Our little semi-scientific towel test!

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Well, there is no newer version of the Filtrator and if there were, it would probably be plastered with warning stickers. The dryer gets so hot inside you could get steam burns if your face was over the door when you opened it. I remember a line from the GE combo manual warning the user to keep clear of the initial swirl of "hot, moisture-laden air" when the door was opened during the dry cycle. That was putting it very diplomatically. It was more like steam that would blister your skin.

The Filtrator, like my Duomatic was great for steaming the wrinkles out of a suit coat or blazer. All I did was toss it in with a very damp towel for a few minutes and the steam did its magic.
 
The last year for the Filtrator (at least here in Canada) was 1967. I wish I had one of these. In 1961, they were redesigned and like other Frigidaire vented dryers, they began using 27" cabinets. 
 
Wish I Had a Time Machine

I would travel back to Marvin Adams Appliances in Thomaston, GA, June 1967. I remember being allowed to go into the attic of the appliance store. It was FILLED with washers, including at least two 1955 Unimatics and 1961/62 TOL machines, and one brand new 1967 with the Jet Cone Agitator. I remember that the 61/62 machines had grey agitators with the turquoise caps and the pink and yellow chaser rings. The 1955 machines had black agitators just like the one in the above picture.

I wonder if these machines are in a barn or shed or junk yard in Upson County somewhere. It's just possible they might be. I think I'll make some inquiries. I know there's a junk yard with some 1950's vintage automobiles, including a 1956 DeSoto with a Hemi engine and Factory AC. I remember it was owned by Alton Odom, who owned and ran the Ritz Theatre there, which is still operating, and on the National Historical Register. Mr. Odom is no longer with us.
 
Extraction G-Force

I was curious about the relative G-forces that these two machines develop during spin. I'm not sure that extraction plays into this test in any major way. Also relative extraction will depend on other factors such as spin duration and basket design etc. Still I wanted to crunch the numbers as I guessed that the front loader had a larger diameter basket which might offset the higher RPM of the Unimatic.

The formula for those that want to know is:

G-Force = 1.12 x Basket Radius (in mm) x (RPM/1000)^2

The Unimatic has a basket radius of 254mm compared to the front loader's slightly larger 282 mm. With respective assumed spin speeds of 1140 vs 1000 RPM the calculated G force is:

Unimatic - 370 G
2006 FL - 316 G

Of course looking at the formula G-force relates to the square of the RPM so increases in spin speed increase G-forces faster then increases in the basket diameter do.

It would be interesting get a weight comparison of the towels after extraction to see if theory and practice meet. It likely has no bearing on the fluffiness test, but it is a curious comparison in itself.
 
Steamers

Another good test result there team, Rich is this your 2nd Frgidaire set now?, they look really nice matches side by side, kevin do you ahve a Frigidaire FL set?

It seems that if you need the test to be with this very hot running Filtrator, then moisture content will come into it, the more moisture left in the clothes the more steam there will be, I bet 800 / 1000rpm with be about right, if it was out of a spinner or 1600rpm spinner then the dryer will quickly evaportate the moisture without the full steaming effect..

Many of the new condenser dryers heat up to steaming point in 10`s of minutes, if you opened the door and shook the steaming clothes almost dry and then pop them back you would reduce the drying time considerably, probably the same with the filtrator, thats if you could hold the clothing according to how they work!!
 
Hi Mike!

Yes, this is my second front load set. We gave the first set to my son when he moved out on his own. Kevin actually has this same Frigidaire Gallery washing machine in his huge laundry collection and likes it alot.

I know what you mean about shaking out the steamy items out of a condenser dryer. The towels almost feel damp, and scalding hot, when you take them out of the Filtrator. After a couple good shakes they cool down and feel bone dry. The cool down on the Filtrator timer is only about 8 minutes and given the temperature it reaches, that is not really enough. Modern dryers bring clothes down to room temp...not this beast! But I love it. I grew up with this exact model.

I had been touting "Filtrated" towels to Kevin for a while...and so this test was devised. We also did a load of towels he brought from home through the 1955 set so he could luxuriate back at home in the bath with sweet fluffy towels.
:-D
 
Nice test!

So, is this like a vented vs condenser dryer test?

My Bosch is rated at 2800 watts and the door streams up within like 30 seconds. Normal temp is roughly 158F during drying. Still I can't say my towels are as soft as those wonderful towels in the pictures. My Duet fills three inches up the door glass for its three rinses but it may be the very hard water we have here that makes my towels only so-so soft.

Oh, and wonder if it made a difference if you set the modern dryer to a lower temp?
 
Drying in a Hamilton

Last night, I did a test of my own with a load of 4 of my 39" X 78" bath sheets. I usually dry them in the giant drum KitchenAid dryer, but last night I used a Hamilton from the early 1960s instead. The drums in these are very large, but I checked several time as the load dried and the towels were not tangled but flying freely. They took about 10 minutes longer than the 50 minutes in the KA, but I expected that because the heating element is of a lower wattage and the airflow is less, with a 3" vent.

Hamilton not only invented the automatic dryer but they came up with a unique air flow through the machine. It is called the carrier current. Air is drawn in at the base of the machine. A part of it is routed up and over the heating element, but most of it travels across the opening at the bottom of the outer drum to suck cooled steam out of the dryer. This means that the exhaust is not as hot as the steamy air at the top of the drying chamber and, most importantly, the clothes tumble in a steamy atmosphere until they are dry. I checked on the towels a couple of times and even though they were tumbling past the heating element glowing orange with the thermstat set to HIGH, they were not hot like in a Filtrator. The Filtrator drying principle is based on the Hamilton design, as were many early dryers.

When the load was finished, I folded the bath sheets which still were not tangled or wrapped up like they would be in the drum of my GE dryer and the stack of 4 was taller than the sides of the laundry basket in which I placed them which meant that they were fluffier than the ones dried in the KA dryer which dries them nicely. Even though the Hamilton has a UV bulb, it does not produce the fragrance of the Filtrator.

I first saw a Hamilton dryer in operation when I was 4 in our next door neighbor's basement. I remembered the almost silent operation and the pinky-purple light from the ozone bulb and the incandescent light colorig the white towels as they tumbled past the window. I did not see one again for years, but never forgot the first dryer I saw that allowed me to see the tumbling laundry inside. That gave Hamilton dryers a special place in my heart, like they were made for me. The window was suggested by the industrial designer Books Stevens, I believe, to let people see what was happening, and thereby remove fear of what was going on in this new appliance; that the clothes were not being tumbled in flames.
 
I learn the coolest things on this website, I swear. Makes me want to do housework, and ANYTHING that can inspire that is worth it's weight in gold. Very cool post, and I'm LUSTING after those old Frigidaires. BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL MACHINES...
 
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