Frigidaire reliabilty

[firedome]

Were there any models or years that Frigidaire washers were notably problem prone, or known to be particularly problem free?

 

[cfz2882]

does seem that 1-18s(1970-79years)are more durable and reliable than the earlier
"rollermatic"(65-'69era)machines.When i first started trekking to the dump to
snatch parts off of washers,other appliaces,cars ETC back around 1982,rollermatics
were all over the place but seemed to taper off at the dump around 1985,during that
time not a single "1-18"was found at the dump-though i was given a coppertone 1-18
in 1982 and propmtly stripped it down(wouldn't do that today LOL)
I kinda remember hearing the eariest rollermatics were prone to motor overloading
untill the spin clutch was improved.Sometime around 1968,some rollermatics were
built with a variable speed drive-motor drove the mechanism through a disc
friction clutch with a sophisticated transistor circuit modulating the magnetic
coil that put pressure on the friction discs-one of those rare beasts would be a
real find!!

 

[combo52]

FRIGIDARE WASHER RELIABILITY

The first really reliable washers were the basic 1961s and all of the later 1962s and 1963 machines into 1964 except for the roller-matics. The roller-matics did get better around 1967 on but I would stay from the very cool TOL variable speed drive machines, I have never heard of one that actually worked in well over 30 years now. I would differently agree with B. Danielson that the 1-18s were more reliable than almost any Frigidare washer that came before. And overall the newer you go with any brand the more reliable it will be and it will also be easier to fix, just like cars appliances got better in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and diffidently in the 90s through today. I love the old cars but how many of us drive a 1950s or 1960s car everyday? [ we are very active in the Lambda Car Club International ] and with cars unlike appliances there is all kinds of good parts and help in restoring and keeping them running.

 

Best Frigidare dryers for reliability were probably the 1950-1960 Filtertrators, but they are not good machines to use in warm weather as they vent all the heat and 1/2 the moisture in the room. The 1960 dryers were just ok dryers and the 1970s 1-18 dryers were the best performers by far but could have a host of durability problems. Almost every customer we had with a 1-18 pair the dryer was carted off and scraped before the washer was, with the exception of the people who liked to line dry a lot. Try to find a 1-18 dryer where they line dried.

Good Luck in your search, if I see any interesting pairs I will let you know [ would prefer a gas or electric dryer? ]

 

[firedome]

Thanks for the helpful responses! I'm open to either gas or electric as I have both available in NY and VT, but currently using electric here, and line drying only at "camp".. Looks like I'll be best off with the 1-18 washer at least. Given my 'druthers I'd love a set in Coppertone or Poppy.

John I get to MD a lot as I'm from Towson and some family and my best friend is still there. I talked to you on the phone about 15-20 (?) yrs ago when that Balto "Sun" article came out and I was still living in Westminster.

 

[peteski50]

Frigidaire!

My Aunt had a 1/18 poppy set from 1974 and had the backsplash basement wall painted poppy! What a awsome scene. Actually she had one major over haul of the washer and a few minor repairs in 8 years. The dryer actually was a bit more of a problem as 2 gas valves were replaced. The dryer lint filter was replaced about 4 times as it was really cheap. But it did dry well. She says to this day that nothing can out clean that washer as she has a direct drive whirlpool set and says it is to rough on the clothes. She gave the set up when they moved into a apartment that didnt allow laundry in the apt!

 

[goatfarmer]

I worked on 1-18's when they were still under warranty in the 70's. Some of the most troublesome machines ever built, IMHO. There were weeks when we had 3-4 in the shop at once, all needing transmission replacement, because of leaks. Leaks that wiped the bearings out. I had it down to about 45 minutes to swap a transmission, as long as the tub support wasn't rusted tight to the spin shaft, which was almost never. The later models had a plastic trough that divereted the water away from the motor WHEN, not IF, it leaked.

 

Can you tell I don't care for 1-18's?

 

[philr]

John, can you tell me which were the most common problems on the 1-18 dryers?

 

Also, from what I experienced, the most reliable GM cars I had were from the mid-sixties. I still have a '65 Buick Wildcat that I drive almost daily during summer I drove it over 40,000 miles since I got it in 2004. It's loaded with most options (except a/c) and everything still works! Even the clock and the cruise control!

It still has it's original drivetrain.

 

In the mid-seventies, GM shortened it's warranties on engines/transmissions from 5 years to 1 year (at about the same time as in Frigidaire appliances) and began making some real crap. I have a '75 Electra which I think is a great car but I wouldn't say it's as good as a '65, it's also loaded with about every option available (and there were a lot of options available in 1975!) and everything works, but I had the engine rebuilt at 90,000 miles.

Bodies were also more prone to rust in the seventies and things didn't get better in the next few years. In the eighties, many GM cars didn't last 6 years without requiring major repairs! My grandfather replaced his '78 Olds Cutlass Supreme when it was 6 years old as it needed a new engine (Buick "even fire" 3.8 V6) and his 84 Cutlass Ciera that replaced it was even worse! It had problems from day one after his purchase. In 1990, it was a rust bucket with many mechanical/electrical problems an bad Chevy 2.8 engine when he traded it for a Honda!

 

[appliancelou]

Frigidaire Line!

I was a 1/18 fan - it always washed better than most could. Their appliances were unique and way ahead of their time. What white consolidated did to frigidaire was a absolute crime. They flushed a great company down the toilet!

 

[joelippard]

Mom's 69 solid tub ran for 18 years without a single repair until the timer went and the repairman was too dumb to fix it.  My 67 and 68 solid tub Frigidaires are running with their original motors, the 69 still has all the original rollers and my 72 1-18 which was "granny" owned has never had a repair other than a new timer motor.  I've also got 2 1-18 dryers that have never been opened up except to clean the dust out of them.

 

[combo52]

COMMON 1-18 DRYER PROBLEMS

Noisy cheap plastic bearing drum rollers, the problem got a little better in the mid 70s when they went to two rear rollers instead of the three they used originally. These dryers as they aged would scrape rattle and rumble. They also had problems with blowers that came off the motor shaft [ same problem that all MT big load dryers have from 1976- the end of the 29" MT dryers, the good news is that while the blower is NLA for the FD the MT blower is an exact fit ], bad wiring connections for the heater circuit on electric models, bad heater elements, bad drum seals, melted lint filter housings along with a lot of clogged lint filter housings and like all GM built washers and dryers with Delco motors more than thier share of motor problems. Delco motors always had more switch and bearing problems than W & Ds with GE or Emerson motors. And FD did change completely by the mid 1970s to Emerson and GE for thier laundry motors. Good news is that the dryer works very well when it works. I have a poppy pair of Custom Imperials in my W Va house that are used when I go there that work well but have needed almost all of the repairs mentioned above over the last 15 years even though it is probably only run 20 times per year.

 

[firedome]

As a vintage car fanatic for 40 years, I'd generally agree with the observation on GM '60s vs '70s/80s, (though '60s fit and finish was nothing to write home about either and 60s GM frames are notorious rusters). However a great deal of the reason for '70s/80s car issues can be attributed to the fact that all the US companies got off track when stricter emission and safety laws forced them to devote resources and time to solve that problem. Those great '60s cars had PVC and that's about it. They became increasingly cantankerous starting around '72 when simple exhaust gas recirculation would no longer meet emissions standards that tightened greatly every year up through the '80s. Safety bumpers etc made them heavier and more ponderous. Our '57 Lincoln, '70 Fury convertible, '70 Nova and '71 Fury III still start and run extremely well, as have many other '30s up thru around 1971 cars we have had. I won't buy a '72 or later vintage US car. Around '72-73 driveablility and durability started to slide drastically, leaned out carbs had poor driveability and engines were intentionally run hot. IMO mid '70s GM cars were cranky inefficient whales. We had a 73 Delta 88, 74 Delta, 75 Delta, 76 Olds 98, 77 Olds 88, 78 Electra. Loved the ride but mostly they couldn't get out of their own way. The '77/78 weren't too bad, much improved. Volvos and Saabs after that. I'm not sure any analogy re: GM can be carried over to appliances, however. Any appliance quality control issues were more than likely divisional bean-counter decisions. GM divisions were highly autonomous in those days, even the car divisions had their own separate frame, engine and transmission designs until about the late 70s, though they had shared Fisher bodies going back to the 20s/30s.

Seems there are diverse opinions here about Frigidaire reliability!

 

[philr]

John,

I replaced one drum roller and the belt on my 1977 1-18 dryer (which has 4 rollers) and I have 7 new ones left... It doesn't rattle but it does have a squealing sound which I haven't corrected yet. The squealing stops if I remove the back cover and pry the chassis just a bit but I haven't investigated more! It's either the rubber from the rollers (sounds like that) or the felt that is worn (I haven't looked). But I don't use the dryer much anyway! Is there anything I can use to stop the squealing? (I think I have seen somewhere on a tech talk that some kind of grease could be applied on the drum where the rollers are in contact with it).

 

I think neither the 1-18 dryer or the washer has a Delco motor, (I'm sure about the washer, it has an Emerson) even my 1973 GMini washer has a GE motor. (again, I haven't looked closely at the dryer motor, but the blower on this one was so packed with lint that it rattled badly).

The 1-18 washer doesn't seem to be too cheaply built. And it ain't that noisy! In fact, it's less noisy than my former Inglis direct drive during agitation (the dual action agitator made a lot of noise, even after the replacement of the ratcheting mechanism which went bad once). During the spin cycle, again, the 1-18 is also less noisy than the Inglis, both the 1990 direct drive or my mother's former 1974 belt drive (which was noisy as hell in it's last year of service, in 1989-90).