Those washer/dryer combos look sweet! But, really, couldn't they have mounted the door a little lower? My dwarf is going to have to stand on something to load and unload that thing.
Were the regular automatic washers being manufactured by Hotpoint in Chicago? That's a Hotpoint cabinet and cabinet top and all of the features sound suspiciously identical to the Silhouettes. Even that lame "sediment ejector". What gives?
Ken, the Easy had the two motors mounted at the top corners of the cabinet so the drum did sit low in the cabinet. It helped give it better stability during extraction without suspension and with the motors up above, it did not need space at the bottom for anything except the pump.
Greg,
Thank you so much for posting. I wish they made combos like this today. I never saw or new anyone with a Easy combo. Would be a interesting find.
The top loaders are definatly hotpoint.
Peter
I thought Easy always made their own machines. They always had their trademark "Spiralators." The earlier solid tub models may have resembled the Hotpoints, but the Easy had slower agitation strokes than the Hotpoints of that time. The later models (at least in Canada anyways) were built or sold by General Steel Wearers (GSW). The washers sort of resembled WP, and even had the same agitation speed, but had a spin drain. The dryers were similar to GE, and I think shared the same mechanics.
I think this is right after Easy was sold to Hupp. 65-66'ish? Easy automatic washer production stopped and they were sourced from Hotpoint. In the very late 60's, the Easy name was sold to White Sewing Machine Co. along with Kelvinator, and others and within a short time became White Consolidated Industries.
Thanks for posting this Greg! It is a treat to be reminded of the days when appliances were designed with a lot more styling and finish that we see today.
Easy was, in fact, sold to the Hupp Corporation (along with Gibson, the refrigerator/freezer/A-C/range maker). When WCI took them over, the Easy brand name was eliminated, and replaced with the Gibson brand name, for consistency.