I would like to see this washer in action!!

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paulwash

paulwash

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
88
Location
Niagara Falls New York
As a 12 year old I would go over to my grandfather's house in Buffalo NY. Of course I would check his washer out in the basement. He had a Hamilton washer that resembled this Gibson washer. I love the agitator on this model and the fact that the tub does not index either. I used that washer at my grandfather's house all the time when I was there.. Kind of loud .. as I can remember. Who made these models before WCI took over with the garbage indexing tubs? Anyone have an older model Gibson that they can upload in action? Thanks love you all.

paulwash-2017020508344601621_1.jpg
 
This particular machine had the Franklin design mechanism. This mechanism came out about the second half of the sixties thru the early seventies. It held a huge amount of clothes and washed fairly well. The solid tub models of Franklin right before that had a similar design and indexed a great deal while washing. I know that Franklin made quite a few machines that were badged with different names. Wizard Citation machines, Gibson, Bradford, Kelvinator and several others. They seemed rather flimsy as far as the metal they used on the outside of the machine and the lid and such. They had a terrible tendency to walk when spinning and the matching dryer could not possibly hold the huge load of clothes that the washer could wash. They had a recirculating filter with a filter pan like FF machines too. Not really very durable or long lasting machines. I saw many that were junked within the first few years.
 
Bradford

This is the first thread I have read that ever referenced the brand "Bradford"! I have been reading for years & have always wondered about the Bradford brand. My family had a Bradford dryer for years and years. I seem to remember replacing the belt more than one time! Does anyone know anything about the history of the Bradford brand?
 
THATS the model our neighbor had when I was growing up.....I remember the filter pan, it had a softener dispenser built in.....filter flume was at the 12 o'clock position.....

all I can say is no machine lasted her more than 2 or 3 years, she was forever getting new appliances....

machines like this were sold through the Gas Company on one of their in house credit terms....

she finally broke down and got a filter flo, the last machine she ever had to buy....

I would like to see one of these in action.....
 
Actually "hippy doll" has a relative that had or has an old Bradford solid tub washer in the basement that she posed a picture of some time back. So Brandford was just a rebadge of Franklin machines made. I had heard that Bradford was sold at Benjamin Franklin stores. I have only seen a couple of them.
 
our W.T.Grants had endcaps with machines actually hooked up.....

they had a plexi-glas lid so you could watch the action....

Sears was probably the only other one that did that, moat times the salesmen had the machines filled and ready to demonstrate, constantly resetting the timer...

......you wont find that today anywhere.....if they did, most likely wouldn't sell many of the HE machines....now you have to resort to an in-house demo, then decide to return it....
 
Most of us have watched this... (This Video actually brought me to AW 10 years ago)

You will see a few clips of "Angel Wing " Agitators.

This video is not only fun but also gives you a glimpse of most of the Vintage Washers in action.

It's amazing there are recent comments posted below the video. Nice to know people are still watching this fantastic well made entertaining video

Thanks Robert : )

 
WT Grants

Were all over North Carolina, just about every town of any size had a Sears, Wards and W T Grants.They had a restaurant called the Bradford House in some of the stores and Bradford as well as Grant Made were their house brands.
 
The downtown main stores of Rich's and Davison's had washers hooked up. Many of the branch stores built in the late 50s to early 60s had utility connections to the major appliance department, but no longer hooked up washers to demonstrate.
 
WT Grants

Thank you for the insight. It makes sense to me now. My dad worked at WT Grants in GA & SC when I was born and through my very early childhood. I know where the dryer came from. I never thought to ask him.
 
Lovingly Called the "Pig"

Eddy had a similar Franklin design branded Viking - here's a thread from when he found it.

I had a Kelvinator branded version of this same washer but it was too far gone to be saved for more than just playtime in the driveway. The outer tub leaked like it had been shot up by Yosemite Sam on Saturday morning.

www.automaticwasher.org

Inside a Canadian Pig

Well I need another washer like I need..... you get the point. But for $35 I figured it would be fun to play with for awhile. The Viking is home.
www.automaticwasher.org www.automaticwasher.org
 
Yeah, Grants was in Atlanta too. I remember the solid tubs better than the later model perf tubs.
I have a Kelvy' version of that machine with the dreaded Angel-Wing aggravater. It works. Anybody want it?
 
my neighbor worked for Grants in Lawrenceburg, TN when I was about 3 years old which would have been 1974.  Shortly after that time it became a Kmart.  My mother had a Grants blender I think she got when she and my dad married in 1966.
 
Some Bradford laundry equipment was made by Norge.

Grant's didn't seen to be very popular in the Cincinnati area. The last time I remember going in one was when I went to visit my cousins in Dayton. I hadn't been driving long, so would have been about '73 or so.
 

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