Help with info about this 1960’s Simpson dryer in Hobart, Tasmania

[60ssimpson]

Hello, we bought my house with this dryer inside - I believe it’s from the 1960’s but can’t find anything online - does anyone know about the year it might have been built or anything else about it?

We changed the plug (it was hard wired)

It works beautifully!

 

[gizmo]

Hard Wired

Dryers are usually hard wired if they exceed the current draw of a standard power point.

 

The ID plate in your photo shows 20 amps draw, so it should not be run off a standard 10 amp power cord.

 

(Today they would have a special 20 amp socket and a dedicated line back to the breaker box but in those days anything over 10 amps was usually hard wired.)

 

I would be very wary of running it off a 10 amp socket - especially if your home has the old ceramic fuses.  Running if off a 10 amp cord would be illegal and if it causes a house fire you won't be insured.

 

Having got that off my chest ... it looks like a lovely machine and I think your guess of late sixties is about right. It is a great find. My grandparents moved into a furnished flat that came as part of a job package (live-in caretakers) about 1970-ish and it had a new similar washer and dryer set, the washer was a Simpson Fluid Drive with a time-line indicator. The dryer was great but the washer proved very unreliable, my Nan joked the serviceman should move into their spare bedroom.

 

[60ssimpson]

20 amp!

Hi Gizmo,

Wow - thank you so much for your advice! How ignorant we are. Really appreciate you taking the time.
Thank you!

 

[brisnat81]

Chris caught you up on the important part, put a 20amp cord on it and have an electrician put a 20amp socket on the cabling where it was hardwired.

The dryer is in amazing condition, its held up really well. Have you found the lint tray in the bottom of the dryer, rather than where your used to it being?

If your mechanically minded, its probably a good idea to take the front off and clean out the lint. This dryer works like a big Griller/Broiler with the elements above the perforated drum, so lint has the potential to get stuck in all sorts of places. Hopefully Leon sees this and he'll be able to post some service literature on how to get in there.

Do you have any other pictures of your Laundry, the lino on the walls is beautiful.

Regards

Nathan

 

[60ssimpson]

Lint drawer!

Hi Nathan, thank you!

I found the lint drawer! That laundry is a bit messy at the moment but we have a lovely sink with unusual taps in there too - pics attached.

If there is any service literature that would be amazing

Thank you

 

[60ssimpson]

Running costs?

Ps I had been thinking of selling it but now I’m not so sure - we don’t use a dryer often - I’m assuming one that is 50-60 years old like this one would be expensive to run?
Thank you

 

[brisnat81]

Hi Kira,

Its no more expensive than a modern vented dryer to run, if you dont use it often, just keep it and enjoy.

The only way a modern dryer would be cheaper to operate, would be if you bought a heat pump model, which will cost a fair bit upfront, so you'd need to use it frequently to recoup the purchase.

Cheers

Nathan