Frigidaire 1-18 production

[yogitunes]

When did Frigidaire, or WCI stop production of the 1-18?......

I got one the other day, and the date code came up as Feb 1979, could this be right?

and normally these are nic-named the Thumper, and the sound of which I am used to, this one is out of the ordinary quiet, almost like the sound of a Kenmore direct drive....just a little odd......

Model WC 6G
Serial 91EB 4360

 

[yogitunes]

Also with this machine came a gas dryer....Custom Deluxe.....it came up with a date code of Feb 1967.....wish the washer was the exact match, but can't have everything.....have not got into this one yet, the gas valve behind the door opening is unique, never seen one on a dryer....

Model DCDAGN
Serial 74SA3028

 

[kenmore71]

That would be very near the end. Others most likely have the exact date but late 1979 or sometime in 1980 sticks in my head as to when the Frigidaire brand was sold to WCI.

 

[moparwash]

Were the WCI based horrors made at the Westinghouse plant in Mansfield,OH?...IIRC the Dayton plant was converted by GM to vehicle production

 

[combo52]

1960s Frigiadire Gas Dryer

Cool finds Martin, the 1-18 would be among the last of these washers.

 

Frigidaire had a red lever that turned off the gas to the valve assembly located at the top of the door opening. On these dryers the gas valve and burner assembly is located under the top, I recently stripped and recycled two of these FD gas dryers. I saved enough parts to convert our turquoise 1966 custom imperial to gas, interesting dryer, by this time Frigidaire used direct spark ignition on their better models.

 

[yogitunes]

Thanks for the info guys.....

John, I was wondering about that valve, and how its used.....thanks again....is this just a safety device, or should the gas be turned off after use?

actually the honorable mention, which I forgot to put in, these were courtesy of MisterEric who sent me the CL ad......Thanks as well goes you....

I got the set for $50.00......

 

[appnut]

Quiet thumper and windowed lid.  Go get a lottery ticket!!!  Very nice!!

 

[mistereric]

Lookin good! Glad they went to a club member. I'm outta room!

 

[mickeyd]

Good for you, Martin

Have always wanted one.

A few questions, if you have time:

How does the circle jet spray rinse compare to the GE Martin-modified spray? Does it noticeably shift into high speed spin or is the shift gradual? And does it spray after both the wash and the rinse? Thanks.

And good luck with this legendary, unparalleled, maximum-usable-capacity work horse.

What's your theory as to why this one is so quiet? Maybe a few of the 1-18 experts will chime in. So intriguing.

 

[yogitunes]

Mickey.....while I am no expert on these yet, I am learning as I go along, as always the guys on this site are a great help, otherwise I would not know where to start on one of these....at first, these machines didn't strike an interest for me, until I got to see one operate at JohnL's warehouse....then your hooked!

first up, the Martin-modified spray....lol....seems to be equal in their own way....the circle spray appears to be nothing more than a mist, but by watching the drain output, suds are being rinsed out, as well as the deep rinse which like the GE, is clear....can't deny, it is effective!.....the only indifference, the 1-18 sprays thru the entire spin.....the circle spray in the brochures, leaned more towards fully saturating the clothes and pushing them down before agitation occurs.....the spin rinse is an added benefit....

it does spray during both spins........

the high speed spin kicks in like my other 1-18, just not as noticeable and mainly because of very little wear on the clutches just yet....

that brings case in point.....this machine being 34 years old, one should see signs of wear, detergent and softener spills, lint and gunk built up, and the metal starting to pit in areas, as we see with most vintage finds......this one kinda puzzles me, this one doesn't show any of that, can a machine really be used that little in all this time, it was found in a home that has been sitting for a number of years unoccupied, and again, I thought even the rollers sometimes form a flat spot over time from non use.......for the most part, this thing was just covered in dust, inside and out, windex and a cloth was all it needed...

the only conclusion I have so far, and maybe others have more knowledge, is the unit is too "new", with low use, and the parts have not been worn in yet, that would cause the thumping we are so used to.......over time, and many loads into the future, it may gain its trademark noise.....the mechanism doesn't look any different than any other.....thats why I was asking if there was something different about this one, or has anyone encountered a smoother running unit....

like I said, theres no roar or thumping to it....more along the sounds of a Kenmore DirectDrive.....just unusual

crossing my fingers......I lucked out with this one......

the windowed lid is the coolest thing on machines, washers or dryers, but without a light inside, you can't see a damn thing!....strange

and like my curse, one comes, and more will follow!....

especially if this guy finds any more vintage machines in homes he is flipping....think how many others are doing this, and tossing the machines!

 

[philr]

Where did you see the February 1967 code on the dryer? As far as I know, the "N" series were produced from later in 1967 to 1970 as 1968 models. The equivalent 1967 Custom Deluxe models had a "L" instead of a "N" in their model numbers and white control panels. 
 
I have a similar dryer but it's electric and because it was made in Canada, it has a few differences with yours and it's the only "Custom Deluxe" model that was available here (and GM Frigidaire didn't make gas dryers here).

 There were quite a few similar "Custom Deluxe" models available in the US, some with black knobs, others with chrome knobs, some with porcelain tops, others with painted tops, some with "timed drying" only, others with automatic drying, some with no heat settings, some with two heat settings and others with 4 heat settings some with drum lights, others without, in both gas and electric, there were also many (and new for 1968) Gold Crown models available which were similar or equivalent to various Custom Deluxe models with off-white with vertical lines/silver control panels instead of the black/aluminum panels of the regular models...
 
 











As for your washer, it's from the very last series of GM appliances.

Here's the link to the owner's manual for the very similar WC-6B (the previous model).
[this post was last edited: 2/6/2013-17:45]

http://manuals.frigidaire.com/prodinfo_pdf/augusta/2001SL/003/00000254.pdf

 

[goatfarmer]

That makes sense, Phil. I remember "N" being 1968, and the next model, "P", was 1970 or so, at least in refrigeration.

 

Then the infamous "S" line.....

 

[philr]

"P" was 1969, there were a few laundry appliances issued with "P" models (Like the WXP "High Fashion" models with high controls and storage doors) while "N" models were still available (in Canada, we didn't have "P" washers/dryers). "R" was for 1970 (I have a DW-ITR) but again, for 1970, some "N" and "P" models were still produced. "S" was 1971 and it coincided with the end of the Frigidaire production in Canada.

In 1970, we (in Canada) still had "L"[1967] free standing ranges and "N"[1968] Compact 30 and Flair ranges, mostly "L"[1967], but also some "N"[1968] and "P"[1969] refrigerators, "P" front loading dishwashers and "R"[1970] top loading dishwashers.

Like for cars, model years of Frigidaire appliances preceded the beginning of calendar year but it sometimes continued after the end of calendar year too. Later in the seventies, things got more confusing.

 

[yogitunes]

Appliance411 has a section to help gather a date on an appliance......sometimes little vague on exact dates of which week in a year it was produced....and sometimes it will give you a Feb 1967 or 1987, and you sort of pick the closest to when you think the machine was made.....even this can be wrong....

I figured somewhere along the lines of 1965 to 1970, and that was comparing it to other members machines that look similar...not that I need the exact date, but nice to know what year it was made, and any correction from more experienced members is a help......thanks for your input

this one is time dry only....there is an aironly cycle and 2 temps on the selector.....no interior light

this is breaking new territory for me, and very exciting.....this dryer is a unique design with the burner unit on top......I expected to find a thick layer of lint underneath, but again, just light dust.....odd even for this year of a machine.....my Neptunes pile up a good layer after six months, and I have seen newer ones packed to the gills.....

just thinking if the 1967/8 washer came as the mate to this dryer....that would have been a real gem, some people are dedicated Frigidaire buyers...but then again, it would have died in 10 years of use...

heavy machines compared to WCI's cheap thin tin like feel to their products

 

[ovrphil]

Anyway..whatever year, I think the washer is just outright cool looking - I agree, no light, you're looking in a black hole...where are those aftermarket L.E.D. kits for windowed washers?

Very strange that it was so clean..any chance that someone actually had maintenance done on it?

You did well, in my book.

 

[philr]

The exact matches to your dryer would be either one of these models: WCDAN, WCDATN (Rapidry 1000), WCDAFN (Fabrics Selector) or WCDARN (Suds return).

About 1967 models, they looked like that:

 

[peteski50]

Frigidaire!

Frigidaire was still being made by GM until the end of 1980. Almost 2 years after WCI made the purchase. It took them time to set up their own production and also the origional plans was for WCI to stick with the GM designs as as we all know it all fell through!

If only they were still being made!! Wishful Thinking!

Peter

 

[combo52]

1-18s and noise

1-18s can be either fairly loud or pleasantly quiet in my experience. Frigidaire used more sealed ball bearings than most washer makers and they tend to get noisy with age and wear faster than sleeve bearings. WP BD and DD washers have no sealed ball bearings at all and the long running MT Helical Drive washers only had one SBB. The agitate arm on the 1-18s could become quite noisy if it was at all worn or loose.

 

I think Martin you found an extremely low use machine, YAY. My daily driver Frigidaire 1-18 is the quietest one I have ever had, mainly because I insulated the entire inside of the cabinet with low pile carpeting, it is truly amazing how quietly it runs. I am sure if this machine was still in production today Frigidaire would have insulated the cabinet, but for the most part people were not all that worried about noise in the 1970s.

 

[frontloaderfan]

Windowed lid and everything for $50! You lucky devil!

 

[mickeyd]

THANK YOU, MARTIN

Every now and then we come across a machine that has sat idle for a long time coupled with an earlier history of low use--almost NIB without the box. How wonderful that your new 1-18 is just such an example. See if the house flipper has a story. If not, we can fantasize about the suspicious old lady in her rocker hurling holy water at the devil in the corner.

I bet you'll grow to love it as much as your canines ;'D

Thanks again for all the satisfying goodies. Some people say there's nothing quite like a 1-18 !