It's 1962!

[dirtybuck]

This is a figuratively speaking post.

Your 8 year old Bendix has been on it's last leg for the past 2 months, and now it's finally died. You need a new machine.

You and your "spouse" have been looking at washers. This time you want to go with a top loader. You've looked at GE, Maytag, Norge, etc. The competition has been narrowed down to 3, and those are: Figidaire, Philco and Kelvinator. You've chosen these 3 because of their exclusive agitators (not the usual back and forth one like on the other models).

So, which one would it be? My choice would be the Frigidaire, as it seemed to get the clothes cleaner. The only "problem" it has (from what I've heard and seen) is it leaves the clothes a bit more tangled.

OK...your turn.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

The Frigidaire! By now, the agitator had been "tweaked" to reduce tangling,and correct loading minimizes that anyway!
Those 3 choices all wash about equally well, but the Frigidaire
rinsed a bit better, with the overflow rinse and spun a lot faster. So it has the "edge"!

 

[rollermatic]

gee if it's 1962

i am 7 years old and i would tell my mom to buy the frigidaire!

the washer it would be replacing would be her norge time line automatic.

 

[polkanut]

I'll be the odd man out and vote for Kelvinator. I just loved it when the salesman demo'd the concentric washing action to the little woman and me.

 

[cycla-fabric]

Philco!

Mom get the Philco!

 

[washerlover]

And I didn't enter this world until 1964 but my parents had purchased a Frigidaire Custom Deluxe in 1962 and my grandparents just purchased their first automatic washer and dryer: a matching set Montgomery Ward Signature BOL.

 

[lebron]

I'd get a Frigidaire. When did the rollermatic mechanism come out?

 

[strongenough78]

Hey Mom I have an idea, lets just use the laundromat across town for the next 9 years, then go treat yourself to a brand new Lady Kenmore! LOL

 

[circlew]

Well, like Pete, I had just turned 7, and didn't have enough money to buy a toy washer, let alone a real one. If I had to choose between the ones you mentioned being sold at that time, I'd guess it would be the Frigidaire. I always liked the colored rings on the 3-ring agitator. However, I like the cabinet styling of the GE's better during that time period, and I believe they had come out with the Mini-Basket about that time. I've never cared much for Philco or Kelvinator.

 

[joelippard]

Jed, Rollermatics came out in '65. How is yours coming along?

 

[lebron]

Hey joe, my rollermatic is screwed. I need to find a donor rapid dry 1000 machine for the new spin shaft

 

[lordkenmore]

I wasn't around then, but we'll pretend that I was and an age to buy a new washing machine.
***************************************
My first choice would have been Maytag, assuming the automatic washers already had a history of durability. Certainly, there would be a good reputation for the wringer machines, which, while not the same, does give a possible plus to the newer automatics.

Another thought--how about a wringer machine? It was good enough for Mom back on the farm, and it seemed to last forever, unlike this modern junk!

But since it must be one of the three above, I'm guessing there's a good chance my vote would be for Kelvinator.

Not that I have any real knowledge of these machines, apart from YouTube videos of the Kelvinator and the Frigidaire. But the other two brands have minuses, although not from the view of the washer quality:

-Frigidaire was GM. Assuming that my 1962 self was like my 2010 self, I'd be concerned about GM's sheer size. They had such a large control on the US car market that I'm sure I'd buy elsewhere. If I avoid one company because of their sheer control in one area, I'm likely to avoid them, period.

-Philco had just gone through a bad period. They may have gone bankrupt or close to it. They'd just been bought by Ford, but I'm sure I'd have concerns about what would happen in the long range with the brand. I want to be sure and get more than the 8 years I got with that piece of junk Bendix!

-That leaves Kelvinator. The "under dog" owner of the brand (AMC vs Ford or GM) would certainly appeal. Plus, there is the fact that (unlike Philco) Kelvinator had always been appliances. And one video I saw had a glass lid on the machine, and--assuming this was available equipment in 1962--that would certainly appeal.

Well, I got to go and haul my Bendix to the dump. Maybe I can get a few dollars scrap value.

(No, for those worrying--I'm not taking a Bendix to the dump--I'm just getting into the full "like it's 1962!" mode!)

 

[bajaespuma]

And yes, it was the year the mini-basket was introduced

Would it help to know that in 1962 Consumers Reports rated Maytag #1 and the GE WA750W (pictured below)#2? My first GE was this very V-12 from 1962 and it's one of the 3 machines that began the magnificent obsession. It and its mate lasted more than 16 years without a breakdown, doing more than 3 loads a week for a family of 4+.

View attachment bajaespuma++7-23-2010-15-41-59.jpg

 

[goatfarmer]

Chances are you would still own a running Maytag or GE. The other choices would have been relegated to the trade in pile long ago.

 

[pulltostart]

Ken -

What became of that pair of 1962's that you had? That '62 Filter-Flo in the photo is mine, I'd love to find the dryer mate!

Lawrence

 

[autowasherfreak]

I would probably go with Frigidaire.

 

[norgeway]

KELVINATOR!

And buy about 25 rubber boots, the only part that ever fails!! and boy does it SCRUB your clothes, No gears!! fewer parts= less trouble!

 

[yogitunes]

Does anyone have any of the other years of GE filter flo with the perforated basket....the one in the pic is similar to what my Mom had, but the control panel was mounted direct to the top, not raised, and the toggleswitches had a front lip with descriptions of wash temp and load size.....se got it in 1964 when I was born, But I was curious as to what year it really was from, since she got it on clearance.....to me it was BOL.....only one cycle, 2 water levels, and hot or warm wash...no mini-basket...also the vanes of the V12 agitator faded into the spine rather than stick out all the way up like the V14 and V16....that damn machine would never die, and we had a family of 7 kids....lasted for 21 years in our house until I got a new whirlpool for mom

 

[qsd-dan]

Hmmmm, '62. Well, mom was 5, so not much luck there. I'd like to get an A900 in yellow, but would probably get a YA700 for better flexibility. Of course, coupled with a YDE701 dryer

 

[MikeS]

If I had something to say in 1962, my mom wouldn't have replaced her Westinghouse Laundromat with a trouble-prone Sears Kenmore 800 series. No, it would have been either:
1. A Maytag--any Maytag. If it was good enough for The Beverly Hillbillies and Don and Betty Draper, it was good enough for me. Or
2. A GE Filter-Flo V-12 with the exterior automatic bleach dispenser in turquoise, like our next door neighbor had.
If mom had insisted on a Kenmore, I would have told her to stick with the "frog-eye" models--they would have been far more reliable than the POS 800 series that kept breaking down.

 

[mixfinder]

Of the Three

Hands down Frigidaire. It was well known, sold and serviced by Killingstad Brothers and Frigidaire was rock solid with ranges and refrigerator. Had never heard of Philco and Kelvinator was sold in Yakima by Bemis Bros. Dad's cousin had one and hated it, so by default Frigidaire wins. Living in farming country dirt was a way of life and solid tubs didn't handle dirt and sand well. (We did and I would have voted for a Maytag if the broader choice was available.)

 

[polkanut]

Martin,

Sounds like your mom had what has been referred to here as a "diaper washer". BOL machine to wash all those diapers and baby clothes. Baby-boomers indeed! lol

 

[chaskelljr2]

It's 1962 and I need a new washer, and what would I buy?

Having been a lifelong Kenmore fan and all, and I were to buy a machine back in 1962, and I wanted something different from Whirlpool/Kenmore, what would I buy???

I think I would get a Frigidaire.

That's what I would buy...... a Frigidaire.....

--Charles--

 

[bajaespuma]

Lawrence,

Our 1962 V-12's got given away to the people who bought our house in NYC. I say given away because the year was 1978, NYC real estate market was at an historic rock bottom, and two years later, after Ray-gun was in office, the property was worth eight time what is was sold for. Oy.

It is also my dream to find, either a TOL pair of 1962 Filter-flo's or ANY pair of 1961 models. Look what else was downstairs in that same house(although they left the building long before the sale):

 

[ingliscanada]

In Canada

Every other home in those days had either Inglis or Kenmore.

 

[joelippard]

Jed

Tell me why it is you need a new spin shaft? Why don't you consider putting up a picture thread of the machine and the issues you face with it. I'm sure you can get plenty of help here and maybe the parts you need.

 

[easyspindry]

It's got to be a Frigidaire . . .

. . . the faster spin does it for me. They are beautiful machines and mechanically top notch.

The faster spin means less drying time, and many items can go from washer to ironer and then be put away crisp and fresh.

Jerry Gay

 

[lebron]

Hi Joe, after asking the opinions of many people, they told me that if the agitator rotates independently of the tub that it needs a new spin shaft...

 

[joelippard]

Jed, sounds like it needs the spin shaft key which is what I needed on my Rapidry -- it was doing the same thing. They're pretty easy to replace -- you've got to take the tub out to do it though.

 

[sensi-temp]

My parents would not buy from a dealer they personally did not know so it would have been a Hotpoint. My mother, along with many woment a the time, would NEVER have bought an automatic, "they use tons & tons of water & your clothes come out grey". We never had an automatic until 1985 when my father became very ill. None of my mother's family ever had an automatic nor a dryer, they were for lazy town women.