Question about the GE Electric Sink (today's picture of the day)

passatdoc · Feb 29, 2012

Does anyone know the year this was introduced? From the clothing and hairstyles in today's POD, it appears as if it could be pre-WW2. Anyone know for sure? My grandmother had an "electric sink", sans garbage disposal, in her rural Connecticut home, but it was a KitchenAid and was definitely post-war, probably early to mid 1950s, installed in a 1930s house which I bet originally had a 48" wall mounted sink. I remember that the cabinetry of the electric sink did not match the adjacent cabinets, but the nice thing about electric sinks is that you could ditch the wall mounted sink and get up to speed with a dishwasher without having to remodel. At the time she installed it, the cabinets were maybe twenty years old. They lasted well into the 1980s, so my guess is that she was happy with what she had and just wanted a dishwasher without a full remodel. Her CT home was on a septic tank----not sure if that alone would have precluded a garbage disposal, but I am certain that her unit was dishwasher and sink only.

tomturbomatic · Feb 29, 2012

They were definitely introduced pre-WWII and were manually controlled--no timer yet. I have an ad from a magazine tying Pearl Harbor into the GE dishwasher and washing up the dishes after Sunday dinner and the flag and America etc. etc. Ad men are shameless.

firedome · Feb 29, 2012

Certainly pre WWII

I have a GE Electric Sink ad from a 1939 Nat Geo, rather politically incorrect, in
which a portly black woman dressed in maid's uniform with white apron standing next to a top open Electric Sink smilingly exclaims: "I'se Sure Got a Good Job Now!" ... priceless!

dishwashercrazy · Feb 29, 2012

Jim,

My 1941 G.E. Product Man book shows this very Electric Sink model in conjunction with one of the garbage disposal models being discussed.

This Electric Sink would have been designated a model DE-40A (I believe - introduced pre-1941), or DE-40B (I believe - introduced in 1941).

The DE-40A and DE-40B Electric Sink models (plus the corresponding drop-in and free-standing model versions) would have used the S-5 Control Mechanism - which has the two horizontally positioned control knobs on the front of the dishwasher. A "Control Mechanism" is the combination of motor, control knobs, and other electrical and mechanical devices required to run the dishwasher. The S-5 Mechanism was preceded by the S-1, S-3 and S-4 Mechanisms used on preceding model dishwashers going back to the 1930's after G.E. obtained the Walker Dishwasher Company. The S-3 and S-4 Mechanisms had 3 triangular shaped knobs on the front of the dishwasher. If I understand correctly, the S-1 Mechanism had a single control between the lid hinges (but I could be wrong).

I will scan and include some more information about these early dishwashers later today.

Mike

dishwashercrazy · Feb 29, 2012

Page from the 1941 G.E. Product Man, January 1941 issue, showing the same model dishwasher as was shown in today's POD. As I mentioned above, the model of this G.E. Electric Sink was likely DE-40A or DE-40B.

The next few pages are taken from the 1944 GE Appliance Service Handbook, and describe the various early dishwasher Control Mechanisms.

Mike