1977 Frigidaire 1-18 "thumper" washer is home now...

[firedome]

Been out of town so didn't see the good news...sweet machine! Also have never seen that panel! ... maybe PhilR will weigh-in on it's rarity. Loving many machines but being very limited in space, we had to settle on just one brand and era, so it had to be '70s 1-18s!! We have a Harvest Gold '76 W-2 - first 2 pics, and had a '79 in avocado we saved for parts, see pic with PhilR. You'll have fun with it!
Congratulations!! RogerA in NY

 

[hippiedoll]

daveamkrayoguy/dave:

i'm not too sure about the different CUSTOM & CROWN models?
but i think i remember seeing like a brochure or something, that someone posted here in the group a while ago. and i am thinking that it was the CROWN models that came with the windowed-lids? and for some reason, i am thinking that the CROWN model seemed to be like a special or high end of the model line. but i could be wrong?

thank you
)

 

[hippiedoll]

mayken4now/steven:

ok, i did how you suggested, filled the empty tub to MINI load and GENTLE speed. as it was agitating the water seemed to be dancing into peaks up against the sides of the tub. and when i switched the speed to NORMAL the water became all frothy & foamy.
LOL
D

 

[hippiedoll]

gyrafoam/steven:

i'm planning to do a GENTLE load either tonight or tomorrow. and when i do, i will tinker around with the temperature while it filling and once it starts agitating i will switch the speeds to see if it changes.

 

[hippiedoll]

firedome/roger:

thank you.

nice looking 1-18. i love the shaded harvest gold! and of course that windowed-lid!

you know, in the last picture with philr standing next to the avocado set, it actually looks like the control panels are see-through! the woodgrain of the control panels match the woodpanel wall behind them!
i had to do a double-take there!
LOL...

it looks like your harvest gold has about the same options as this one here except that your's has the flexibility to have COLD rinse with all wash temperatures and WARM rinse with all wash temperatures too. i can't see the 3rd cycle on the timer dial because of the flash, so i don't know if it's a KNIT cycle or SOAK cycle?

thank you for sharing pictures of your 1-18s.
)

 

[hippiedoll]

ok so....

i did a load of towels in the frigidaire tonight. it was a full hamper of towels and i loaded the washer and set the water level between SMALL & NORMAL since the water seemed to soak the towels down to about 1/2 a tub. and once it started agitating, the towels did seem to move but very tightly. so, i raised the water level to the NORMAL load size. and the clothes continued to move but not as tightly. so, i raised the water level to MAXI load size. but by the time the tub filled with water and started agitating, the top of the water was all foamy & frothy. so, i couldn't really see the clothes moving around. but i know they were because every once in a while, i would see movement below the frothiness.

BOY do these 1-18's really suds up!! and i didn't even use a full cap of liquid laundry detergent. i only used about 1/2 a cap of detergent because i started with a 1/2 tub of water.

i tried to record a video like 4 different times, but none of them would post on here? i am not to hip when it comes to technology, so i don't know what i was doing wrong???

so sorry everybody, i couldn't get the videos i recorded to post on here to share with you all...
/

 

[mickeyd]

Sweetheart !

Have a computer savvy friend set up a Youtube account for you. Next, you upload the video to Youtube from your phone which can take a while, depending on the traffic. A little bar will show you the percentage of progress, 0-100. Then you copy and paste the URL from Youtube to Automatic Washer in the "URL Link to share," right above the photo box.

Excited to see your vid. Once you get the hang of it, we'll be calling you Cecil B. De Hippiedoll.

You can do this. And good luck. Probably someone at work or a niece or nephew will do this for you in a flash.

And yes, your control panel is absolutely unique, most desirable, and beautiful; they never made another more fetching. And only YOU have it! How cool is that!?

 

[gyrafoam]

Oh yeah, sudz is their middle name. Also, you may have had some residual detergent left in those towels from a previous laundering.

Anyway, it's a fun machine to use isn't it? You will get an "eye" for the water level the more you use it with fabrics of varying weight and bulk. Same thing for the detergent.

Cecil B. De Hippiedoll! Mickey is so cra-cra. I Love that name!

 

[losangeles]

1-18 Thumper

Such a beautiful machine!!  I am consumed with jealously.  I have yet to start a collection of automatics.  My collection is very limited to 3 vintage wringers.  I remember going next door to my neighbors house and standing on a small wooden stool to be able to see over into the machine.  I was fascinated and still am.  I have just now been able to come out of the shadows and express my love and appreciation of all washing machines young and old.  I am very new to the AW website.   Thank you AW for letting me know that I am not alone.

Congratulations on your Gift/Find.  I so look forward to seeing video of this beauty in action.

 

 

 

[firedome]

Christina...

The '76 Harvest Gold Crown we have has "Knit" cycle, but iirc the '79 Avocado Crown (with no window) has a "Soak" cycle. The '79 was the last of the GM 1-18s. Saved the entire control panel from the '79, plus every other part, pretty much everything mechanical but no cabinet parts, and could convert the '76 to '79 specs, theoretically. Those parts aren't accessible at the moment, being blocked in by old cars in storage in the garage, or I'd verify that the "Soak" cycle was on the '79 model. Been fascinated with FDs since I saw one back in the 60s... here's a fun ad!!
Roger in NY

 

[hippiedoll]

Ok, let's see...

If this youtube video worked?

Excuse the bad lighting & probably recording too!
LOL...
D

http://https//youtu.be/vB0xAmR0VoQ

 

[hippiedoll]

I tried...

To record so many videos. But I'm pretty sure this is one of the videos of the load of towels i washed last night?

 

[firedome]

video ...

works fine... look at that turnover!

 

[yogitunes]

great video Christina......

I bet you are grinning ear to ear with this machine...

with slightly less water, you would see that load turn over quickly.....when set just right, even switching to Gentle speed, that load will still turn over with ease.....

this is how I set my controls, all the knobs are set in the same facing position....perfect for all standard loads....especially the water level....

this by the way is a 1979 model, wishing it had the Automatic Soak cycle...

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Hi Christina, FYI... when recording a video the image does not rotate when you turn your phone.   You have to stop the video, turn your phone, then start recording again.   Also, it's better if you hold your phone horizontally rather than vertically.  You get a much larger image to watch.

 

That is such an awesome washer, I know you're having, and will have so much fun!

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Christin-A/hippiedoll

Ooh, just watched! Sudz-Lok 'n all, an excellent vid!

Thank you, Christina, for even what little you've captured & like many other collectors here of vintage machines, you have blurred the lines between which are best/worst in rollover/performance, inefficient/efficient in energy usage, water usage being little or a lot, and even put the reliability in depending on its present condition rather than making whatever good/bad history a washer or any other appliance of significance--in terms of just getting it, a great, classic machine to work...

That is the Significance! Thanks again...

-- Dave

 

[newvista58]

MOST EXCELLENT MACHINE.....

Christina. I'm glad it found a great home.
I never really knew much or thought about
these machines till I joined AW. They are
awesome in the way they function. Maybe
one day I'll be able to join the 1-18
group of owners.

Congrats!!

Louis

 

[hippiedoll]

Firedome/Roger:

Thank you for confirming the video works fine.
)

 

[hippiedoll]

yogitunes/martin:

thank you.

i am definitely feeling positive about the frigidaire, now that it seems like i'm getting the hang of it. i did a load of DELICATES on the gentle cycle and i recorded a longer video of that load. the turnover wasn't too fast and i switched the speed to NORMAL and the turnover was so much faster. i show this in the video.

it almost seems like the clothes are doing a dance in the water. they come to the center and then stop there waiting to take their turn to go down the center of the washtub. i think it reminds me of square-dancing.
LOL...

thanks for sharing the pictures of your 1979 frigidaire. i think i prefer the KNIT cycle over a SOAK cycle myself. to me, with the alternating agitation & pausing, it seems to give the frigidaire and EXTRA GENTLE cycle/speed. if you really want to soak, i would probably just push the timer knob in to stop the machine for however long i wanted. that's how i would get my SOAK cycle in.
;o)

 

[hippiedoll]

revvinkevin/kevin:

sorry for the topsy-turvy videos.
LOL...

i hope i didn't give anybody motion-sickness with the turning of my camera-phone. i thought the video rotated like it shows in the screen. and i started vertical and thought i'd get a bigger image if i turned the phone horizontal.
i apologize for that. i will try to make another video with the camera in horizontal mode only.

thank you kevin.
)