Antique Frigidaire Dishwasher (st. louis city)

[ovrphil]

Nice!

ad: " A 1950's to 1960's Frigidaire Dishwasher. Perfect for a Remodel or Architect looking to go with a vintage look for your next project. Item is being sold "AS IS". This item is also perfect for the antique collector and would make an excellent restoration project!

All offers will be considered.... ITEM MUST GO... FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!

Must sell by February 28 - March 1, 2015

To schedule a site visit or for more information, contact Community Event Services, LLC at the number above. "

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/app/4900890353.html

 

[philr]

OMG! AAHH I WANT THAT THING!!!

 

[combo52]

50s Frigidaire DW

Isn't this like the first one they ever made?

 

[ovrphil]

A little voice told me we'd hear from PhilR on this one.

 

[turquoisedude]

Whoa!  Is that possibly the 1955 model??  

 

[kenmore71]

Yes, yes it is!

 

[appnut]

Extremely rare!!!

 

[travis]

Going to look

I am going to look this week.  I'll post some pics.  There's a vintage stove and fridge also.

 

[philr]

Please get it! I have tried to contact the seller and I didn't get a reply!

 

[christfr]

yea travis go get it I tried to contact the seller too no reply hum
travis is the master at snagging good stuff ha ha

 

[travis]

Why Thank you Chris!

 

[carolinacat]

See how many metal cabinets are there as well.

 

[travis]

From what I understand, this is an old church kitchen that's being vandalized and broken into by homeless persons. I am going there tomorrow. I will do my best to take some pictures and rescue the dishwasher. I am expecting about the worst conditions to work in. It's 20 degrees and likely no heat or electric.

 

[norgeway]

Good luck..

I think the aggravation will be worth it.

 

[travis]

I have spoken to both Chris and Phil,

I expect this dishwasher will be coming home today, provided I can get it removed. I was told the lighting was out and it does seem to be in the basement and fortunately by a window. I will post some pictures tonight even if I have to go back to get the dishwasher.

This is exactly the type of adventure that I love. Rest assured, even if I don't keep it long term, one of us boys will have it.

 

[travis]

It is a 1955 model. It just looks dirty. It had some plastic ice cube trays inside so maybe it did work. I made a deal and is coming home on Saturday. At least it will come home and get cleaned up, and possibly pee on the floor in my kitchen!

 

[travis]

I am back to where I can type on a keyboard.  The church was built in 1955.  It makes sense that it got this brand new dishwasher.

 

There is a sink installed to the right.  I have a feeling that the ice cube trays were in the DW for drying.  The DW looks to be in fair shape, though the sump area has rust stains.  I am hopeful that after a good cleaning, most of it's sins will vanish.  It's a fairly large kitchen with Republic metal cabinets.

 

They had a large stove in there, not sure what.  I was told a dozen guys took it out.  They're salvaging the building in preparation for demolition.  The area is just north of downtown, but also in an area of low income housing.  I will add some pictures later tonight.

 

Am I correct that the water sprays of the tower under the upper rack?  It looks kind of like a Youngstown DW.

 

 

 

[ovrphil]

Travis

Great! We'll all be interested in seeing what unfolds…hoping for the best. The neighborhood was a little run-down. 1955, and it was in there all that time. I wonder what the stove looked like.

 

[appnut]

Yes, Travis, the water sprays out of the round tube that's under the upper rack--thus the spin-tube dishwasher.  It sprays in all directions out from that central tube.  Yes, it's a very similar principle to the Youngstown. 

 

[travis]

[No message]

 

[travis]

Where does the little strainer thing go?

 

[philr]

Just like that. Nothing holds it down to the pump. These pics show the strainer on my 1963, yours must be a bit different as even my 1962 is... On my 1962, there's screw that holds the fine strainer to the larger one at the base. The fine strainer floats above the other one when the pump doesn't work but the suction from the pump holds it down when the dishwasher is washing. On this 1963, the shaft just holds the strainer in the correct position.

 

[combo52]

Cool Early Frigidaire Dishwasher

Hi Travis, great save, these early FD DWs were interesting machines, they were like nothing else which makes having one a must for any serious DW collector. 

 

Frigidaire was probably the only DW manufacturer that had real porcelain enameled front panels on their early DWs., Yay.

 

The rust stains are a pretty common sight in these early machines if the DW had not been used in years. The main pump housing is cast iron and if the machine ever sat idle fora period of time with water standing in it the standing water would get very rusty. But usually this rust staining cleans up pretty easily.

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, Travis, congratulations!! I can't wait to see more! If you ever have any questions, I learned a few lessons the hard way when I restored my 1958 Spin-Tube so don't be shy.

 

[defoedude]

I was about to share this!

Way to go Travis

 

[travis]

It's half way out

Ok, the engineers at Frigidaire weren't that good with their installation method.

I removed a couple screws that were holding the machine to the counter.
I then removed the lower cover and found the water valve. The clearance is too tight for a normal sized wrench to get in there. I took the valve off of the frame. My thought was that I could pull the DW out and then remove the valve ve.

At this point nothing will dubge at all, so I started to remove the counter. I got that off, but it still wouldn't move. I then removed the cabinet to one side. The building in block and everything is toggle bolted. I did get the 12" cabinet removed. Once that was out, I found the problem. The frame of the diswasher is anchored to the floor about 3" from the rear wall! I assume it's anchored on the other side. Though the screw head is good, the anchor is frozen by age and rust. I tried to remove the sink base on the opposite side, but the screws were rusted there also.

So, back to my comment about poor engineering. Why would you ever wish to fasten a DW to the floor in the rear? I'll be going back with a cordless drill and a tubing cutter. In peeking in the back, I see that the water line goes up from the floor through the frame. Once the DW is loose of the anchors at the bottom, it will have to be lifted off the supply pipe.

I will overcome the obstacles, but this is why all the old DW's get trashed. I am lucky the building is being demolished in this case.

 

[pulltostart]

Travis

What you're finding reminds me of what I would see frequently at work.  I would see younger folks detailing construction (particularly as related to roofing and flashing), that would work fine the first time around, but would totally be a PITA the first time a re-roofing was required.  The lesson being - think beyond the initial installation!  It's not good enough to figure out how to accomplish the initial construction/installation, but if re-working in the future can reasonably expected, figure out how to accommodate that, too.

 

lawrence

 

[travis]

It's on the truck

I am happy to report that I got the dishwasher removed!  It had three of four possible bolts into the floor.  I can see that there were also provisions for adjustable feet, but NO, they had to bolt it down.

 

It looks to be in fair shape.  The bottom frame is rusted, but should clean up.  Now I have to find an innocent victim to get it inside the house.

 

[philr]

Great! Keep us informed! 

 

[ovrphil]

They bolted it because back then, a dishwasher was a premium appliance. ? Maybe, just maybe they were trying to insure it via the bolt downs. Congratulations, Travis - I was sweating just reading about the struggle.