Help to identify Bendix Washer

[freewestinghous]

Back when my Mother's 1957 Frigidaire Imperial Control Tower washer broke down in 1963 I was working at a used appliance store [ I was 14 years old ]. My Mother needed a washing machine right away so I bought her a used Bendix front loader from the store I was working at. I have not since then seen anything in a Bendix front loader like it.

It was a post war machine and not a bolt down model - so had heavy weights in it. It was much "wider" than it was "deep" from front to back by quite a bit. The control knobs were at the top front corners and were gray plastic and I believe the trim was gray. I don't remember the load door handle and yes - a glass window to watch wash action. Three rinses for the wash cycles and I believe three wash cycles.

The strange thing about that Bendix washer is that is was so wide and not very deep front to back. I recall back then thinking that a matching dryer would not fit next to it in the space allotted in a home laundry room.

Not being a bolt down - the extra width of the cabinet was taken up with heavy weights. My Mother did not like it because of the smaller capacity compared to her Frigidaire Imperial.

Does anyone hve photo's of early 1950's Bendix washers ? I think is was newer than late 1940's.

Randy

 

[toploader55]

Bendix Model S

Rollermatic posted this on YouTube.

 

[easyspindry]

Sounds to me like . . .

. . . about a 1955 or 1956. The controls would have been at the top front under a lid that would lift to see the controls.

Jerry Gay

 

[tomturbomatic]

It probably would have been an early Gyromatic, but I don't know about three wash cycles; Bendix had a pretty standard format of one wash and one soak cycle on the timer dial, but the wash times were sometimes marked 9, 6 and 3 minutes if that is what you are thinking of. It would have been early 50s if the dials were at the front because Bendix suspended the mechanism for the Duomatic and started offering non bolt-down machines about that time, but the non-bolt down and bolt down machines looked similar at first. I think the washer and matching dryer would have each been 30" wide. The extra space in the cabinet was to allow room for the suspended mechanism with the attached weights to swing at the start of the spins when the tub could lurch quite a bit with a poorly distrubuted load. It must have been quite a shock to go from a Frigidaire to a Bendix.