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Just noticed on photo 6, the image shows a standard 115V plug and wall outlet, the cable looks quite light, the text below that image says "Dryer adapts quickly to standard 115 Volts... plugs into ordinary wall outlet."

Yet the specifications state (for 115 Volt operation) "115 Volt 2-wire 60 cycle AC appliance outlet of 20 amp capacity."

 

Were standard US wall outlets ever 20 amp capacity? I thought they were 15 amps?

So it looks like this dryer would still have required a special 20 amp socket if used on 115V supply??
 
That's pretty cool - thanks for sharing

Interesting literature on the Easy/Westinghouse top loader that I don't think anyone has ever seen in person.

What's really interesting is that dryer -- which looks to be made by Westinghouse, not Easy. It's not really a "twin" to the washer. Although having a square cabinet and not a slanted-front one like the rest of the Westinghouse dryers at the time had, the control panels do not match. Even the control knobs and push buttons are different.

Back in the day (1950's) when Norge was making washers for Hamilton (with Hamilton making the dryer) they matched perfectly.
 
@gizmo

I am asking that same question- what did the dryer actually require when adapted to 115 volts.

 

To answer your question US NEMA 5-15r receptacles (found in all US homes) are designed to take 15 amp rated cord caps, however the receptacles themselves are typically placed on 20 amp 12 gauge (3.31mm2) circuits in kitchens, dinning rooms, laundry rooms and bathrooms as mandated by code.  

 

 

This is electrically possible because all NEMA 5-15r receptacles have 20 amp feed through capability and can be placed on either a 15 or 20 amp circuit. This has been the norm for decades in every US kitchen and dinning room where code mandates 20 amp circuits for general use receptacles.  

 

-However- any corded load requiring a 20 amp circuit must be quipped with a NEMA 5-20p cord cap where the neutral prong is rotated 90* and meant to be plugged into a NEMA 5-20 "T-slot" receptacle. It is common for spec grade NEMA 5-20 T slot receptacles to have the exact same internal guts as 5-15 spec grade receptacles with literally the only difference being the extra opening in the molded plastic front.

 

A US NEMA 5-20r receptacle outlet can physically and legally take either a 120 volt 15 amp or 120 volt 20 amp cord cap but not the other way around; a 5-20p cord cap will not fit into a 5-15r receptacle.

 

 

In regards to the picture it is the 60s version of stock footage-  the cord appears to be 18-22 AWG with an unpolarized plug- identical to what you would find on a table lamp of that era. No way can a 22 AWG lamp cord handle a dozen or more amps worth of current. 

 

I've always wondered, can your 10 amp sockets go on a 16 amp circuit?  

 

 

 

[this post was last edited: 1/19/2025-21:26]
 
Westinghouse!

This looks like a interesting set. I am surprised they didnt try to match the washer and dryer better together! Has anyone ever found one of these?
 
That Westinghouse dryer is essentially the same as what they were making for Montgomery Ward at the time. The trim is a little different and it lacks a window.

I'm not sure what year the NEC started requiring a 20 amp circuit in laundry areas.
 
First Westinghouse top load washer

Thanks for posting Steve, I saw one of these washers back in the mid 70s when I was working for the Maytag whirlpool dealer it was pulled in on a trade. I thought it was sort of curious but unfortunately I just let it go to the crusher

The dryer has Tom mentioned and reply number five was basically the same dryer. Westinghouse was making for Montgomery rewards however they use the control panel that they were using on the current slant front dryer That they sold to match the slant front washer.

I think at this time period Nearly every house had at one 20 amp 120 V circuit if not several or more laundry rooms had them kitchens had them and usually at least one outlet in the dining room so that you could plug-in things like electric skillets without overloading the 15 amp lighting circuits.
Nearly all full-size 240 V dryers could be operated on 120 V, but you needed a good heavy 12 gauge cord minimum and a 20 amp circuit because the dryer not only drew a fair amount of current on 120 V but it ran for hours and hours and hours to get loads dried that were spun in washing machines in that time that only spun at 500 or 600 RPMs.

John
 
Answer to Chetlaham

"I've always wondered, can your 10 amp sockets go on a 16 amp circuit? "


 

I'm assuming you are asking me about Australian wiring standards?

 

Our maximum current draw for an appliance plugged in to a standard wall outlet is 10 amps, but the wiring is (I think) usually rated for minimum 20 amps. (??) Most outlets have twin 10 amp sockets with individual switches. There are single switched outlets too.

 

I'm not an electrician and DIY fixed wiring is illegal here, but I have a vague understanding that lighting circuits are generally done with 1.5 mm wire and regular power outlets with 2.5 mm. There used to be complicated regulations about how many outlets could be on each circuit, but when this house was wired up the electrician said that was all history now, for normal 10 amp power outlets there was no hard limit on the number of outlets on the circuit, but it must have no more than a 20 amp breaker. (?) Of course any decent electrician wouldn't put too many outlets (actually we call them power points) on a circuit because that leads to nuisance tripping when several outlets are in use at once.

 

IIRC 15 amp and higher circuits require a dedicated circuit from the outlet back to the main board, no more than one power point per circuit. Used to be the case, not sure if it still is?

 
 
My house, which was built in 1952, had only a 15 amp ungrounded circuit for the laundry. It also ran to the receptacle for the refrigerator in the kitchen above. On more than one occasion the fuse blew when the refrigerator started while the washer was spinning. A Fusetron fuse solved that issue When I was in high school I ran two new 20 amp grounded circuits for those appliances, as we had had a new 200 amp panel installed the previous year. It seems like the wiring was already outdated when the house was built, as it was a 100 amp service with a fuse box that only had six circuits, plus that for the range.
 
@gizmo-

 

Yes, Australian wiring standards. 2.5mm2 is typically good for 20 amps. Things can change that (give or take) like temperature, wiring method, insulation material, contact with thermal insulation, ect.

 

Personally, I like codes which give the installer discretion. Saying that only X number of outlets can be on a circuit is IMO pointless in the long run because limiting a certain number of receptacles to a circuit wont be enough in some applications, overkill in other applications. Some codes like France and Canada have strict limits, others like the US have no hard limits.    

 

 

 
 

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