P.O.D. 21/12/2017 - Bendix Gyromatic (c.1953?)

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

W

wft2800

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Messages
266
Location
Leatherhead, Surrey
Never seen one of these before, am I right in suggesting it's from circa 1953, just before the round-door "Gyramatic" (sic) was introduced? Was this a sprung soft-mount like the later machines? Known dimensions? Looks like the control panel is on the door, like the modern Hotpoint Aqualtis.
 
Kevin you are probably right about 48 or 49 machines. My parents first house in 1949 had a Bendix washer in it. All the houses in the neighborhood did. All two bedroom 1 bath living room and kitchen. Washer was in the kitchen. Houses were 760 sq feet. My moms washer was the Bendix deluxe with no soap dispenser. The first automatic washer she ever used. I am sure she was happy to have it as I was born 3 days after they moved in to the house.
 
Very interesting machine, I too wonder if any survive. I'd love to see one in action, especially the automatic soap dispenser.

I've often wondered the happenings in the "brown forum", I'm not old enough and I don't know that I really want to find out! When I turn 18 in February, I may consider it, but I'm cheap and apprehensive.
 
When I was about 7 or 8 years old I had a babysitter that had one of the Bendix FL’s that were the generation just before the POD. It was one of the rounded body machines and she put the Cheer into a door on the top of the machine. There was a heavy crust of blue Cheer around the opening. I don’t believe that it was bolted down because when the train would go by sometimes the door would come open.

Then when I was in my early 20’s there was a laundromat here in town that had all round top Bendix FL’s. They sat on a raised concrete platform so there was no bending to load or unload, and I believe that they drained into floor drains. I liked this laundomat because it was only 20 cents to wash and 10 cents to dry. I also liked to be able to watch the washing action, the machines were quick and they seemed to do a good job. And I even saw Jon Provost (Timmy from Lassie) in this laundromat once, he was attending Sonoma State U. He still lives in Sonoma Co.
Eddie
 
There Are A Few Surving Gryomatics Still Around In The Club

Not sure what operating condition they are in currently, I never saw one with the soap dispenser however but would love to see one in action.

 

It is too bad that Bendix did not invest in retooling their FL washers into the 60s when most automatic washers got so much better in longevity and reliability, we might have had FL washers much earlier in the US if we had more than just Westinghouse building them.

 

Unfortunately the basic design of Bendix FL AWs never really improved much from the first bolt-down machines till the end in the late 50s. The same thing happened with their combos, not only did they not improve in construction but they also made them much smaller in 1959 and then quit building them altogether about 8 years later.

 

Only WP and to a lesser extent GE redesigned their Combos and were able to produce reliable machines into the early 70s.

 

John L.
 
Gyromatic

There was one of these machines with the dispenser for free in RI a few months ago and I contacted the guy but he had it junked because he thought nobody wanted it.I was so mad.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top