From the Archives: Fridgette Twin Tub Washer and Dryer

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macboy91si

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
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Location
Frankfort, KY
So a few months ago I drove up to beautiful Virginia in the trust steed to pick up a very unusual little washer and dryer. Partly unusual to find both the washer AND the dryer and also unusual to find them in as good of shape as they were. It was a long drive, roughly 6 hours each way and I was exhausted.

The washer needed a little work as did the dryer, but only from lack of use. These machine had not been used since around 1978 and not terribly hard in that 5 years. Some of the rubber hoses are starting to deteriorate in the washer, but for now I was able to revive them with some RTV sealant. The dryer needs an end on the cord, but what can one expect for old appliances?

These were initially posted here and I contacted the seller. They were very hospitable and kind people. There was some discussion about what these were exactly and they are Hitachi made. The dryer is appears to be heavily based on the Maytag HOH design and is actually VERY heavily constructed. It's heaver than the Maytag.

Here they are on the truck, adorable!

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Control Panel Assembly

Spinner timer and logo/brand, 5-minutes and the timer resets to 0 when the lid is opened. I think it has a very smart control panel.

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Dryer

Front of the dryer. This dryer has a plastic, magnetic latch door. Some people were discussing the venting, even though the door loos like it is louvered, it is not. The dryer has a 3" vent on the back.

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Tim

you do some of the best videos....Thank you

what a unique little machine......it really pulled the clothes down fast

out of curiosity, with more water added and overflowing, you almost have a filter-flo design, all is needed is a filter bag or pan of some sort, suprised they didn't already have that with the clip for the hose

does the drain hose always have to be removed when in storage?

these twintubs are really fun machines, I got both of mine in full gear, of couse I had to make new impellor belts, but for the Hoover, a vacuum belt for the pump, and an auto belt for the spinner.....you ain't washing with the lid open!

thanks again
 
Twinny Washing

What a great set Tim, looks powerful enough to do the job and as you say the sturdiness of the machine - its a bit like a 60`s rolls machine that used one motor one belt to drive the washer, spinner & pumps...

These pulsators in the base can prove very powerful, at the last wash in with Aussy Mat, we mentioned what the Servis Powerglide wash action would have been like in a larger full size machine!!

Would love to see how the water pipes fron both tubs enter the pump etc..does it use a diverter valve?? When pumping out the spin water over the sink would it be pumping the wash re-circulation water??

The dryer looks cute as well, nice clean lines & logos etc...

Happy Thanksgiving & washing, Mike
 
What a furious little beast--I love it !

It may not be a real Frigidaire, but it sure acts like one, with the pump on and audible, and spillover during the wash and the very very live water action, all vintage Frigi trademarks. Wouldn't think the tiny impeller could create such "chaos in the tub."

 

What a cool thing to do for us on Thanksgiving, So Thank You, Tim, and Happy Thanksgiving.
 
Very cool machine

I had a JC Penney machine like this about 1972-73. Don't remember if it was a Hitachi or not but, it was very similar. I think it had a plastic tub, but really not sure. It was a few years ago so the details elude me a little. Didn't have the dryer, only the washer. Great looking set!

And you're right about the Hoover not being apartment friendly toward the neighbors. I love the one I have but it is on the loud side when spinning.

Good luck with your new set!

Bill
 
japanese twinnies in the US

Ca.1970-80 seems to be the heyday for japanese twin tubs in the US-seemed to be
about 5 different manufactures in japan making these,many as "captive imports"
for U.S. appliance brands or store chains.
brands i have seen include:
-hitachi
-matsushita/panasonic
-sanyo
-toshiba
-brother(this one,found at the dump in '82,was made in '78 and branded"montgomery
wards"-i took lots of parts from this one)
they all seemed to be about the same underneath:
-impeller belt driven from a split capacitor induction motor of about 1/8-1/10 hp
-spin can direct coupled to it's own split capacitor induction motor.
-shaded pole pump motor.
 
Fridgette!

Hi Tim,
Good Luck with these nice units. I remember in the mid to late 60's one appliance store had a simular washer / spinner named Fridgette but it had automatic controls on the washer side. I was always curious about these machines.
Thanks for posting,
Peter
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-impeller belt driven from a split capacitor induction motor of about 1/8-1/10 hp
-spin can direct coupled to it's own split capacitor induction motor.
-shaded pole pump motor.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I had one. Panasonic. Wish I still did. Ultimate in simplicity and functionality. I could pick the whole thing up myself and put it in my VW with the passenger seat removed.
 
I had a 2nd hand Bradford sold by the defunct W.T. Grant.  It was a pretty good washer. Apartment dwellers especially with young children bought ton's of these,  the last generation of apartments before tenants actually demanded w/d hookups, coincided about the time coin op washers went from .25 to .75 or a dollar.  They were a good machine and a good investment at that time.  Definately better than a creepy communal basement laundry room.  Your's look to be in very nice condition. alr
 
Fridgette action!!! Coppertone-style

Tim, yours is MINT!!! Ours had a lot of use from prior owner/console is rough. The aluminum tub stays hot/ great for soaking. I can get a spin-rinse going by lifting the spinner lid just enough to put the hose in, add water for a few seconds. I had never thought of the advantage of the impeller on the bottom/being able to run with only 5 gallons of water. That is usually how we use it; great for when we don't have a full load to do. Enjoy it :)

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Coppertone

Wow, these look good in Coppertone for sure. Your machine does not look bad at all. It's a neat little machine and as I mentioned in my video, very well mannered and behaved; perfect for an apartment. One thing that makes this machine stand out from a lot of the other Japanese machines of the era is that this model is right before they started putting the independent electric drain pumps in them. The pump on this machine is tied to the WASH motor instead of the traditionally located spin motor drive. So the impeller always runs for any draining and is unidirectional. I can only assume this is for the overflow rinse feature, which is also cool and with the tub only holding 9 gallons of water, actually is doable and useful. My big "fear" is that the pump might wear out running all the time like that, but it seems to be of very rugged construction, the pump has the pulley on the top and a nice beefy bearing. These are Hitachi units and so are the Toshiba's and some of the other brands as well.

 

Basically these were used for 5 years or so and put into storage in the late 70's. The dryer had been used recently here and there but the washer hasn't seen water for years. The washer still needs some attention for the hoses, they've deteriorated a bit, but for now I've RTV'ed the brittle ones and it seems to be holding. Only a couple of hoses have become brittle, the wash to diverter hose and the pump to drain fitting hose. They are made from a different rubber than the rest of the hoses, which are fairing well. The plumbing system in the machine is fairly complex actually, it even employs some sort of equalization tank in the drain where 2 inputs go in and on goes out so you don't have an air pocket in the pump circuit (best I can tell anyway).

 

Arbilab, did your Panasonic have an electric pump?

 

Mike, the wash action is amazing for the size of the impeller. On the lower water levels I'd not want to leave something in for more than a couple of minutes. If you put the lid on the thing is very quiet. The machine does utilize a diverter valve (2nd dial on control panel) for wash or drain. I always hook the drain return back into the tub for a suds-return during wash when spinning. The overflow stack bypasses the diverter and goes directly into the pump circuit so any water slung into the overflow stack would get shot out the drain hose regardless as long as the impeller was running. It's a tad confusing to explain, much more confusing to look at the plumbing system, it has I think 7 sections of hose in it internally.

 

Martin, you don't have to remove the drain hose to store it, it has a hook, but I have the back panel off and I removed the screws and the hooks for the hose and cord hanger. You could very well put some sort of nylon bag over that hose for a filter but none to my knowledge came with the machine. It only shoots water out of it on the full water level also, if you fill it 5 or 7 gallons than it barely touches the stack. Newer Japanese machines utilized a mesh bag in the sidewall of the tub which was also very effective. Also newer machines that had electric pumps were not so touchy to the overflow water for 2 reasons. One reason was that there was a water switch that turned on the pump for over flow, the water had to back up a considerable amount to trigger the switch and 2 the impellers in the electric pump machines were reversing, so you didn't get that crazy wall of water thing going on. Even the with the Danby twin-tubs still being sold you can see some of the similarities to this machine. The later machines advertised the overflow function as an overflow protection. If the wash-tub was left unattended while filling, the excess would run down the overflow stack and then trigger the water switch. This would activate the electric pump and the machine would pump out into the sink so even a new Danby can overflow rinse.

 

-Tim
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arbilab, did your Panasonic have an electric pump?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, a standalone DD with diverter to pump from either wash or spin tub. Panel knob was 'drain wash--center off--drain spin' so the pump wasn't running unless it was actually being used. The only thing it didn't have was a suds save setting to pump from spinner back to wash tub, had to do that manually by moving the hose.

Both tubs were plastic, the spinner aluminum. Offset swirlator very effective turnover even on bulky items like sheets and towels. I'd dump my '98 Frigiwhite FL in a heartbeat if Pana still made these. Simpler is better, and TTs are more fun. Also extract better.
 
Great little machine - and vids!

Hey Tim...thanks for posting those! Very entertaining - looks like a great little machine. I had one similar about 13 years ago - I think it was an Hitachi with a reversing impeller. I didn't like it because the wash action wasn't "vigorous" enough, unlike the wash action in yours, which looks great. But, man was it quiet - I like your comments about Hoovers not being apartment "friendly". When I turn on the Hoover's spinner, it sounds like a jet aircraft taking off! I much prefer my Speed Queen Supertwin - efficient and much quieter!

You must have quite the collection of twins now.
 
Twin Tub Collection

I have well over 20 now, which is getting a little ridiculous. These days I focus my efforts on something "different" which this certainly is. My holy grail machine is the SQ/Simplicity/Servis twinnie though, I may very well stop collecting after that. I love my Hoovers, but there is something nice about dramatic AND quiet.

-Tim
 
More Video!

Here is a little clip I shot of the spinner in action:

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

-Tim

 
That is some absolutely amazing wash action for a single impeller.

That washtub is like a a black hole.. some amazing vortex action there.

What a great find.
 
It's a Whirlpool wash action, literally! The water forma a whirlpool and then in go the clothes.
A very neat washer and an exceptionally good video with excellent explanations.
Thank you for taking the time to show us this washer.

I noticed those socks going in were quite dirty. Did they come out clean?
 
Thanks

I really enjoy making these little videos. The socks came out spotless and they were very dirty. I have a habit of walking around in just my socks. This machine gets em as clean if not cleaner than the Maytag in just 5 minutes and with 1/8th the detergent!

Some people have asked for some more video of various things and I will be working on that this week as well.

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I'd trade in my Hoover for one of those in 2 seconds

wondering if some of the UK Hoovers that Mike and our friends have are as loud as ours with their vacuum motors screaming!

 

Tim, how many towels will the Fridgette hold at the 9 gallon water mark?

 

Had to smile as the spinner coasted to a stop, again reminding me of a Unimatic.

 

Really nice shots of the water sprays.
 
Towels

It will hold 2 full-size bath towels and maybe some smaller rags. Not too bad considering the tiny tub.

I think the UK Hoovers are just as loud, sometimes the loud is nice though :)

-Tim
 
Post# 559016, Reply# 15 11/24/2011 at 22:03 by peteski50

Hi Peter! I wonder, and am pretty sure, that the "automatic" control on the Fridgette you remember, meant the washer went from wash-fill to drain, to fill to rinses with no intermittent spins, of course.
 
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