A Little Maytag Fun ...

[geoffdelp]

Robert ... Only April and May of 1950 have these articles. The balance of the year, does not. I wonder if the "Inside Maytag's Automatic" series was rolled into other articles throughout the year. There are a lot of articles about producing the "new" automatic. There is even one that has a "tour" of Plant 2 where automatics were produced.

I am missing all of Maytag News for 1951; have part of 1952, have all of 1953 and part of 1954. I am trying hard to fill in the gaps.

It would be great to also find these magazines for 1949; in particular, April's edition which would have introduced the AMP. Like I said earlier, I have the 1953 edition that introduces the automatic dryer and is very interesting.

Maybe I should create a special folder on my system just for the automatic articles and photos and then be able to give them to you for the library.

Geoff

 

[brettsomers]

these *automatic* articles give a good sense of all that Maytag, and other manufacturers, had pinned on the Automatics. i also get the sense that Maytag central was making an effort to *sell* the dealers on the automatics as well as educate. great bit of history here. anything that you, Geoff, or our Webmaster could do to bring us more of these would be a real treat!

 

[geoffdelp]

David ... The Maytag News magazines are rich with information about Maytag and their products.

The dealers had a hard time convincing homemakers of switching to automatics since Maytag's conventionals were so well received. There are some great demonstration photos, articles and marketing material in these magazines that would have been a big help to dealers.

Maytag offered dealers free information, help with mailings, and advice on door-to-door campaigns to garner support for their new automatic washers.

1958 was the first year that Maytag made more automatic washers than their conventional machines. It took almost 10 years for Maytag to achieve that goal (the 1st AMP was in April 1949). The 1970's saw the heaviest decline in conventional washer sales and by 1983, Maytag was down to making a few dozen wringer washers a day. Not considered profitable enough for them. BUT I bet that if Maytag had still been family-owned, they would have continued making conventional machines for a while; that was their "bread and butter" for years!!

There clearly was a "genuineness" about Maytag when reading these magazines; I mean, they cared about their employees, dealers, customers ... it showed.

Here's a scan of Fred Maytag, II from the December 1953 issue and his Christmas message. Sorry about the quality!

 

[eddy1210]

That's a neat demonstration board for the wringer Geoff! I always wondered why Maytag made a black upper roll and it seems like it was made of a more flexible rubber material. You can imagine the housewives thinking yay, no more broken zippers or buttons popping off.

 

[westytoploader]

Thanks Geoff for posting...yet another reason I love the AMP machines!!! How cool would that be to find an NIB model from 1949!

 

[geoffdelp]

Eddy ... those flexible upper rolls are the best!! You still had to be careful when putting items through, but that upper roll "protected" buttons, snaps, zippers, etc. really well. I love the demonstration board, too. The salesmen really used it and put a great deal of pressure on it to show the power of the tension springs underneath. Remember how we talked about not removing those? The Maytag wringer was (and still is) a very powerful piece of equipment; extremely durable.

Austin ... wouldn't that be a "hoot" to find a NIB AMP? Was it Steve in Atlanta that has the NIB Highlander? That's "to die for", also!! BUT ... our restored machines are "to die for", too. Almost like new!!

Geoff

 

[frigilux]

What a historical treasure trove! Thanks so much for posting the pics/articles, Geoff. I'm with Robert---these should become a permanent part of the site. They're great.

 

[geoffdelp]

Eugene ... I have been enjoying these magazines for quite a while now; it's time everyone else gets a chance, too!

Here's how to do a proper in-home Maytag Automatic demonstration ... circa December 1952.

It's on two pages ... page one ...

 

[geoffdelp]

... the other half ...

 

[geoffdelp]

Here are two more for the weekend.

The first is Maytag's introduction of SaveaSuds; their first suds saver. Note that it is a "separate" unit; not a part of the washing machine.

Sorry about the quality of the printing; in order for you to see it not split, I had to scan it as a whole page; made the print fuzzy.

The gist is that this was a float system that you place in a set of dual-tubs. To save the suds, the drain hose was connected to this device and the wash water would then drain into the first tub (that you plugged). There was a float device that rose and when it reached the stop on the suds saver, it would trip a bypass for the balance of the water (including the rinse water) to flow out the other side into another hose and down the 2nd tub's drain. To get the water back, there was a hose you set inside of the washing machine and you plugged the pump into the wall and ... viola ... suds returned!!

Rather unique ...

 

[geoffdelp]

One last one for the weekend ...

Well; if we're all good for the rest of the year, maybe we'll find that Santa brought us these! I would take each one, wrapped in cellophane, please!!

 

[partscounterman]

That suds system reminds me of the one Whirlpool used on the early direct drive machines

 

[neptunebob]

Something else you don't see anymore - The salesman is a Sharp Dresser!

 

[polkanut]

Re: Post #141810...

My Aunt Adele had a choice between a '49 Amp and a wringer, she chose the wringer because that was what she was used to. Of course, I would have taken the Amp in a heartbeat needless to say.

 

[tomturbomatic]

RE: post 142007

Robert ... I hear 'ya on Maytag's safety lids!! The only lids you could open and see the action were the conventional (wringer) machines.

Until the A4MP with timed fill. I found one at an estate sale where the walls of the two floors above the basement were brown with tobacco smoke. This washer was in the basement, but they would not sell it. I put one of our ALCO business cards on it with a note about calling us if they wanted to get rid of it, but we never heard from anyone. I looked in a storage cabinet down there and shopped the instruction book. Inside the front cover, is the picture of the washer and dryer and a paragraph announcing the completely automatic Maytag laundry. The outstanding Maytag automatic washer and the wonderful Maytag automatic dryer. With the timed fill, the fill period for a full tub of water took 5 minutes. The booklet warns, "Do not allow washer to spin with lid open." On the back cover there are pictures of the most Baroque Maytag gas stoves I have seen, the TOL regular ranges and the TOL Dutch Oven line of ranges. Both models shown feature the burner valves in the center of the backsplash.

 

[geoffdelp]

Tom ... The A4MP would operate with the lid up? Wow!! How did they do that with the mercury switch system?

Was the A4MP the precursor to the 101P?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Geoff, Since it was strictly time fill, the underside of the lid was smooth and the lid had no electrical components. It used the black narrow post Gyrator of the conventional washers. My 1960 NARDA Blue Book dates the model to 1955 when the 101P was the TOL and available in green and yellow. The 101P had all of the lid switches. In 1956, the 102P had the short cycle for delicates with a single speed motor and all of the lid switches.

Have you ever seen or heard of an E2LPT? The model was offered from 1948 through 1956 and had a timer. It was also available without a pump.

 

[mrtide]

Thanks Geoff

I really have enjoyed looking at these old brochures and papers. Maytag was a great company in those days. I would love to have some of those old maytags.

 

[geoffdelp]

Tom ... Yes; I've seen pictures of the E2LPT. I'll have to bring in and scan a couple of articles/ads I have for that machine.

Apparently, Maytag made a timer that stopped the agitation, but didn't "kill" the motor. As long as the plug was in the socket, the motor continued to run.

There must have been service issues with this because Maytag stopped making them about the same time they stopped making the "wringer stop" when you pressed the release bar on the Model E. Two features that made the E "superior" to the other 2 models.

That is interesting about the A4MP. Did the machine stay running when you lifted the lid through the whole cycle?

David ... Aren't these fun? I sure have enjoyed the magazins that I have. Glad you enjoy them!

 

[mickeyd]

Then hopes for a dream machine are dashed

I never knew a timer model Maytag Wringer existed till a few months ago when you mentioned it. Wondered why with all their skill they didn't make a motor kill which really enhances a wringer. On my Norge, the automatic shut-off timer really makes the machine, but the Maytag wringer is so vastly superior to other wringers--especially in wringing--that I had hoped to get a Maytag with a timer. Are you sure, Geoff, that there was no timer with a HOLD setting?

Loved the wringer board. The fact that mine will take anything made me think it was just stuck permanently. You brochure explains it all. Thanks.
Like you, I have wringer mania , along with many other washing machine pathologies. ;-D

Your work here is amazing and inspiring. I have almost 40 photos entered into my computer (took hours to get it down), but they're too big for this site. Working on reducing their size so I can give back a tiny fraction of all I've been given by the many people like you who post so bountifully.

Mikey