POD 6/29: The Fraudgidaires

[roto204]

I actually have this washer--well, the control panel. It's a nice machine if you don't mind Westinghousian washers, which, if you were looking for a GM Jet-Cone 1-18, you probably minded very much.

The washer is considerably skinnier front-to-back than its GM counterparts--so much so, that it was hard to make a cute display when I had my GM 1-18 next to the faux 1-18, because the GM unit stuck out almost almost half a foot further.

This dryer seems to be a typical WCI clone, but the drum bulkhead looks like a real 1-18 dryer, rather than the triangle-bearing bulkhead we're accustomed to seeing in the Westinghouse/WCI designs. Is it a real 1-18 dryer, or kin to it at least in parts? If so, how did they manage placing it in a shallower cabinet to match the Westinghouse washer?

 

[laundromat]

The dryer is probably one of the newer Hamilton units. The Gibson and Kelvinators were similar too. The bottom kickplate and the actual dryer drums give it away. The later dryers were true Westinghouses and kept that tiny 5 cu. ft. Model . Some even had the old "Cross Vein" tumbling.

 

[frigilux]

Fraudgidaire is my favorite AW-sourced term...well, next to BobLoad, of course.

I have a houseful of Fraudgidaires: gas and electric ranges, two refrigerators, front-loading washer and dryer, and upright freezer.

Having had Frigidaire envy while growing up in a household of Kenmore appliances, I was very excited to finally buy a Frigidaire washer in the early '80s. You can imagine my shock and utter disbelief when I visited a showroom, opened the washer lid and found...a Westinghouse.

A childhood friend owned the appliance store, and he strongly suggested I get a Whirlpool instead, which I did.

 

[arbilab]

That filter basket is pretty much a giveaway. Even if you didn't see the agitator go 'whooshka whooshka' instead of 'oompah oompah'.

My 1998 Fraudgidaire FL has always worked flawlessly. Got a friend to buy one, he managed to break the plastic door latch but otherwise his was flawless too. Fluke? Or for just that moment in appliance time did White actually do something right? Like buy the design and parts from Europe.

 

[frigilux]

Rick-- Electrolux had taken over WCI and its brands by 1998, so the quality of Fraudgidaires improved. My 1st generation Frigidaire/Electrolux front-loader (1996) is still in use at the warehouse apartment I moved from in 2002. It has had a bearing replaced, but is otherwise still chugging along.

I'm very happy with the 2010 Frigidaire front-loading pair I have now, although it lacks the high-tech smarts and huge capacity of today's LG and Whirlpool machines. Fortunately, it's 'dumb' enough to provide hot water, and it doesn't use sensors to decide the length of the wash cycle. The machine does a great job of cleaning, is very parsimonious with water and energy, and I still have control of the cycles.

 

[arbilab]

I like the Frigilux. It's obedient. I'm not having appliances thinking they're smarter than I am. No digital nonsense, does what it's told, nothing more nothing less.

The worst thing it does is skip a spin if it can't find balance in the limited time available between rinses.

It's outlawed in this institution so I got a twintub that hides in a closet. Old as I am, not the first time I've had to hide things in a closet. But first time I've ever lived in a police building; I resent it.