The PINK Westinghouse pair......

[revvinkevin]

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<div><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: medium;">What started out as a "<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000;">1950's (?) Pink stackable" in Shoppers Square (and Craig's List), turned out to be a '64/'65/'66(??) pink stackable.</span></span></div>
 

<div><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: medium;">Washer - model # LTF100PI     Serial # D960061</span></div>
 

<div><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: medium;">Dryer - model # DGF100PI      Serial # E114823</span></div>
 

<div><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: medium;">Is there any way to nail down the exact year? </span></div>

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

I picked them up a week and a half ago East of Bakersfield, before heading to San Luis Opisbo for my car clubs big, annual car show.

 

Unfortunately the lower panel for the dryer is missing, but everything else seems to be there!

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

It looks like they have been sitting a looooooong time and the paint is pretty oxidized.  I wiped them down with a wet towel before taking the photos and it helped make them look better!

 

Both doors open:  I LOVE that the washer door swings open!

 

The washer needs the door boot and a pump, BUT it does seem to function and the timer works!  YAY!

 

Those "marks" at the 4 o'clock position at each knob are rust.  It's hard to understand how this could have occurred because the paint is actually missing, like it was scraped off.   The metal is not dented however. 

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Here are the washer controls... left side above and the right side below.

 

Unfortunately the little "T handle" for the timer knob is missing.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

The the controls for the gas dryer.

 

I was seriously debating if I should go to check these out because there was only 1 poor quality photo of the dryer in the CL ad and the seller kept coming up with excuses why they couldn't e-mail me better photos.... AND.... this detour would add over 3 hours to my already 3.5 hour drive to San Luis Obisbo.  

 

Well as you can see, I did make the drive and after settling on a price, loaded them in my truck!

 

I'm looking forward to making these operational again!

 

Kevin

 

[toploader55]

Nice Kevin.

We're over due for a chat.

Beautiful Set. Give 'em your touch.

 

[frigilux]

Great pair, Kevin! I like the swing-away door on the washer. And in pank, no less!

 

[tomturbomatic]

We had the Laundromat with the side swing door, but with controls on the backsplash. This probably would have been the first year for Westinghouse to offer a gas spacemate dryer. WH, Frigidaire and GE were the last dryer makers to offer models in gas. I'm trying to think about the date of this set. I think it is either a 64 or a 65, the first or second year of the redesigned machines with the spacemates being 27 inches wide, but will have to wait until I get home and can check the model numbers to be sure. They were basically the same washers across the front loader line and the same dryers as the models with the controls on top. This is a rare & significant set. Congratulations

 

[turquoisedude]

Very nice, Kevin! I think they're worth the detour... LOL I am also now convinced that pink is THE colour for 2013...

Larry at Modern still has tons of 'aftermarket' Westinghouse front-loader pumps - he may have one for this style of Laundromat with any luck. As for the door boot, I am planning to be in Merrie Olde England this Christmas season and I've heard rumours that a boot for a more recent UK washer will fit a Westy. Can you measure the boot diameter and width and email it to me??

Congratulations on a great save!!

 

[jetcone]

Pink

is in for 2013! Nice find.

 

 

 

 

 

[kb0nes]

Another awesome save Kevin, what is it with you and matched pairs?

They are a bit rough but hey they are still here (that may describe many of us...). It will make for more impressive before/after photos once you work the magic.

It looks almost as if a prior owner had tape markers at the 4-o'clock positions on that dryer. You may have to repaint?

 

[alr2903]

Kevin nice find.  I wonder if the marks around the dryer knobs are from years of  using wire hangers for perma press.  The height and angle would be right when they are stacked.  The perpetrator must of been right handed.  alr

 

[foraloysius]

Great find! And in pink nonetheless. The program selector on the washer, is that actually a temperature control?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Louis, yes: 1, hot/warm; 2, warm/warm; 3, warm/cold; 4, cold/cold.

LTF100 is a model # first seen in 1964.

 

[zipdang]

Awesome stuff, Kevin! My grandmother's pair was of that same vintage, but in coppertone and with rear controls. I love that those washers will run with the door open just by pushing in the safety switch. No door locking mechanism to defeat!

Claire (grandmother) was an astute homekeeper and kept everything in top form. She used powdered Concentrated All fairly exclusively, and sometimes Final Touch in the rinse. There wasn't an automatic fabric softener dispenser but I think I remember the machine pausing before the last rinse so softener could be added. My memory is a bit hazy on that. I loved the way the washer smelled, it was a combination of new washer smell and a little bit of detergent. Anys, her set was retired around 1984 and replaced with Maytags in almond. Yawn.

 

[goatfarmer]

Nice save, Kevin!

 

[imperial70]

Great Washing Machine. Brings back childhood memories. My mom had that model washer. She absolutely loved it. Thanks for bringing back the memories!

 

[gyromatic]

Got the washer boot for it

Kevin, I have the door boot for the washer if you want it.

 

[muffins80]

Soooooooooo jealous! Nice find!

 

[ovrphil]

I can't answer the exact year, but how about 1963? I see why they were mentioned as stackable, as this reportedly 1963 ad shows your set, stacked. Congrats, Kevin...they'll be in good company.
(..and I don't know the legals on posting this, so remove if something is in violation.)

 

[revvinkevin]

Thank you!

 

 

THANK YOU so much for all your comments Eddie (yes we need to catch up), Eugene, Tom, Paul (thanks for the Modern Parts info, I'll give them a call), Jon, Phil, ALR, Louis, David (Great meeting you last December!), Kenny, John (I've sent you an e-mail!), Paul-Imperial70, KW and ovrphil (great ad!)!

 

Tom: thank you for all the great info about these and the water temps info!

 

Phil: Matched pairs are nice, and I wouldn't want to leave the matched, stacking dryer, especially when it's in pink! 

 

I think they are very saveable.   I have to replace the power cord on the dryer as someone cut it.  It's kind of a nice surprise that this dryer has a "autodry" section.  I prefer that on a dryer, set it and forget it.

 

Thank you again all!

Kevin

 

[chaskelljr2]

And what about using bleach.....

Kevin:

Being that the earlier Front Loaders did not have dispensers back then (save for the deluxe Philcos and/or Bendexes I saw), if you were washing a load which needed to be bleached inside this machine, how did you add bleach to this machine when you didn't have a dispenser to do it for you??

Did you have to start the machine first, then open the door and added it through the porthole??? Or did you added the bleach after the machine was full, and then when there were clothes loaded inside the tub?? Pouring bleach directly on clothes has risked damage to them if the bleach came in direct contact with the clothes.

I was just wondering.....

--Charles--

 

[tomturbomatic]

People were bleaching in Westinghouse front loaders long before there were bleach dispensers. One method was to dilute the half cup of bleach (for a full load, less for smaller loads)in a quart of water, push in on the timer knob to stop the tumbling, open the door and quickly pour in the bleach, shut the door and pull out on the timer knob to restart the tumbling.

The way my home economist teacher friend did it was to carefully pour the bleach through a small area at the bottom of the tub then pour the powdered detergent on top of that spot, load the laundry and start the machine.

Either way prevented damage to the laundry.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Great machines, Kevin!

Could the rust marks have been caused by tape that was on there for a while then unceremoniously ripped off, taking the paint with it? The one on the right seems to have a more defined edge. Maybe the original owner had the tape on there to mark where to turn the knobs for a favorite setting?

Chuck

 

[chaskelljr2]

@ Tomturbomatic....

But then, depending on how high you have set the water level, was there any chance of any wash water spilling out onto the floor when you stopped the washer to open the door??

Or did the water go down to the outer tub to JUST below the porthole when you opened the door just like the modern Miele's tend to do??

--Charles--

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Charles, it has nothing to do with the water level because it's always below the window.   It does splash onto the window while washing/rinsing, but the level is never as high as the window.

 

This video is a newer Westinghouse, but internally (water levels, etc) is identical.



 

>> Or does the water go down into the outer tub.....like the modern Miele's tend to do??

This is not a Whirlpool / Kenmore combo, the water level is the same if the washer is on, off, door open or door closed.  There is no separate "outer tub" for the water to "drain into".   The outer tub holds the water in place just like any / every other washing machine with a perforated inner tub / wash basket, so the water level stays the same.

 

Kevin

 

[alr2903]

Kevin, is there much difference in this Westy systems ability to wash, than the "little yellow spacemate"?  I remember that the water level came up quickly on the older spacemates.  Arthur

 

[keymatic3203]

Hi kevin

lovely washer and dryer set you've got there.

We had the english electric version in the early 70's.

From what i remember and observe from your vidoes, is that the centre of the wash drum is lower than the centre of the door, therefore the water level doesn't reach the door gasket, so the door can be opened and forgotten items can be added after the wash was started. As far as i'm aware all other front loaders in the uk had the door centred on the tub and the same water level would have been up to a third of the way up the glass porthole.

Also one thing i do remember about our machine was that with the flat glass door, socks and small items would get stuck on the door gasket. the other memory i have is the spray rinse, I was only 6 or so when it was passed on so it could just have been it filling and coasting to a stop, but again I don't know of another uk front loader to do to incorperate a spray rinse.

i'm sorry to say it didn't last more than 6 or 7 years, looking back it was probably only a succession of easy repairs, and the last year or so mum would hand wash and just use it as a spin dryer. With the way inflation and interest rates were back in the late 70's we couldn't afford a new machine for several years, the flip side was mum took the hot washes to the laundrettes and the frigidaire jet action machines, and of coure I went to.

So all the best with this set, look forward to seeing them wash again.

mathew

 

[tomturbomatic]

Mathew is correct. If you look at the front of the outer tub, the opening is not centered across the mid-line, but rather is centered above the mid-line. This can also be easily determined by measuring the distance from the upper edge of the door opening to the top of the cylinder and then measuring the distance from the bottom of the opening to the bottom of the cylinder. Unless it was severely oversuds, the door could be opened while the tub was filled. Of course, the Bendix Duomatic made the same claim with a shallower wash pool.

As for the one minute spray rinse between the wash and the first spin, it was spraying water into the basket while the basket was turning at tumble speed. Jon Charles, I believe, told us how much money Westinghouse had to pay to AVCO (Aviation Corporation), the holder of the Bendix patents, to use the spray-flush feature which made it possible, especially before low sudsing detergents, to wash, rinse and extract in a tumble-type washer. The spray, coupled with the powerful Westinghouse pump could eliminate all but the worst oversudsing before the first spin. Unfortunately, Westinghouse, unlike the Bendix tumbler washer, did not spin between the two deep rinses, probably again because of patents.