New arrival, 1956 Kelvinator Electric Dryer, with the "Do All Dial"...........

Back of the dryer.........notice the smaller 3" vent.....

When I got this I was at first stumped as to why there were TWO screw in fuses........never having seen more than one before on any dryer..........

Upon closer inspection I realized the TOP fuse is for the 110V outlet on the front of the control panel. Never have had or even seen any dryer with an outlet on it before or since. It is actually very convenient, for an iron or vacuum cleaner......

The famous Kelvinator "DO ALL DIAL". Actually, it is only a srt8 timer, timed drying only, with only one temperature and no cool down at the end of the cycle. The heating element is energized all the way to the last second on the dial, with no 5 or 10 minutes of air before shut off.

Something else very interesting is a FiberGlass backspash on this dryer, another design feature I had never seen before on a laundry appliance.........and it has held up very well for its age!

The top of the panel has a full width light.....

Door window, Kelvinator style........

Pull Out Lint Filter.........

No mistakes about what THIS appliance is! AUTOMATIC DRYER in chrome on the front..........

The top of the dryer is hinged to access the wiring and controls.........

Inspection stamp and 1956 date of Manufacture. VERY INTERESTING NOTE: The stamp is marked ALTOFER BROS COMPANY, which were the makers of ABC O MATIC appliances which Kelvinator bought out in 1953. Since ABC O Matic appliances were still being made and marketed all the way up to about 1957, they must have been making the Kelvinator brand in their plant also....... Very interesting to find this stamp on the dryer.........

The dryer top had to be removed to get it out of the basement where I moved it from, the wires were spliced once before. I redid the wires, soldering them to make a very tight electrical fit and then added thick mil. shrink tubing to insulate them.........

Glamour shot with lighted contol panel........

Interior shot, its lighted too!. The light comes on when the dryer is running, which makes for a nice show with the clothes tumbling and being able to see thru the glass window......

I searched thru my collection of owners manuals and I was able to come up with one very similar to this dryer......I also have the manual for the matching washer.........Now all I have to do is locate one!..........

Similar in vintage, but just a slightly lesser model......

This is the picture in the owners manual for the washer DO ALL DIAL...........

Ah! The Automatic Brain!.........what great terminology! Those Kelvinator marketing men.......

Kelvinator, a Product Of American Motors! "American Motors means More For Americans" !!! Those of us that own Ramblers sure love slogans like this.......

that is beautiful! Don

Wow!!!
Cool dryer!!!
Congrats!

Leon

Jimmy,

What a neat find that dryer is, and the condition looks excellant too. I hope you find the washer mate to it too, as that would make a great pair.

Cycla Fabric
Doug

Jimmy

Thats a fantastic dryer! I love it! Congrats on owning such a wonderful machine.

I have always wanted a machine that lit up when WORKING rather than just when the door is open. Must be great being able to watch all the lit up action, especially in the dark. I know I would always have the room light off when running it. With the control panel and lit up action..what more could you want!

Am amazed though that the heater ia always energised. You must need oven gloves to remove the clothes when its finished.

Mark

What a great dryer. All the effort to travel to pick it up, literally, as they seller did not have it upstairs for you as promised, paid off with a beautiful vintage dryer. It sure cleaned up to perfect condition. I hope you find the washer soon.

Mike

Jimmy,
What a beautiful dryer. Do you have the matching washer. That is a real Gem. It would be nice if the operational manual could be posted on the club.
Best Wishes,
Peter

Congratulations! That is one beautiful machine!
What a neat idea to provide the 110v outlet on the control panel. Appliance manufacturers today could sure learn a lesson or two from beauties like this.

TD

What a wonderful dryer! Congrats!

The night time glam shot is fabulous--really imposing, looks like "The Iron Giant."

Thanks so much for the scan of the WASHER DO-ALL DIAL pages too, greatly appreciated and good luck on finding the washer.

Wow Jimmy, that dryer looks like its in beautiful shape, congratulations. I love Kelvinator's "Do-all-Dial" design!

I will keep my eyes open for the mate! IIRC my Aunt Grace had Kelvinators; one in Flushing that I barely remember and one in Larchmont that had that weird squat black concentric agitator and a round window in the washer's lid. Were they owned by the Chrysler company? Or was it American Motors? I think, in my family at least, people used to buy appliances back then according to whatever stocks they had in their portfolios.

What a beautiful machine Jimmy, I loved the glam shot!! So neat with the 110 outlet. I'm think that since many people use to have their laundry in the kitchen and the washer and dryer tops were used for extra counter space that it came in very handy. Just wonder if the matching washer has one as well??

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S Jimmy!!! That is a great dryer. It's really amazing how fast that baby dries with only a 3'' vent.....and quiet too!!! Mark

What a great looking dryer Jimmy Once again youve come across another peice of american appliance History! And of course You allways have the "knack" to keep em running..Great Find..congratulations!!! Tim

Beautiful dryer Jimmy. A little disheartening there is no cool-down at all in the cycle. Looks like no temperature control either. Now I'm seeing why some sales literature of the day touted a conditioning period before the dryer stopped.

heh
You almost expect to see a box around '55' on that dial :)

Looks like AM's auto atylists had fun with this one...s

Back in '56 Kelvinator was owned by American Motors. I am not sure when (if) American Motors sold off Kelvinator but I think it was probably well before Chrysler bought out American Motors (1987 or so.)

Andrew S.

Great find Jimmy! Congratulations of finding this rare dryer. Hope you do find it's mate! Gotta be out there somewhere.... <:

Way cool! CONGRATS

WOW - great looking Kelvinator Jimmy! Love the aux plug on the panel - such a great idea to use for those vintage irons or vacuums. Thanks for sharing ~

Ben

Just love the happy bubbles on the instruction manual. Oh the fun and whimsy that these companies once had.
Kelvinator's manuals will make the owner smile even before they use the machine.
... On a Kelvinator note..
I have a little motorized ice-cream maker you put in the freezer. Wanted to use it recently for the first time but didn't have a recipe I liked. I finally found a recipe for custard-style ice cream in a 1930's KELVINATOR cookbook I have. OMG! The ice cream was FABULOUS! I think the world has forgotten just how wonderful homemade ice-cream can be. Of course now my arteries are completely clogged but who cares. I smile due to Happy Bubbles and Kelvinator ice cream in my tummy.

Jimmy wow thats a way cool dryer, gee you always find all the really nice vintage stuff and in like new condition at that good for you enjoy john

To me, presentation is everything.

And you did it with this dryer. You showed us just about everything, almost like being there!! I am not that much into dryers, but the "Do-All-Dial" Kelvinator is a beauty.

Since all a dryer will do is dry clothes, I guess "Do-All-Dial" could be appropriate.

Martin

Brings back memories. My folks had the same set. Theirs had Copper trim around the backsplash and front. the knob on the dryer door was also copper color. The washer had a round window. I remember they both had lights in the back. Mom liked the Kelvinators but nothing like she loved her Frigidare washer and dryer. She still speaks fondly of the Frigidare pair. If I had known about this forum I could have fixed the washer. I now know it onbly had a small problem. Of course they replaced both the washer and dryer when no one would even come out and look at the 30 year old machine and she paid some guy to take the still working dryer away. wrhhLll

Jimmy, the DE-2 is from 1954. It was the top of the line in its day. Congratulations on your beautiful dryer. I love those old "child killer" door latches. Even when Maytag replaced the dryer door latch with the magnetic catch, I thought that they should have kept the latch as the door handle. Tom

Thanks Tom, was not quite sure of the year/date of the dryer in the instruction book. Yes, Im thrilled to get this. Im sure the washer is out there somewhere for it. Even if I never find it, Im happy to have the dryer. If anyone DOES have a matching washer to sell or trade, I sill have this 1965 Philco Blades Of Water w/Flex O Wash Washer up for trade/sale. Its unrestored but complete........Could be a Philco in someone's future? !

Philco, with the giant size lid !

I thought the "Do-All Dial" looked familiar...

it really does resemble the speedometer of a '56-'57 Rambler!

Couldn't be much harder than chewing gum and walking. *grins*--Laundry Shark