POD 6/26/2017

[brucelucenta]

I am going to assume this was in the mid seventies. This Westinghouse washer was really a fairly good machine that would last for 10-15 years of normal use. It did a pretty good job of cleaning and rinsing clothes, a little weak on spinning. It was about on a par with the Kenmore/Whirlpool machines on spinning. The tub indexed quite a bit while washing. I worked on many of these. Most of them had just minor problems. Occasionally a motor or start capacitor would go out or timer. There wasn't a lot too these washers. As time progressed, the oil seal on the transmission was weak on many built in the eighties and would throw oil or leak it out. The machines Westinghouse built in the sixties were much heavier built and had a large solenoid that allowed it to neutral drain before spinning. They eliminated that shortly after the beginning machines and went to a spin drain. At their introduction, they had a larger tub than most other machines, but not as large as the Norge of the same era.

 

[toploader55]

Bamberger's !!!

We rarely shopped there, but my Mom always knew where to find me. Yup... The Major appliance dept.

That's where I saw the first Maytag Top Load Dishwasher and thought the spray arm openings were so small I couldn't imagine how they cleaned.

Also saw the first Whirlpool Top Load Dishwasher with the Second spray arm and thought that was cool.

I always liked the Font that Westinghouse used. It looked so Modern.

When my Dad remarried, his wife bought a Westy Top Loader and remember it indexing quite rapidly. Never understood that. But every company needed it's own "thing".

 

[frigilux]

I have a soft spot for these early-to-mid 1970s Westys. The two I came in contact with lasted a couple of decades and then some. One finally had to be abandoned because the the top (actually the area around the opening and bleach dispenser upon which the lid rests) had almost completely rusted out. The lid was poised to fall into the tub, LOL.

The tubs indexed far less than the 2005 Frigidaire I had, so agitation was more effective. Loved the blue ramped agitator.

Not a fancy machine, nor the best performer---top spin speed was 500 rpm, compared to the similarly underwhelming 525 rpm of Kenmore/Whirlpoo belt drives---but they occupy a soft, nostalgic spot in my heart.

 

[gyrafoam]

Very aggressive agitation was good for field-hands laundry. As mentioned, not too dependable. Also, tended to sudz-lock easily with the very high sudz detergents of that era, Tide, Cheer, Fab, Wisk, etc.

 

[mrsalvo]

One of my all-time favorite machines, thought they washed well without being rough on the clothes. Turn over with heavy loads weren't the fastest but they did get cleaned. Thought they were a fairly quiet machine, not overly noisy, that just hummed along. Good machine.
Glad to know what the life-span was.