Frigidaire flowing water pressure gauge (LP-1516)

[tomoldcars]

Hi out there;
I see I have found yet another manifestation of THE DISEASE. My symptoms are a yard full of Packards etc. and a house full of strange and ancient items.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post; I found the following tool kit during a garage sale expedition yesterday and couldn’t live without it.
The instruction sheet inside the top cover of the box reads;

FRIGIDAIRE FLOWING WATER PRESSURE GAUGE (LP-1516)
(To be used in connection with “Frigidaire Automatic Washer installation check sheet” - LP -1506)

The internet has no clue about it or the Witt Gauge. Frigidaire Automatic washer history sent me here.
I don’t recall ever checking FLOWING WATER PRESSURE during any washer installation, and I’m not sure what I would do if it wasn’t correct. The construction is typical of the 40’s, as is the language in the instruction sheet. The three questions are; how old is it? What do I do with it? And, is it worth anything?

Anyway, If one of you has a home for it, let me know. I have more pictures if you want them.

Thanks, Tom

 

[tomturbomatic]

Since most all of the solid tub Frigidaire washers used a timed fill, the machine would not fill properly if the water pressure was too low. I would imagine that this testing device confirmed the water pressure and, if it fell below the minimum required by the machine, it would let the installer know that it was necessary to install a special timer which would allow longer fill periods.

 

[tomoldcars]

FRIGIDAIRE FLOWING WATER PRESSURE GAUGE (LP-1516)

Thank you Tom;
That explains it. I don't recall ever seeing a machine without a pneumatic level sensor. I’m afraid my knowledge of automatic washer history is limited to patching mine when needed. What years had the fill timer, and was that standard in the industry until someone came out with a level sensor? You have a very interesting site, I’ll keep watching.

Thanks again, Tom

 

[tomturbomatic]

Tom, Early top load washers were of two types, solid tub machines and machines with a perforated tub that sat within a solid, non-moving outer tub. The perforated tub design allowed for fairly easy measuring of the water level in the machine.

Solid tub machines had to cope in other ways. Easiest was a time fill. The machine filled for a select number of minutes and then started agitation. Other solid tub machines used a metered fill where a percentage of the water flowing into the solid tub was diverted into a collector chamber where it tripped a pressure switch. Weirdest of all was the Maytag AMP design. This was their first style of automatic washer. It was basically a solid tub with a perforated tub bolted inside it. Both spun together inside a stationary outer tub. The pressure switch was in the lid and was tripped by a float in the agitator. A later, less expensive model simply used a time fill.

Many time fill machines coped with moderately low water pressure by having a couple of start fill positions for a full tub of water. The timer dial was set to the first position for a full fill if the water pressure was low and was set an increment or two beyond that if the water pressure was higher. Higher water pressure was not as much of a problem because excess water just flowed over the top of the tub and was pumped down the drain. If high water pressure was serious enough, either the supply faucets could be slightly closed so that less water entered the washer or more restrictive flow washers could be used in the fill valve. Frigidaire's timer did not permit lengthening the fill period so the water pressure meter you found was more important to a proper installation that would give satisfactory machine performance. As automatic washers became more common, dealers learned the water pressures in various parts of their areas served by municipal water systems. Trickier situations, often requiring measurement, arose when customers were on wells.