal-powered washing machine. We continued using this format for two washes each until we got a good feel of what I needed to change. In Part Two I will look at the add-on modifications for this basic machine, which both made it easier to pedal and gave us something of a 'spin-cycle'.


In the meantime though and if you'd like to, sit back and watch our film.

If you read this article and found it interesting then share it with your friends on social media or suchlike. Please also feel free to ask questions and or make comments and if you found this helpful and would like to support this site you can always 

You can also find all my films Youtube and also now on Odysee 

Until next time and from a sunny day in Normandie,

Cheers, Andy

© Andy Colley 2015

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