I need to update my photo album as the machines in my basement have been moved around a bit. But I finally got around to moving the '57 WI-57 Unimatic and WD-57 Pulsamatic Controls Towers next to each other. I love the way the look together so I had to share...

330 Pulses Per Minute and 630 Pulses Per Minute

YAY for Frigidaire

Those are sweet!

Robert,
Real cool just pulsating away.
Best Wishes!
Peter

side by side ? do they both get along OK ?, hahahah

Just beautiful Robert!!

I wish Santa could put a control tower washer under everyone's Christmas tree! They are a lovely sight to behold!

Venus

Those are beautiful Robert! I think the control tower has to be my favorite of the vintage Frigidaires, but then again I haven't seen all of them yet.
Now at the risk of sounding dumb(I am at this anyway) whats the difference between a unimatic and a pulsamatic?

Well Mr. Unimatic, I know your taste after seeing Austin's Machine this past weekend. I was in a total shocked frame of mind. The control towers are breathtaking.

Steve

Excellent work Robert! Those Control Towers look stunning next to each other! And now you can compare the action of a Unimatic with a Pulsamatic, side by side! Nothing like washday drama! :)

Hi Jeff, not a dumb question at all! I'll fill you in on the details I know, though Robert can provide a lot more than myself about these machines! The Pulsamatic was Frigidaire's first belt-drive transmission for the less expensive machines (debuted in 1955 I believe with the WV-35), and it had a 3/4" agitator stroke of 630 pulses per minute. MUCH faster agitation than the rest, hence the smaller rings on the agitator, but the spin was only 660 RPM, IIRC. I saw that very machine run at the Convention for the first time and that rapid "vibrapulsation" was VERY entertaining and the rollover was great! The Unimatic, Frigidaire's first automatic that debuted in 1947, has a longer 1 7/8" stroke at 330 pulses per minute and spins at 1140 RPM. The transmission is connected directly to the motor with no spin clutch, so when the solenoid energizes and pulls the spin trip shaft down, the torque of the motor is what throws the water out and spins the tub up to speed. The Unimatic is definitely one of the best cleaning and spinning washers in existence, if not THE best, and the entertainment factor is second to none! And from what I've used, the Unimatic, Pulsamatic, and Multimatic are very quiet machines. Now the Rollermatic and 1-18 are another story! ;-)

In the 1957 model lineup, the WI-57 Imperial was the TOL model, followed by the WDU-57 Deluxe Unimatic. There was also a WD-57 Deluxe Pulsamatic, I believe with the same features as the WDU-57. Last but not least was the WS-57 Super Pulsamatic. Hope this helps!

--Austin

Robert, what a sight to behold!! They are just beautiful. Terry

AWESOME!!!! It must be neat to be able to compare the action side by side!! I must ask though, where did the dryer go?

Now I think I understand somewhat anyway, so while we're on it can you tell me what:
Multimatic
Rollermatic
1-18
machines are like?
The only Frigidaire machines I remember were 1-18's that a couple of neighbors had when I was a kid. It was fun to watch them wash, and I remember they roared like freight trains during their spin cycles. I also remember both washers expiring before they'd reached their 10th years of use.
I've decided my next place is going to have a larger laundry room, I'm keeping my Amana washer and Kitchenaid dryer, but there must also be room for a Maytag A806 set, and maybe a 1-18 set too.
I think the styling on the old Frigidaires is just beautiful!

Hi Robert. Love the pictures of the Doublemint twins. I remember the Doublemint Twins singing commercials.
Machines look great side by side.

They look great together! Did you decide three Filtrators in one room was too much?

looks like your havin to much fun up there..

That's very cool, Uni! I've never seen a Pulsamatic work. I can't imagine what 660 ppm must look like. Any chance of a video snippet sometime?

Thanks Austin for the good answer. Yes the Pulamatic was Frigidaire's first belt-drive washer. It was the predecessor to the Multimatic. The Unimatic spins at 1140rpm, but the pulsamatic only spins at 630rpm. The pulsamatic has a much faster agitation speed though.

The pink DI-57 Filtrator has been moved into storage for now. Unfortunately I only have room for two Filtrator dryers in my "Frigidaire Gallery".

Here is the 1957 Line, from left to right, WI-57-(Imperial Unimatic), WDU-57-(Deluxe Unimatic), WD-57-(Deluxe Pulsamatic), WS-57-(Super Pulsamatic)

Those two look beautiful together! Soon you'll have all four.

The Frigidaire Queen is going to come to MN and kick your tail if you don't get that beautiful PINK filtrator out of storage!What if a mouse gets in there and makes it a nice little home or something?

"The Frigidaire Queen is going to come to MN"

That's strange, I thought the Frigidaire Queen already lived in Minnesota.

You GO, Robert... :-D

neat set there! I love Control Towers. They're some of the coolest machines built...they are the '57 Bel-Air of the Appliance world!!