POD 10/25/2016

[brucelucenta]

These were some of the last Philco's produced. Philco washers at this time were fairly large in capacity and having used a set like these, the washer washed quite well. It spun out about as well as a Whirlpool/Kenmore of the same vintage. The washer actually agitated in reverse to accomplish spinning out. The dryers were not that great and took a long time to dry your clothes though, unlike Whirlpool/Kenmore dryers of the same era. The dryer lint trap was much more trouble to clean out too, being at the bottom and having to get to it from the front access panel to remove and clean. They were pretty cool looking machines though and did the job at hand. Not long after these TOL models, they discontinued making Philco washers and dryers.[this post was last edited: 10/25/2016-04:06]

 

[askolover]

When did FoMoCo get into and out of the appliance business?  The only Philco appliances I've ever seen in person were a fridge our neighbor had in his garage and my aunt's air conditioner had the Ford logo on the label beside the Philco name (ironic because she worked for GM/Delco Remy in Anderson, Indiana).

 

[brucelucenta]

Well, from what I remember the washers and dryers were badged Phico/Bendix, in 1961 Ford bought Philco and they used the radios in Ford vehicles. Ford sold Philco in 1974 to GTE. Somewhere along the line it became Philco/Dexter too, if memory serves me correctly. They came up with the "flipper" agitator in about 1958 and those models had about a 10 year run. Before that they had a regular agitator washing machine, . They quit making washers and dryers in the latter mid sixties, but they still made refrigerators and such after that.

 

[toploader55]

We bought a Philco Side by Side Refrigerator in 1972. It was Avocado Green and had a Ice maker and Glass Shelves.

I remember Philco Air Conditioners had the "Noiseless" series. As I only saw a few, they cooled quite well. Well actually most A/Cs from back then cooled well.

 

[gyrafoam]

In Atlanta, they were sold through tire stores----Goodyear or maybe Firestone? Too many years ago for me to remember.
When they first made the changeover to Blades-O-Water they were still using a solid-tub design. The next year they switched to a perforated tub so they could compete better with water-level control. I thought the solid-tub machines were the better of the two designs and washed better. Either way, they did do a good job of cleaning. I never knew of anyone who disliked one and in those days there were still plenty of "victims" of early automatic technology who had issues with one or the other brands.

I have a '56 Dexter which is a re-badged Philco. It has the old occilating agitator in it. Funny I don't recall what the '57 Philco Top-loader looked like. Maybe the same console as the Combo? In any event, I don't recall the Blades-O-Water machines in 1958, so the first ones I saw must have been 1959 models.

The TOL models pictured in the POD are like the ones Mark Harman has down in Wytheville,VA. They are a Gorgeous set and light-up, with multiple colors, beautifully like a juke-box. The most beautiful set of machines I have ever seen.