The latest find....

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations!

Not surprised about the lint buildup. These were rather low air flow dryers so a lot of lint sorta settled out of the drum and never was blown away.

Ken gives a perfect explanation for different year appliances, especially in the 50s. There were many situations where a dryer might be needed after the washer was purchased. Maybe the wife went back to work and did not have the time or, more likely, maybe there were more babies. UGH. And maybe a dryer was purchased and then the older washer died and was replaced so they still did not match.

A teacher lived down the street from us in our old neighborhood with her husband and daughter. I used to wonder how she got her laundry done in one day (Saturday) with having to hang stuff out, especially in cold, rainy weather. Their house had no basement for line drying laundry in bad weather which was my mother's prime excuse for many years about why she did NOT need a dryer.

 

[christfr]

very nice indeed.. pack em up and send that set to st Louis

 

[classiccaprice]

Congrats! I am so happy for you Paul!

 

[classiccaprice]

Congrats! I am so happy for you Paul!

 

[turquoisedude]

Time to tear into the Hotpoint dryer!

So this weekend, I decided it would be fun to play with the 'new' Hoptpoint dryer.  Canyon had other ideas, but well, tough... LOL

 

First, I got the back off to check out the wiring and drive mechanism.   Considering how much lint was inside the drum, I was surprised at how little there was back here, especially around the motor.  

 

[turquoisedude]

Wow - the original belts with the original Hotpoint part numbers!

 

[turquoisedude]

While exploring inside the tub, I found an opening for what I guess could have been for a drum light.

 

[turquoisedude]

Now, I didn't get a lot of pictures of the disassembly process, but suffice it to say it was easy enough even for me to get the thing apart... LOL   After lifting off the top, the cabinet can be unscrewed and lifted off the frame, like a Maytag dryer.  

 

Inside I was surprised at how little insulation there was on the outer drum - it was literally concentrated around the calrods.

 

Speaking of which, there they are, lint and all!  

 

Hippiedoll, I definitely could have used that 74 Eureka canister...  I filled a bag on the wee Kenmore Magic Blue with lint and assorted shmutz!

 

[turquoisedude]

Now, it's always a good idea to give a dryer of this vintage a good cleaning out and that was part of my reason for taking the Hotpoint apart.   

 

Here's the other reason - when I got the machine home last week,  this piece of well-done foil was at the bottom of the inner drum where the lint filter sits.   I wanted to know where it came from and if I could figure out how to put it back. 

 

[turquoisedude]

Aha!  It must go here!!   

 

There was a cover plate for the front of the drum housing that I was able to remove to inspect and dust out the space between the inner and outer drum.  The cut of the foil and the 'browning' from being close to the calrods seem to indicate that it went here. 

 

I guess that this area was a 'hot spot' due to the concentration of heat from the calrod units!

 

[turquoisedude]

So that's where I put it.

 

[turquoisedude]

While the glue set, I did more cleaning...  When I got through with the inner tub, it was like a brand-new machine!

 

[turquoisedude]

And I also noticed this - the door switch had an unused terminal...  Well, it turned out that this switch is the kind that will supply to one terminal or another depending on whether the door was open or closed.   Being the smart aleck that I am, I ran a new wire from the terminal that's 'live' when the door is open.  More on that later...

 

Also, note the date stamp on the switch.  This is definitely a 1958 model, and I would guess a Virgo... LOL 

 

[turquoisedude]

Now, the fun part - reassembling the dryer!   I thought I was doing fine until I realized that the drum cover plate had two anchors that fasten the front of the dryer cabinet to it.  I hadn't aligned the cover plate correctly so the screws just above the drum opening on the front would not line up...  GRRRR!  It took a couple of tries and with Hubby's help, I got the plate aligned properly.  

 

The cabinet and top went on fine,  but that top'll come off again real soon...  I want to put a drum light into this beauty! 

 

 

[this post was last edited: 3/16/2014-16:51]

 

[turquoisedude]

Test time!

Dryer all cleaned out and wiring inspected?  Check

 

Dangerous and not-up-to-code jury-rigged extension cord plugged in? Check

 

House insurance premiums paid?  Check 

 

Well,  let's turn that dial....

 

[turquoisedude]

Wahoo!!  It lives!!
 

 

[turquoisedude]

And the calrods are heating!

 

[turquoisedude]

So, with any luck, I'll have a test load of clothes to dry this afternoon!

One thing I must admit I'd like to 'improve' with this dryer is the power supply to the heaters... The timer sends full power out to the calrods and I am paranoid of burning a timer contact, so I think it might be wise to use a relay here. Maybe I'll do that the same time as I get the drum light in...

Oh and good news about the first test - I actually heard the thermostat kick off in the last 7 or 8 minutes of the cycle. I was kinda paranoid about that too...

I am really happy about how this little project turned out - I needed to do something positive after the disappointments with the Dominion and Inglis washers! But, I'm not done yet... LOL

 

[turquoisedude]

The true test...

Well, I had a bunch of table linens that needed laundering anyway...

So, here there are, nicely tangled BUT spun dry at 700 RPM in the 63 Frigidaire Deluxe washer.

 

[turquoisedude]

Contents of the load were varied: 3 large tablecloths, place mats, napkins, and a couple of table runners. Fabrics were mostly cotton blends, so I figured a first try of 25 minutes would be appropriate.