BOL GE Filter-Flo and Hotpoint machines from the 1970s and 1980s

[easyspindry]

My mother's best friend from college . . .

. . . had a Westinghouse wringer washer for years. It was a large machine and I remember holes in the metal agitator. Gravity drain.

Her first "automatic" was about as BOL as you could get. It was a Kenmore. It was filled manually with a hose. Set the timer from 20 to 5 minutes. It would wash, drain, spin, off. Then manually re-fill the machine with fresh water, set the timer for a few minutes. It would rinse, drain, spin, off.

She thought it was wonderful.

I wish I knew what happened to that machine.

Jerry Gay

 

[mrb627]

Pentavane in White

I don't remember seeing too many of the penta-vane's in white. Now the penta-swirl was a different case. Thanks for posting the pictures...

Malcolm

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Malcolm -

There were more models from 1973-1980 with the gold Penta-Vanes than the 1981-1986 production white versions. The Penta-Swirl went to white in 1976 and was very widely produced. I think for some time Kenmore kept the gold as a reminder on the sales floor that you were looking at a lower line machine. The 'Vane models in white were 1981, 1982, and 1984 models:

81 - a 200 (the one pictured above), 2 500s (including one very bizarre model which I've never seen), and a well appointed 60 series.

82 - a 100, a 300, another 500, and two more 60s that replaced the 81 60-series.

83 - no models came out in the large 1983 line which used the Penta-Vane, in fact the 29-inch 1983 60 had a DA.

84 - two 400 models for Toyota, and one 70-series model, also for Toyota.

By my count that's 12 models. Other than the Toyota models, these were all out of production by early 1984, that's why they aren't all that common. The 100, 200, 300, and 500 series machines were all 'plastic top' plastic control panel models. The 60s were the entry level black panel machines, and the Toyota models had the revised printing on the black panel consoles, which have been discussed in other threads.

Gordon

 

[kenmoreguy89]

What means BOL?
The GE model WWa7800m showed in the 90s brochure it's my washer!!!

 

[pierreandreply4]

Canadian viking washer dryer set

Hello everyone if you look at this canadian viking washer dryer set i beleve it contains both some ge parts as well as some hotpoint parts here is what i mean

1-Side swing lid (hotpoint tech)

2-Water level knobs and temp knob as well as the 3 knob {hotpoint tech}

3-Timer Knob (ge tech)

and inside the lint is the famous filter flow pans seen on all ge washers if i had to go vintage and could not find the inglis washer dryer set of my dreams [*my grandomother set inglis liberator push to start with dryer) that would be a set that i would try to find as a vintage set year i think around 1970 but if any expert knows the precise year they are welcome to post it.

 

[cfz2882]

BOL

BOL=Bottom Of The line-basic simple machine.My most BOL washer is a '95 DD 24"KM
just the timer knob only and a gray agitator.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

@ cfz2882

Thank you!

 

[gansky1]

This is my almost BOL GE washer - the same model I grew up with though ours was a couple of years newer.

 

[gansky1]

This one has h/w, w/w, c/c. Our GE had w/c

 

[gansky1]

Money shot. These pics are before I restored it - now in the basement

 

[pulltostart]

Pierre,

Cool Vikings - definitely a cross-breed between GE and Hotpoint.  Are these yours?  Or available somewhere?  Or just a photo you've collected?

 

Lawrence

 

[macboy91si]

Greg's GE

I think the GE pictured in Greg's photo is "comfortably" BOL. It has the basic options but no other frills. Also I wish GE would have kept this clean, un-cluttered style, it's very sharp looking.

 

-Tim

 

[pierreandreply4]

its a picture i save a while back but one of my aunts had th

no its a pic i save from a canadian craiglist but 1 of my aunts had this set when i was a kid lol

 

[tomturbomatic]

Really Bottom of the Line machines

Frigidaire and GE both had BOL washers where you adjusted the temp at the faucets. I saw one with a single hose connection, others with both hot and cold hoses. One GE was still a FilterFlo, but had no temp selection. Other BOL GEs had no filtering, but did have water temp selections and I saw one two speed GE with no water temp selection. I think the Frigidaire Super model washer for 1960 was made with temperature controlled by the faucets.

The machine that was filled with a hose and went thru the agitate, drain and spin was a semi-automatic. It saved labor over using a wringer and was a good machine for someone who did not have the faucets for an automatic.

 

[qualin]

To Gansky

What year is your GE FF?

My parents GE FF was almost like that one, except that it had a Suds Saver Control in the middle and had more temperature selections. I don't recall it having a water level toggle though.

The white toggles are spot on! Can you post a picture of the timer?

 

[bajaespuma]

If it's a V-14, then

it's probably from 1967 or 1968. The toggles are set in a black rectangle that is symmetrical and it seems to still have a black spiral ramped activator under that green filter pan so I'm going more toward "D" (even though this was the first year for GE to declare that it's washers could really handle 16 pounds of mixed heavies instead of 12, or er, uh 14, yeah 14, that's the ticket.

 

Here's a picture of a WA-650D  which was as low as they went in the 1968 Sweet's Catalog, but because Gansky's is/was a 550 BOL (one less toggleswitch)  that model was still rated as a V-14. I seem to remember a couple of years when GE sold V-14's, V-16's and "HEAVY DUTY 18's" all at the same time. Prolly what LeFever described as a "get them in the store" model. What can I say, GE did lot's of strange things to sell their washing machines:

 

[rogera608s]

Not BOL........but still fun to see in real life one of the machines from the 70's brochure. Here is my WWA8450V programmed washer.

 

[rogera608s]

And the tub shot.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

rogera608s

What a NICE GE!!!!!!!

 

[yogitunes]

I grew up with a BOL GE FF....one cycle, 2 water temps/levels.........

sorry guys....not that exciting...and the damn thing would never die!.....

granted I never knew how great the wash action was with that swirled activator, or the clear rinsing compared to others......

but to be stuck with this same machine for your entire life, or so it seemed......you would kill for some options....

I see the beauty in them, but to go for one of these as a daily driver, and no other machine ever in the collection.....NO!

 

[jonvance1990]

question about the GE portable Dryer

I remember as a lad we had a matching portable GE portable washer and dryer set, and I remember that it did not have an exhaust vent hookup. My question to anyone who ever owned one is, how was it even possible to operate a dryer with no outside exhausting?

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Jonathan, it probably was a condenser dryer, this types of dryers does not work at all, they "works" condensing air with a condensor, the condensor is a kind of radiator and should be cooled by colder ar flowing inside of it, the moist air pass by the other side and the moist should be condensed on it and collected in a tray or took out by a hose in a bucket, in some modern stackable units like that the washer has an entry for that hose and a collector for the water, when is full the washer drain the water......
I owned just one condenser dryer in my life, it was given to me by a neighbor who was moving away, I hated it, it was in my garage, took 4-5 hours to "dry" a load!
It will never come out completely dry anyway!
So here is the answer to your question: yes you can but you'll never have a real dryer!

 

[yogitunes]

there were also a few dryers that did not vent or condensate.......
they forced air past the heating element, over the clothes and out thru a screen and vent in the front door.....talk about ventless...

 

[jamiel]

one of the ge compact dryers vented from the bottom of the door--there was a filter "trench" which sealed to the bottom of the door.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Martin, I can't imagine the rooms where these dryers were placed, they should have called them sauna maker dryers! LOL

 

[yogitunes]

yeah....most likely a bathroom.....like you need more moisture there.....or even a kitchen.......

but if thats what was available, and all you could use, you had to make do.....

I have seen some strange and odd setups for washers and dryers......but if push came to shove, and this is what I had to work with, you do what you have to to get by....

I think those non-vented dryers were by Sanyo, or under that name, a very small and compact unit....

 

[launderess]

Hoover's Dryer

That was mated to their twin-tubs was non-vented IIRC as was Maytag's "Porta-Pair", though believe in each instance one could attach a vent hose.

Seem to remember more modern incarnations of not vented small dryers by brands such as Avanti.

To the best of my knowledge the only condenser dryers offered in the USA were full sized units, or part of combination washer/dryers. This changed when Equator and similar small frontloading W&D combos hit the market back in the 1990's or so.

 

[macboy91si]

Hoover and Maytag

Both have a 3" vent.

-Tim

 

[macboy91si]

GE Portable

Ge's portable was a GE, not Japanese and the earlier models (21") vented in the front under the lint filter as the only option. 120v dryers don't make near the heat as their 240v brethren, and in the cooler months the extra moisture is welcome. If you use one of these as a main unit, you're probably in a "do what you have to do" situation to begin with. Been there, bought the t-shirt and then dried it in a portable vented indoors

-Tim

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Just my opinion.....I'd never buy a dryer that vent inside, moisture for me is not so good and it is an hazard for the house especially in winter months when internal condensation risk to get your walls and windows "sweat", mold growing etc....OMG no no no! the GE in question was also showed in a closet, I cannot imagine in what conditions the closet would get in a few months with that dryer running inside, a little moisture is okay in the house, but a dryer is a dryer and actually 5 pounds of (dry) laundry makes their amount of moist even if spinned at high rpm, especially in closer spaces like an apartment bedroom,kitchen or bathroom.
At this point I think would be best bringing laundry to a laundromat......
Talking about voltage.... a friend of mine own a 120volt portable whirlpool vented dryer and it makes the same heat like mine that it is a 240volt model......there's no difference..........
I know of some english and aussie portable models wich haves a door venting, but you could also put a venting hose when you dry heavier loads.....