A new washer/dryer set joins the collection in Ogden...

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Cool GE Washer and Dryer

WOW you are really in trouble now Paul, LOL. It always nice to find a washer that was retired long ago and stored in decent conditions, I wouldn't try to change out the washers top over a chip on the side unless there are other problems with the top, it is not that difficult to repair a chip.

 

This dryer is always one of my favorites from this time period for good electric dryers. All three buttons give you the same temperature with this dryer. The Hi Speed and Damp buttons use both heaters on 240 volts and the Economy button operates both heaters on 120 volts to save electrical power, total savings of around 14% per load. The neat thing about this dryer is the time temperature compensated control system allows automatic drying and proper shut off on any of the different settings even if you run the dryer on 120 volt power only. As Phil noted it is clearly explained on the back of the dryer how to properly connect the dryer to 120 volts and it also explains how to adjust the control thermostat so the dryer will work properly on 120 , 208 or 240 volts, you will love this dryer.

 

Don't forget to tell Chris that you got this dryer to save power, even on 240 volts it will use 25% less power than the 1956 WP.
 
Oh Happy Day!

A couple of pieces of business:

<ul>
<li>Unless I'm mistaken, there was no lens for the dryer drum light. When they changed the design in 1959, they did away with the lenses.</li>
<li>Hard to replace that cabinet top because you have a rare one there with a bleach funnel hole cut into it. Ignore the chip.</li>
<li>Unless I'm mistaken, there are light bulbs behind the dials on both the washer and the dryer that need to be replaced for dazzling illumination</li>
<li>Since you have been able to remove the beautiful black bakelite Activator, if you want to use the Mini-Wash feature, you can temporarily swap out the Activator with either a standard-sized straight-6 or ramped newer version with accompanying mini-basket. Which will help prevent the Activator getting rusted to the spline. Until you are lucky enough to find NOS. And I think you've been pretty damn lucky here( if you're hearing seething envy here, that's normal).</li>
</ul>
Mazel-freaking-tov! (which is Yiddish for "Aferim"!)

Did you say where you got these from?

 

bajaespuma++5-14-2012-09-13-11.jpg
 
Sooooo Purrrrdy!!!!

 

 

WOW Paul, those are really AWESOME, CONGRATSULATIONS!!!   I just LOVE that they have lights!  YAY!   

So yes, what's the story behind them?   How long have they been sitting and where did they come from?

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Ken: Lovely illustration on the GE set, as usual, really like the pink!

 

Kevin
 
Cool! They put that dryer thru its paces, didn't they?

The control panels (lights, no less!) are just gorgeous.

Now, where will THESE go in the laundry room? Soon you shall need a laundry wing!

K
 
Well good news - someone is too busy at his conference in Geneva to be checking out the activity on the board here... LOL

 

Phil and John - about the wiring,  I was afraid of what might have happened if I'd taken a new dryer power cord and hooked it up matching the wires on the terminal block.  IF I'd connected the red wire from the power cord to the red wire on the dryer terminal, I'd have sent 220v to the timer and lights...  My knowledge of electric wiring is not extensive by any means, so I had trouble interpreting which lead was the hot 220 and which was the hot 110... That's why I like ask questions here, though - I don't have all the answers and I am learning all the time! 

 

John - thanks for the details about the drying power!  I'll be using that power usage angle with Chris for sure, although he'll probably suggest that Whirlpool can go... I think NOT!

 

Ken - as always, your illustrations are wonderful!    Thanks for the info about the dryer light lens and the timer dial lamps.  I'll be checking that out come the weekend!  I will also keep an eye out for a spare agitator until an original mini-basket surfaces, too.

 

Kevin and Ken - these were found as a set at Hansen's in Queensbury NY.  I was there a few weeks ago in my ever-fruitless-and-getting-desparate search for parts/advice/service for the GE Wall Refrigerator that's still out of service when I spotted these.  I nearly passed out...  I decided on the spot that I HAD to have them!!   They are far nicer than the basic models that I grew up with, too!!  

 

I am soooooo looking forward to getting these into the Ogden Laundry!    As Darren pointed out, there will be no need for other lights in the basement  with this latest lighted addition!! 
 
The video

I was surprised to hear the same sounds and see the same initial low agitation before the rush. Didn't know the old machines had the same transmission as the older ones. Amazing. GE is dependable and relaible like Maytag. Don't fix it if it ain't broken. Relieved that the catastrophe was tiny. Paul, Switzerland does not have the Internets according to GWB, so relax ;'D He'll know nahhhtingue.

[this post was last edited: 5/14/2012-14:40]
 
Paul,

The black wire is "Hot 110" and the red wire is also "Hot 110", together, they "make" 220V.

 

Either the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">red OR the black</span> wire combined with the white neutral make 110V. You can even reverse the black and red wires from the power cord and the dryer, it won't make a difference. But you can't plug either (black or red) wires from the power cord to the white (neutral) wire of the dryer because that's how you'll damage parts like the timer, motor and lights... And you need to remove the wire that grounds the dryer body to the white wire terminal as grounding on the neutral isn't allowed here in Canada.

 

If you look at your home breaker panel, you'll see that two 110-120 volts wires enter the panel and one out of two breakers are connected to one side and those between are connected to the other side (except to my knowledge in those stupid Federal Pacific (FPE)/ now Federal Pioneer panels that are still allowed in Canada and sold by Schneider Electric, the company that also sells the good SquareD panels!).

Now, you'll notice that double breakers should have a red and a black wire attached to them. That's how you get 220-240V. The white wires should mostly be attached to the neutral bar which provides 110-120V when combined with either a black or red wire. And then there are the uncovered ground wires attached to the panel itself. 

In Canada, there is a strange way to wire some kitchen 110V outlets on double pole breakers. Just like 240V installations. One red wire and one black wire go to each screws of the "hot" side of a 110V outlet (with the tab removed between both) and the white wire goes to the neutral side (without the tab removed). That makes two independent 15 amps 110V circuits on the same breaker with 14-3 wiring. What I don't understand is how the white 14 wire is considered adequate for two 15 amps circuits, but I won't go further as this isn't related to this topic!

 

I hope my English vocabulary was better! If what I wrote isn't clear, I'll try to explain you better at home!
 
Would this hat be wounderful to that model my friend !

Tell me...

This will just sit here...in my laundry space better for it to be ( Actavated  ) dont ya think lol..

Great machines Paul !

I offer this one to Robert ...

Well you know ..... He had IT !

That Robert .

Darren k
smiley-cool.gif


[this post was last edited: 5/14/2012-13:33]

aldspinboy++5-14-2012-13-08-37.jpg
 
Wow Paul, that is an absolutely beautiful set!!!! Congrats, that is if you get to keep it once hubby gets home :-D

GE had such beautiful machines from 1957 thru the early 70's!
 
Dryer Power Hook-Ups Etc

Phil your explanations were correct, except that there is no such thing as 110 or 220 volts in north America any longer. It is all 120-240 on single phase systems or 120-208 on three phase systems now. Phil the shared white neutral system for two circuits is legal here and used frequently, it saves running extra wires and saves copper wire. It works because the red and black wires are on different legs coming into the electric panel so as the 60 cycle current cycles back and forth from the red to black side the white neutral is never carrying power from the black and red side at the same time. I hope this explanation makes sense as is often the case I know how something works but I have seldom had to put it in writing.
 
not to digress too much

110volts----120-----125--------Shortly before World War One, the US and Canadian electric plants needed to standardize, to better allow manufacturers of lighting/motors/"new-fangled" electrical equipment to continue their production and R&D.  It was agreed that 125 volts would be the max, if you were located extremely close to a power plant or substation, and that a minimum of 110 would be guaranteed at the distant end, miles or states away end of the early grids. With modern wiring and a continent wide grid and a thoroughly established distribution system, 120 is typically what now shows up in households near to and far from the main plants.

That and $2.25 will get me a cup of coffee.
 
Wow - this has been enlightening. I always thought that when a three-wire cable was used on a range or dryer that the red wire delivered 240v and the black wire delivered 120v... Thinking about the split-wired outlets in my own kitchen in Ogden and the input from Phil and John, I finally get it that where there are two wires (black and red) they are both 120v and that internally in the appliance in question, these connections are 'daisy chained' to provide a hot 240v supply for high-power components like heating elements.
I think I got that right, no??
If not, think twice about ever letting me near your house wiring... LOL
 
John,

I know that the power is closer to 120V/240V and that's why I used both 110/120V and 220/240V in my previous posts because of the instructions at the back of Paul's dryer which talked about 110-220V.  I'm still wondering what the gray wire is for on his dryer. This is the wire that's not used on 220-240V installations. Is it for an extra set of heating elements?

 

And thanks about your explanation about the shared white/neutral for two (hot red/hot black) circuits, it makes a lot of sense!

I had no idea it was also used in the US. I guess that it could be a problem if a careless electrician uses a split breaker for a circuit like that or a double breaker on the wrong spot in a FPE panel (then the red and black wires would be on the same circuit...).

 

BTW, do you know if the ground on the neutral wire of the dryer is still allowed on newer installations in the US? Are there any safety issues with these?

 

Paul,

 

I think you got it right now! And many 240V connections (like for heating devices or a hot water tank) don't need 120V so the neutral wire is omitted for these. The 12/2 wires which are mostly used for 20 amp 240V circuits usually have black and red wires instead of the black and white wires like the 14/2 wires which are more often used for 120V / 15A applications.

I have seen a few houses where 14/2 wire have been used for the baseboard heaters. Most of those at my parent's home are like that. I guess that explains why the electrician incorrectly wired two heaters to a single pole breaker and neutral and they (barely) heated on 110V for many years until I found about it... I had to install a 15A double pole breaker for them as the wire is too small for the usual 20 amps breaker used for these heaters...

 

This is off topic but I'd be curious to compare the electrical installations in the US/Canada with those in Europe. From what I have seen, it seems that much smaller wires are used in Europe, probably mainly because they use higher voltage which requires less amps. But what about the appliances like electric ranges that require big 8-3 240V wires here? I don't know how they wire electric ranges or dryers there but I'd be curious to learn more about that, and how they managed to convert some of their installation from 110-120V to 220-240V back in the fifties (I think) and why they did that (now, they need transformers to operate some older 120V appliances like old fridges)...

[this post was last edited: 5/14/2012-22:40]
 
Ok back to topic...  LOL

 

Would anyone happen to know the GE part number for the filter-flo recirculation hose??   Naturally, I'd like to replace this with an original or as close to original as possible.   My alterative would be to stop the leaks with high-heat epoxy....

 

 
 

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