Introducing the 1956 Rheem Gas dryer!

[a440]

Very cool Kevin!
This is one very well built dryer!
Too cool!
Thanks for capturing the back of this wonderful dryer. Awesome.
Is there anywhere on the dryer that states the output BTU's of the burner?
I am shocked at how clean it is!
I am so glad you found it!
Thanks for the photo's.
Brent

 

[aldspinboy]

Kevin how cool is that piece of machinery great find... you go buddy, Enjoy.
Is that the same company that produces heat & air conditioning ?

Darren k.

 

[harvestgold]

Rheem dryer

Kevin that dryer is one in a million i din`t even know that Rheem made dryers way cool what a find Enjoy john

 

[tomturbomatic]

That dryer venting design was shared by at least one other brand. Friends' grandparents who lived in Greenwood, SC had a Coronado dryer from the early 50s with that center top lint filter location. When I was doing the laundry, I opened it up and there was an absolute lint blockage. The drying speed picked up, but the towels were not as soft with the increased airflow. It was an electric model with the open coil heating element above the drum. Old dryer drums had heavy duty construction, although 20 lbs of wet laundry was 10 lbs dry, like the washer capacities of the day. Looking at the back of the dryer, it is easy to see that the airflow was similar to the WP-built dryers with the perforated drum back except for the placement of the lint filter.

 

[jetcone]

Neat find Kevin

How stylish that they continued their square look right into the timer knob!!! 

 

I think Bygted has a similar model but I dont' recall it being that colorful as yours.

 

That dryer has neat features , the save the clothing Compartment is a cool idea for sure!!

 

But letting a gas dryer vent to the interior is suicide-city, I can't believe they recommended that from the get go. At least in MA its not been code for years and years.

 

What a combo Apex Washer & Rheem Dryer, now that is a laundry pair out in left field 1950's style!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[revvinkevin]

I think Bygted has a similar model...........

 

 
Actually this is the same dryer Bygted has now.  

 

This is a thread from Dec, 2009 that Tom felt the need to resurrect after I posted the link (for more photos) in the other thread about another Rheem dryer for sale in the LA area. (Thread #45877 RHEEM gas dryer in the Los Angeles area!)

So make no mistake, I did have the above dryer for a short time in 2009, but no longer.   I also have no interest in this other one currently for sale in my area.

Kevin

 

[whirlykenmore78]

WOW!

Very nice find Kevin. I never even heard of these before.
WK78

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow, Kevin, that is a beautiful dryer! I know very little about gas dryers but this one looks like the fanciest one of the day. I wonder how many thrifty homemakers used the drying rack to dehydrate foods while drying clothes (MAAAAW! They're making fun of me at school 'cause I smell like apples... LOL)

Congratulations on saving this rare bird!

 

[whirlcool]

I'm willing to bet this dryer was sold to the previous owners by the gas company.
Gas companies used to sell gas appliances through their own payment plans.

 

[badgerdx]

How fantastic. I was looking at that emblem thinking, WHERE HAVE I HEARD RHEEM? and then I remembered that the MONSTEROUS furnace that had taken up a quarter of the laundry room in the house where I grew up and my parents still live was a RHEEM. Speaking of laundry rooms: I SECOND the request on the 63 Kenmore series 70, as that's the one that my family had growing up. The dryer FAR outlasted the washer, but I still thought it a fantastically handsome design. (Coppertone, baby!)

Congrats again on your amazing find. They just don't make them like that, anymore!

 

[badgerdx]

Ozone Lamp?

I have to ask: What is the purpose of the "ozone lamp"?

 

[kimball455]

Incredible find ..
Harry

 

[jetcone]

Badgerdx

really! Do try to keep up, we've just been discussing ozone lamps in another thread. They freshen the clothes by pumping free radicals into the air and oxidizing everything organic. They also kill all the polio in the clothes for safer washing.

 

And they always run beside a regular lamp for ballast. That was your next question.

 

We had a Rheem electric hot water heater, lasted for years.

 

So Kevin you mean to say this is your second Rheem dryer and bygted got the other one??

 

 

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

Norge had "stop 'n dry" drying for drying with or without heat without tumbling and the rack could be placed between two of the tub baffles at the top of the tub to hang things like nylons or it could be rested on two baffles in the lower part of the tub if you wanted to dry objects like tennis shoes, stuffed toy animals or sweaters.

Jon, Given the amount of air forced through the flame, I could imagine a gas dryer burning as clean or cleaner than a gas range with an oven burner nearly equivalent in BTUs. The lint would be the major factor, but probably not the fumes, anymore than they would be from a gas range.

 

[revvinkevin]

A very OLD thread!

 

 

Thank you to everyone for words of praise for saving this dryer....

 

However <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[COLOR=#ff0000; font-size: x-large]this is a resurrected thread from 2009 [/COLOR]</span>and I no longer have this dryer! 

<span> </span>