Advice on purchase of Youngstown "automatic sink"

[scoots]

I have a local ad for a Youngstown sink with built in dishwasher, probably from the early 50s.

The ad itself has no information, other than "rare... make an offer" and only two unhelpful photos.

I've written to the seller to please provide pictures of the interior, the mechanism, and more photos of the cabinet from other angles. We'll see where this goes.

Can I ask the members for opinions on this machine, comments on how well it cleans (I realize it's older and may be sub-par in terms of cleaning, loading, breakage etc.)... and the dreaded price question... what would a pristine machine realistically be worth, and the price gradient for less than perfect machines.

I need to remodel my kitchen in 5 years and I'd like to use an earlier version of an automatic sink, but am considering this since they are comparatively rare. Should I hope for better sometime in the future?

Thanks

 

[jakins]

talked to seller

I have talked to this seller. The motor, pump, and all works are no longer in the dishwasher. All racks are in it. So basically you would have a sink cabinet with a dish rack.

 

[combo52]

Youngstown Electric Sink

As a daily driver installed in my primary kitchen, NEVER, I am a repairman and can restore and keep most things running, but I would never consider having such an old machine as a daily driver there are much better choices for a vintage DW.

 

[scoots]

Thanks for the input

Thanks for your answers, they saved me a lot of time. The owner hasn't written me back yet (five days) so I doubt I'm going to get any traction there, but if it's a gutted machine, I can't use it.

John's comments about "not a daily driver" were also helpful since I saw this as a "target of opportunity" since I never see them locally.

 

[panthera]

Aye, there's the rub

My first thought was to write 'go for it'.

But - I have good 'daily drivers' (GE Potscrubbers from the 70's and 80's) and space to store and restore such a rare beauty.

Sounds, however, as if the matter were now moot. Too much is missing which can't be replaced with anything vintage.

That's the guideline we've developed over the years for restoring iffy vintage appliances: Will it look and (more or less) work as it once did when we're done?

We had no qualms replacing defective sensors in the GSD Twenty-Eight Hundred, no sane person expects a reed switch to work forever. They were and are considered expendables.

Mating the switches (and there are billions) to a modern GE faceplate? No, although it would have worked (GE used mechanical switches at that time, not capacitive, despite the easy feel to them) that would have been unacceptable. For us.

When, about 8 years ago, we restored a Westy SlantFront Dryer, - and my heartfelt thanks to Greg for his help and dial - I had no qualms lowering the temp by about 75F and adding modern safety one-shot thermal limiters. None, at all. Even added a hidden selector switch for no-heat, low-heat and full-blast.

Our Flair will have a few parts later than 1961 when we're done with her. Big whoop. Nothing you can see, thank goodness. Ditto the 1953(2 or 4) Westinghouse Rainbow Range. Super Corox is just not to be had and a thin calrod unit with the Corox cover in the middle has done quite well for nearly 10 years, now.

No qualms replacing the nearly 50 year old capacitor in our Frigidaire Custom Delux, either. Nor the defrost timer.

But, of course, these appliances are friends and friends in the right colors. Had they been avocado or harvest gold, I'd have gutted them for the parts and happily sent them to the crusher. 

 

Then again, my heart is saying my head is nuts and you should go for it. Those Youngstown designs were well thought out and, who knows - lots of barns and cellars crammed full of NOS parts still out there.....