Fridgidaire Washers

[joelippard]

Rinse

Yes, on the WO-65 you get two full tub rinses without overflow, but on the later WO-65-2 it had the overflow rinse at the end of the wash period and then overflowed through all of the rinse cycle also.

Love all this Frigidaire Reading!

 

[retromania]

That 800 Lady Kenmore in mickeyd's photo has also been other photos on this website. Love that color! Also learned what "thimble top agitator" means and now it is so obvious. Ok washer enthusiasts, what makes the Lady Kenmoore 800 get so popular amoung collectors and admirers like me?!

 

[toploader55]

Ingraham Prayer...

When I got my Unimatic the Timer Motor was shot. So like OK , I'll just run over to the parts store and pick one up. NOT.

Well, a friend found one and the timer motor manufacturer Brand Name at the time was Ingraham. According to the Unimatic Authorities, these Timer Motors were quite Unreliable and do not last that long.

So, Everytime I run a Wash through the Unimatic, I always say a "Ingraham Prayer".

And it is Very True... You never (or I don't) get tired of watching a Unimatic. Most Washers just don't have the Drama a Unimatic Performs Everytime.

 

[combo52]

UNIMATIC RINSING

As with many things the engineers that designed the orignal Unimatics got it right the first time as the double deep rinse rinsed out soil, detergent and bleach much better than the later overflow single rinse system did while using less than two additional gallons of water than the overflow rinse used.

 

All that said there were some problems with rinsing so throughly in the solid tub Unimatics or any washer for that matter. The overflow at the end of the wash period and during the deep rinse removed soap scum and excess suds much better. In a ST washer like the Unimatic when it goes into spin the heavy water goes quickly up and over the edge of the tub, so any thing floating on the surface goes down into the center of the tub and is plastered all over the surface of the clothing where it will remain. This was a problem in hard water areas or where people still used soap that the overflow rinse solved. 

 

When I got my first Unimatic it was the WO-65-2 which had the later overflow rinse I used it that way for a long time. Then I converted it to the two deep rinse by using an earlier timer and timer dial. The difference in rinsing was amazing as I often used this machine to wash white clothes where I add LCB near the end of the wash period. After rinsing with the overflow rinse you could still smell bleach in the clothes, but after going to the double rinse when you removed the clothing you could not even tell the clothing had been bleached. 

 

All that said the overflow rinse is much more fun to watch.

 

[jim]

Ingraham Prayer

Hello toploader55 - thanks for the info re. the Ingraham Prayer. I have seen that manufacturer's trade name before now that you mention it in an old parts book I used to use. I did not know however that they were short lived.

Would it be possible to use another timer other than the original one on these machines if one could not find an original that still worked? Say for example a timer from a more current washer - Kenmore? whatever?

What year did the WO-65-2 come out? Does the WO-65-2 have only one rinse?

Have any of you out there ever gone to the extent of having the whole machine re-porcelinized? Like take it apart completely and ship it somewhere that does that kind of work?

Thanks also to combo52 for your insight and creativity with the timer!

Jim

 

[swestoyz]

Would it be possible to use another timer other than the original one on these machines

Timer motors and escapements can be interchanged between like-made timers, however you need to be careful that the motor RPM/rotation matches the escapement advancement speeds in order to emulate the original timer sequences. The internal timer circuitry is typically very specific to the operation of that individual washer. You may be able to use single contacts to repair a timer circuit (it's been done before), but you wouldn't be able to swap a '52 Kenmore timer on a '52 Frigidaire.

In this instance, it is pretty easy to swap out the original Ingraham motors for the later and much more plentiful Mallory-made motors.

What year did the WO-65-2 come out? Does the WO-65-2 have only one rinse?

The WO-65-2 came out in 1952, and was in production up until 1954. It had a single rinse. The wash tub would fill with water, and would continue to fill during the rinse cycle, thus the idea of the 'over flow rinse'.

Have any of you out there ever gone to the extent of having the whole machine re-porcelainized?

I'm not sure if anyone here has had an entire machine re-porcelainized. The costs may be prohibitive to have complete machine done, but I can see the benefit in having a single panel redone if needed.

John - I agree that the WO-65 is a better rinsing machine than the later over flow Frigidaires. I've noticed a signifigant difference between the WO-65 and the WI-56 in terms of rinsing.

Ben

 

[cornutt]

Ingraham

Ingraham was one of the major Connecticut clockmakers, going back to the mid-19th century. From the reading I've done, they were known mainly for their clock cases; in the 20th century they made cases for some other kinds of appliances such as radios. They went into electric clocks in the 1930s, and after WWII they make all kinds of clockwork-driven mechanisms. They were bought out by McGraw-Edison in 1967.

I've seen Ingraham mechanical clocks, but I've never seen any of their electric clocks. And in a quick look on Ebay just now, I see lots of mechanical clocks and watches, but only two of the pre-McGraw-Edison electric clocks. So it seems not that many of them survived. Apparently the motor problems weren't limited to Unimatic timers.

 

[mickeyd]

 

 

Thank you, Ben, I always wonderer about the time frame for the W O family. In 1955, the Frigidaire style changed dramatically and every year thereafter. But the familiar, signature, iconic styling of the W O was around for five years, unchanged except for the red nose reindeer light morphing into a lid switch. So then is this right, the W O was produced from 1950-52? Always got a kick out of the W O being the double rinser, while the W O <span style="font-size: xx-large;">2<span style="font-size: small;"> only rinses once......I know...... know ;-> Wondering if Robert's 49 is also a W O
</span></span>

 

Andy, according to Gordon, two other guys and me have the 62 LK, while John, Darren, and Gordon have the 64 LK, a cooler prettier machine. People love them because the they are versatile, complex, beautiful, and rare--interesting cycles and of course, they're turquoise.

<span style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span>
</span></span>

 

[jim]

Ingraham

David, thank you for your details about Ingraham. I remember some folks had an electric version of wind up mantle clocks made by Ingraham. I had one made by them but not a mantle type clock - given to me by my great aunt - it was oblong in shape, heavily nickel plated, art deco in design, very heavy, with a small light bulb at the bottom of the face. It's motor died within a year or so after I started to use it. (It had not been in use for probably 25 or more years when it was given to me in the mid 60s).

So I guess taking short cuts in production and use of inferior quality materials eventually comes back to haunt a company. Too bad more of the board members and CEOs of large corporations don't read history. So who says offshoring is a good thing for America? I say it's a traitorous cowardly way to make a quick buck on the backs of those who can least afford it.

 

[thomasortega]

After a long time far from the club because i had no time to come here, today i came back to take a look and found this motivating thread.
It reminded I have my 2 rinses WO-65 sat in my bedroom waiting for parts...
I MUST restart the restoration process, but I still don't have the parts.

Now it's much easier for me because my best friend moved to Miami and her husband comes to Brazil every 2 weeks.
If somebody has a torque spring and water/oir seals to sell, please contact me.