Original Norge clothes dryer design 1954 through 66
Basically, the rear of the drum was supported by a very sturdy bearing in the center and had the blower on a bearing assembly on this rear shaft, the front of the drum was supported by two huge rollers. One was just for support the one on the left side was what drove the drum Which is why when I put such a huge amount of weight in it, it was still able to turn more force on the driving roller.
We used to think these dryers would last forever. The gas models had the burner assembly across the back at the top of the drum so even the models with pilot lights did not Rust out too badly because it was up at the top and didn’t affect the rest of the internal Metal parts of the machine.
In our area, the gas company sold these so there were a lot of them installed at homes and in those days they were hard piped in and they often outlasted two and three automatic washers.
I have lots of repair manuals. I’ll try to remember to pull one out and take a few pictures to the back of the machine. 3/8” inch belt drove the blower and the pulley drove the roller on the front left side the way the motor kept the belt tight . I saved and am going to restore a 1967 Norwich VHQ gas version for the museum unfortunately it’s buried at the moment won’t be easy to get to for pictures.
The worst thing about these Norge dryers like the Norge dryer that followed was it was a positive airflow machine so they tended to become a lintly mess. They leaked air everywhere, around the drum seal around the front door, etc. the cabinet would be become filled with lint and laundry room as well often looked like they were flocked with lint hanging from the wiring on the ceiling, lol
John
