A frog comes home: 110.533565.8261

[in2itdood]

Brought this pretty lady home today in a snow storm today. The seller said she agitates and spins just fine! I am going to bring her into the house tonight let her warm up a bit, give her a bath and then maybe some juice in the morning and see what we got!

 

[in2itdood]

another pic

Close up!

 

[in2itdood]

another pic

Interior $

 

[in2itdood]

another pic

Frog's eye .... Note she's a sudsy!

 

[in2itdood]

last pic

The push button's

 

[in2itdood]

another pic

Frog's Eye: Note she's a sudsy!

 

[d-jones]

Excellent find!

I like the look of these old Kenmore frog eyes. Is the paint on the lid and body supposed to be a different shade than the top? It looks kind of nice that way.

 

[rickr]

That must be a 1953 model. Very cool! I just love the 1950's and early 1960's Kenmores and Whirlpools. Congratulations!

 

[wayupnorth]

I always loved the older machines that were labeled on the dial Damp Dry instead of just spin. And a real Roto Swirl with the big K on top. Thats a real good find!

 

[wireman]

Congrats! Looks to be in decent shape. Where were you lucky enough to find it?

 

[frigilux]

Interesting to see a Kenmore with a back-opening lid---and a wide, large lid at that. I've always been a fan of those fatty / preggers Roto-Swirl agitators, too. Our 1960 Model 80 had one. A great find! Congratulations, and hope we get to see some video of it in action when you get a chance.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Ugh, that is such a beautiful find Scott, congratulations!

The reason for the differences in the color on top is the top area is porcelain and the lid and cabinet are baked enamel painted.

The lid opens back on all Kenmores until 1956 when they introduced the left opening lid on the TOL model. In '57 they used the new lid design on all models all the way into the 21st century when it changed again.

 

[lebron]

Great looking Kenmore!! Hope it runs well

 

[in2itdood]

Thanks all. I am excited!

Yes ... she is from 1953!

I just happened to find this gal on CL in Battle Creek (Home of Cereal products). I'm not a big fan of CL ...so to find something there was a big surprise for me! Bought it from a really nice guy.

I gave her a quick Windex bath tonight ... which took off a lot of the surface grime. I'll probably do a bit more around the controls with a q-tip and some
light soft scrub. I have some CLR for the hard water spots.

I'm quite happy with her ... Love the 50's design stuff for sure!

 

[combo52]

TOL 1953 KENMORE SUDS-SAVER WASHER

WOW Scott that is a cool find, I am in the process of restoring a 1954 TOL KM pair, the biggest difference is the 54s have colored push=buttons that light up. This is an interesting dual water pump washer and like all WP built automatics up to and including this washer it still uses a float to control the water fill level. Yours was probably the first model to give a 2nd lower water level by means of a dual water level switch. Give me a call when you fire it up if you get a chance, John.

 

[revvinkevin]

YAY Scott!!!

Wow Scott, great find CONGRATS! I hope it functions just the way it's supposed to!

Can't wait to see it cleaned up and washing something!

Kevin

 

[toploader55]

I Love that machine.

That is one of my Favorite Kenmores. Love the Fat RotoSwirl.

Best of Luck with that beauty.

 

[northwesty]

Gosh it has been a long time since one of those popped up. Hope it fires up without too much work. Congratulations on such a great find. Hope the matching dryer shows up too they make such a nice pair.

 

[oldskool]

Similar Dryer

There was a gas dryer that was available locally, thread #37868, perhaps not a match, but close. After looking at the picture, if you like, I can track down the owner, to see if he still has the dryer. It had been listed several times on CL but wasn't selling. A possibility.
John

 

[in2itdood]

Morning results so far:

Here is a picture of the frog in my kitchen ... she is cleaning up nicely! The eye is very bright and clean The porcelain top is also pretty pristine. There are a few scratches to the cabinet ... but no dents that I have noticed.

The first run with power was very positive ... no sparks, flames or smoke. She seems to agitate just fine. The timer advances and lights up!! I did not try the timer full cycle though. I also did not get the damp dry /spin to engage ... I'll be calling Gordon or John later =). I put maybe 1/2 gallon of water in the tub ... and so far no leaks onto the kitchen floor.

Fingers crossed! I'm going to let her stand for awhile this morning and do some other chores.

scott

 

[in2itdood]

another pic

She has a pretty sparkle in that blue eye!

 

[in2itdood]

Maybe spoke a little too soon ...

I guess frogs always pee when you pick them up right?

Ho hum ...there was some piddle on the floor ... I popped off the back access and it looks like one of the drain hoses has a tiny rotted spot that is dripping and maybe the pump gasket has a little leak too ... though not bad for 59 years old =).

 

[toploader55]

Wow.

She cleaned up real purdy.

Hey, I'm 56 and I leak a little too !!! LOL.

I'm sure any issues will be minor as we all know..."They don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

[golittlesport]

Excellent!

Congrats! Very nice score! That is probably my favorite classic Kenmore model. I remember seeing many of those in my childhood. That is the only model I ever saw a rubber gasket in the D-shaped tub opening, and it looks like yours is still intact from the photos. Sure cleaned up nicely.

 

[whirlaway]

Nice!!!!

I use a 1955 frog-eye as my everyday machine and dryer,its a Cycla-Fabric and a high speed dryer.My grandmother had the 54 model that the buttons lit up in different colors one of the first machines I remember,Good Luck Bobby

 

[gansky1]

As a kid, I went with my family to a flea market & benefit auction.  There was a set of these there and I spent the whole time playing and exploring them and ignored everything else.  I thought the frog-eye design was so beautiful!  Congrats on a great find!

 

[in2itdood]

Popped the top!

With some phone support and assistance from John/combo52 and Gordon/Kenmoreguy64 (thanks guys), I pulled the top off and did some cleaning today. I got the tub reset into place and aligned properly ... Cleaned out the tub and agitator too. Just waiting for a little water to drip out of the leaky areas (hoses and one gasket)... and I'll let her dry out for awhile ... then maybe another electrical test and see if she does a spin cycle. Stay tuned!

 

[in2itdood]

b4 pic after some very initial cleaning

This was after about 1/2 hour of cleaning: I had wiped off the years and years of dried soap scum and stuff (ew) to reveal a nice encrusted layer of scale and build up. I few applications of cleaner and some soft scrubbing with an old tooth brush worked magic!

Note the putty knife (on the right) holding up the top ... hehe

 

[in2itdood]

The Agitator all cleaned and ready to go

She is in really good shape!

 

[in2itdood]

Where I started today

Hmm.. Maybe I should have put these pictures in order? Sorry about that.

This is what the tub looked like when I first started today ... pretty nasty.
Note the brown slime on the right ... all gone now! I sprayed Windex and Fanststic in the tub to start (bubbles on the agitator). Note the Agitator is off center...all fixed now!