Frigidaire SDJ Automatic Spin Dryer made 1969

[chestermikeuk]

A Happy New Year to you all and with that a determination (or stop procrastinating and start doing as a friend put it lol) to get sorting out the video film stacked for completing The You Tube movies...

So here with further ado is the Frigidaire UK first spin dryer from 1969, gravity drain, 6lb load, beautiful vitreous enamel speckled spin drum all driven by a small but powerful brush motor. The Automatic bit refers to a built in 4 minute timer which counts down from start and shuts the motor off. If you need less time for spinning synthetics etc you simply open the lid.

Take a peek underneath and you see why Frigidaire are built to last, the company here in UK was a division of GM (General Motors) Frigidaire, and we see the beefed up chassis and spin tube along with heavy solid spin can.

I just love the sounds these make on startup and switch off, one could identify the neighbours just by the sounds. These small spin dryers where a boom to the UK housewife particularly in wet weather. Many purchased these to compliment their years owned wringer washers and make washday just that, the housewife was for the first time able to complete the washing and drying in one day. !!

Let me know what you remember about these spinners ??

Frigidaire

Explore this photo album by WeHadOneOfThose on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[jamiel]

Was this a rebadge of another company's unit? I wasn't aware that they did any appliances at Luton.

 

[gyrafoam]

Hey Mike, those are so cool. Too bad none to be had here in the US.
I would love to have one.
I use a Unimatic as an extractor with regularity.

Best wishes to you and yours in the New Year!

 

[combo52]

Frigidaire extractor

Hi Mike, Great video and what a fun little extractor, I recently found a SpinX extractor and have been having fun with it, its really fun if you have an old American combo that only spins between 200 and 500 RPMs, however its not worth the time for our newer machines that spin at over 800 RPMs, at least not when we have such powerful gas dryers.

 

John L.

 

[gansky1]

Love the sound that makes - and so fast to get up to speed.

I have a Spin-X I spotted on Craigslist, listed as a "swimsuit dryer." I waited them down on the price and have used it a lot in the last 18 mos. When I got this one, I couldn't get the tub brake to work properly, but found that the starting handle and switch lever were turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction but once adjusted, it works perfectly now. It's handy for a lot of instances when the vintage washer is a sad-spinner or even when washing items that the front loaders just refuse to spin.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigigaire

Hi Jamie, certainly not badged, we had a great range of great Frigidaire products, even a Jetamatic top loader with built in heater, a twintub, H-axis top loader washer dryer as well as all the spinners....great sturdy machines...

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigidaire

Morning Steve and a Happy New Year to you and all as well !!
Oh I can just hear that Unimatic swishing all the water out lol, great machines, these little beasts are so sturdy as the base chassis is a big cast weight and you can see the size of the spin tube versus a Hoover etc...

Happy Washing !!

 

[chestermikeuk]

frigidaire

Hi John, there are loads of these about as many people had them from new with no washing machine, and / or with wringers and then when the first automatics came here like the Bendix and low spin Italian machines most folks kept them due to our weather...AND not having tumble dryers at all nay mind gas ones, at this point the energy police just spat their cornflakes over the keyboard ha ha..

The spin X look great love the stainless ones, all ours are white metal coated here !!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigidaire

Morning Greg, these are so handy after using many machines and cut down dramatically drying times (for us anyway ha ha) yes for such a small motor it don't half ramp up to speed in a jiffy...

Your Spin X is a fab bargain, is it direct drive ?? just check the rubber mounting bolt plugs, I had one that did that oscillation out of balance thing and one of the plugs had worn and slipped out the holder causing the swaying !!

We managed to find a big bolt down commercial Miele few months ago, that needs to be sorted this year, another one for the list...Hope all great with you and family !!

 

[easyspindry]

I had a Spin-X . . .

. . . for many years. Used it all the time, especially when I was washing with my Bendix diving bell machine. It finally gave up the ghost and I had to trash it. Seems to me there was a place in Texas that sold the Spin-X.

I never knew Frigidaire had one.

Jerry Gay

 

[golittlesport]

Thanks for the cool video, Mike! Happy New Year!

Rich

 

[Unimatic1140]

I just love the black and white speckled porcelain tub in the Frigidaire! Mine is a copper plated tub and not a Frigidaire :-(

 

[keymatic]

Hi Mike, great machine and in such good condition with a complete drain spout, as you know these have usually perished.
I had one but the timer busted and tried to bypass the timer switch but didnt really work and to dangerous!! so i ditched it.
I digged through the archives and found the instruction card & the advertising pamphlet.
Cheers
Keith

 

[keymatic3203]

Fabulous Film

Mike and a great spin dryer, what great condition. As you say, these simple, but well built machines made the world of difference to wash day, and though mum of course has a washing machine, she always said, so long as she had a spinner she could manage. Thinking back to the days when the clothes horse was the extent of the drying equipment on wet days.

Love the parts when we see the belt drive Mike, that motor is so smooth, it's got tones of a sunbeam mixmaster, in my mind anyway, 1.45.

Also notice how even at this speed there is hardly any creasing.

Keith am I right, is this the same spin dryer that is used in the mastertwin, I know the washtub is essentially the rolls. I would imagine that spinner in a twin tub would perform well. Would be great to see yours or a film of it one day.

Mathew

 

[keymatic]

Hi Mathew,

As far as I can see the Mastertwin does use the same components as the Frigidaire spin dryers.

Mine is currently at my mum's - one of my new year's resolutions is to get a few machines back up and running this year after I get back from India.

I think I may have to put an electric pump on the spinner side as it is completely knackered.

As soon as it is up and running to any degree I will do a clip of it.

Cheers Keith

 

[chestermikeuk]

frigidaire

Hi Jerry , I bet you could here the water spinning out from the slow spin of the Bendix bell, I loved listening to my grans Creda after rinsing in the sink, towels full of water ha ha..

 

[chestermikeuk]

frigidaire

Hi Rich and a Happy New Year to you all, hope the front loaders are giving good service, does your son still have the original frigidaires ??

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigidaire

Hi Robert, that's the one thing that stands out with these Frigidaire spinners all the lovely enamel spin cans...

So what spinner do you have then ??

 

[chestermikeuk]

frigidaire

Hi Mathew, yes its my intention to show the workings lol, makes a more interesting viewing, and we get to see the action, and the difference in beefed up parts as opposed to other makes, love it...
the rubber drain tube reminds me of a flapping walrus when full pelt lol...