The ad said "Vintage Hamilton Dryer"

[gansky1]

- and that is indeed what I found. It's rather rare for a newspaper ad for an estate sale to list "vintage" appliances so of course I had to stop. There are a scant few Hamilton dryers that I would want to bring home but of course, who knew what washer could be sitting next to it?? It could be something very cool.

This was the dryer -- $200! The prices were a tad high on most things, but this is just silly.

 

[gansky1]

I had to go through the kitchen and the laundry room upstairs before getting to the stairs to the basement and they had a mid-90's Maytag washer and a Whirlpool dryer of little interest. Knowing the ad listed the dryer, I figured I'd find another Maytag washer next to the Hamilton.

Not a Maytag and kind of cool to see - an early GE built Hotpoint. I always loved these side opening lids.

 

[gansky1]

Collar & Cuff washboard under the lid - I always thought this was so cool as a kid.

 

[gansky1]

Money shot - sorry about the quality, not sure what happened...

 

[gansky1]

Another poor quality pic - but check out the holes in the basket, it's almost a solid tub!

 

[Unimatic1140]

So that cool Hotpoint washer is in your garage now I assume?

 

[gansky1]

You should know better than that by now - tomorrow is 1/2 price day

Not sure I want it anyway - already have come cool GE washers.

 

[bajaespuma]

They eliminated Taylor Avenue for this????

Wow,

What a clever innovation for an automatic washer.

A washboard.

 

[peterh770]

Is the Hamilton gas or electric?

Seems to be raining Hamiltons recently...

 

[goatfarmer]

So you didn't buy the $4.00 washboard?

 

[appnut]

Didn't know they ever had that little washboard feature under the lid. That tub hole arrangement is very similar to the late 1970s std. capacity GE FF my sister acquired in a townhouse purchase.

 

[washernoob]

Wow! Thats awesome Greg!

Did they have any vacuums.

Calling yall up from Lincoln Nebraska from all state orchestra.

 

[tlee618]

Greg, I am betting that they end up having to pay to have the dryer hauled away!! There were lots of those same machines in my area growing up. The gas company sold them. I believe you could make payments for them on your gas bill.

 

[jetcone]

Now why would the washer be $50

and the dryer $200??

Neat dryer but all those early Hamiltons were gas weren't they?

 

[bendixmark]

Elecric hamiltons are rare

In my 36 years of repairing and selling dryers I have seen less than a dozen electric hamiltons and when I did they were wrecked my luck.My neighbor growing up had that very machine in electric.Would love to have one though just love to watch the clothes go round cant help myself.

 

[combo52]

HAMILTON ELECTRIC DRYERS

I am sure that at least 1/2 of the Hamiltons sold were electric we have seen many electrics over the years, it would depend on the area you live in as most rural areas did not even have the option of having a gas dryer. History shows that electric dryers out sell gas dryers 3 to 1 in this country.

 

[gansky1]

This dryer is gas, you can see the disconnected copper gas line hanging above the machine.

I saw the $200 price and gasped, I'm sure the other people in the room thought I stepped on a nail!

 

[bajaespuma]

Dynamic Tension, must be hard work...

Your profile snapshot brings back so many happy memories of Friday nights.

 

[a440]

Cool Finds Greg!

Did you go back and get them on 1/2 off day? I am sure if you would make an offer they would sell them to you. No one in the "real" world wants them.
I love the Hotpoint and the Hamilton! It would be so cool to try out the Hamilton for drying.
Has anyone used a Gas Hamilton of this vintage? Something tells me it would be great for towels and heavy fabrics. Do they get super hot?
Thanks for the pictures.
Brent

 

[tomturbomatic]

They operate at higher temps than modern dryers, but I easily and safely dried perma press blends on Medium heat in my 1953 electric model. They are slightly slower than dryers that just blow the air through the clothes, but with modern washers that extract so well, it is not something you would really notice. They are very quiet and the light show at the window is fun. I did not find that they produced the super soft feel of clothes dried in a Filtrator, but then again, Hamiltons don't take as long as a Filtrator to dry nor do they operate at those temperatures. They were heavily and very well built dryers like the first generation of most inventions and that is why the early design could not continue to be built as dryer construction modernized. You take the belt off the drum pulley and you can spin the drum with a finger. It will turn silently as it takes its time to coast to a stop.