THOR WASHER AND DISHWASHER

[Kenmore62]

HI
I saw an ad for a thor it had one basket insert that was for dishes and another insert the was for washing clothes.
Has anybody seen one?????,did they both work OK?? Never saw another manufacture make something like this

View attachment 11-13-2005-17-45-31--KENMORE62.jpg

 

[toggleswitch]

ALWAYS use the hight heat cycles on THIS Machine..

This has benn touched upon before, and I too would love more details and pics, schematics etc.

Diapers, then dishes.. YUMMY....
more E.Coli on your salad sir?

 

[pulltostart]

These were the units that were available in the Lustron all-steel homes that were built in the late 40's. I've never seen a Thor ad for the product, but have seen some photos in Lustron literature. Sounds like a bizarre combination to me. The unused basket stored under the kitchen sink.

Lawrence

 

[jeb]

I have just found your sight-it's great! I have several ads for this Machine. I even have some cloth with pictures of this machine (and other appliances ) on it. The ads make a point of saying that no part of the machine that touches the clothes touches the dishes, you change the interior tub for washday.I have seen one in a museum but could not get close enough to see it well.

 

[westyslantfront]

Hi there. I grew up with a Thor Automagic. My family did not have tub for dishwashing as that was optional. We just had the tub for doing laundry. It was a fun machine. Sure wish I could find one.

 

[easyspindry]

I grew up with a Thor Automagic. We could not afford the dishwasher part, however we had friends that had the dishwasher tub and I have used it. It was a great dishwasher -- of course, you had to have plenty hot water for it to work well. The clothes washer part was good -- a nice step up from a wringer but not as expensive as an automatic. In those days, the GreatDepression was still on everyone's mind, and every penny that COULD be saved WAS saved. The Thor extracted the water by spinning, and the washing and rinsing was done in the same tub. You just had to tell it whether to agitate or spin. There was a lever on the front of the machine which you pressed down and turned to the left for clothes and to the right for dishes. The center position was the Spin/Dry. The water hose was hooked up to a faucet and the machine was filled manually. You could do either an overflow rinse or 2 separate rinses. When spinning the water out, the lid had to be firmly in place or you'd get a face full of water because the outer cabinet did not cover the washing tub -- there had to be room to remove the clothes tub and put in the dishes tub. The speed of the spin left much to be desired, but it got out more water than a wringer. Wonderful memories.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I do not know if it was Consumer Reports or C. Research that mentioned, in those frantic post WWII years, that some dealers often forced people to buy the DW rig to be able to buy the Thor washer. Some dealers were that way with ironers; forcing people who wanted to buy a washer to buy both.

 

[thor]

I grew up with the gizmo!

Hi, I am new to this forum, I mainly joined because Pete needed a manual for his brand "new" Elna sewing machine (see the "Gues the Mystery Case" thread) which my wife has in mint condition. How could I resist sending him scans of the manual!

I grew up with a Thor washer my parents had purchased new in 1950, with the dishwasher accesory. This accesory, except for the round bakellite lid, was pure stainless steel, best grade! It was rather light for its bulk.

First you unscrewed the wing nut, pulled out the agitator, pulled out the tub, and finally pulled up the massive lower counterweight. Then in went the full dishwasher assembly, which had an agitator of its own which rocked back and forth. When you turned the control lever to the right the machine would engage both in spin and wash modes. In this way, a lower counterweight would spin, which created a water vortex, which would be scooped up by the two lower open end S arms, which would swing back and forth and jet the water upwards, washing the dishes. The water came into the tub through the filling spout, which had to remain open during the whole wash cycle. A true hot water hog!

 

[petek]

Thor,, was this down in B.A's you had this Thor or did you live someplace else back then. Sometimes never think that these US made machines were sold anywhere else other than Canada and the US

 

[thor]

Actuallly it was bought in the US and brought down here, but I am sure Thor had a local representative, since these machines were sold here as well, export models, 220V 50Hz. I think one of my brothers still has one of these washers somewhere in his garage. I'll call him to check.

 

[zippyjet]

When were these made?

This sounds like something out of the nifty 50's. Please supply pictures.