A Wonderful Visit

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

glhturbo2

Well-known member
Platinum Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2015
Messages
70
Location
Reidsville, NC
Yesterday, I went up to Roanoke, VA to visit with Steve S. (Gyrafoam). I had a wonderful time, he cooked a great meal and was a wonderful host. I brought some laundry up there to do, and WOW! I was very impressed with the machines I had chosen. I used a late 60s Frigidaire Rollermatic with RapidDry for some towels.

I brought my blanket and used the 1963 Frigidaire Custom Deluxe with the rare agitator, I thought the blanket was a little too big for the washer, but that old girl just rolled it over and over, into knots! LOL. My work shirts and other shirts ended up the the early 60s Norge. This machine cleaned the hell out of these clothes, we used Mexican Detergents (with Phosphates). Everything came out clean as a whistle!

The last machine I used had my work pants in it, my absolute favorite machine that I used, the 1958 Frigidaire Custom Imperial. OMG, that thing washed the hell out of those pants, small blanket, and a pair of sweatpants. It spun them crazy fast too, I need to get me a Unimatic or 2 or 7 lol. :-) Overall, I was very impressed with the performance of these machines. Steve has a beautiful '69 Whirlpool gas dryer, with a 25,000 BTU burner. That thing dried the clothes in no time!

It was a great day and I can't thank you enough Steve, I had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to my next visit! The food was great and it felt just like home. I even threw the ball for the dog and made a new friend lol. My girlfriend also wants me to take her clothes up to get them washed now, go figure. She thought they smelled so good and was thoroughly impressed with the machines.

I did take videos and will be uploading them to Youtube. We also used a beautiful Speed Queen, and the Dexter. Steve swapped out the agitator in the Speed Queen with an "Easy swirl". That machine rolled over the clothes and was aggressive! The Dexter was a treat all in itself. Very impressed with the fill and the rinse on that machine. The last rinse, in the final spin is about 30 or so seconds and it's hot. The first spray rinse is cold, very interesting how they did that.

Thank You again Steve and I had a blast, looking forward to our next get together and using some other washers!

-Tyler

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_1.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_2.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_3.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_4.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_5.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_6.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_7.jpg

glhturbo2-2017080609403907499_8.jpg
 
Great collection, Steve. That coppertone '63 is absolutely gorgeous. The '58 has always been one of my favorite Frigidaires; love the console on those. What year is your Rollermatic? The Maytag appears to be one of the earliest ones with a rear console. Is the water level control in the lid, or perhaps a timed fill, or neither of those? Thanks for sharing all the photos of your visit, Tyler.
 
A Wonderful Visit!

Hi Tyler,
I am very Happy you had a Great visit with Steve - he is a real great guy and a great friend, I had visited a few years back and had a real relaxing time and enjoyed all those wonderful machines. I would love to go back one day!
Best Wishes,
Peter
 
Eugene---

The Rollermatic is a 1967 Gold Crown with Rapidry. One of many machines gifted to me by Greg over the years. It had been in storage many years when I got it. I did not realize how important it was to oil the start-switch on these when out of service for a while, so first time I ran it, it smoked the start-switch!Fortunately, Greg had a spare motor. When I got back to Atlanta I set to changing-out that motor. What I did not realize until I had the Repairmaster in front of me was that in order to do the job, I had to tear-down the whole damned mechanism to the last nut and roller! So, that was how I learned how to rebuild a Rollermatic mechanism. Thrown to the wolves, as usual! In any event, I look back on it now and consider the Rollermatic a piece of cake to repair compared to a Unimatic.
This is a great machine. One of my daily-drivers for years now.

The 1953 Maytag is a very low-mileage model 101P with the Water-Level control dial on the lid. Other then the cabinet, the machine is pristine. The only part of the cabinet that is porcelain is the top.Rest of the cabinet and lid yellowed likely because of the gas stove nearby. This machine was purchased new and used by an elderly couple in an apartment as a portable and has a special carriage that allowed it to be rolled over to the kitchen sink and hooked-up. I removed the carriage when I got it but kept the carriage because it was so unique. Must have taken some serious muscle to heave it around the kitchen. Feels like it weighs 300lbs. Fun to use although I may never get used to the sound of the cavitating pump, like my Norges or Speed Queen. Originally I shared this machine with a friend who played with it first. He is the one who tinkered with the stupid Mercury-Switch in the lid so one could open the lid and see the action. The way he did it created some action. By holding the lid half-way open during agitation , you can cause the water valve to open and create an overflow! Sometimes during the Rinse the machine randomly does it on it's own with the lid shut! Like it has a mind of it's own.So I have a rare Maytag that has a random over-flow Rinse!
 
Todd, that Norge is one of my favorites machines. It has lots of quirks and personality. Even though it has a Gentle speed available, it is not a machine I would readily launder delicate fabrics in. It sure will clean sturdy fabrics very well! Another of the thorough rinsers.

The Chocolate '63 Frigidaire was gifted to me by Hans and Donald years ago. It is a wonderful daily driver. The over-flow rinse must be five minutes long. A great machine to use if rinsing out LCB.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top