Paging the Hamiltons!

[golittlesport]

Nice score!

Very interesting set. That washer is cool. Love the turquoise tub ring, agitator and accents with the dark speckled tub. The filter and bleach dispenser look Blackstone, the fabric softener dispenser looks WCI/Franklin and the agitator almost looks Norge-ish.

 

[norgeway]

Didnt Norge

Make them earlier. 50s and early 60s.

 

[goatfarmer]

well, I'm back

Had a great weekend at the cottage, did some fishing, some drinking, and just general un-laxing! Nothing like Southwest Michigan, to regenerate the body and mind.....

 

Anyway, some more shots. All lit up.

 

[goatfarmer]

more under the hood.

More of the washer. How does one tell the manufacturer? The dryer is Hamilton, but not sure on the washer. The fabric dispenser looks Whirlpool, but also Norge.

 

I never thought turquoise, and coppertone would work together. I still don't think so.....

[this post was last edited: 6/12/2016-11:52]

 

[appnut]

Kenny, thank you for all the photos.  I would like to request if you can take photos of the control panels such that we can read all the wording and descriptions?  I realize the panels are shiny and might have reflection issues.  Also photos of the underside of the lid with the programe chart with cycle descriptions and options programmed into each of the cycles.  I just noticed the cycle knob has numbers for each setting.  Thank you.

 

[goatfarmer]

Quality

That fake woodgrain strip on the front just shouts quality and luxury, right? Porcelain on steel is always good. I don't see any scratches on either one.

 

[goatfarmer]

for your pleasure

The control panels. I have no idea what the programmer does. Let me get a few more pictures.

 

[goatfarmer]

Dryer inside

Like I remember all the Hamiltons over the years. Galvanized steel drum, Sun E Day ozone lite.

 

Now the story, as I know it. These were in the basement of a quad level house on South Bend's west side. Average middle class neighborhood. There was an estate sale going on. Talked to the guy running the sale, he said the daughter of the owner told him that her mother didn't like using them, they were seldom used. She liked going to the laundromat, and meeting up with her friends there ! The dryer was still hooked up, but the washer was disconnected, looked like for quite a while. The fill hoses were still tied up. I made an offer, and took 'em home.

 

Anyone else have this washer or dryer? I'm curious as to the year of manufacture.

 

[goatfarmer]

How about these?

Close ups.

 

[cfz2882]

washer pics behind and under

if you can get pics of the washer mechanism could tell who made it-motor spec tag might have a date code to reveal general timeframe of manufacture I'm still thinking ~1968-70 franklin.IIRC,this franklin design makes an oinking sound while agitating(or am I thinking of an earlier franklin mechanism...)

 

[Unimatic1140]

John could very well be right about Blackstone because Blackstone did make Hamilton solid tub washers in the mid 1960's. Blackstone washers of this era had ribs in the basket, it will be interesting to see for sure. They both look hardly used, it must be coppertone month! I would love to find a washer like that sometime to try out.

 

[goatfarmer]

under the skirt

Not for the faint hearted! I am not exaggerating at all when I say this washer "looks" unused. What say the masses, as to manufacturer? Delco motor I believe.

 

[gansky1]

Oh yeah, that's a Franklin. 

Great story on the set, love those appliance buyers who "didn't like using them" - we live for those!

 

[gansky1]

1967

Had the manual all along. Lol. It's interesting to see Hamilton sourcing their washers from Franklin and still building their own dryer. Perhaps it was an interim overlap just after WCI aquired them.

I like the shocking bright blue inside a coppertone box, adds a cheerful lift to washday.

 

[jetcone]

What a cool

Set of machines

 

[cfz2882]

GE motor

GE motors usually have a date code stamped into the endbell along with the other specs-I'll check some of my spare GE motors to see how the date code is configured Will be interesting to se if these machines operate well after the long slumber.

 

[Unimatic1140]

I knew it lol!!

I can't wait to see it washing away!

 

[a440]

What an awesome find! Beautiful!
The dryer drum is fantastic!
Where is the Gas Burner on the dryer? Does it state how many BTU's the burner rating is? I am curious also to what type of gas valve is used. Wonder if it is a White Rogers Modulating gas valve?
What a fun set!
Congratulations!

 

[brucelucenta]

I do remember a lady I know who had almost this exact set. What I find interesting is that the set she had must have been a year or two newer than these because her dryer did not have the perforated drum. It had a solid drum like the more conventional dryers of the day and the lint filter was right in front when you opened the dryer door. The door on her dryer had the big glass insert that covered most of the dryer door too and was the same width as the washer. So they did finally change the dryer design. I have had both styles of Hamilton dryers and I can see why they changed the design. It must have cost a fortune to build the old style ones. The had an entire outer drum and inner drum like most of the perforated tub washers do. Hamilton never built their own washers. First Norge built them and sometime in the sixties, Blackstone started building them. Not sure about this design. I did work on the one that lady I knew had. It was different than the Franklin made machines of the same era, so I really don't know what it was. I had to replace the pump on her machine and it was different than any other machine I had ever worked on. The pump actually attached to the motor like the westinghouse or frigidaire 1-18 machines. That much I do remember and had a circulating filter built into the pump.

 

[combo52]

The Hamiltons

WOW, what a really interesting washer, it does appear to be a Franklin built machine, BUT I have never seen a washer like this under any other brand name, Franklin was still building solid tub machines in 1966 and this machine bears similarities to the 60-66 Franklin's but it is clear that NOTHING is interchangeable. This may have been a 1 or 2 year design at best, by about 69 there was a Gibson design out that had a huge capacity tub and an angle wing agitator that I saw quite a few of, Like other Franklin laundry appliances of the 60s-70s these Gibson's were terrible in the durability department. There is a good change that this Hamilton is the only one left in the world.

 

Yes that is a GE motor on the washer, there may be a date on the motor, but for sure there would be a build date on the timer motor and the inlet valve, I am betting 67 or 68 at the latest.

 

The Gas Hamilton dryer is all Hamilton, these 27" wide dryers are the third generation of dryers that Hamilton built. They still used a single point drum bearing to support the drum like earlier Hamilton dryers and almost all early dryers for that matter. As a result they were very quiet running. The 27" dryers went to the belt around the drum to drive the drum. The gas burner was below and would have a direct-spark ignition system likely by Mcquay-Norris, it would not have had a modulating gas burner as only WP-KM ever built a home gas dryer with a modulating burner.

 

John L.