Norge Combo

I saw my first one in New jersey at my Great Aunt Lou and uncle jack's farm house in Jackson.They had the 1958 Bendix Duaomatic. Our neighborhood had Westinghouse laundromat washers built in at construction but some of us didn't want them because the pair had to be apart and you had to go to your utility room outside sometimes in the rain or snow to take the wash to and from the dryer. So,a lot of,I would say at least ten,houses got the combinations and ,at that time,there were manay different brands in the combo business. Bendix,Whirlpool,Speed Queen,Sears Kenmore,Westinghouse,Norge,Crosley and Montgomery Ward/Signature.The Kenmore was similar to the Whirlpool The Crosley was similar to the Bendix but,IMOHO,the Crosley was more clasic in design with the square window as oposed to a round one. The Signature was similar to the Westinghouse but had a straight front instead of a slanted one.
We went to Sears to get a replacement washer for our Easy Rivera that had serious issues with its pump assembly.When I saw the combo,I imediately recognised it from advertisements and neighbors who had it.I ran right to it and the saleslady saw my excitement thinking I was lost and questioned me about where my parents were. I showed her my parents and told her my Aunt lou had a similar washer/dryer combo and my parents were looking at washers but my grandmother ad the Sears chargecard and would be very interested in seeing the combo.She went right over and showed my grandmother the Lady Kenmore gas combinations and she bought it in 3 minutes.We got it on 11/21/1963.The next day,Kenedy was assasinated.My Dad replaced it on 01/11/1987. It was repared three times and maintained via Sears Service on a 6 month interval. Chuck was our service tech and knew these babies inside out. He cussed my dad out one day because,during a new floor tile instalation,Dad did not know about the ballance system lock needing to be loosened. I tried to tell him but he looked at me like he was going to hit me so I eased off. Had we not had the service agreement(10 years!!!) It would have cost us over $400.Chuck had to basicaly rebuild the entire unit and replace the entire ballance system.Once done,the machine rocked. During his first visit (my grandmother used Super Suds instead of Dash or All,it was on sale at Food Fair extra S&H Green stamps)and suds galore came out as she mopped it all up cussing at the combo like a sailer!Chuck did me a favor and connected the inside drumb light to come on like the panel light as the machine was set for any cycle.He was the best and liked my interest as he would do a thorough check up on that great piece of American enginuity.I heard rumor that Electrolux has a similar machine on the back burner.


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Post# 345255 4/28/2009 at 09:48 (5,469 days old) by veg-o-matic (Baltimore, Hon!)
Checkrate/Likes Thought I'd share this picture I found of a Norge combo. A Dispensomat, no less. Anyone seen one of these in person? veg

Post# 345318 , Reply# 1 4/28/2009 at 14:43 (5,469 days old) by askomiele (Belgium Ghent)
Checkrate/Likes I saw the commercial version of this long time ago! It was not a combo, just a bigger frontload washer...

Post# 345364 , Reply# 2 4/28/2009 at 18:46 (5,468 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes People at the end of my block had one, I was in their house about 3 times before they moved back to California. It was probably around a 1960 or 1961 model. It was definitely a Norge combo!!

Post# 345397 , Reply# 3 4/28/2009 at 22:37 (5,468 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)
Checkrate/Likes About as rare as an Apex.

Post# 345424 , Reply# 4 4/29/2009 at 01:31 (5,468 days old) by hilovane (Columbus OH)
Checkrate/Likes I spent my high school years at a boarding school, where we'd do our laundry each week at a local launderette, which (literally) had an assortment of top- and front-loading washers (GE, Speed Queen, Hoyt) and a bank of Norge front-loaders not unlike the one pictured. I used them from time to time...decent machines, as I remember.

Post# 345438 , Reply# 5 4/29/2009 at 07:21 (5,468 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)
Checkrate/Likes I wonder if these were just the water-based version of their self-service dry cleaner units which they had at the washaterias (with the bubble sign...) I saw a review of these in a 1959(?) Consumer Reports magazine. Where'd you find the picture?

Post# 345441 , Reply# 6 4/29/2009 at 08:21 (5,468 days old) by dogboy44 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes *Norge Village?* I remember that!

Post# 345491 , Reply# 7 4/29/2009 at 14:09 (5,468 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes A rare bird for sure. I have one of these needle packets too, as well as the top loading washer version. They were brilliant advertising as women would keep them in their sewing boxes for years, even after their most-used needles were pulled out. Never throw anything away. The parts breakdown for these Norge combos are just incredible - crammed full of parts. Judging by the suspension system, the machine could not have had much of a spin beyond 300 rpm further stunted by a rather small drum, but I would still love to find one, and a box of spare parts!

Post# 346036 , Reply# 8 5/2/2009 at 09:03 (5,465 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)
Checkrate/Likes *Wow I never knew* this machine even existed until now! If we think it it will come!

Post# 346066 , Reply# 9 5/2/2009 at 14:57 (5,465 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes *Washer dryer combinations* I saw my first one in New jersey at my Great Aunt Lou and uncle jack's farm house in Jackson.They had the 1958 Bendix Duaomatic. Our neighborhood had Westinghouse laundromat washers built in at construction but some of us didn't want them because the pair had to be apart and you had to go to your utility room outside sometimes in the rain or snow to take the wash to and from the dryer. So,a lot of,I would say at least ten,houses got the combinations and ,at that time,there were manay different brands in the combo business. Bendix,Whirlpool,Speed Queen,Sears Kenmore,Westinghouse,Norge,Crosley and Montgomery Ward/Signature.The Kenmore was similar to the Whirlpool The Crosley was similar to the Bendix but,IMOHO,the Crosley was more clasic in design with the square window as oposed to a round one. The Signature was similar to the Westinghouse but had a straight front instead of a slanted one. We went to Sears to get a replacement washer for our Easy Rivera that had serious issues with its pump assembly.When I saw the combo,I imediately recognised it from advertisements and neighbors who had it.I ran right to it and the saleslady saw my excitement thinking I was lost and questioned me about where my parents were. I showed her my parents and told her my Aunt lou had a similar washer/dryer combo and my parents were looking at washers but my grandmother ad the Sears chargecard and would be very interested in seeing the combo.She went right over and showed my grandmother the Lady Kenmore gas combinations and she bought it in 3 minutes.We got it on 11/21/1963.The next day,Kenedy was assasinated.My Dad replaced it on 01/11/1987. It was repared three times and maintained via Sears Service on a 6 month interval. Chuck was our service tech and knew these babies inside out. He cussed my dad out one day because,during a new floor tile instalation,Dad did not know about the ballance system lock needing to be loosened. I tried to tell him but he looked at me like he was going to hit me so I eased off. Had we not had the service agreement(10 years!!!) It would have cost us over $400.Chuck had to basicaly rebuild the entire unit and replace the entire ballance system.Once done,the machine rocked. During his first visit (my grandmother used Super Suds instead of Dash or All,it was on sale at Food Fair extra S&H Green stamps)and suds galore came out as she mopped it all up cussing at the combo like a sailer!Chuck did me a favor and connected the inside drumb light to come on like the panel light as the machine was set for any cycle.He was the best and liked my interest as he would do a thorough check up on that great piece of American enginuity.I heard rumor that Electrolux has a similar machine on the back burner.