Thread Number: 56168
The Elégante 92...
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Post# 785067   9/22/2014 at 07:12 (3,475 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
And now for machines that dreams are made out of...

The Blackstone Elégante 92 Washer





Post# 785071 , Reply# 1   9/22/2014 at 07:49 (3,475 days old) by mattywashboy (Perth, Western Australia)        

mattywashboy's profile picture
Such a gorgeous machine! The control panel looks like a giant eye :-) I love the idea of the triple function filter tray too, very good engineering :-)

Post# 785077 , Reply# 2   9/22/2014 at 08:38 (3,475 days old) by bluejay (Havre de Grace, MD)        

bluejay's profile picture
That's a beautiful machine! Is it rare (I imagine it is, but thought I'd ask)?

Post# 785143 , Reply# 3   9/22/2014 at 15:56 (3,474 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Oh yes rare for sure Jason. Any Blackstone washer is rare, but with this design/generation I believe there is only one known to exist at this point.

Post# 785152 , Reply# 4   9/22/2014 at 16:36 (3,474 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        

Another wonderful and interesting article, these are all much appreciated!

 

Where did this design fit in the chronology of Blackstone? IIRC (and I may be wrong!) some Blackstone derived designs were made in Australia, were any of them similar to this?

 


Post# 785165 , Reply# 5   9/22/2014 at 18:03 (3,474 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
Samuel, Blackstone had three major automatic washer designs. This design came after their early design with the tub that lifts off a rubber platform to drain and spin. Their next and last major design from the late 60's was the one used in Australia as well. The rare Hoover automatic washers and dryers were also made using that last Blackstone design.

Post# 785179 , Reply# 6   9/22/2014 at 18:47 (3,474 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

ovrphil's profile picture
some of our members have Blackstone washers and YouTube is the next stop to see them in action

Post# 785196 , Reply# 7   9/22/2014 at 20:10 (3,474 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        
Robert . . .

Thanks for elaborating on this Blackstone! If it was an interim design I wonder why the production life was so short as to leave only one known example? I know Blackstone was never a common brand but this version seems to be in the ultra-exotic category like your Apex or '48 GE one year only model. Having a matching dryer with the big eye console would be awesome, two eyes in the laundry!

 

Were any of the later Blackstone design Hoover automatics sold here in the US?


Post# 785212 , Reply# 8   9/22/2014 at 21:27 (3,474 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

I've seen Blackstone washers here before but to tell you the truth, I've never heard of them before. Even when I was a little kid. What years were they made, and were they a regional brand or a national brand? Who sold them?

Post# 785217 , Reply# 9   9/22/2014 at 22:07 (3,474 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        

Blackstone sold coin op machines in the USA as late as the 1970's.  I have seen them.


Post# 785226 , Reply# 10   9/22/2014 at 23:53 (3,474 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia)        

The pump shown in that article is the same as the pumps used in the Hoovers here from 68 until the early 80's. In the early 80's they went to electric pumps.

The concepts in this article look very similar to the later Design, the big exception being that the later design and the hoovers had a perforated tub.

Leon has a beautiful example of the 585 hoover from 1969-1970, lots of pushbuttons and a built in heater.


Post# 785234 , Reply# 11   9/23/2014 at 01:58 (3,474 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia)        
Very nice Blackstone.

mayfan69's profile picture
Hi Robert,
That's a great looking Blackstone. As Nathan mentioned, the pump and gearbox are the same on the Australian made models.

Samuel: please see the attached link fora bid of my Hoover 565.

Cheers
Leon


CLICK HERE TO GO TO mayfan69's LINK


Post# 785256 , Reply# 12   9/23/2014 at 07:10 (3,474 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

turquoisedude's profile picture

I recently found out that Blackstone made some of the early Viking (Eatons store brand) washers - this would have been in the late 1950s.  I wonder if Blackstone was indeed concentrating on the eastern half of the continent...  


Post# 785261 , Reply# 13   9/23/2014 at 08:27 (3,474 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
Allen, Blackstone-branded consumer laundry ended ~1974 as I understand.  The local butane/gas company carried them briefly around that time.

Post# 785263 , Reply# 14   9/23/2014 at 08:49 (3,474 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

swestoyz's profile picture
Wow, what an interesting article. Another interesting thing that I noticed was the similarity of the pumps and pressure switches used between this generation of Blackstone and the Power Surge Bendix washers. Very, very similar.

Paul, while I would agree with your thoughts that Blackstone focused their marketing towards the east coast, I believe a few Blackstones were found out in Phoenix several years ago. Whether they were transplant machines or legitimately sold out west is something that I'm not sure of.

Ben


Post# 785275 , Reply# 15   9/23/2014 at 10:45 (3,474 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
The Blackstone Elegante-92 Automatic Washer

combo52's profile picture
This is indeed an interesting machine, I am guessing it was made sometime between 1963 and 65? does anyone know for sure.

This machine was BSs 2nd major design AW, it was a complete departure from their 1st AWs that were all mechanical in the control-timer system area. After extolling the advantages of their all mechanically controlled washers they abandoned it and went to conventional electric timer controlled machine.

BSs were not common and I would have to guess that it was probably the poorest selling brand of washers and dryers throughout the time they made washers and dryers.

I only ever saw one BS washer of this model, a customer of ours had one and she called and said she wanted a new TOL washer and we sold her a 1978 WP LFA9800, WPs first fully electronically controlled AW. I am sorry that I did not save her old machine as she even said there was little or nothing wrong with it. I also remember that she called a few days later to complain that the new WP had walked two feet from the wall when she used it. I went out and asked what she had washed that made it walk and she showed me a 3X5 foot rug, I told her that the new washer could not handle an item like that alone and she responded that it never caused any problem in the old washer, I guess that the gyro balance system really worked.

It was probably too bad that BS wasted all the design money making a solid tub washer and then pretty much had to redesign the washer again in the later 60s, but this design did come out in the late 50s when ST washers were still pretty common.

I hope Fred in Springfield Ma. sees this thread as he probably knows more about these BS washers than anybody. Thanks to Fred I have quite a few parts for these BS washers so if any has or finds one get in touch with me.


Post# 785356 , Reply# 16   9/24/2014 at 00:01 (3,473 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        
Not Elegante -92 related but...

ovrphil's profile picture
What happened to these Blackstones, in the videos? Still around with same owners?

1)



2)



3)



4)


(what a neat looking tub inside, eh?)



Post# 785393 , Reply# 17   9/24/2014 at 07:22 (3,473 days old) by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts)        
Just saw this thread!

blackstone's profile picture
I often wondered why everyone in this group never commented on these Blackstones. Having seen so many of them through the years, I didn't think that they were so rare.

I never really liked working on these models. To fix the transmission, my father and I had to lift the entire tub and transmission over the top edge of the collector tank. Putting it back in, we had to get the shaft into the center support, without being able to see anything down there. And see the rubber fill hose at the top of the collector tank? No way to avoid breaking that hose in the process.

The hose between the tank and pump was another inconvenience. No flexibility there. Not to mention that the tank would usually start to rust at that point (or in the center, where the rubber boot was).

I don't think that this machine would spin better than later designs. The later designs had the transmission at the bottom of the cabinet. This previous model had the transmission mid-way up. More likely to spin off-balance, and bang against the collector tank.

I did like the stainless wash tub. I saved a couple of those. Not the biggest tub ever seen. Just the right size for carrying a load of dirt, though.

Glass control panel was nice, too, especially on those models that had a fluorescent light behind it.

Very interesting link. I'll have to reread it for accuracy(!).


Post# 785413 , Reply# 18   9/24/2014 at 08:17 (3,473 days old) by rogera608s (Tucson,AZ)        

This has been a very interesting thread indeed. The Blackstone in the first video is mine and is still alive and well. I recently had a repairman here for warranty work on my Speed Queen 542 and when he saw all the washers he said"Oh you have a Blackstone." He told me he had been doing this for 40 years and was getting ready to retire so knew the machine. I have never seen a Blackstone here in Tucson in the 45 years I have lived here. I found mine in a warehouse of a defunct appliance dealer in Phoenix. There were maybe ten of them in that warehouse-most of them pretty much junk-mostly model 250 and a few 350's The people I dealt with didn't know if the business had been a dealer or not.
Roger


Post# 785463 , Reply# 19   9/24/2014 at 12:24 (3,473 days old) by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts)        
"A steel dynamic balancing ring, weighing 27 lbs,"

blackstone's profile picture
... attached to the top of the tub. This also made it that much harder to lift up the tub/transmission.


Post# 785475 , Reply# 20   9/24/2014 at 13:35 (3,472 days old) by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts)        
Elegante Photos

blackstone's profile picture
Photos showing sales book, front panel glass, and gyroscope advertising toy.

  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 5         View Full Size
Post# 785482 , Reply# 21   9/24/2014 at 13:56 (3,472 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        
Wow . . .

I love the brochure and toy, very cool indeed! How many years was the Elegante 92 design made?


Post# 785490 , Reply# 22   9/24/2014 at 14:57 (3,472 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.)        
Thanks

supersuds's profile picture
I can't make out the caption. What was it the Automotive Division made for the '61 Plymouth, a heater core?


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