Thread Number: 71531  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
So, can I really cram one more vintage washer into the Ogden Laundry?
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Post# 946533   7/3/2017 at 13:06 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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Yep.   Here's the 2017 summer line-up.  See if you can spot the new kid on the block....  


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Post# 946534 , Reply# 1   7/3/2017 at 13:09 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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Score ten points if you picked this one.... 


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Post# 946536 , Reply# 2   7/3/2017 at 13:15 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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OK, enough teasing...  

 

The new addition is nothing less than a 1955 Frigidaire WV-35 Pulsamatic washer!!  

 

And yes, this may look familar to many of you.  If I understand the legends correctly, this washer was saved from the Chatham dump (presumably by none other than our own jetcone aka 'Jon') and then spent time in Minneapolis (no doubt chez Robert), in Omaha (fostered by Greg most likely), then off to Waterloo Iowa with Ben. But now the washer has been re-homed with a turquoise-obsessed Canadian of all things....  Well, I promise to take good care of her and will not cast her aside when I finally get my next big toy.  I just need a truck and an Escalera... LOL  

 

 

 


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Post# 946537 , Reply# 3   7/3/2017 at 13:17 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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And since I slotted the 'new' Frigidaire right away (the '51 GE cried....) I had to do some laundry to test her out.  


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Post# 946538 , Reply# 4   7/3/2017 at 13:20 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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Oh yes, I filmed this, too, just in case anyone has not already observed the unique washing action of the Pulsamatic.   

 

I remember when I visited Robert back in 2013, I was awed by the difference in washing action.  But I never thought I'd actually get a Frigidaire like this!  I feel honoured and duty-bound to preserve this piece of club history.

 

I'm getting kinda Frigidaire-heavy in the laundry room now though...  About time I got cracking on a certain couple of GE's waiting for me in the garage, no??  

 





Post# 946541 , Reply# 5   7/3/2017 at 13:38 (2,482 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

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Great video and commentary, Paul! The pulsations are so fast it's almost like listening to someone's teeth chatter. It certainly has no problems turning over a full load. Did the premium-line '55 also fill from the ten o'clock position? One more question: Did the '55s still throw their water into the cabinet or was there an outer tub by this time?

That machine has travelled more than I have, LOL! Thanks for sharing it with us.


Post# 946542 , Reply# 6   7/3/2017 at 13:45 (2,482 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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Hi Eugene!  I am not sure if the WV65 Unimatic version had the same fill flume position - I'll dig in my doctrine to see if I have anything about that.  But for sure, both machines had an outer tub by this time - probably so that they could get away with a painted steel cabinet for the lower-end model.  

 

This really is a cool machine - I think I'm going to have loads of fun with it.... LOL 


Post# 946549 , Reply# 7   7/3/2017 at 14:20 (2,482 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ)        

Wow! Thanks!

The turnover from the shorter, faster stroke looks like it'd be gentler on clothes. Opinions?

------------------

YouTube fun fact to keep in the back of your mind. YouYube's auto-generated subtitles are horribly inaccurate in every language, whether translated or not. Just something to keep in mind if anyone's making a vid and wants it fully accessible to people who'd have to depend on subtitles to understand.

Jim


Post# 946590 , Reply# 8   7/3/2017 at 19:51 (2,482 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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Paul, if that was in Robert's basement, I've used that washer at the 2001 Wash-in. 


Post# 946620 , Reply# 9   7/4/2017 at 01:49 (2,481 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)        

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Paul, I had no idea Frigidaire had a BOL automatic that was so different. At first I thought it was an early fifties model. And what great turnover! Congratulations!


Post# 946630 , Reply# 10   7/4/2017 at 04:26 (2,481 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)        

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First time I ever saw that washer was in the video "The Washers that we love" in Robert's Video back in 2007. (Wow... I've been here for ten years.)

That's the video I was linked to and found AW.org.

I always thought that the Pulsator was edited to make it move that fast.

Really cool Machine. And One of a kind as far as we know.

But what's even more cool is the fact that it was found here on the Cape at the Chatham dump by Jon.


Post# 946633 , Reply# 11   7/4/2017 at 04:38 (2,481 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

The very first Frigidaire washer I ever saw operate was a 1957 tower control BOL machine that had this same mechanism and agitator. I was mesmerized by it at about 7 years old. Then I never saw another one that operated that way till I started working on them about 7 years later. For a long time I thought I imagined it moving that quickly until one day I happened upon a BOL Frigidaire that must have been about a 1960 model and it had the same mechanism.

Post# 946648 , Reply# 12   7/4/2017 at 07:50 (2,481 days old) by Frigidaireguy (Wiston-Salem, NC)        
FILL

The fill on the Unimatic came in from the center back - Just like previous unimatics. My Grandmother had the '55 Unimatic - Wish I still had it.
Bob


Post# 946649 , Reply# 13   7/4/2017 at 07:51 (2,481 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

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Reply #7: Is Paul out of hearing range? Are you sure?  OK, I wasn't going to mention the elephant in the room, but since you were brave enough to bring it up, I'll add my two cents: Paul is such a great guy; he's a true AW treasure; but thank God for subtitles because the man's Canadian accent is so heavy I can barely understand a word he says!🇨🇦⚠️


Post# 946651 , Reply# 14   7/4/2017 at 08:00 (2,481 days old) by akronman (Akron/Cleveland Ohio)        
lol

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lol

Post# 946652 , Reply# 15   7/4/2017 at 08:06 (2,481 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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All right, that's it... I'll post in French from here on in.... LOL   

 

Seriously, I'll have to check for that subtitling on YouTube - I didn't know that was even available.  Then again, it's a wonder I can even upload a video given that I think the impeller was the greatest advance in dishwasher technology!!  


Post# 946680 , Reply# 16   7/4/2017 at 12:05 (2,481 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Wobbulator=Pulsamator

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So I wanted to wish you a happy Dominion Day, Paul, because I remembered as a summer kid in Canada that when we had our fourth you had your Dominionn Day, so I looked it up to be sure, and it says Dominion Day not only is July 1st not 4th, but that you don't even have it anymore, ha ha ha ha! Dummy me.

What a great Fourth of July thread this is. As a kid my grandfather used to tell people that I lived in the basement next to my grandmother's washer, a pusamatic. How I LOVED that washing machine. Not sure what year but it looked like yours except the dials were green and it filled at noonday rather than at ten; also the pause was less distinct between alternations of hot and cold but that could be a faulty memory or I was a calmer boy.

Your extra large load was a perfect choice to show how well that machine moves clothes. Did you notice that the movement of the load is nearly a perfect match for the movement of a load in a Philco Ford with the wobbulator?

I would love to have a pulsamatic, and sacrilegious though it may be, I prize it infinitely more than a unimatic: I like the sounds, especially the rhythm of the spin as it ramps up to cruise, the gush and the rush; I like the slower spin speed: don't want anything wrung as tight as a unimatic does except maybe towels. And the agitation--well, Paul, your movie's worth a thousand paragraphs.

You sounded so professional in the video, like a documentarian, so articulate and well-spoken, different from the comedian I met in DC. Say hello to Chris, and I would very much like to visit. My grandfather would have me sleeping next to your new toy. And many thanks for all the hard work and time it takes to make one of these documentaries, not to mention, the love. Now off to blow stuff up, and eat like a little piggy.


Post# 946716 , Reply# 17   7/4/2017 at 18:46 (2,481 days old) by realvanman (Southern California)        
Overflow rinse

What a super cool machine! I would LOVE to have something like that.

I had not yet heard of an overflow rinse. Does that effectively float the suds up off of the clothes?

Happy Fourth to all of the Americans here today. :)

Keith


Post# 946723 , Reply# 18   7/4/2017 at 19:53 (2,481 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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Solid-tub (no perforations in the spin drum) washers run overflow rinses to float away suds and lightweight lint/debris.  Some have an overflow both at end of the wash period and the agitated rinse, some only at end of the wash, possibly some only at the agitated rinse.  Some continue filling through the entire agitated rinse.


Post# 946724 , Reply# 19   7/4/2017 at 20:00 (2,481 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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Good to see you "made room for it" Paul, but you'll have to put an air mattress in front of it for Phil, he likely won't stay in the house ever again.

This machine has really made the rounds, Jon found it at the Chatham, MA transfer station *the dump gift shop* some 20 years ago and it's made it all the way to your capable hands to continue the AW tradition of sharing. I didn't have to do much to it, a timer motor once (luckily it petered out during spin so no flood,) I cleaned the plate and replaced the snubber cup and I believe I worked on the pump in the early days of it's foster-stay.

It's a wonderfully fun washer, enjoy! :-)


Post# 946766 , Reply# 20   7/5/2017 at 06:56 (2,480 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )        
The first Automatic

We had, and the one I fondly remember as a child, My Grandmother replaced her Apex wringer with one of these from W.E.Shaw Furniture in my hometown of Lenoir, it lasted until I was 4 in 1969, I can remember it tangling the heck out of clothes and my Grandmother saying that proved it washed well!

Post# 946773 , Reply# 21   7/5/2017 at 08:27 (2,480 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

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Paul - I'm so glad the Frigidaire made it safely to your basement! Enjoy - I always felt this washer did an amazing job, especially with towels.

Ben


Post# 947100 , Reply# 22   7/8/2017 at 05:47 (2,477 days old) by potatochips ( )        

Nice post Paul! Ive been doing a bit of research on the Frigidaires lately, nice to see a video of one!

Post# 947216 , Reply# 23   7/8/2017 at 19:19 (2,477 days old) by TrainGuy (Key West, FL)        
Congrats!

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Paul,

Your laundry room is fantastic. Thanks for posting a video of your WV-35. I've never tried mine out. With no basements in the south, I have my collection in bedroom #4 and a storage unit.

As soon as I find a WCIR-60 and a WEG/DEEG set, I'll be selling off 20 washers & dryers.

Rich


Post# 947222 , Reply# 24   7/8/2017 at 20:04 (2,477 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        
Fun watching

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Paul - I like that the knobs face up, you turn to select the wash cycle choice, press down and it starts to load. There's something I like about that vertical knob arrangement. Anyways, it's a neat machine; definitely more of a pulse with great turnover. It's funny...the interior tub color reminds me of my grandmother's roaster she gave us years ago (and still have). It would be nice if they painted the interior tub color something like a solid blue, turquoise(for you), or something else. That's just me - fussy about tub color.

Congratulations! Nice video!



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