Here he is, the owner said he only removed the tape about a year ago after his mom died.

Gorgeaus is an undertatement!!!

Congrats Robert

Cheers

Leon

Kenny Goatfarmer at one point had your new arrival's mate: a DE720W without pedestals:

Incredible. Just incredible. I can't wait to see it next month at the convention!!

Wow, amazing!!  I think you need to contact GE in Louisville and see if you can have them locate Inspector #4.  they need to understand inspector did such an outstanding job of producing and finalizing such a quality product, it's still in perfect condition after 49 years ;-) 

What's the story behind this machine that it was never used?  I nkow, probably some wringer that no one was willing to relinquish the use of. 

People down the street had the model below this washer, it didn't have speeds, but all the other switches and black panel.  It was replaced with the same Kenmore 800 as we had.  I know they had a GE dryer, but I don't remember much about it. 

We're home from dinner and took a few more shots...

I don't think I can ever use this filter pan!

Are you sure that machine didn't leave Appliance Park about a month ago?  I can't believe how pristine everything is for having sat in a basement for so long.  It was nothing but pure karma that you should acquire this beauty.  Congrats!!!

WOW thats in great shape, its really great that some people that took such good care of things like this that they didn't even use. I am sure that she always though that one day she might get around to having it hooked up and learning to use it. Tom has almost the same model in great shape and I worked on more of these than I could ever remember. This was the model the model that Levett used in thier homes here in Maryland, [except the 1 speed non suds-saver ] and they built over 30,000 homes here. When you start to use it be sure that all the feet are adjusted properly as these GEs were notorious for walking before they added the self-leveling rear legs. Have fun with it Smitty and I will be out to visit soon.

That's a real beauty!  So nice to see something that age looking so good.  Congratulations to you guys!

Time to start adding laundry tubs downstairs!  Congrats!

Those dampulators are mint unused!

And I love your "hand model" hiking up the activator skirt so we can all see under!

Factory Fresh is the only way to go! Congrats and you look very happy and not just from the matoonies!

oxxoox jon & artey

I'm in complete agreement with Don, you need to find a vintage Homart (Sears) suds tub so this beauty can really strut her stuff.  Even my wife is impressed, and jealous.  Now that's saying alot!

P.S. I seem to remember that you don't care to reuse your wash water, am I correct?

Your Karma is unbelievable, Robert, and to have it arrive through Ted makes it all the more marvelous and wonderful.

The close-ups are spectacular, especially # 3 the SUDS RETURN, which got the biggest button. YAY! I am drooling. Love how the black, white, and chrome on the panel is picked up again in the bottom shots of ## 15 & 16.

You have to appreciate the irony that this machine would not have come to you if the seller's sweet mother didn't love her wringer. Now maybe you'll have a greater love for all your wringer men who are a minority here. Our kind made your treasure possible.

When you decide to get him wet please do a clean water suds-return so we can learn:

Does the water come back through the Filter-flo system the same way it does for the mini-basket fill, or does it pump back through the bottom drain port?

This is fabulous; you guys must be deliriously happy.

Did you send in the warranty card?

I did have the dryer to match, it was scrapped several years ago.  However, someone here, can't remember who, received the console.

The suds return was an option on US washers that allowed a person to save the wash water from one load to the next.  Water was pumped out into a tub or sink (providing you remembered to select that option, put the stopper in the drain, and your sink was big enough to hold 18 gallons, more or less).  Then for the next load, you moved the dial/lever/switch to "Suds return", and the pump reversed, sucking the wash water back into the washer.  During the rinse cycle, any heavy soil in the saved water would sink to the bottom, allowing it to be reused for the next load.  For the 2nd, 3rd etc. loads, US detergent mfrs. suggested adding about 1/2 cup of detergent to each subsequent wash load.  In GE machines, the returned water was indeed pumped back into the tub via the Filter-Flo system. 

Maytag was the last US mfr. that produced a suds-saving washer.  They stopped production in the mid-'90's I believe.

Feel free to correct any mistakes I might have made.  A suds-saver is actually quite a "green" appliance.  I wish they would make a comeback, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. :(

Dex, there are two drain hoses on this machine.  With control set properly, the wash water drains via one drain port and goes into the sink that's stopped up to reserve the water.  The rinse water drains into a 2nd since or typical drain pie arrangement as any other washer.

Bob & Pat:  Thanks for clarifying my earlier post.

Jeff:  You're correct, the Filter-Flo system didn't start working until the tub was about 1/2 full, at least that's how it worked in my Mom's 1967 & 1982 GE's w/ suds-savers.

Hey everyone, thanks for the very nice congratulations!

Let me try and answer some of the questions here, it looks like the suds saver questions have been answered.

WILL YOU NOW USE THIS AS YOUR DAILY DRIVER??

Nah, I use all of my machines over time.  Although, my 1948 General Electric AW6 is my most used machine by far.

What's the story behind this machine that it was never used?  I nkow, probably some wringer that no one was willing to relinquish the use of. 

Exactly, she refused to hook it up.  It sat under a sheet in the basement, away from the laundry area for 49 years.  They delivered it, removed the shipping braces and sat it down on the edge of the basement.

did all subsequent models have the cardboard backs on them??

Mike its sort of a hard fiberboard back.  GE used this for decades.

How are the internal rubber hoses? Are they hardened at all?

Actually they are pretty hard, but because the GE design does not attach them to suspension system, they don't move so they should be ok.  The only area of concern is where the molded rubber ends are pressed into the outer tub.  I might need to heat them and remove them and then use silicone to seal them if they leak.  (I suspect at least one will).

P.S. I seem to remember that you don't care to reuse your wash water, am I correct?

Correct, I wont do that, I will however reuse the rinse water if I didn't use softener.  My 1947 and 1948 GE washers automatically save the rinse water for the next wash.  After the cycle is over I can then decide to use it or drain it and start fresh for the next load.

was the agitator in these bakelite?

Yes totally.

Terrible decision, isn't it? Leave her a virgin or let her strut her stuff... 

God the decision is eating me up.  For now I'm working on another appliance project that will take a week or two more.  I'll think about it after.

The other two threads of interest along this same line is when I found the 1961 version of this machine which now resides with Ken (bajaespuma) in Connecticut and when I found the 2nd from the TOL 1961 Filter-flo which is in my collection now.  

I would bet my bottom dollar that the folks who run GE now wouldn't give a sh*t.

Seems to me that, ironically, "corporations of Delaware"in the US operate like communist regimes: history is only something to be manipulated for the greater glory of the current rulers. They might site this machine as an example of "GE's ongoing commitment to quality" but they would also deprecate it as overweight, energy inefficient and inelegant compared to their new lines of HE machines available now at store near you. GE was at the vanguard of the trend to be more the whore of the stockholder than the proprietor to the customer.

A better caption for this machine and its ilk would be, "back before we destroyed the Louisville plant and the careers/lives of all of its employees, when GE appliances were made by Americans (to whom we were stupid enough to pay a living wage), top to bottom and we hadn't figured out built-in obsolescence"

That "Added Value" sticker on top of that cabinet wasn't a lie back then.

Look for it only in books and in basements like Robert's, for it is Gone with the Wind.

WOW Robert, CONGRATS!     What an incredible, amazing find!   I'm jealous!  

Things like that NEVER surface out here in So Cal!

Kevin

that machine looks so silly with the backsplash not mounted on pedestals! Was that innovation done in late 62??

Unbelievable find, Robert!!  Congratulations!!   I can't wait to see it washing - I hope there are not too many issues from having been stored for so long...

What great memories seeing that V12 tub again - our family's first automatic was a later model, Canadian-made version.

Enjoy it and have fun!!

Robert, your magnetic properties continue to amaze us all.

In the time that has passed how often do you use the Kenmore. -- Kelly the brand new Kenmore had quite a few issues, hardened hoses, leaks and the drive block also knocked terribly after about 10 loads and needed to be replaced.  I believe the drive block issue would have happened when the Lady Kenmore was first delivered new in 1957, it was probably defective right out of the factory.  I use the machine once a month or so now.

We popped the top open too record its virginity intact.   Just a few more shots to record its newness.

The large flume on the right is the fill flume, I'm not sure if the smaller flume is the overflow tube or the Suds-Return flume.  I'll have to look at that tomorrow.

Shine shine shine.

Robert the smaller flume on the left is the inlet for the overflow tube, it has a head on it so water will not be thrown into it while the machine is spinning out the water. The suds water returns through the main drain in the sump, through the same hose that the washer drains through. It is certainly amazing how clean they kept this machine, it is truly new.

One of many great things about your find Robert, is now I know what those activators looked like brand spanking new. I always assumed an embossed "GE" emblem on the top of the cap just wore off; now I know there wasn't one!

The smaller flume is for overflow protection. The earlier solid-tub models had a dedicated suds return flume; starting with the 1961 V-12's the suds water returned from the bottom via the pump, the way it went out.

I was always thought the inlet flume on the perf-tub Filter-Flo's was defective. Especially when compared to the solid-tub flumes inlet water from the V-12's spewed and barfed into the washbaskets. It did the job when spray rinsing but it was messy, like watching a woman take a leak. After learning what I've learned on this site, like suds-lock, I imagine it was designed to go all over the place so some would end up in the outer tub when spray rinsing. Again, on the solid tub models, there was a neat little slot underneath the main inlet flume that directed water precisely into the outer tub to wash out suds.

Ken you bring up an interesting point about the wording/design of the top of the early V12 filter mounts.  What I found odd was (see image below) is the 1961 machine I sent you (left image) had the words Activator on the mount, which are worn but visible.  The 1961 near TOL model that I have (center image) never had anything printed on top and the 1962 machine (right image) clearly has Activator printed on it.  I wonder what's up with that, how come they would have used different molds for different models.  It could be that the middle machine was the earliest and they decided to make a new mold sometime later in '61.  Not very important but none the less fascinating.

Mark, nope day job is a software developer. :-D

Congrats on the minty virginal freshness!!!

I always assumed the words "ACTIVATOR" had somehow worn off of the sample from your WA-950V. Now that I see that picture again, it does look like they were never there. I have to read that book on Appliance Park; I'm assuming that none of the parts for these early Filter-Flo's were outsourced but you're right: there's too much redundancy.

The washbaskets are another good example of this. From 1961 to 1963, at least, there were two distinct styles of washbasket for these models. They were exactly the same dimensions in every way, but there were two different perforation patterns. Up until you found this 1962 "W"machine I always thought this hole pattern (which was the first) was used exclusively on "V" and "X" models:

...and, up to now, every "W" model I ever saw, including the one I grew up with (Pull-to-start's machine BTW), had the offset pattern (and tone) pictured below. Makes me wonder if GE had another plant somewhere that made the same models with different parts. A minor point, as you say, but for a GE psycho like myself, a puzzlement. Especially when one considers that every variation cost the company a considerable amount of money. The first example seems to have more holes than the second, but I wonder if it made any difference in performance. Wouldn't it be interesting if all of this just amounted to mistakes?

Now that I think of it, Mark's prototype V-12 had a "naked" activator cap as well (I'd bet my bottom dollar this was a Series 1 WA 850V; they hadn't even changed to escutcheon from 1960 gold to baby blue yet). Now that I think of it, those "naked" activators were probably the first run off of the press. Some exec must have demanded there be some brand recognition stamp on more parts. Compare these machines to those made in the early seventies; the "GE" emblem is stamped prominently on almost every visible part:

These were changed in the later machines to combat the consumer complaints of redeposited lint and scum streaks left on dark colored clothing. The problem can occur on any perforated basket machine that spin drains. Both MT and Frigidare 1-18s had problems with this that they never really addressed. This is why that on WPs new DD machines they had to come up with a fix for this problem as both WP and Sears were taking DD washers back and exchanging them with BD machines as many consumers that line dried  clothing were complaining.

As we all know the original V-12 machines worked well as can the MTs and Frigidare 1-18s and all were heavily tested before being sold. But interesting things happen when they are in the hands of consumers. But of coerce if you properly sort your clothes and use the correct amount of detergent etc you will never have this problem. Much of this was written about in GE service manuels and discussed at the dozens of service meetings that I have attended over the years.

I can answer this: No, it does not pause during the first spin and it does have a decent-to-generous spray rinse during that interval.

Tom Turbomatic, I think, gave the definitive and very thorough answer as to why the solid tub FF's did have a pause during the first spin that had to do with a complicated cam arrangement on the timer. It was very satisfying to read because, after 45 years I remembered that odd pause that seemed to occur for no reason whatsoever in our beautiful "gold" and white 1960( the Golden Anniversary Year) FF. Our 1962 FF just spun and sprayed away. You might try to find it using his name and some reference to GE and/or Filter-Flo solid tub pauses in the Searchalator.

Our 1956 non-FF GE had the spin pause.  I vaguely remember the manual saying something about pausing for someting like suds kill???

mysterious breather pause too just after it emptied out all that water. Odd, I was told it was a suds kill feature, can't think of any odd cam arrangement that would need to produce this. Must check out the timer on my '56 and see.

Jon, you mean you don't have this machine connected and in use occassionally and not know that little tidbit?  Ours didn't quite empty out all the water when it paused, it coassted down to a stop and still had a little bit of water in it at the bottom.  Maybe it had something to do with sediment settling and the ejector tube, if GE had one.

What Tom said was:

"While the pause was to help kill suds, it had to be there because from the start of Activation up until that point, the motor circuit ran through the water level switch in the collector basin in the outer tub. After all of the water was pumped out of the basin, it caused the switch to reset and the machine to stop, then the rest of the spin was directly between the timer contacts and the motor."

My faulty memory circuitry has many pauses as well . I was wrong about the cam; I meant the spin cycle contacts. Odd arrangement. Also, now that we've been talking about this I seem to remember that there WAS, in fact, a spray rinse on our 1960 Solid Tub Filter-Flo. I think it occurred right before the pause.

Also, Gansky might be able to help out on this one, the original fill flume on my 1957 TOL Filter-flo has an odd slit-shaped outlet on the bottom (there's one on the top of some for the rinse dispenser water) that looks like it diverts some of the spray water directly into the outer tub; I assume that's also to prevent Suds Lock? They also had a small metal plate in the back of the flume to direct water above and below to service those outlets. That old Lexan flume is a wonderful piece of engineering compared to later rubber flumes pictured above in the V-12's. Pity they break so easily if one takes the top off of the washer carelessly.

I think Ken is on to something about switching between the wash fill and spin circuit, but that should also happen in the rinse unless the rinse somehow was a timed fill- which would be silly.

Ours never paused in the rinse spin only the wash spin.