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Thread Number: 94745
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Blackstone 193 Dryer Returns Home! 220 to 110 Conversion???? |
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| Post# 1193836 11/18/2023 at 10:05 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
Blackstone 193 electric dryer has returned home after 17 years! I sold it (still in its original box) when cleaning out our family business in 2006.
I would like to convert the dryer to run on 110, since I don't have 220 in my house. I would just use the dryer as a source of heat in the cellar. Any advice before I do anything stupid? Is it as simple as moving one wire on the block? I have never attempted anything like this. Fred | ||
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| Post# 1193837 , Reply# 1 11/18/2023 at 10:24 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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Clarification:
Wire colors.
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Post# 1193841 , Reply# 2 11/18/2023 at 11:04 by combo52  (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Connecting an older electric dryer to 120 V
Hi Fred, this is easy to do, you need a 12 gauge three wire 120 V cord to do this if the instructions are still with the dryer it’ll show how to do this. There may also be a diagram on the machine that shows how to do this, as many of these dryers were only hooked to 120 V back in the day.
Otherwise it’s simple. The only thing you have to do is move one of the outer white wires to the center post position, connect the hot black wire from the new cord to the outer position that still has the white wire on it the neutral wire from the cord will go to the center position, and then the ground wire from the cord gets connected to the frame of the dryer Somewhere near the terminal block. If there’s a metal strap between the center post now and the cabinet you remove that from the picture you posted I can’t see that there is such a grounding strap. Then you’ll be able to run the dryer you’ll even be able to dry some clothing, but it will take three times as long as it did originally when it would’ve been connected to 240 V . Was this the dryer that was sold to John Charles, I still have that brand new gas dryer that I got from you. | ||
| Post# 1193844 , Reply# 3 11/18/2023 at 11:34 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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I figured that it be easy, but not sure. For whatever reason, I do not have the manual for this 193 dryer. That’s why I had to take a picture of the wiring diagram. No, there is no grounding strap.
I kind of assumed that not many people had 220 back in the 1950s. Maybe my father had opportunity to do this conversion, but I never did. Yes, this is one of the two Blackstones that I sold. I forget who got which one, since they both got taken on the same (exciting) day. I was kind of sorry to see them go, but I had to clean out the store. Now that I have a much smaller, more manageable collection of stuff, I have space for the dryer. Thanks for the advice. | ||
| Post# 1193854 , Reply# 5 11/18/2023 at 13:40 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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Exciting day in 2006
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| Post# 1193967 , Reply# 6 11/20/2023 at 09:51 by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
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| Post# 1194017 , Reply# 7 11/21/2023 at 12:56 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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I’m Stumped
I can’t get any power to the heating element. I tried all the simple stuff (bypassing the control thermostat; the safety thermostat; motor switch; timer). Also combinations of these. No voltage at the element.
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| Post# 1194018 , Reply# 8 11/21/2023 at 12:58 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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Oops | ||
| Post# 1194020 , Reply# 9 11/21/2023 at 14:52 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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| Post# 1194284 , Reply# 10 11/28/2023 at 09:37 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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Working
The dryer is working. I only had to lubricate the bearing inside the blower; otherwise the motor would not turn it.
The receipt is not for this exact dryer; but it shows the same model with a similar serial number (which was sold to a customer a few days after the date on the receipt.) Manufactured in 1958. Price as shown. | ||
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Post# 1194289 , Reply# 11 11/28/2023 at 10:40 by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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1958 Blackstone dryer
That’s neat Fred that the dryer came home to you and that you have it running. Have you tried drying any clothing in it?
Also neat that you saved the invoice when your dad mom‘s business bought it, if you actually paid 168 for that and sold it for 269 that’s a pretty good markup and those days you often didn’t make $40 on a dryer, it’s also pretty expensive for a dryer $269 more than even a lady Kenmore. It’s also neat that you’ve saved much of the paperwork. I have saved every customer invoice since we went in business 43 years ago have them boxed up by the years over 100,000 I’m sure it’s need to look back and see what we did and what we charge for it when we started the business we only charged $15 for a service call today it’s 92. It’s also a little bit sad when we see so many customer names where they have died. Many of our original customers are long gone. John. | ||
| Post# 1194330 , Reply# 12 11/29/2023 at 08:34 by Blackstone (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||
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I have not tried to dry anything. Actually I am very surprised at how little heat comes from the dryer when running on 110. Perhaps it takes more time to heat up that big empty drum.
I need to look up the selling price for the dryer in that invoice. Maybe it was less than $269. There were a lot more invoices for the 350 washers than for the matching dryer. More of a luxury, I guess. I showed my dentist a receipt from the 1950s with a charge of $5 for a filling. I asked if there were a price match guarantee. No luck. | ||
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Post# 1194334 , Reply# 13 11/29/2023 at 10:01 by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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Post# 1194352 , Reply# 14 11/29/2023 at 15:41 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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"I kind of assumed that not many people had 220 back in the 1950s."
So many early tumble dryers from 1940's through 1960's it seems were offered as using either 120v or 240v service. Am not talking about compact small dryers either, but full sized units. Given rather low extraction of washers then don't want to think about how much energy was used to dry a sopping wet load of wash at 120v. Even with 1400 to 1600 watts of heating power it still would have been a struggle. | ||
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Post# 1194377 , Reply# 15 11/29/2023 at 18:58 by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA) |
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Detroit Edison would give away a 220 outlet/circuit if you bought an electric dryer from them in the late 50s/early 60s. Was nice solid base demand for them (people use dryers throughout the year) and was probably a good deal for them.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO jamiel's LINK | ||
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Post# 1194463 , Reply# 17 11/30/2023 at 18:16 by Slowspin66 (lincoln uk) |
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Strange question  | ||
| Post# 1194466 , Reply# 18 11/30/2023 at 20:03 by Maytag85 (Sean A806) | ||
Reply #17
Most homes here in the US do have both 120 and 240 volts. We mostly use 120 volts for things that don’t need much power, 240 volts is reserved for electric dryers, electric stoves, electric water heaters, HVAC systems, certain types of shop equipment etc.
The 240 we use is split phase 240, basically 2 120v 15 amp circuits combined into a single outlet. The only thing that runs on 240 volts in an electric dryer is the heating element, nothing else runs on 240 since it’s spit phase 240v. Electric dryers in the US basically are backwards compatible from 240 volts to 120 volts, just have to move the neutral wires on the terminal block to one side, and the live or hot wire to the other. It will happily operate on 120v, though will only have 1/4 to 1/3 the heat output. Certainly will make the heating element last a long, long time but will put more wear and tear on the rollers, bearings, etc since it’s running for 2 to 3 hours compared to just 30 to 45 to 60 minutes. | ||
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Post# 1194467 , Reply# 19 11/30/2023 at 20:16 by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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220v (or 240v, whichever was the standard) surely was available before it became common in the construction. I figure U.S. homes built since the 1960s would have 240v power as standard, if not the late 1950s. The maternal grandmother's house built in 1950 didn't have any 240v circuits until a window unit and dryer were added in the early 70s. The paternal grandparents had gas for water heating, range, and space heating. Presumably no 240v circuits until they got a dryer somewhere around 1968 and a window unit probably around the same time. My parents built their first new house in early 1964. It was all-electric so had 240v for the water heater, cooktop, wall oven, central heating, and dryer. No central A/C. Window units were added a year or so later one of which was 240v (branded Thomas A. Edison). The house they bought in 1983 was built in 1972 and has access to 3-phase power due to proximity of a city sewer lift-station. The original York air conditioning was 3-phase. Replaced by a 3-phase Lennox, then replaced again with a single-phase Lennox. | ||
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Post# 1194469 , Reply# 20 11/30/2023 at 20:20 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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American 240v service is two 120v lines out of phase with each other. Thus yes, far as most private one to three family homes are concerned 240v electrical service is what enters breaker panel/box.
What happens afterwards is often another matter. Some homes have 120v/240 outlets about the place, others do not. Usually (but not always) in areas where natural gas lines are absent or for other reasons electricity is used say for heating/HVAC, cooking, clothes dryers, hot water, etc... you'll find 120v/240v outlets. Even where there are gas lines say for a range or dryer homes will have electrical 120v/240v in kitchen, laundry area or wherever to give an option. If it isn't there such outlets can easily be installed. Multi-family and other buildings have 240v coming in from street to main panel, but not every individual box or apartment is wired for such service. Despite people always going on about how "everyone" has 120v/240 service in USA that wasn't or isn't true. Miele and other European appliance makers lost many a sale because home or apartment was not wired for 120v/240v service. Worse tenant or owner of unit wasn't allowed (by landlord or co-op board) to install said service. That and or they weren't interested in incurring cost which could be substantial. Depending upon how electrical box was wired for individual apartment in question and perhaps from street to building upgrading service could be a major undertaking. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK | ||
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Post# 1194639 , Reply# 23 12/3/2023 at 12:35 by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Power supply systems in American homes
The great majority of homes in the 1950s had 240 V available for dryers and such if they had space for the dryer to begin with, for the people that did not want to upgrade their electrical service of course many people chose a gas dryer.
I would wager that not 25% of full-size dryers were connected to 120 V instead of 240 V. Some brands of full-size electric dryers in the 1950s such as Maytag, early GE Westinghouse, etc. had a dual heating element so you actually got a little bit more heat than the usual one quarter of the normal heat when you operated the machine on 120 V, whirlpool never made any dryers That were designed to be convertible and give you the extra heat. In the United States in the 30s and 40s and into the 50s homes had 110 V or 220 V, by the 60s this has been raised to 115 230 V and by the later 60s almost everywhere in the US is 120 V and 240 V that’s where the misconception comes From that things run on 220 volts today. Of course many apartments and multifamily housing often does have 120 V at the outlets and 208 volts for the larger service for heavy appliances. John | ||
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