Lawrence I always thought these were a very cool idea and always wanted one. I have never actually seen in person however, from what little I did see of HP solid tub washers I don't think that they set many longevity records. But I would love to find one of these or the early 1960s Touch Command washers in black of corse. These two HP ST washer models are about the only two that I would get that excited about having.

washer! I'm surprised there isn't one sitting in the warehouse already!!!

Cold only rinsing?  Hmmmm...

I saw one of these in person in 1970 at Gimbels department store on Herald Square. Where Macy's carried GE, Westinghouse, Norge, Maytag and Hoover, Gimbels sold Hotpoint, Whirlpool, Frigidaire and Maytag. Gimbel's also had the Whirlpool "Woodies" that year too. I remember opening the lid to the Duo-Load and being surprised at what looked like a row of plastic fins surrounding the main tub which you couldn't see because the Duo-Load tub and its cover were so large they took up the whole circumference of the opening.

I think this information was sent to me by Tom Turbomatic or by John Combo 52 or by Gansky (sorry, all you white people look alike to me): Basically, most of the trick for the Duo-Load is in the mini-basket and its lid, which is a carefully and intricately  engineered cover, NOT an agitator-mounted lint filter pan which is what it looks like. When using both tubs, the solid tub-style "metered fill"  sends water directly onto the cover of the little tub which sits on the agitator. The water is directed through little channels and chambers into the mini-tub. When the mini-tub fills to capacity, small plastic floats in the cover seal off the inlets and then the same water flow is redirected via other small channels in the middle of the cover down alongside the agitator into the big tub. At the same time, the meter is preset (like a timed-fill machine) to sense that the small tub has filled and then changes the temperature of the fill water to whatever is chosen for the large tub. When that preset level is reached, agitation starts and both tubs go on their merry way with their separate temperatures. There is a gasket in the small tub that prevents any water from that tub from spilling into the main tub during washing. When the spin cycle starts, the throw water from the small tub is directed up and out via channels in the side walls of the plastic basket and is directed via those plastic fins on the side of the main tub I told you about, so the waters from both tubs never meet until they reach the outer cabinet where they spill down to the drain pump. This machine also had a fountain-filter and fabric softener dispenser(which I've never seen) both which could be used when using the main tub only.

It's a wonderful design and I'd love to find one of these but it does look like these weren't built to last.  Consumer Reports was especially nasty to this model. It received the lowest rating for 1969's extensive washing machines report and they even rated a lower-caste Hotpoint model (the one Pete has pictured above with the white doughnut bleach dispenser) as superior to its TOL sibling. One of CU's big complaints was that the agitator was especially over-engineered with an internal bleach dispenser and lint fountain filter (which didn't work when using both tubs, BTW) and difficult to take apart to clean out sand. That was also the year that CU complained that the top-rated 'Tags had backsplash trims that were "inconvenient to clean". Oy.

It's also interesting to note that during the tenure of this model, from 1968 to 1971 their companion Hotpoint dryer was changed from a 31" wide real Taylor Avenue Hotpoint machine to a 27" wide GE appliance park model dressed up to look like a Silhouette. The models pictured below were the first 1968 iteration.

another ad for the early version of the Duo-Load:

and, I believe, its last year:

These machines were never going to satisfy customers with lots of heavy duty dirty laundry like laborers, homes with lots of active kids and farmers. If I had been King of the Forest when these were in stores I would have marketed these as perfect machines for ladies, girly girls and professional women of all walks of life. As most people know there are huge differences in laundering requirements between adults and children and males and females of all ages. The Hotpoints, with special emphasis on the Duo-Load models, would have been great machines for careful laundering of dainties and split color loads. Would have been the perfect choice for my Grandmother who kept her two speed Filter-Flo always on the Gentle speed because she thought the Normal speed was too rough and was not happy when it oversudsdededed with her preferred lessives. As with the Maytags, you'd have to work very hard to make too many suds in a Silhouette.

They would soon be the perforated-tub GEs with the filter ring. After HP and Frigidaire went to perforated tubs I think SQ was the last solid tub machine left on the market.

 

When did Speed Queen stopped making solid tub washers? A friend of mine had a Speed Queen that we scrapped last year (it has been a soaking/spinning machine for quite a long time as agitation stopped working many years ago!) and it was a solid tub washer with SS tub. My aunts had solid tub Speed Queen and Simplicity machines (the Simplicity was a TOL model with lighted panel) and they were from the mid-late seventies and also solid tubs. Also, when did Frigidaire quit making solid tubs in their laundry centers? Was it immediately after WCI took over or a bit later?

I don't remember seeing an Hotpoint solid tub washer. I remember my aunt had a Hotpoint dishwasher with 3 lights on the right side of the control panel from the early seventies but no other Hotpoint appliances in her home...

Phil SQ was the last full sized washer here to have the ST, they stopped at the end of the 1970s, it would be neat to know the exact date. The frigidare SM Agiatub was dropped as soon as WCI took over the Frigidare name.