Thread Number: 25189
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Post# 388489   10/27/2009 at 12:58 (5,287 days old) by ingliscanada ()        

Are the Hamilton Washers and Dryers made by Hamilton Beach, the same company that makes milkshake machines? My grandparents had an ancient Beach stove many years ago, when I was a child. I was wondering if that could have come from the same company.




Post# 388494 , Reply# 1   10/27/2009 at 13:23 (5,287 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        
I don't believe they were related

 turquoisedude's profile picture
I don't know much about the Hamilton brand of washers and dryers but I think they were made by a distinct company, not related to Hamilton-Beach (they made mostly smaller appliances). I can't say I ever heard of Hamilton marketing their appliances in Canada, either.
Beach was a Canadian brand name - I still see Beach ranges turn up in the local used appliance stores! I think they were related to the Findlay company (they made ranges too)...

Post# 388520 , Reply# 2   10/27/2009 at 15:16 (5,287 days old) by everythingold (Grand Rapids, Michigan)        

everythingold's profile picture
Hamilton only made dryers, washers were sourced.

Post# 388523 , Reply# 3   10/27/2009 at 15:23 (5,287 days old) by ingliscanada ()        
It was not common.

 Hamilton was probably not as common as many other brands, but I've seen a few of them in appliance books and such - mostly dryers. I actually found a scrapped Hamilton dryer here in Canada one time. The dryers have a window in the door, a drawer-like lint screen at the bottom, and a smaller exhaust duct (like the old Easy dryers). I've also seen from past thread entries that Hamilton had the mechanics from different companies. Some said that the dryer had the mechanics from Easy, and some said that the earlier model washers had the mechanics from Norge, and later washers from another company (I forgot which). Is anybody familiar with this make? I'd like to learn more about it.

Post# 388570 , Reply# 4   10/27/2009 at 18:48 (5,287 days old) by dblrinz ()        
Hamilton Washers

 Hamilton washers were rebadged Norge washers...My Gram had one and I barely remeber it, but would love to see one again! I was five when it caught fire and was replace by a center dial 606. The dryer outlived her and it did have the 3" exhaust. I believe the set was purchased mid 50's to early 60's - My father can't remeber really...Hamilton dryers were very big in our town - Most had a center dial 'tag paired with a Hamilton dry. I assume this was because most everyone had gas dryers.

Post# 388620 , Reply# 5   10/27/2009 at 20:52 (5,287 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)        
Hamilton dryers

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The automatic clothes dryer was invented by Hamilton. He (I heard but haven't found yet) wrote a book all about this invention of his.No relation at all to "Hamiltn Beach".

Post# 388731 , Reply# 6   10/28/2009 at 10:07 (5,286 days old) by davy1063 (Pennsylvania)        
and one cannot forget....

 the Sun-E-Day ozone lamp. My aunt (who coincidentally lived in Pittsburgh at the time) had one.

Post# 388777 , Reply# 7   10/28/2009 at 11:55 (5,286 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

The inventor's name is Ross Moore. He could not get anyone interested in producing his dryer until he went to a sheet metal shop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Earlier dryers had put the heat source under the tumbling clothing which often caused scorching damage. He put the heat source above the drum and pulled the heat down. Hamiltons featured "Carrier Current" drying. Room temperature air was pulled into the bottom of the machine. Some of it was carried up over the heating element by the counter-clockwise tumbling. The rest of the air blows through the base, carrying with it the cooler, moisture-laden air from the drying chamber brought down by the tumbling action. Keeping the clothes in the steamy atmosphere while they are drying made for soft and fluffy fabrics, although Hamiltons took a little longer to dry than high airflow dryers. There is also some thinking that because the moisture was not blown out of the drying chamber there was less of a chance for static electricity to be generated. This has something to do with the electron bonds in the water molecules and the way the moving water molecules in a cloud generate an electric charge, but don't quote me on that. My 1951 Hamilton dries Perma Press items perfectly on the "D" of the "MED" heat setting in about 30 minutes after the 1200 spin in the Miele W1986. And, just like I remembered from 1955, the ozone lamp casts a beautiful purple light on the items tumbling past the window.

Post# 388794 , Reply# 8   10/28/2009 at 12:45 (5,286 days old) by ingliscanada ()        
Old style air system

 It's easy to see that Hamilton was the first clothes dryer, since it had the old-fashioned down-draft air current that's been used in large commercial dryers for years after. A few old dryers used that setup, where the heat source is above the drum, the air is drawn from top to bottom, and through a bottom-mounted lint screen. That setup is recognized by the drum perforations around the circumferance of the drum (where the baffles are) instead of the back of the drum, and a bottom-mounted lint screen.

Some of these dryers include:
Pre-HOH Maytag;
Early GE;
AMC Kelvinator;
Early Frigidaire;
Easy;
Early Hotpoint;
Thor;
and of course Hamilton.

I may be wrong, or have missed any. Let me know.

Gary

Post# 388807 , Reply# 9   10/28/2009 at 14:21 (5,286 days old) by macboy91si (Frankfort, KY)        
Local Laundromat

 macboy91si's profile picture
...has some very old Cissell gas fired units with the burner on the top and perf drums. They still take dimes and 20 min or less for a load. The access panels are all charred from 40+ years or heat at the burners. They're so cool, it's a very old working laundry lots of old stuff, making a new post on it.


-Tim

Post# 388852 , Reply# 10   10/28/2009 at 18:40 (5,286 days old) by gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA)        

I've had a number of 'em. One was an early 60's and the other late 60's. I took the late 60's one up to John for his "museum". It had the half-moon window and the Sun-E-Day lamp. It was very kool to watch with the lights in the room all turned off. LSD flashback. It had a funky ignition system that sounded like cranking an old-timey box telephone. I was not impressed. I have found Hamiltons to be good, if quirky, gas dryers.

I have two very early examples downstairs now, rebadged for Frigidaire.

Post# 388854 , Reply# 11   10/28/2009 at 18:47 (5,286 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Early hamilton dryers

 combo52's profile picture
Hamilton made the first GE Frigidare and Hotpoint dryers Blackstone also had a smilier style machine.

Post# 388901 , Reply# 12   10/28/2009 at 21:14 (5,286 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.)        
I knew that Hamiliton made the early Frigidaire Dryers but..

 appliguy's profile picture
I never knew they made the early GE & Hotpoints too!!!! Thanks for the info John....PAT COFFEY

Post# 388904 , Reply# 13   10/28/2009 at 21:35 (5,286 days old) by ingliscanada ()        
No way!

 Hamilton made dryers for GE, Frigidaire and Hotpoint in the early days? WOW, so they were all in the same! Was Easy one of them, too? I know that a characteristic of Hamilton is that it's extremely quiet. Easy is also quiet, and so were the old Hotpoints. And they all had the 3" exhaust duct.

Post# 388906 , Reply# 14   10/28/2009 at 21:38 (5,286 days old) by ingliscanada ()        
What about Blackstone?

 Were Blackstone dryers also made by Hamilton, or just built simularily? Were they almost silent, with the small exhaust duct?

Post# 389031 , Reply# 15   10/29/2009 at 09:57 (5,285 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Many old dryers were modeled on the Hamilton principles of dryer design, even if they were not made by Hamilton. Most were termed "low airflow." There were some differences. The placement of the motor, fan and lights differ between the GE and the Hamilton. The lint screen is different, but in the same place. The door opening is larger on the GE and the belts are not the same size as the Hamilton's. WP, Norge, Westinghouse and others were not built like Hamiltons. I believe it was after 1956 when Consumer Reports noted that dryers had evolved from using higher temperatures and low airflow to using lower drying temperatures and higher airflow.

One of the reasons so many of the old dryers were quiet was the heavy-duty construction. Perforated inner drums meant that they had to have outer tubs. The outer tubs were heavily wrapped in Fiberglass insulation. They hold the heat so well that after the first load, successive loads dry in reduced time. Some, like the GE did not have a cool down period. The 1951 Hamilton has a 5 minute cool down period. Once the timer reaches that point, I start removing shirts & slacks, one at a time, and putting them on hangers. The weight and quality of the tub bearings are remarkable. The drums of many of these dryers, once the belts are removed, can be turned with one finger and will coast along, silently, with no sign of the drum being out of balance or out of round, for several revolutions. The motors were cast iron and had oil wicks for the front and rear bearings. If an older dryer of this type is noisy, it often can be hushed by replacing the belts. These old machines used hydraulic operating thermostats that are very responsive, sometimes cycling the heat off and then back on within a minute. On Hamilton parts lists, the heat control is labeled "oven thermostat." As with the first models of most anything, they were built far better than later models, almost over-built, due in part to the quality of the accepted standard of materials in use back then like heavier gauges of steel, reflecting the manufacturers' desire to present a product that would give long, trouble-free service under then unknown levels of use, so that the owners would be their best salespeople.

Post# 389039 , Reply# 16   10/29/2009 at 10:45 (5,285 days old) by everythingold (Grand Rapids, Michigan)        

everythingold's profile picture
I found one Hamilton, it is now in cleveland, working beautifully. Word is very positive, very gentle, and with the bottom lint trap, you can completely clean out the lint without removing anything. If you run across one, grab it. I think they are relatively rare, at least up here.

Post# 390421 , Reply# 17   11/3/2009 at 07:56 (5,280 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
First Hotpoint Dryer

 The first Hotpoint dryer LD1 was unique among these machines in that it used Calrod heating elements instead of open coil heaters. Hotpoint invented the sealed rod element and gave it that name before GE bought Hotpoint. In fact, GE bought Hotpoint to get the Calrod element. Our LD1 needed new elements years ago and the only thing John had in stock were two heating elements for the Filtrator. They were the same wattage, but too long, so John gently bent them to put some waves in them thus shortening them to fit the Hotpoint's heater box. When they are glowing orange, they almost look like Neon art. The specs for the machine do not mention an ozone lamp. The drum light is recessed in a round hole at the 12 o'clock position in the drum collar, unlike the GE where both the ozone bulb and the incandescent bulb are at the bottom of the machine behind a glass panel with a small opening to allow the ozone to disperse. In these earliest models, the Hotpoint's window is round while the GE's is square and the Hamilton's is rectangular.

Post# 390473 , Reply# 18   11/3/2009 at 12:46 (5,280 days old) by rpm ()        

I found this ad in a Woman's Day magazine, 1971.

Post# 390513 , Reply# 19   11/3/2009 at 15:49 (5,280 days old) by davy1063 (Pennsylvania)        
Did you notice the fine print???

 Under the Hamilton script. "One of the White Consolidated Industries". Ugh!

Post# 390518 , Reply# 20   11/3/2009 at 16:14 (5,280 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
I've seen that ad for the WCI machines before and marveled that they bothered to keep the signature window in the dryer door. Keeping up appearances I suppose...

Post# 390530 , Reply# 21   11/3/2009 at 17:10 (5,280 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Hey Brian --rmp

 mickeyd's profile picture
I just blew up the pic of you wringing your hand--pretty wild and funny !

BUT WHAT is that gorgeous turquoise agitator in your washer? It looks part Spiralator, part Hotpoint fountain-flo. What brand is the washer and is their an American equivalent. Thank you for your time. Great scan. Love the giant eyeball dials; they look like they're spying out of the lower left corners.

Mickey

Post# 390634 , Reply# 22   11/4/2009 at 07:42 (5,279 days old) by ingliscanada ()        
I recognized it BEFORE seeing the WCI fine print!

 At first glance, I saw that dryer was a pure Kelvinator, plus window. I recognized that signature Kelvy long door handle, and the bottom indents on both machines.


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