L U C Y, you got some splaing to do......
I have this very prized working leaking & never on fire in my humble collection. No timer to break,yea... select water temp warm/hot, turn the handle to lock the lid sending the machine on it's way to hands free clean laundry. However, no control of the time, or cycle. Unplug it, open the lid, lock lid & plug it in, begins cycle where you were, has to finish out cycle, to shut off ready for next load. I did fill it, run it into spin with a few towels, it jumped up off the floor in the air. Three of us sat on it, what a great ride, had to unplug, no wonder it had such long bolts into the concrete floor.
Mine was still bolted to the floor 1988, had a hell of a time to find where the 2 7" bolts were located to get the machine moved. It was plugged in and hoses connected, it started humming and the tumbler turned. A 1970's "shredmore" was installed as daily driver.
Did you know? Jacobs a Detroit Motor City Co part of the automotive industry making transmissions at the time. Other auto makers like General Motors/Fridigaire, Nash/Kelvinator(ABC), later years Ford/Philco-Bendix were making entry onto showroom floors in department stores to impress the husband designed & manufactured by an auto industry company & delight the housewife with end of the most labor & time usage to keep the home & family clean at the push of a button.
This unique machine was in production for a few years by Jacobs 1946-1950. it was a cash cow for them, built plants in other US cities & Canada too. At one time , F.L.Jacobs Mfg began manufacturing refrigerated machines for Coca-Cola,Pepsi,Royal Crown Cola & 7up in the 1940's while located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Later, around 1950, they moved to Traverse City, Michigan before going out of business in late 1953. Jacobs machines have a unique shape that many collectors nicknamed the "mailbox". This design has become a trademark of styling for F.L. Jacobs.
Bendix the 1st automatic home laundry company introduced the port hole in 1937, held all the patents, so Jacobs &, Westinghouse had to be clever to design around their machines around them, and beat them at the game. The cone shaped coin catcher, vs Bendix can shape, Westinghouse tilted tub, designs to avoid royalties.
The design of Jacobs top load horizontal axis was also used in European home laundry equipment, it provided a larger wash tub in a compact movable unit. Westinghouse also got into this market early with the "Revolving Agitator" touted by our beloved Betty Furness in the mid 1950's.
It's great to see another Launderall by Jacobs rescued now available for viewing on this sight. Their print advertising like the automobile ads of the day, with large image of the gleaming white cabinet, round glass window hinged door, chrome trimmed with brushed aluminum family crest escutcheon, with printed story telling sales pitch below.
BTW....Enjoy the 20 anniversary Wash-N-combo convention, in our nations capitol. The meet & greet,sights and smells, the bells (how-dry-I-am) with stories & show and tell for days on end. I will miss it all this year, however please let me vicariously enjoy thru all your posted memories of the event.
Bye for now
