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autowasherfreak

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I just fell in love with the Whirlpools in today's POD, especially the blue ones. The Coppertone ones are nice too. What year did these come out?
 
I have a couple of small appliances from the late 60's in that colour, but I have never seen large appliances of that vintage in blue!
Once upon a time, though, blue was available - GE had a colour called Cadet Blue on mid-to-late 'fifties appliances.
John L from Beltsville has a GE Kitchen Centre in Cadet Blue, IIRC!
 
And what's with two-speed drying?? Tell me more, please.

Two speed drying. My dryer (pictured above) had this feature, but it's still a little puzzling to me. I HAVE seen another WP dryer that has "3 tumbling speeds", but mine is just a "2 speed".

However on my dryer, the "speed" refers to the air-flow, not how fast the drum turns. For some reason the "speed" knob changes the amount of air flowing through the drum and personally I don't understand this concept.
 
Blue

Briefly when I was young I remember a used furniture store having a washer with blue and the woodpanel stuff on it. I remember because that shade was one of my favorite colors. On another note, this store also had a "turquoise" Hoover twinnie. I've never seen the color again, but it was like a blue-green with white accents. I wanted it so bad, but they wanted $100 for it. At the time it was not so old so i guess that made sense, may have even been a good deal. Colors are so nice!
 
That blue is very nice - funny it never took off then.

Two speed drying was accomplished in a few different ways, some used a pulley-shifting system for the blower and different heat output ratings (BTU's and Wattages) while some others used a speed shifting system for the drum speed. Others are more knowledgeable and will expand on it further but I always thought the two speed tumble option was nice so very small items or loads don't ride the drum.

I found one of the "Sprinkler Sphere" balls a while back at an estate sale on top of the Imperial dryer in the POD. The dryer was trashed but the Sphere was mint! I love the shape.

gansky1++8-11-2009-16-03-57.jpg
 
Wood Panel Fronts

Speaking of colors, did they offer different wood patterns? I'm pretty sure the blue set that I mentioned had a much more white-washed look to the wood?

-Tim
 
Tim---The Kenmore dryer I grew up with had a similar device. You put some water in it, close the lid and toss it in on the no heat cycle for a few minutes. It has little holes in it, which sprinkle and slightly dampen the load for ironing.

Kevin---Is that a fluorescent light right below the console on those machines?
 
Belt-drive blowers used a dual-diameter pulley with a shifting mechanism for the belt. Direct-drive blowers used a damper door on the air intake or exhaust, whichever. If one notices on the specs at bottom of the POD, the heat source is listed at higher/lower BTUs for the two speeds. This provided "gentle" drying for dainties and such.

Multiple drum speed was provided by a tapered pulley, also with a shifting mechanism for the belt, and did not affect heat input far as I'm aware. Both the TOL Mark model and the next-down Imperial had multiple tumble speeds at one point. Then the "D" 1975-76 Mark dropped to two speeds, then the feature was eliminated the next "F" model-year (first-issue electronic-pushbutton model).
 
Wow what an AWESOME POD! I don't think I have seen one with so many different models.

The coppertone Whirlpool is just like one my aunt had, except hers only had one auxiliary knob other than the timer and pushbuttons.

As for the white set, except for the color, those are perhaps the exact models on the The Brady Bunch.

I've always liked the PODs, but I must say the ones posted within the last week have been some of the best.

Have a good one,
James
 
S = 1968

Yes, Whirlpool TOL "Mark XII" models had pushbutton/locking timers for several years in the early 1960s, perhaps 1958, 1959. Pictures of a few specimens have been posted.
 
Glenn

it's interesting to note, in this beautiful 1968 brochure, that all models right down to the "budget" model, have the full console.

Wouldn't there still have been some of those partial console models in the mix yet at this time, and maybe even into the 70s? Were those maybe intended as a completely separate line sold to a different type or grade of retailer perhaps?

BTW, there is a typo in this brochure, in the specification area for the washers. Can anyone else spot it? :-)
 
Scott55405:

The partial console models were still in production as mid to lower end models, and I believe they continued until 1972 or so.

It is kind of interesting that they are not featured in the ad. I wonder why.

Have a good one,
James
 
Thanks James. I remember they came both with the control portion vertical and slanted, like those in the brochure. I was pretty sure I had seen them that just said "Whirlpool" and not "RCA Whirlpool". Seems like they offered a pretty good value generally, even with the lower end models.

Someone a few doors down from my Grandma bought the "Supreme" set in this brochure in avocado green, as an upgrade to her RCA Whirlpool wringer washer.

I didn't know about the woodgrain ones until years later-btw Kevin, Kitchenaid seems to have come out with a "new" blue shade very similar to the appliance color of that time, so maybe its turn is coming around again. I kind of wish colored large appliances would take hold again. A few places have offered laundry equipment, which is nice.

Autowasherfreak-I did see a "locking timer" RCA Whirlpool once-one of the gentlemen out east has one. It was probably from the early 60s, a vertical partial console. The timer dial was in the center and there were black cycle and option buttons stacked vertically on both sides. The matching dryer had a windowed door, another cool thing I didn't realize they had offered til much later.
 
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