POD 7/15/2017

[brucelucenta]

This machine pictured is nearly identical to the one I had for a while back in the 70's. It had the stainless steel tub and aluminum agitator. It washed really well and held at least as much as a GE or Kenmore/Whirlpool of the same vintage. I thought it a well built machine and fairly quiet in operation. It has been so long ago, I didn't remember if it had a filter or a metered fill. It had both I see. It did a good job washing, rinsing and spinning out the clothes. It was one of those machines that I didn't have much contact with because they were not very common in my area of the country. Upon investigating the Hupp Corporation, in 1967 WCI bought them too. That was well before WCI became White-Westinghouse. Amazing how much a sewing machine company had to do with the major changes in automatic washers and dryers, isn't it?[this post was last edited: 7/15/2017-07:36]

 

[frigilux]

Ah, yes; WCI. Evil incarnate in the world of appliances. They killed two unique washing actions: Kelvinator's concentric agitation and Frigidaire's pulsations; and that's just the washers! Look what happened to those brands' ranges and refrigerators. Didn't realize they'd acquired Easy's parent company, as well. Westinghouse, too. All those brands' individual characteristics/features went down the drain.

Aluminum agitators: Apparently a cup of chlorine bleach diluted in a tub of water didn't create a solution strong enough to cause any problems. Early Speed Queens had aluminum agitators too, didn't they?

 

[brucelucenta]

Yes, SQ did have aluminum agitators as well. As far as WCI, after reading who White sewing machine was and eventually became, I was amazed that it was them who bought and absorbed all the different appliance companies from the 60's on. They got every single one of the machines that washed in an unusual way, Kelvinator, Philco, Apex, Frigidaire and a bunch more.

 

[tomturbomatic]

In the early 60s, after a bad experience with an Easy combo, a friend's mom had an Easy top loader. The way the filter was attached to the underside of the lid intrigued me and the filter feed was at the 12 o'clock position high up on the tub opening similar to the FilterFlo spout on a GE, but somehow more threatening looking. I looked at that machine and wondered if the water came out of the filter feed with enough force to spray out of the machine if you lifted the lid while it was agitating.

 

[hilovane]

IIRC, The Hupp Corporation also had Gibson refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners under its umbrella.

When WCI took over, they abandoned the Easy brand name; utilizing the Gibson brand name in its place.

 

[brucelucenta]

I really think that by the time they bought Easy, it had dwindled down to a very small percentage of automatic washers they manufactured compared to other companies then. It seems to me that the last Easy machines were just re badged Hotpoint machines, which was a shame since Easy machines had a really good mechanism by then.