Yesterday I made a trip over to BHam to pick up the Dexter. What an interesting adventure. The machine was sold out of an estate. The owner got the machine second-hand in 1969 and for whatever reason it was not used!
The exterior of the machine has yellowed somewhat as usual although the top which is porcelain is nice and white. The lid, however, is pot-metal and yellowed. Someone had pasted some operating instructions on the top of the lid and taped them on with surgical tape. There are also operating instructions on a piece of paper glued to the interior of the lid---that I will now try to protect from moisture---as I intend to use the machine.
On the top of the console on the left-hand side was a little piece of paper with the model and serial numbers.
According to the badge the machine was manufactured by the Philco Corp. for their Dexter Division of Fairfield, Iowa.
Model# W255, serial#4157
Removal of the front and rear panels revealed a very clean interior with just light dust accumulation. There were no signs of oil leakage and no rust at all. No eighteen-legged "hitchikers" either.
I spent most of the day today cleaning her up and checking out her mechanical systems. The timer works just fine and advances with a wonderful "chunk". The belts are, of course, old---so I gave them a good dose of belt-dressing to limber them up a bit. The freshwater and drain hose were rotten and I replaced them. There is about an 18 in. section of discharge hose running from the pump to the drain hose that had to be replaced---with much struggle as the fitting on the pump is a much larger diameter than the end that meets the drain hose. My fingers are crossed on that one.
And as expected, the tub to pump hose is not doing very well. It looks like new from a distance, however when you get close up you can see the fine lines of fatigue. I made a few calls trying to track one down, just to have gone through the motions. No luck yet. In the meantime, I have coated the exterior with High-Temp. Silicone Gasket and will gingerly attempt to do the inside of the hose tomorrow. I am very nervous about it as when removing the hose it is easy to break it. The tub cleaned up well and the agitator has some pretty good sized pits due to something corrosive. Must have just sat there and "worked" on it for a long time because it really got pock-marked. Other than that it is fine.
I oiled everything well and did run her a bit with just enough water to keep the pump wet. She was quite noisy at first but once she ran a bit, settled down and really is much more quiet than a SQ.
She agitates briskly at about 72 OPM. Spin seems (visibly) about like a Maytag (certainly faster than a Whirly/'Kenmo of this vintage) HOWEVER, the tub takes a very long time to reach full speed---strange for a solid-tub machine. (Is like a 1-18!)Apparently it has been designed to be this way!
I am going to post some photos I took as I worked on the machine today so you can get a good look at the mechanical parts.
PeterH is out in Las Vegas at the "Laundry Convention" and called to let me know they have a vintage laundry equipment museum with machines on display. You can imagine his surprise when he walked in to discover a W/D Pair of Dexters IDENTICAL to mine!!!!! He will send us photos when he returns.
Amazing!
