POD - General Electirc washer - What vintage is it

[alanlendaro]

Does anyone have one or have more info about it?

 

[scott55405]

I think it was made in about 1964. It was a very short lived model for some reason, which is unfortunate since it is very stylish. This came right after the ones with the raised control panels, and before the ubiquitous timer dial and toggleswitch configuration that was used for 25 years or more.

 

[bajaespuma]

This model was made in small various forms from 1964 to 1966. It was the TOL and the continuation of GE's "programmed" washers. It went from 5 cycle buttons, eventually to 7 selections and was the prototype of the programmed washer TOL that was featured from 1968 through to 1972. It was GE's answer to CU's constant carping about raised panel machines. Unfortunately it took GE(and many other manufacturers) many more years to figure out that a lit control panel than shined light in the user's eyes wasn't as practical as a light that illuminated the controls on the panel itself.

In 1965 it was the WA-1250Y with 5 selections:

 

[bajaespuma]

Then in 1965 it was the WA-1250A with 7 selections (and, miraculously it's rated capacity went from V-12 to V-14 without a change in the tub size):

 

[bajaespuma]

Then it is the WA-1250B in 1966(I think, in this year, the bleach dispenser was moved from the front of the cabinet to inside the lid):

 

[bajaespuma]

...at any rate, they were great classic models, and I will never understand GE's need, back then, to change their designs so frequently. I'd love to meet someone who used to work at GE and isn't terrified of the corporate heads who could explain the philosophy.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

The V12 to V14 claim may have been due to those extra 2 lbs. that you could mini-basket wash. Of course, if that was their illogical logic,it's silly,since those extra 2 lbs. would be done separately anyhow.

 

[scott55405]

I had no idea these were around even that long. Apparently they overlapped with the "new" toggleswitch and dial design, which I'm pretty sure came out in about 1964 as well.

 

[alanlendaro]

Thanks for all the replys!

Sure are neat machines (and from the year of my birth, along with the IBM System/360 and RPG programming language!)

 

[bajaespuma]

Yup

The "new" toggleswitch and dial machines did debut in 1964 and, as many know, they lasted well into the 1990's. Pity that GE went to black and white and never dabbled in the riotous colors of the late fifties.

 

[scott55405]

Thanks for the scans! I had thought there were some that had the light on the bottom instead of the top, though I'd never seen one in person.

 

[thirtyater]

I have the dryer and some day someone it will find a mate!

View attachment 8-6-2007-09-26-1--thirtyater.jpg

 

[chestermikeuk]

GE Filter Flow

Nice looking machines, what year was the first GE Timeline made?? Was the 1250 in the sixties the first and subsequent one??

cheers, Mike

 

[thirtyater]

Hmmm? Where did that pic go?

 

[gansky1]

A neighbor of ours had the WA950 B set pictured above, bought in 65 at a Goodyear tire/auto center where the husband worked. I was always in awe of those lights!

 

[washertalk]

In the early 80s my grand mother had a used 950 washer and an 850 dryer in electric. I remember looking at them and thinking how strange it was that the lights weren't in the same place. And yes, they could be blinding.

My first official washer (when I was 14?)was one that was avacodo that was a few years newer than these that had an incandescent nightlight bulb under the console hood. This served to light the edge of a piece of plexiglass which encircled the timer knob. It was more practical in that you could actually see the lettering clearer when choosing a cycle. It also had a sudsaver. Then I found the exact same model only in white. And that became "my" washer. Back then I frowned upon Avacodo and Coffee and even Harvest gold (even though I secretly liked it). Shame on me. lol. I never came upon any pink though. Not until recently anyway.

It seems in the early 60s GE did alot experimenting with different appliance designs. Just looking at the museum you find the all in one washer, the washer sink, and then this with the electro-mechanical timer. Then you add in the wall refrigerator, the hutch refrigerator(huge), and things like the stove I found a couple weeks back with the unit buttons on the sides(where they could easily be dripped on or activated).
They must have realized they were going to be major players going forward so why not get things right and see what people preferred.

Thanks for posting the adverts.

SOOO cool.

 

[scott55405]

Washertalk, how does the suds saver work on a GE? Is it like a Sears or Maytag, where it agitates as the water pumps in, or a different system. I know various manufacturers had different ways of doing it.

 

[scott55405]

A neighbor of ours had the 850 set with the lights on top. That was my first exposure to GE laundry appliances and I remember the lights and the mini basket and the foot pedal for the dryer door and thought it was all quite cool. For some reason I never found out, she only had the washer til about 1970 then got a Lady Kenmore. Her kids, who were quite young at the time had a tendency to play with stuff at theirs and other people's houses, so maybe they broke the speed selector one too many times or something. She had the GE dryer for at least 25 years that I know of.

It was fun that Mike has that set and that I got to see them again!

 

[bajaespuma]

Welch squelch

I used to work for GE during Jack Welch's tenure (I think Welch was and is the inspiration for the Simpson's Montgomery Burns; evil man). From what I learned while working there, GE's divisions had a lot more autonomy before Welch, which may be why they had the latitude to spend big bucks changing designs and trying new innovative designs for their appliances. When Welch came in and started cutting heads left and right, he squelched a lot of creativity in "homier products" in favor of hard engineering science and uber economics. Housewares and white goods just weren't big earners. Nothing like a good cheap nuclear warhead to make your stockholders happy. Sieg Heil America!!!!! Pecuniam macht frei!!!

 

[chaskelljr2]

"bajaespuma":

So, that was when GE has went from making the indvidual style control panels (coltavating into the new Timelines (at that time)) to the "almost" match all toggle switch/dial arrangement from the mid 1960's on, until the early 1990's.

In the ad that is in your post, the second from the TOL model on that page, my uncle (my mother's younger brother) had that EXACT washer in his house the year he passed away, along with (believe it or not), a Kirby Vacuum Cleaner. My uncle sure had some taste, didn't he???

--Charles--

 

[washertalk]

As for the Sudsaver, GEs had much like the whirlpools/KMs a spot on the dial at the beginning of the "standard" cycle where you would set the dial to retrieve suds.
GE also had a separate knob where you could choose if you wanted to save suds and when the time came you would change the switch to return to draw them back into the machine. It gave more control vs. the Whirlpools which would expel through the suds saver hose regardless of if you wanted it to or not after the wash.

 

[scott55405]

Interesting, thanks!

 

[bajaespuma]

Pavane for a great line.

Not exactly, but they started to homogenize all their appliances in the early to mid eighties, after Welch took control. I still remember walking through a hallway in the East Building (where Welch and his wehrmacht had their offices)and noticing a couple of disembodied washer control panels on the carpet. They were refashioning them to reflect the new
"no frills" aesthetic that they were administering in the corporate offices. The panel was still toggleswitches and dials, but they had scaled them all down to look like the BOL panels, removing all lights, bells and whistes. The beginning of the end. Their workers in Louisville must have been apoplectic.

I think they must have decided from research that they had a fairly stable share of the white goods market and had no desire to take it over as did Whirlpool. They simply had bigger fish to fry. If you look at GE's appliances, and subtract anything they outsource(which is a lot) nothing has changed dramatically in decades. They're just not interested in this market anymore. One can't argue with their numbers, but one can detest their mission. Sadly, it's exactly parallel to the American auto industry's default to superior Japanese and European products. Eventually, I imagine, American will make nothing. With apologies to Peteski, it's why my daily driver is an LG washer, Gaggenau stoves, and, vintage Maytag, GE and KitchenAid dishwashers.

 

[bwoods]

badman Welch

I have badmouthed Welsh many times on this website and will not duplicate here.

But if you are interested in the how and why of the demise of General Electric (and their appliances), I recommend reading:

"At Any Cost. Jack Welsh, General Electric and the Pursuit of Profit" by Thomas F. O'Boyle

For those of you, like me, who are hard-core GE fans, you will be very angry and frustrated after you read this.

You can get a copy from Amazon for about 12 bucks.

Barry

 

[bajaespuma]

Start soapbox music---here.

The problem is that this doesn't just apply to GE; it's relevant to our entire country. One of the things I value most about this internet group is that we all share a respect and appreciation for the craftsmanship and imagination that went into these products of yesteryear. It is a part of our heritage as American workers, inventors and industrialists. We once lived in a country that proudly produced Cadillacs and Frigidaire Pulsators, Ford Fairlanes and Philco consoles. We grew up with these things that, in part, made our lives richer and made other nations want to be like us. In the liquidation of this heritage for the exclusive pursuit of a "bottom line" we have sold our national soul to the devil and it's scary to think what has to happen to get it back. If you doubt this, think about how much different a Cadillac, Frigidare washer, Philco TV, Ford car is now than it was in 1960. Then think about how much different a Marlboro cigarette is now than in 1960. What does this tell you about America?

This isn't the country I was born into. And I think that's a tragedy.

 

[spankomatic]

Vintage...

We had a 1966 G.E. WA-850-B just like the upper right photo but ours was avacado green. I spent hours watching the filter flow... The mini basket and toggle switches were fun! I also liked the foot pedal to open the dryer door. Wish we still had them. Got 1975 Maytags 606 to replace them. I still have the Maytag washer but my brother dismantled the dryer and disposed of it. He is still in big trouble!

Jim