You will note that this dryer is before the top-mounted lint screen so you either put the lint filter box on the back or had the lint blow outside through a short vent. Here we have an installation where the dryer is against the wall, under a window and the window is open. That must be delightful, lint-wise, if the prevailing breeze is toward that side of the house, but don't let reality enter this picture of laundry utopia where the lady wears a hostess apron and heels to do laundry and, from the looks of her eyes, might have partaken in a little mental lubrication somewhere along the line.
POD WP early 50s Washer and Dryer pair
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POD WP early 50s Washer and Dryer pair
Morning Tom,
I love your information on these adds and also the literal interpretation ha ha..
I always used to think as a kid that a washer with a sudz saver had a little square box tank at the bottom that water was pumped into and then pumped back in when needed, the nearest we had here was the Thor or Parnall models.
Lovely to seeing the logo "Whirlpool" - Americas first family of washing machines, I wonder if thats the same today ? Her feet pose is at 10 to 2 with her 20 denier american tan so all is good !!
Morning Tom,
I love your information on these adds and also the literal interpretation ha ha..
I always used to think as a kid that a washer with a sudz saver had a little square box tank at the bottom that water was pumped into and then pumped back in when needed, the nearest we had here was the Thor or Parnall models.
Lovely to seeing the logo "Whirlpool" - Americas first family of washing machines, I wonder if thats the same today ? Her feet pose is at 10 to 2 with her 20 denier american tan so all is good !!
Actually, you are right in the case of certain Frigidaires, which could store the water in the bottom of the cabinet, but not through a complete cycle.
I believe 1954 was the first year for the top mounted lint screen. One thing I will say is it’s the old school Whirlpool 29” dryers with the belt and pulley drum drive system 
. Would take a old school Whirlpool 29” dryer with the belt and pulley drum drive system over anything made today, and the only thing you’d need to replace is the belts and that’s it. Nothing else that can go wrong on the old school belt and pulley dryers.
. Would take a old school Whirlpool 29” dryer with the belt and pulley drum drive system over anything made today, and the only thing you’d need to replace is the belts and that’s it. Nothing else that can go wrong on the old school belt and pulley dryers.With the perforated drum back, they were quite startlingly inefficient. They had multiple belts where the modern solid bulkhead WP-made dryers only have one.
Orignal Style WP Dryers 1948-1960
With reduction pulleys had LOTs of things to wear out, AND they could be very noisy, the belts were the least of your problems.
The blower bearing assembly was a trouble spot, the idler pulley bearing and shaft as well as the main drum bearing and drum shaft were wear items and if the drum shaft was badly worn you had to replace the entire drum.
The 1966- current 29" WP built dryers are far more efficient and much longer lasting, we have seen this post 1966 style dryer outlast up to four washing machines in some homes.
The electric version of the 1950 WP dryer in the POD ad has dual blowers, both the same size.
John L.
With reduction pulleys had LOTs of things to wear out, AND they could be very noisy, the belts were the least of your problems.
The blower bearing assembly was a trouble spot, the idler pulley bearing and shaft as well as the main drum bearing and drum shaft were wear items and if the drum shaft was badly worn you had to replace the entire drum.
The 1966- current 29" WP built dryers are far more efficient and much longer lasting, we have seen this post 1966 style dryer outlast up to four washing machines in some homes.
The electric version of the 1950 WP dryer in the POD ad has dual blowers, both the same size.
John L.
Your preference for the multiple belt drive and speed reduction pulley system does not make it better in anyone's eyes but your own and you can't extrapolate from the Maytag system to pronounce superiority for the WP system which even used another belt to power the blower. Both machines sacrifice drum depth for space needed for the pulley arrangement. Sometime, look at old Kenmore dryer manuals and check drying times. The inefficiencies reflected in the long drying times and the need to overcome them with high BTU burners and 8 KW heating elements say all that is needed about the design of these dryers, unless John Lefever modifies one with felt strips to prevent a significant amount of the incoming heated air from bypassing the tumbling fabrics in the drum and slipping behind the drum to the exhaust port. So much heated air passed behind the drum that these dryers did not have lint buildup in long vent runs because so much of the exhaust was quite warm and dry so by the time the air coming out of the dryer was steamy, the vent pipe was warm enough that condensation and lint deposit within it was not a problem.
It seems like some of the Whirlpool and Kenmore dryers in the 50’s used a very fine chicken type wire for the perforated drum back, and the 1956 Whirlpool Imperial dryer I serviced last summer only has a 1/4 inch between the perforated drum back and bulkhead. I imagine the Whirlpool and Kenmore dryers that had a more of a stamped perforated drum back let more air bypass the drum than the chicken wire perforated drum back
Early WP Built dryers
The early ones used hardware cloth wire drum backs which actually had more open area per square inch that the later [ better looking ] punched steel drum backs.
There is anywhere from a minimum of 3/8" to over 1" of space between the back of the drum and the stationary bulkhead.
John L.
The early ones used hardware cloth wire drum backs which actually had more open area per square inch that the later [ better looking ] punched steel drum backs.
There is anywhere from a minimum of 3/8" to over 1" of space between the back of the drum and the stationary bulkhead.
John L.
syndets2000
Well-known member
I'm remembering our 62 BOL RCA WP dryer, which had a distinct rhythmic rumble and vibration, so strong it moved the tide box across it...then something broke, and when it was fixed, it ran smooth...wonder what it was?
