Introducing the 1956 Rheem Gas dryer!

[revvinkevin]

About a week ago I saw a thread about a Rheem dryer on Craig's List, turns out it was pretty near by so I contacted the seller. Long story short - it's now in my BLINDINGLY BRIGHT garage! Woo hoo! LOL

So here it is folks, the 1956 Rheem Wedgewood gas dryer!

 

[revvinkevin]

According to the seller, his parents bought the dryer new in 1956. But it saw very little use over the years because his mother, being very energy conscience, would only use the dryer on days she could NOT hang the wash on the cloths line outside!

Of course you all KNOW it NEVER rains in Southern California, right? LOL

 

[revvinkevin]

It's really in VERY good condition!

 

[revvinkevin]

It has the drum light and what is it, an ozone lamp?

 

[revvinkevin]

It even has the owners manual, original warranty certificate and inspection card!

 

[toploader55]

Wow Kev.

That's Sweet !!!

 

[revvinkevin]

Close up of the panel. The timer has the tic-tok-tic-tok sound of an old wind up alarm clock or kitchen timer.

Question: Were Rheem and Wedgewood (stoves?) related, or was this just a "model name"?

The two buttons on the left, I assume, are for the temperature (being a typical guy I just try it first rather then read the manual! LOL)

 

[spiralator60]

Showroom Bright

Congratulations Kevin! You have quite a talent for finding (almost all, it seems) the classic machines in the region.

A question for you: What is the size or capacity of the drum - is this listed in the manual?

 

[super32]

I guess the cars are going outside....lol

 

[westingman123]

Um, Kevin, where did you say you hide the spare keys to the garage? LOL

 

[revvinkevin]

Cars & Keys....

LOL! Actually no, all the cars are STILL in the Blindingly Bright garage right along side ALL the washers and dryers (fortunately), THO... it IS starting to get pretty tight in there! LOL

Thanks Eddie and Darryl! To answer your question Darryl, I have not really read through the manual yet so I don't know... sorry!

In the interest of recording as much info for the archive as possible... here are more photos of this rare dryer!

Here is a good "full frontal" shot......

 

[revvinkevin]

The lint filter (1 of 2). From L to R: Open the grill, remove the access plate and slide the filter up.

I am assuming... if one wants to add heated or humid air to the room, you just remove the access plate and close the grill before running the dryer.

 

[revvinkevin]

Here is the back of the dryer. Yes the exhaust vent is small, just 3 inches in diameter! But then as you will see, it also has a small blower (low CFM).

 

[revvinkevin]

A close up of the electrical schematic. Apparently they used both Westinghouse and GE motors.

 

[qsd-dan]

According to the schematic, this unit has an ozone lamp. I wonder if it still in place and operational?

 

[revvinkevin]

And finally the front access panel.

Here is the 2nd air filter, in the front access panel. This is also where the air is drawn into the dryer.

You can see the small blower in the middle photo there on the right.

You can also see the gas valve and burner assemble on the left.

 

[revvinkevin]

this unit has an ozone lamp. I wonder if it still in place a

Yes Dan, you can see it (lit up) next to the drum light in the 4th photo I posted.

 

[revvinkevin]

Three things I almost forgot to add.......

1. BOTH the ozone lamp AND the drum lamp are on when the dryer is running.

2. A BIG thank you to Russell for his assistance, his time and his truck (since mine is inop) to help me bring this dryer home!

3. For our webmaster Robert and all those Unimatic fans out there....

the ADDRESS of the house where (we) picked up this dryer yesterday...

... was actually 1140! *smile*

 

[a440]

Awesome Dryer!

So advanced that it had a filter for the incoming air! I wish our "modern" dryers had that now!

So glad you saved it! It looks so great!

Can't wait to hear your report on it's drying abilities. I wonder if it will be a "hot" dryer. Perfect for Towels and heavy fabric!

Does it say anywhere what the burner BTU's is rated at?

Thanks for the great pictures! What a beauty!

Brent

 

[circlew]

Kevin, you asked if Rheem and Wedgewood stoves were the same, or if it was just a model name. I saw on the inspection ticket (shown with the manual and warranty) that it was made by "Wedgewood Home Appliances, Division of Rheem Mfg. Co., Newark, CA". I believe Wedgewood stoves were made in California, so it is probably the same. It is a very interesting and unusual dryer. Glad you got it.

 

[imperialmarkxii]

Your welcome , Kevin. ...

Instead of Russell to the "rescue", it was SILVERADO to the rescue. As it is a most unusual dryer, none of us would want to see it go to the crusher.

Uh oh, my attention to detail is out of control again!!! Besides pointing out that address sign (1140 that you got a shot of,and I was pondering its'significance),I just noticed "CircleWs'" comments. Circle Dr. was the name of the street it was on, and at first glance I thought the inspection tag read Norwalk, Ca.; not Newark!

Never knew there was a Newark,Ca. until now, LoL. ...

Anyway,it was a Pleasant trip down "memory lane", through some of my old stompping grounds.

-Russell

 

[Unimatic1140]

Love the 1140 house sign!!!

Fabulous find Kevin, I do believe you are the only one we know of who has one of these dryers. Extremely rare to say the least. Do the pink and red buttons on the left actually say anything on them?

 

[veg-o-matic]

I'm intrigued by the drum. Does the drum actually tumble, or do the vanes move while the drum remains stationary?
Either way, it's a cool machine!

veg

 

[rickr]

Great catch Kevin!

 

[appliguy]

MUST HAVE A VIDEO!!!!!!!

PLEEEEEASE KEVIN!!!!! Make us a video of the Rheem Gas Dryer in operation.......and while your at it can you make one of the 1963 Kenmore Series 70 set you picked up? I so want to see the washer in action (and the dryer too), I remember that washer from my childhood in the 80's. PAT COFFEY

 

[rapidry1000]

My brother-in-law has an aunt that had a Rheem gas dryer when I last visited her home in the 70's. I remembered that the dryer was quite bulky next to her GE filter flo washer with the built in bleach dispenser on the front of the washer.

 

[appnut]

Kevin, I'm at a loss for words other than congraulations and OMG!!!

 

[revvinkevin]

What's inside you ask??

This afternoon after I got home I decided to pull the back panel off and see what's hiding behind it.......

WELL... once I removed the panel I discovered this dryer has not just one, but TWO separate blowers! The small blower shown in the photo of post #396936 above, is ACTUALLY for circulating the air around inside the cabinet for drying delicate items in the "Clothes Saver Compartment" under the "Clothes Saver Lid"! Wow, pretty neat! BTW, the photo below is after vacuuming out (I assume) 53 years of (occasional use) lint!

>Oh, BTW Keith, I forgot to tell you the spare key for the garage in under the potted plant outside. So come on by anytime! LOL

>Darryl, you asked about the capacity (you know it's really amazing what you can discover by actually reading the owners manual... LOL). According to the manual it will hold 20 LBS of WET laundry!

>Veg, yes, the entire drum rotates, not just the fins/arms/baffles. It's interesting that these "baffles" are only in the back half of the tumbler drum!

>Pat, I'm not sure a video would be very interesting since there is no window, LOL.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

The belts and pulleys setup look somewhat like the backend of a Maytag HOH with it's drive system. Pretty cool.

RCD

 

[revvinkevin]

Do the pink and red buttons on the left actually say anythin

You know Robert, I couldn't see anything on them or on the bezel around them... UNTIL I took this photo! As you can see the pink button is "delicate" and the red is "regular". There are also lights behind the buttons, so those little squares in the middle light up depending on which button is pressed.

>Brent you asked about the BTU rating. After looking the owners manual and then looking all over the dryer, I finally found this data plate inside the front panel hiding under some of the 53 years of lint. It shows 22,500 BTU's.

>Tom. Thanks for pointing out Wedgewood and Rheem were related! I actually discovered this fact after I actually READ some of the info in front of me! LOL

A warm Thank You to all of you for your congrats and well wishes! When I first looked at this dryer, I didn't really think I would be interested in it for myself. But the more I explore it and learn about it, the more I think I DO want to keep it for myself!