Thread Number: 72558  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Does anyone have a Wheilpool washer and dryer from 1952?
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Post# 958646   9/22/2017 at 20:32 (2,379 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

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I am woundering if anyone has a Whirlpool washer and dryer from the early 1950's, like in the film "Mother Takes A Holiday" by Whirlpool.




Post# 958654 , Reply# 1   9/22/2017 at 21:52 (2,379 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

Check your spelling kiddo! You should check out that auction in Pa.

Post# 958659 , Reply# 2   9/22/2017 at 23:26 (2,379 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)        

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Sorry for the spelling! Apparently, if I want to edit a post, it won't let me! It wants me to "Upgrade", but I should not have to upgrade, and it wants me to donate, or something...

Post# 958678 , Reply# 3   9/23/2017 at 02:55 (2,379 days old) by washdaddy (Baltimore)        

Sean-
Only paying members of the website have the privilege of doing edits on their posts. That is why it's advisable you preview your post prior to posting it in the forum. There you can make corrections.
Paying members have more privileges than those who have a basic membership. (i.e. access to all forums, e-mails on the site, edits...and perhaps a few other things...) The cost of a membership is very reasonable for what you get.


Post# 958686 , Reply# 4   9/23/2017 at 06:18 (2,379 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

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Link to a thread from 2008 with great photos of an early '50s Whirlpool.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO Frigilux's LINK


Post# 958733 , Reply# 5   9/23/2017 at 14:34 (2,378 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

How strange that it had a straight vane agitator instead of the normal wavy one that Whirlpool always had.

Post# 958739 , Reply# 6   9/23/2017 at 15:01 (2,378 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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The early 50s Kenmores also had a straight-vane agitator.


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Post# 958750 , Reply# 7   9/23/2017 at 15:53 (2,378 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

That straight vane agravator was better at sucking sheets underwater in the deep rinse when they had air bubbles underneath them from the strong aerated fill than the Super Roto Swirl. Anytime I see a huge back end struggling under a skirt and pulling the fabric from side to side it makes me think of the sheets in my mom's Kenmores. 


Post# 958816 , Reply# 8   9/23/2017 at 22:35 (2,378 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

I know that Kenmore always had straight vane agitators, just wondering if this agitator came from a Kenmore. Even the oldest of Whirlpool washers had the agitator with the waves as far as I knew.

Post# 958869 , Reply# 9   9/24/2017 at 08:57 (2,378 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Upper end Kenmore models had the RotoSwirl agitator.


Post# 958880 , Reply# 10   9/24/2017 at 10:45 (2,377 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)        

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Back in the 60's, cousins of mine had a 50 something basic Whirlpool and it had the same straight vane as the Kenmore in previous post.

Post# 958891 , Reply# 11   9/24/2017 at 12:11 (2,377 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

Yes, I'm aware of Kenmore having roto swirl agitators. Wasn't aware that Whirlpool had straight vane agitators on their BOL early machines. I know they ALWAYS had the wavy agitator on every washer I have ever seen of the old BD machines and I question whether that straight vane agitator was original or if it was one someone put on the machine later. That wavy agitator was in part what made Whirlpool washers "Whirlpool" washers. So it would seem very strange that Whirlpool would put an agitator that was obviously made for a Kenmore in one of their machines. Also obvious that they were good agitator is the fact that Speed Queen copied the design for their own machines to this day.

Post# 958900 , Reply# 12   9/24/2017 at 13:07 (2,377 days old) by lesto (Atlanta)        

Early 50's Whirlpools definitely had straight vane agitators. In fact, the earliest models had RED straight vanes. Robert at one time had a 52 with the straight vane. Whirlpool did't change over to the wavy ones until around 1954 or 55.

Post# 958901 , Reply# 13   9/24/2017 at 13:31 (2,377 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

WOW!!! I am glad you told me that. Now that you said that, I do vaguely remember a red looking agitator like that. I am really surprised about that. I guess they came up with the "wavy" agitator associated with "Whirlpool" a little later. Thank you, I am happy to be educated on that. Being 61 now, I thought I had seen it all. Apparently if I did, I forgot some of it. LOL I do remember seeing the old old Whirlpools with the button on front that makes the lid pop open, just didn't pay attention to the agitator I guess.


Post# 958903 , Reply# 14   9/24/2017 at 13:45 (2,377 days old) by agiflow2 ()        

Whirlpool actually had an aluminum surgilator as early as 1950 in their upper end washers. There is a thread on it in the archives.

Post# 958905 , Reply# 15   9/24/2017 at 13:59 (2,377 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)        

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straight vanes were the norm for most all automatics, and even wringers.....it was a matter of production, one molded, it had to be pulled out from the die in a straight line.....

at the time, even a Super RotoSwirl could be pulled straight out of a die......

when the Surgilator was created/introduced, it was just as revolutionary for the machine as well as the mechanical die used to make it....

one of the first mechanical die used that separated into three pieces to release the finished product, mainly the wavy vanes, under a normal die, could not be pulled straight out....

I think it comes around as the Picture-of-the-day showing the huge die and the creators showing the unit and finished product....



Post# 958912 , Reply# 16   9/24/2017 at 15:29 (2,377 days old) by agiflow2 ()        

When I originally came to this site in 2003 there were not a lot of washer videos at the time. There was see it wash on the site, but I don't think youtube was around then.

Anyway for those of us who can not own these classic marvels of technology we can always see videos of these classic workhorses doing their thing. I always thought the surgilator was one of the coolest looking designs for an oscillating agitator.

Whirlpool had that agitator as early as 1950 in their more expensive models and kept the basic design with some modifications until the 1980s. Whirlpool must have thought a lot of that design as they didn't switch agitators like GE did. It was like GE couldn't figure out what worked best in their tubs until they finally settled on that swirl agitator.

For those of you have used all different kinds of WP/KM washers over the years, how would you rank the surgilator against all the offerings of the WP/KM family as a whole ? I would think the early bakelite straight vanes were another brute force of WP.



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