Thread Number: 71638
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
POD 7/13/2017 |
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Post# 947953 , Reply# 1   7/13/2017 at 05:10 (2,449 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 947956 , Reply# 3   7/13/2017 at 05:14 (2,449 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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That's what I thought, too, Bob. Don't recall seeing this one before. I was under the impression all Apex automatics featured the 'bouncing tub.'
Apex Experts: Did this machine, with its Spiral Dasher agitator come before or after the bouncing tub system? Or were they produced simultaneously as different models? There's always something new to learn in the world of vintage appliances. |
Post# 947957 , Reply# 4   7/13/2017 at 05:15 (2,449 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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I just read about White sewing machine company! That is where White consolidated industries came from! LOL I should have known I guess. They bought up a bunch of different appliance companies from the 50's on. |
Post# 947963 , Reply# 6   7/13/2017 at 05:38 (2,449 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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Until viewing this ad, I never knew that the Spiral Dasher made it out of the wringer machines and into an automatic. Wow! |
Post# 947968 , Reply# 8   7/13/2017 at 05:46 (2,449 days old) by Easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)   |   | |
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. . . a wringer Apex washer with the spiral agitator. Interesting contraption. Jerry Gay |
Post# 947999 , Reply# 9   7/13/2017 at 07:48 (2,449 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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I would guess this ad (from a trade mag) is from 1957 or so. Apex made washers for Universal, Zenith and Montgomery Wards with the fiberglas tub, which is shown but not mentioned in the ad, but other than for Universal, all seem to have been agitator machines. I have parts diagrams of the Apex washers with a transmission and drive system similar to Beam/Franklin designed machines.
On the South Dakota appliance farm, we saw a Wardaway (Mont. Wards) dryer with this same panel styling made by Apex. The small door in the center of the panel was a lint filter that pulled out. Which, brings us to around to White Sewing Machine. They acquired Franklin and a couple of other brands in the late 50's for a move into the major appliance market. As the story goes, the Apex factory was abruptly closed in 58 so this ad puts that closing into a bit more context. |
Post# 948002 , Reply# 10   7/13/2017 at 08:09 (2,449 days old) by lesto (Atlanta)   |   | |
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The timer looks exactly like the one on the 55 ABC. I would love to see that agitator in action. |
Post# 948005 , Reply# 11   7/13/2017 at 08:18 (2,449 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 948019 , Reply# 12   7/13/2017 at 09:14 (2,449 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Reading the text of this ad closely it says...
"Apex Spiral Dasher washers give you competition edge-fine profit at lower retail price levels. For bigger profits sell the Apex Wash-A-Matic. Step up customers to the Wash-A-Matic" The Wash-A-Matic was the Bouncing Basket machine, so this machine was their lower end model as the Bouncing Basket must have been their top of the line machine! Here is the drive components of this machine, notice the Beam transmission with some kind of solenoid clutch to make it spin. |
Post# 948027 , Reply# 13   7/13/2017 at 10:00 (2,449 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 948056 , Reply# 14   7/13/2017 at 16:52 (2,449 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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Robert, I think the least you could do for all of us is to come up with one of these units so we can see it operate on youtube! LOL You need to work on that. |
Post# 948086 , Reply# 15   7/13/2017 at 22:35 (2,449 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 948090 , Reply# 16   7/13/2017 at 23:23 (2,449 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 948095 , Reply# 17   7/13/2017 at 23:57 (2,449 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 948128 , Reply# 19   7/14/2017 at 06:42 (2,448 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 948163 , Reply# 20   7/14/2017 at 11:00 (2,448 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Have been at this for days now, ever since the dasher thread went up. No one in the club has one and this was the first POD. Have been enthralled by this agitator forever, and would just die to have one or see one an action. What a magnificent creature the Spiral Dasher is--and OH those holes!!! We've seen holes in the bottom of Norge Agitators, and some others, but none where all three fins are festooned with them. Will they make a million mini-currents? The one in the thread of course only has only two fins and I was wondering if Brad was going to grab it and do his wonderworks to it. I sure hope so!
Mainly I was trying to imagine how the dasher moved the load. At first blush, it looks like a lot like a Spiralator which keeps a load moving around and around and down. But then when the POD went up those fins looked to kick backward at the bottom which would mean the load would move in like manner to that of a Rotoswirl or a Surgilator. We'll have to wait to see the automatic version of this again to be sure. Maybe someone would email it to me. But gosh dang, if our work is not desperately set out for us in the pursuit of the illustrious dasher, I don't know what is. |
Post# 948206 , Reply# 21   7/14/2017 at 18:04 (2,448 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Post# 948234 , Reply# 22   7/14/2017 at 22:48 (2,448 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Oh my God, Frigilux, those vids are fabulous, especially the low water level performance. Have been gobsmacked lately with the tempo--the speed of agitation--of some of these old, old, very old machines. The Spiral Dasher is furious, just like the Hydractor. When you consider the typical loads of the 40's and 50's, such as: thick diapers, heavy linen, stiff denim, 100% thick cotton garments, little wonder these behemoths of agitation were the washday standard.
And if you had something fragile, the instructions were to wash for only one or two minutes. In fact, there is an ad somewhere, featuring a pic of the Spiral Dasher in very low water levels, an inch or two, for delicates, too low for any kind of fury, boasting that the Apex can wash anything. Thanks so much for finding these, Gene; now who's gonna be the first to snag one of these rare pterodactyls? We all know--right here, right now!--that sooner or later, someone WILL find one. And isn't that simply wonderful! |
Post# 948240 , Reply# 23   7/15/2017 at 00:17 (2,448 days old) by speedqueen (Metro-Detroit)   |   | |
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