Manual Washing Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbkXyWFFm8

(Watch the above video to see how to construct and use this device)

All parts are available at Home Depot:

Two (2) 5-gal. Homer Bucket; Model # 05GLHD2 = $2.97 x 2 ....= $5.94

Leaktite 5-gal. Homer Leakproof Lid; Model # 5GLD ORANGE LID for 5GL HOMER PAIL ….................................................................................................... = $1.68

NIBCO 1-1/2 in. PVC DWV Hub x SJ Trap Adapter; Model # C48017HD112 =...................................................................................................... = $0.88

HDX 5 in. Force Cup Plunger; Model # PSC2451 ….................................................................................................... = $2.98 ….......................................................................................................$11.48

There are two modifications to the model that are not shown in the video.

1.) Cut and 1-1/2 inch hole in the lid to the unit; then insert the 1-1/2 inch PVC Trap Adapter through the hole and tighten the adapter, this strengthens the hole in the lid where the plunger handle is inserted!

2.) Substitute a longer broom handle for the original handle that came with the plunger; this makes it so the user can now operate the device in the standing position which will relieve any back strain from having to bend over to manipulate the original short handle.

Do you like to camping?

Are you in an "off-the-grid" situation?

Is your financial situation such that you can not really afford to spend $10.00 or more to do a load of laundry several times a week?

Do you live in an apartment and often have small loads of 'personal laundry' that needs to be attended to on a pretty regular basis?

Then the above device shown in the link to the video may just be what you are looking for to help assist you with any of the preceding situations. Long before there were electric washing machines, most laundry in this country and still throughout the world was and is still washed by the manual process of hand washing. The usual method is one of each piece of laundry is individually 'scrubbed' by hand which take a while to go through the whole batch.

The manual washing machine that is shown is extremely low cost {less than $12.00 in total material cost}, can be used very easily in any urban, suburban, rural, and/or emergency situation. Some of the toughest "hard knocks" situations are when the electricity is not functioning for long periods of time and the home and/or commercial laundry facilities are not available to the general populace. Having this manual device sitting in a storage closet may not be a bad insurance policy. {just ask the people that were effected by Hurricane Sandy or the winter of 2014-2015 ice storms}

For the outdoorsman that enjoys going camping for any period of time, it may be just what is needed to bring some sense of civilization to that primitive lifestyle. Spending 20-30 minutes to process a load of laundry in most primitive settings my seem like a gift from society.

For the apartment dweller, it means not having to go to the basement laundry facilities hoping that the machines are unused and/or worse yet taking time and effort to travel to a commercial laundering establishment and spending the necessary money to accomplish the task there; just using the device in the bathtub or shower seems much easier.

SOMETIMES, the low tech solutions to solving everyday problems may be work better than some of the highest technical advances!

Alternative "Luci Lantern" Prototype Example

http://www.tmart.com/10-Lumens-No-Battery-Dynamo-Crank-Wind-3-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Grey_p185383.html

 

First I had ordered some of the items from the above site as "toys" for my grand daughters; then I happened to run across the Luci Lantern video on YouTube.

I had ordered one of the items listed below to add to my household's emergency kit for the few instances that due to storms, falling trees, exploding transformers, and etc. that the electricity powering our lighting fails to function properly.

https://www.mpowerd.com/

I tried a little experiment and came up with an idea for a prototype example of a similar lantern that has a slightly different operating principle than the Luci Lantern.

 

I had an extra 'flashlight', so I took it and an old medium sized plastic mayonnaise jar that was in the recycling bucket and went to work.

 

I cut an opening in the middle of the plastic top just large enough to insert just the lens section of the 'flashlight'; then using superglue I permanently mounted the 'flashlight' to the lid, I also sealed the joints around the flashlight with hot glue on the inside and outside of the lid.

 

I then took some aluminum foil and hot glued it to the inside of the lid where there was no 'flashlight' protruding through the inside of the lid AND on the entire bottom of the plastic jar.

 

I screwed the lid on the jar, squeezed the handle to charge the unit for about two minutes, turned off the kitchen light, and I had a prototype example lantern; which only cost me all of $2.63 and an old plastic mayonnaise jar the was about to be recycled. It comes with a strap so you can hang it up anywhere!

 

The Luci Lantern works on the principle of light energy charging the 'lithium battery', while the prototype example that I constructed works on the principle of a small dynamo charging a 'super capacitor'.

 

I never did test how long the "charge" would last because it is a moot point since whenever it dims you can just recharge it again in less than two (2) minutes.

 

If the Luci Lantern could be fitted with a 'super capacitor' instead of a lithium battery and a flat circular dynamo device instead of having light energy collectors, then it could be an all-weather source of light for those in need of a light source where and when the grid is not available. It may wind up being a little larger in its collapsed form! 

 

Items needed for the project - $2.63 Dynamo Flashlight, an old recycled plastic jar, Aluminum Foil, small amount of Superglue, small amount of hot glue!