Old commercial/coin-op laundry--anyone have any pictures or info?

[superocd]

I don't go to laundromats very often but I had the opportunity to do so when I assisted a friend of a family friend that is an owner of a laundromat. He has mostly newer machines but has a couple of older 1970s Huebsch Loadstar dryers in the corner. I helped him with an ignitor issue on one of the old Huebsch dryers (the ignitors were a retrofit). As I was working on this dryer, I got to thinking about all of the wonderful old equipment I have never had the pleasure of seeing or using.

I'm sure almost all of the old workhorses of past have been scrapped, just like how it is done at home. What's sad is that no one seems to hold on to commercial machinery like some do with domestic equipment. It becomes a worthless, fully depreciated asset on the balance sheet, and soon thereafter, $1.00 Chinese razors.

I have never seen Ametek's "Big Boy" washers, Hoyt's dryers, Cook Industries' Aldwash/Aldryer, Philco's commercial washers and dryers or a pre-Alliance Laundry Cissell. I'm probably forgetting about a whole bunch of other machines I've never seen or heard about.

I have heard about the various coin-op dry cleaning machines but have never seen them. Whirlpool apparently introduced one in the 60's, Frigidaire apparenty had one as well). I'm probably forgetting a whole bunch of other great machines of the past that this young'un that never had the fortune of seeing in person.

Speaking of the old coin-op dry cleaning machines, I'm sure those are the most rare since there are tight regulations on PCEs, the chemicals they use in dry cleaning machines. Working or not, I could imagine that they were ripped out and thrown in scrap piles all over the country as soon as the regulations became a thing. I can't find anything on the coin-op dry cleaning machines.

Does anyone have any info or pictures of the old stuff and the history of the companies that made them? I know that Ametek's main industy is motors. Philco as a whole kind of withered away. What happened to Hoyt? Cook Industries?

Also, I've always wondered about Speed Queen and Huebsch and how long the two names have been "together". I know that Speed Queen has been owned by McGraw-Edison, Raytheon and now Alliance Laundry. What's Huebsch's story? Did it "follow" Speed Queen with each acquisition?

 

[alr2903]

There is a great thread on the "Big Boy" from the 1960's, use searcholator.

There are "Cook machinery"  brochures and many others,  See "Ephemera".

I hope this helps.  A

 

[alr2903]

Courtesy to OP's

Solid tub speed queens still in use!

Don't they look fantastic?

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[brucelucenta]

Huebsch had nothing whatever to do with Speed Queen until Alliance took over. I remember the "Huebsch" name from an ancient dry cleaning "reclaimer" that came with the dry cleaners my father bought back in 1969. They have always made commercial equipment to my knowledge. Frigidaire did make a dry cleaning unit designed for coin op businesses or other commercial applications. It was unusual in the fact that it was a transfer unit. This meant that the clothes had to be taken from the top load washer, a unimatic and be put in the "reclaimer", the dryer after the washer finished and spun out the dry cleaning fluid. This fluid is now considered very hazardous and that would be totally illegal to do. Most all of the other coin op dry cleaning units I have seen were combos(dry to dry) units. Norge had one I know and so did Westinhouse, if I am not mistaken. I'm sure there were others too. All things of the past, since most of the fluid used in dry cleaning is considered hazardous now. We did used to have a couple of Frigidaire laundromats here, but all those machines are long gone now too. I know they first had multimatic turquoise machines which were rapidly 1000 units and then the last commercial roller matic units that were ever made. Most of the other laundromats in town had Speed Queen or Maytag machines. Also things of the past. Very few old laundromats with top load washers still around. Everything has moved to the front!

 

[frigilux]

A Frigidaire coin-op like this one was my introduction to the Unimatic. It was in the laundry room of my sister's apartment building in Sioux Falls, SD. Spent several summers with her when I was 9-11 years old and would save dimes for weeks before my visits. Two dimes bought 25 minutes of riveting washer drama. No pause between pulsation and spins; water spun out so quickly it seemed to disappear like magic; super-fast 1140 spin speed; pure washer heaven!

These machines didn't come with a cap for their Deep Action (space capsule) agitator, so I ran across 41st street to the Western Mall and stole one from a washer on the floor at an appliance store! It was much more fun to watch the wash action without the window being obscured by water flying out the top of the agitator.

This photo is of a machine belonging to webmaster Robert.[this post was last edited: 8/17/2016-08:49]