Fridgidaire Washers

[jim]

Hi - does anyone know where in the Minneapolis area you might start to look for say a 60's style Fridgidaire washer? I didn't see many when I worked on washers years ago for a bit. And then I never actually got to repair that brand as I was working sort of as an apprentice and the boss did the work on any Fridgidaires we came across. I got to do the Kenmores. I woulnd't mind having one with a clear lid to watch the whole thing happen ya know? A turquoise one would be neat but any color would be fine actually. Are they difficult to work on? I'm assuming they did not make a matching gas dryer. I've only seen electric ones. Is the transmission much different than say a Whirlpool or Kenmore? I assume there's some kind of spin tube. Does the pump work directly off the motor or is it pulley driven? What type of powertrain do they have? Do the tubs have holes or do they empty over the top like a SQ? What has been your experiences for repair frequency and what is it that most often needs attention or replacement/repair? I'd like one that has temperature controls that allow HOT wash and WARM rinse if they made them that way. I've never actually looked at any of their manuels so I'm pretty ignorant of their guts. Did they make any with lights in the tub/control panels? That's be cool too.

Thanks for the read. Any help here would be appreciated.

 

[cfz2882]

check "searchalator"

Just search "unimatic","multimatic","rollermatic"or "1-18"and you will find
all kinds of interesting threads on these"GM frigidaire"1979-earlier washers
Starting around 1980,the "WCI frigidaire"began with adapted westinghouse and
franklin agitator washers-all franklin after about 1988 when the westinghouse
design went out of production.
When i first started to get interested in washer mechanisms around 1977,
rollermatics,1965-69 era,were all over behind appliance shops and at the
dump etc.they were also still in very good supply at the dump in '82-84
then seemed to really thin out after that-last seen one at the dump in '98
1-18s,70-79era either lasted better or didn't sell in as large of numbers
as i found none at the dump '82-84,finally finding one at the dump in '97
a red '79 1-18,partly dissassembled and bent up...

 

[swestoyz]

Textbook Time

Service manuals have been posted for the major GM Frigidaire transmissions, ranging from the Unimatic to the Rollermatic, in the Service Manual section of this site.

Set aside some time, a cool beverage, and an open mind!

http://www.automaticwasher.org/SERVICE.htm

 

[swestoyz]

A primer may be Robert's writeup from several years ago. A good start to breaking down information.

These machines are not as plentful as they used to be. But, if you are persistant they do show up from time to time.

Ben

Help me understand Frigidaire...

Hey Guys, I've still been making the rounds looking for my first washer/dryer to drag home. Last time I posted I mentioned I had made friends with the app' recycler, so I was over there today crawling through a dark, loaded semi-trailer and pretty much came up empty handed. Monday though 50 or...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[goatfarmer]

I'd start looking in Robert's basement!

 

[yogitunes]

Clutch the Pearls!.....a Peeping Tom!.......eeeeeeeeeeek!

 

[jim]

Say thanks much for all the help - i appreciate it.

 

[rollermatic]

they are not common

that's for sure. in 3 years i have lucked out and have managed to buy 6 rollermatics from 1965-1968 and one 1-18 from 1978.

parts are very hard to find as well but a few do surface from time to time on e bay and at a few appliance parts shops. i have managed to come across several motors, tub seals, water and oil bellows and a couple extra jet cone agitators but again that took 3 years.

i picked up my last rollermatic in maryland last spring and am basically done! unless one comes around in the ohio area i am not going to chase after any more.

they are not hard to work on once you get familiar with how they work. i downloaded the manual for the rollermatic on this site and studied it day and nite for weeks as i rebuilt my first rollermatic. luckily, since everything is exposed and consists mainly of rollers and wheels it became very easy once i started on my 2nd and third rebuild.

these are my favorite old vintage washers. i have a 1-18 from the late 70's but don't enjoy it nearly as much as the older solid tub rollermatics. i will say i thought the 1-18 was a much harder rebuild process as well.

good luck and hopefully one or more will come your way like they did with me. i got one fron new orleans, 3 from new york state, one from tennessee, one from michigan, and as said the last from maryland. of the 3 from new york only two were in repairable condition. the other was so rusted that i stripped it for parts and threw away the tub and cabinet.

 

[jim]

Fridgidaire Washers

Well gents, (and ladies), I've gone and printed out all (ALL) of those repair manuels, put them in 3-ring binders and have started to plow through them.

There's a lot of repetition but it looks pretty straight forward. A direct electric motor driven pump/cooling fan and at the motor's transverse end of the axel, it's connected to a gear mechanism that converts spinning motion to up and down motion for agitation, with a spin tube to control the tub for water extraction and an automotically oiled interior gear box.

It's interesting to speculate as to how the engineers thought processes. They were given the task of coming up with a completely new, powerful, effective automatic washing maching - and they did.

The engineers I've known in my working career were a great bunch. Some rigid thinking and some more creative. I've known EEs, MEs, Process Es, and other kinds too. Here you see a blend of all types being creative as well as, as high tech (for the time period) as possible. The idea of a self oiling gear box interior almost seems like one of those guys loved automobiles and their internal parts and took his clue from them - oil pump included! The EEs had their say w/the solenoids here and there and the timer - a marvelous invention I think - a group of very specialzed switches controlled by a self stopping electric motor (in the manuals they mention that this part is very suseptible to moisture - so they were showing pretty forward thinking in that respect by being careful to isolate it from moisture infiltration, don't you think?) and the wiring harness design and placement. The MEs went to town on that transmission etc. Petty cool looking design. From GMs reputation, you assume they used the best parts available at the time. So one would expect a superior product. So what's your thoughts out there on the internet ethers? Over the years, how did these machines stand up to the Kenmores and the Maytags and other similar type top loaders? For ease of repair and longevity of operation between repairs? What's the consensus? Am I beating a dead horse here?

 

[Pingmeep]

I don't know about beating a dead horse but your passion certainly comes through.

 

[rp2813]

I'll hazard a guess that Frigidaires fall into the same category as other makes you don't see out there much anymore.  Norge is one that comes to mind first and foremost.  They just didn't remain functional or serviceable as long as other brands.

 

Maytag, Whirlpool/Kenmore and GE machines from that period had much higher reliability and longevity so are currently much easier to find as a result, either as viable machines for regular use or as parts machines to keep a daily driver going.  Indeed, there are still new replacement parts available that can be installed on Kenmore and Whirlpool machines from the mid-50's.

 

[mickeyd]

Ode to the W O Unimatic.....SPIN

 

 

You place your ear against the cabinet at the level of the drain slits hidden around the upper crevice of the washtub.

The roar of water is unmistakable as the water hurls against the metal, and in 15 seconds the tub is empty of visible water.

Yet, the 1140 revolutions per minute still spray water as the centrifuge removes most of the water from the load. The sound of this spray is distinct, and then it becomes a mist.

 

You can hear this because there is no outer tub in the W O. Only the washtuband the cabinet. This is a rare sensual delight. You almost can't believe it.

The power and the sound are unbelievable.

If you raise your face to the tub you can feel the mist and see the spit of suds as the force makes a whirlwind around the tub's circumference.

The power is startling. There are no rubber tub guards or "spit dams" It's pure wild Frigidaire Spin.

 

During wash, the rubber pulsator is gentle to your clothing, but the rotary action of the load itself is fast, sometimes furious.

The frigidaire wants a full load, really, so you do not have to be shy. Small loads sometimes go off balance because the only half-full tub fills up during the overflow, so at spin time you have 10 gallons of water flying chaotically around 5 pounds of laundry. A trivial defect unknown to all full load givers.

 

I love these machines in all of their iterations: Unimatic Pulsamatic, Multimatic, One-Eighteen. Once bitten by the Frigidaire bug, there is no going back.

 

(not really an ode, but I'm not done

)

 

[mrb627]

*SIGH*

Some of us will never experience this joy...

 

Malcolm

 

[mickeyd]

Keep the faith, Malcolm

Look at me and Eddie and Jed: we never thought we'd find a Unimatic, and lo, we did! Also, my friend Dennis is trying to figure out a way to isolate and amplify the sounds of the W O spin. So we'll have it some day. And then there always the hope of a wash-in to attend.

Multimatics:

As a kid I was always sad that despite the mad spin, and all that water hurled away in seconds, the pump took "forever" (boy's impatience) to get going. With the motor shaft right thru its middle, it does not become functional until the rev comes up to speed. So the water only trickles, gradually increasing. No drama, no power. WP/KM's shoot the water out at once and I was always envious.

And then came the Multi with its belts where the pump kicks in immediately and the water comes a' gushing right away. Made me proud of Frigidaire, as did the "spray rinse." The Multi's skip that odd inexplicable rest period between the wash spin and the rinse fill, which was the only pause in the Unimatic cycle. Instead, the Multi whooshes in the rinse fill with a wider flume and more aerated water right away as the tub coasts down, giving a really dramatic and splashy spray.

There is a nice One minute "soak" before the wash and an indulgent "guilty pleasure" overflow rinse lasting for FOUR minutes. That is a record as far as this washer watcher knows. But the coolest thing for me is the two-speed spin where the tub goes at half warp for one minute, then click bang whoosh and we're off warping at full speed. I love it.

Here's a rare pic of a Frigidaire Suds-lock. You can see ethe narrow unveiled gap I was talking about yesterday where water actually spits during usual non-suds-locked loads.[this post was last edited: 2/24/2011-13:01]

 

[mickeyd]

Another view at full suds hurl

'

 

[toploader55]

Wow Mike

You must have worked real hard to sudslock a WO-65.

Ironic you posted this photo today as I was washing a load of "Truck Towels" after hitting the Car Wash today and threw in some Tide. (Which I haven't used since I started with Persil.) Holy Crap. The suds were coming through the Lid Handle and the seams the lid.
Then that gentle"Clank" of the solenoid and within 8-10 seconds, the Suds were gone. I couldn't even see the Pulsator. And Woooosh... Gone.

Rinsing Halo...

Malcolm... When you least expected it, a Unimatic will fall from the sky and clunk you in the head. Just like mine did. I'll say a Ingraham Prayer for you.

 

[swestoyz]

I'll say a Ingraham Prayer for you

LOL!

 

[mickeyd]

I had a recirculation going on

the way Robert does in his Superunimatic 2, mine being manual of course, unlike his engineered system, using Liqud Tide Lilac, no loner available--great subtle smell. Had no idea how much froth had built up in the cabinet. Imagine! If remember correctly, I repeated the wash cycle, chocolate stains, etc. Got to watch the whole thing, but she could not warp up, and finally the reset button popped showing its crimson band. curiously phallic.. So I finally got to press the buzzer. I was overjoyed. Alas, it hasn't happened since.

PS: Imagine the size of the suds cake you would have had, Eddie, if you left the lid up. My stuff was all going on in the cabinet with only normal cake in the tub.

 

[jim]

Hi all - what's "I'll say a Ingraham Prayer for you" all about?