Monday's DDD ~ The 58 Frigidaire ...

[mickeyd]

... devotes many pages to suds-saving. Most interesting is that the Custom Imperial is identical to the Imperial except for the Automatic Suds-Saver indicated on the Wash Temp dial. These machines also feature COOL for both wash and rinse. How cool!

 

But what really got my eye and made me so happy was what I found on the non-automatic, manual suds-saving pages. Since I joined here, have ranted and raved about the SQUARE hose Frigdaire made. Many thought I was mis-remembering . Many friends just smiled and said "he's hallucinating." But there it is in black and white in today's DDD.

 

I have wanted this hose all my life. My Aunt Dolores had one on her Frigi. John LeFevre sent me the valve 2 years ago. And I never stop thanking him for it. Alas, he has no hose. But it works fine on a round hose. If you have time for the DDD, you'll see why the Square one is so interesting and functional. Many members have never seen the elusive square hose. As far as I know no one has one. So now we have proof and a promise of a nice reward to anyone who finds this unique piece of washer arcana.

 

(I'll put the valve up in a minute--have to switch servers to access photo library.)

 

 

[this post was last edited: 6/18/2012-18:48]

 

[mickeyd]

Can you guess why the Square hose is so interesting

And why I'd die to have one?`

 

[philr]

Just the Custom Imperial had the "Cool" water option. And the lower part of the front panel on the Imperial and Custom Imperial were different.

 

[frigilux]

Given the choice of any Frigidaire washer, I'd probably take a '58*. A neighbor had a set in turquoise (the dryer came with a great little sprinkling bottle for ironing which was a replica of the agitator, which I, of course, stole, LOL) and I spent all the time I could watching it work. Loved the sound of the timer advancing. Theirs did not have a suds-saver, although another friend had an early 60's Frigidaire with the more labor-intensive/non-automatic suds-saver, so I did get to see one operate. I thought it was kind of cool because it didn't require a separate deep sink, although it seemed like a lot of bother switching out the loads mid-cycle, having grown up with a much simpler suds-saving 1960 Kenmore.

OK, mickeyd, I want to know why you are intrigued by the square drain hose!

*My second choice would be a '68 or '69 with the space-capsule agitator.

 

[mickeyd]

On one page they show both badges I & CI implying that setting the controls is the same for both machines, showing the Cool temps. I see now on another page that the temp selections are different. So you are right. But what I was really impressed with is the cool rinse selection. In my excitement, and rush to access pix, I forgot to say that. Heretofore, I hadn't seen that. WP/KM offered Cool in the wash for a long time but not in the rinse. So is the Frigidaire 58 CI unique in this regard? Do you know of other models or brands offering a cool rinse?

 

Yes, Frigilix non-automatic suds-saving is indeed labor-intensive, kinda like wringer or spinner washing, moving the loads, but it's a lot of fun especially for those of us who like hands-on intimate washing (probably all of us). Of course, sometimes, I just want to get the friggin' load done and not play around.

Your hands are thus free to wave them around in the air like a lunatic.
 

The square hose fits over the frame and tub of the machine perfectly. Once set, you don't have to handle the hose or wedge it in; instead you can enjoy the (at-this-point-automatic) high speed of the suds-return (one minute vs. two on the WP/KM's ) and the totally insane chaos of water as the pulsator works its magic on the rising currents.

 

Eugene, did the machine in your enjoyable story have the square hose?

[this post was last edited: 6/19/2012-12:22]

 

[frigilux]

I honestly don't remember if the suds-saving Frigidaire had a square hose or not, mickeyd. I do remember the spring-loaded "ball" that stops-up the end of the hose. The washer was located in a kitchen, so there was no room for a deep sink, but my friend's mom really wanted a suds-saver, so the Frigidaire was probably their only option. I recall seeing a few loads of clothes in baskets on the floor waiting their turn to be rinsed. And I remember watching the suds return, which, as you noted was very cool. I'm thinking it was maybe a '64 or '65 washer.

The Frigidaire dealership dominated the little town I grew up in, so I was lucky to see many, many Frigidaire washers (and dishwashers, ranges, and refrigerators). Unfortunately, my parents were Sears people (due to the easy credit terms, no doubt), so I've had "Frigidaire envy" since I was a tyke, LOL.

 

[swestoyz]

The WCI-58/WCIR-58 was the only Frigidaire to come from the factory with a three solenoid, themostatic valve. This is why they were able to provide a true COOL rinse. The WI-57 had the one year two-solenoid tempered valve, and by the time 1959 rolled around the WCI-59 went to the more conventional two solenoid HOT/COLD valve found on the majority of all washing machines.

I believe the 1958 Custom Imperial was the only Frigidaire with the COOL temp.

Ben

 

[Unimatic1140]

I love using the cool temp for both wash and rinse in the winter in my '58 Unimatic, its a wonderful feature.

My '57 Lady Kenmore also offers a cool setting for the wash and rinse. On the LK, there is only a warm and cold setting on the rinse selector, but it you has selected cool for the wash, it automatically selects cool for the rinse.

 

[mickeyd]

RE: DDD's

This is why I love these documents: They raise so many good questions, and someone always has the answer.

 

Minnie Minorcheck's family had Robert's machine, pink and Suds, identical. I did all I could to get into their basement as often as possible. Poor Minnie thought I was in love with her. Little did she know it was another pink lady. They lived next door to my Grandmother. This was my first experience with Hot Medium, Warm, Cool, Cold. Little did I know that cool was automatic on the rinse with a cool wash. I love stuff like this.

 

On point, The Blackstone 350 has an infinite water temperature lever that gradually opens either valve. It's fabulous.

 

And just like Eugene, I had envy too, only mine was Whirlpool/ Kenmore, because my Aunts & Uncles & Grandparents had Frigidaires except for the few who still had Easy Spins.

 

Right now, waiting in the wings, I have a huge find from the Thor DDD's nutation vs. the Hotpoint on load size, and another regarding the Kenmore Roto-rack Portable's Rinse & Hold Cycle. Should we just have a general DDD thread with a running discussion, or a new one for each DDD? I don't want to jam up the board, but I'm really a horse chomping at the bit, eager to run.

[this post was last edited: 6/19/2012-20:05]

 

[Unimatic1140]

Should we just have a general DDD thread with a running discussion, or a new one for each DDD? I don't want to jam up the board, but I'm really a horse chomping at the bit, eager to run.
No worries about Jamming up the board Mike! Really either works, we do have a new thread about the PODs on a nearly daily basis, but if you want to combine your's or just include them in this thread that's ok too.

Lol, I just realized I had a typo in Today's title of the DDD "Mobile Main" is changed to "Mobile Maid", I'm surprised I didn't get an email or two about that.

 

[mickeyd]

There are huge studies

affirming that some typos go totally unnoticed. The brain reads it as if it's standard spelling. Your Mobile Main is a classic and perfect example of how specific this reading phenomenon is. We here at Aworg have seen Mobile Maid so many times, that we recognize it at once within the first few nano-second cues, and with the error occurring at the very end, it goes unnoticed by most people.

 

That's one of the reasons why English departments have 3 people read a thesis. To make sure all errors are caught. One of the best tricks to catch typos is to read your finished work backwards, i.e., from the end. That way each word is seen in isolation and the phenomenon is less likely to happen.