Love the fact that the washer comes with a "HOW WASH, COLD RINSE"
todays POD
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Frigidaire 1-18 washers made by GM with the fabric program switch had the cold water option switch. It goes back to the solid tub machines with the fabric program switch. My 1960 Custom Imperial had the cold water options switch. This WCI (manufacturer, not model) piece of crap that was Frigidaire in name only merely continued to offer the cold water option. Less deluxe models in the GM lineup with independent wash and rinse temperature settings allowed for setting a cold rinse with a hot wash also. I can't speak to the WCI offerings; there was no reason to be curious about them. They were beneath contempt.
Do you remember the WH model? The gold-ish brown polypropylene tub and black, straight vane agitator. Some of these didn't even have the lint filter-vane unit that slipped over the agitator shaft and snapped onto the base.
But... a 210 degree agitation arc in the WH model. Speed Queen wasn't the only one.
But... a 210 degree agitation arc in the WH model. Speed Queen wasn't the only one.
Frigidaire: the ones who pioneered the most exciting design...
-- Dave
-- Dave
Truly A Sad Washer and Dryer
If someone gave us a pair of these NIB I would not keep them for the museum, even worse that the washer these WCI dryers were absolute JUNK, I remember a customer that [ thought ] she got a good deal on one of these dryers, she had me connect it up and when I pushed the start button the machine started to shake and rumble and WALKED a foot out from the wall. It calmed down with a load of wet clothing in it somewhat, but the customer learned her lesson and ended up buying TWO pairs of electronic WPs from us, model LHA9800 washer and LHE9800 dryers, one set for each house, after we gave her a deal on a returned LHE9800 dryer and she immediately saw how nice a real dryer was.
If someone gave us a pair of these NIB I would not keep them for the museum, even worse that the washer these WCI dryers were absolute JUNK, I remember a customer that [ thought ] she got a good deal on one of these dryers, she had me connect it up and when I pushed the start button the machine started to shake and rumble and WALKED a foot out from the wall. It calmed down with a load of wet clothing in it somewhat, but the customer learned her lesson and ended up buying TWO pairs of electronic WPs from us, model LHA9800 washer and LHE9800 dryers, one set for each house, after we gave her a deal on a returned LHE9800 dryer and she immediately saw how nice a real dryer was.
brucelucenta
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You are right about that!
I remember when White Westinghouse bought out Frigidaire and started making these. The only thing worse than the washers were the dryers! They were terrible! Not that the GM Frigidaire dryers didn't have their own issues, but these were just awful machines that never held up in service for very long. Very poor machines that required constant repair until the owner finally got tired of it and ditched them for a Kenmore set usually.
I remember when White Westinghouse bought out Frigidaire and started making these. The only thing worse than the washers were the dryers! They were terrible! Not that the GM Frigidaire dryers didn't have their own issues, but these were just awful machines that never held up in service for very long. Very poor machines that required constant repair until the owner finally got tired of it and ditched them for a Kenmore set usually.
brucelucenta
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WH model
I forgot to mention that I did have one of the WH model washers. It seemed more of an old Franklin design. The agitator looked the same too. It washed reasonably well and spun out dryer than the more expensive models. That was the other thing about these washers. After the GM Frigidaire washer that spun clothing much drier than most washers, the White Westinghouse models left the clothes with much more water in them, which took longer to dry. Pitiful machines.....
I forgot to mention that I did have one of the WH model washers. It seemed more of an old Franklin design. The agitator looked the same too. It washed reasonably well and spun out dryer than the more expensive models. That was the other thing about these washers. After the GM Frigidaire washer that spun clothing much drier than most washers, the White Westinghouse models left the clothes with much more water in them, which took longer to dry. Pitiful machines.....
Greg!
Roger and I saw one of those that you described years ago at St. Vinny's here, and I was instructed to go wash my hands after I touched it. Just looking at the thing--a single-knobbed, BOL Wards-badged wonder--caused my soul to wilt. I'd rather go beat laundry on a rock. At least with a BOL GE, you had a respectable washer, albeit without the fun of the Filter-Flo, or any options.
I still have the deluxe control panel on the shelf from the programmed version of these machines. I loved mine, but if a required repair extends beyond replacing a belt, they go in the trash. And no, they are not a 1-18, by any stretch of an LSD-enhanced imagination. 1-12 is more like it.
I laughed about the dryers being utter crap--in that respect, they carried the GM-Frigidaire legacy forward nicely. 1-18s had the privilege of being one of the few washers to outlast their dryers handily.
I was lamenting to Scott when he visited last that we needed a super-capacity gas dryer, since the little '78 Kenmore is ill-equipped to deal with the monster loads that the 1-18 (a real one) can crank out. He said, "What you need is a 1-18 matching dryer!" at which point I clutched my pearls in horror. David cleared his throat, and noted that what we need is a clothesline. ;-)
Roger and I saw one of those that you described years ago at St. Vinny's here, and I was instructed to go wash my hands after I touched it. Just looking at the thing--a single-knobbed, BOL Wards-badged wonder--caused my soul to wilt. I'd rather go beat laundry on a rock. At least with a BOL GE, you had a respectable washer, albeit without the fun of the Filter-Flo, or any options.
I still have the deluxe control panel on the shelf from the programmed version of these machines. I loved mine, but if a required repair extends beyond replacing a belt, they go in the trash. And no, they are not a 1-18, by any stretch of an LSD-enhanced imagination. 1-12 is more like it.
I laughed about the dryers being utter crap--in that respect, they carried the GM-Frigidaire legacy forward nicely. 1-18s had the privilege of being one of the few washers to outlast their dryers handily.
I was lamenting to Scott when he visited last that we needed a super-capacity gas dryer, since the little '78 Kenmore is ill-equipped to deal with the monster loads that the 1-18 (a real one) can crank out. He said, "What you need is a 1-18 matching dryer!" at which point I clutched my pearls in horror. David cleared his throat, and noted that what we need is a clothesline. ;-)
glomain
Well-known member
not a true 1-18
W.C.I. P O S
W.C.I. P O S
The dryer pictured is not a Westinghouse design, but rather the one WCI also sold under the Kelvinator, Gibson and Hamilton brands. They were pretty chintzy.
1978 KM Gas Dryer
Hi Nate, as usual I agree with your comments, except a 5.9 CF 29" KM dryer will easily dry any load that one can cram into a 1-18 washer.
Yes a bigger dryer is nice for slightly less wrinkles, but the standard 29" WP KM dryers are very capable dryers.
Hi Nate, as usual I agree with your comments, except a 5.9 CF 29" KM dryer will easily dry any load that one can cram into a 1-18 washer.
Yes a bigger dryer is nice for slightly less wrinkles, but the standard 29" WP KM dryers are very capable dryers.
I believe my Maytag 1993 Dependable Care dryer is only like 6.2 or 6.3 cu. ft. It can handle 13 or 14 sets of towels that come out of the 4.5 cu. ft. Duet. Or a huge load of whites. But anything that's of a "clothes" nature, the washer load gets divided in 2 dryer loads for wrinkle purposes.
brucelucenta
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BIG DRYERS
I once had an older model Montgomery Wards dryer that would definitely hold the load of clothes that the 1-18 GM Frigidaire could wash. It was noisy and bits of lint and such blew about the room, but it dried them pretty well and was a huge dryer. Of course the lint build up with those was bad too. Gas ones would catch on fire sometimes from the lint.
I once had an older model Montgomery Wards dryer that would definitely hold the load of clothes that the 1-18 GM Frigidaire could wash. It was noisy and bits of lint and such blew about the room, but it dried them pretty well and was a huge dryer. Of course the lint build up with those was bad too. Gas ones would catch on fire sometimes from the lint.
Monster Dryer
How about a Samsung 9.5 cu ft?? Another thread.
I've never had a WCI dryer, I never bothered to pick one up.
With the addition of the KM Elite 27" dryer, I have three WP built dryers that handle the bulk of the machine-drying. I continue to be madly in love with my '66 Whirlpool Mark XII dryer, currently installed in the garage. 37,000 BTUs of drying power, it never fails to turn out a perfectly dry load. Even big loads from the current washer-of-the-week in the garage, the 18lb Lady Executive Hotpoint, everything comes out dry without fail.
How about a Samsung 9.5 cu ft?? Another thread.
I've never had a WCI dryer, I never bothered to pick one up.
With the addition of the KM Elite 27" dryer, I have three WP built dryers that handle the bulk of the machine-drying. I continue to be madly in love with my '66 Whirlpool Mark XII dryer, currently installed in the garage. 37,000 BTUs of drying power, it never fails to turn out a perfectly dry load. Even big loads from the current washer-of-the-week in the garage, the 18lb Lady Executive Hotpoint, everything comes out dry without fail.
Hmmm
"5.9 CF 29" KM dryer will easily dry any load that one can cram into a 1-18 washer"
John, our's doesn't. But I wonder, then, if it's a 5.9 CF model. This is the smaller-door, not bumped-out back model. Gas with auto-dry (time/temperature only, no moisture-sensing here). If we use Auto Dry, and dump a full load from the 1-18 in there, it'll take two runnings to produce a uniformly (usually by then, over-dry) load; the clothes on the outside may be dry on the first cycle, but there will be a core of semi-moist clothing within.
Running loads only filled to the Normal level on the 1-18 resolves this, as does--of course--giving everything two passes through the dryer (or subdividing a Maxi-sized load), but if run through twice, then items are so over-dry in some instances that you could generate electricity for a small African village from the polyester-based items.
The fact that extending the time, or reducing the load, or removing dry items as they happen from the drum all seem to remedy the issue suggests to me that the capacity just isn't quite enough.
We haven't noticed any aberrant behavior, and the solenoids fire just fine--the dryer is outside, so it has no vent to work against at all. It's clean as a whistle, airflow is strong and smooth, the seals are good, and it has fresh rollers, belt, idler pulley, and Nylon glide from about six months ago.
Is it true, then, that there's a slightly larger-capacity model--and might that not be a better choice for us in this case?
"5.9 CF 29" KM dryer will easily dry any load that one can cram into a 1-18 washer"
John, our's doesn't. But I wonder, then, if it's a 5.9 CF model. This is the smaller-door, not bumped-out back model. Gas with auto-dry (time/temperature only, no moisture-sensing here). If we use Auto Dry, and dump a full load from the 1-18 in there, it'll take two runnings to produce a uniformly (usually by then, over-dry) load; the clothes on the outside may be dry on the first cycle, but there will be a core of semi-moist clothing within.
Running loads only filled to the Normal level on the 1-18 resolves this, as does--of course--giving everything two passes through the dryer (or subdividing a Maxi-sized load), but if run through twice, then items are so over-dry in some instances that you could generate electricity for a small African village from the polyester-based items.
The fact that extending the time, or reducing the load, or removing dry items as they happen from the drum all seem to remedy the issue suggests to me that the capacity just isn't quite enough.
We haven't noticed any aberrant behavior, and the solenoids fire just fine--the dryer is outside, so it has no vent to work against at all. It's clean as a whistle, airflow is strong and smooth, the seals are good, and it has fresh rollers, belt, idler pulley, and Nylon glide from about six months ago.
Is it true, then, that there's a slightly larger-capacity model--and might that not be a better choice for us in this case?
9.5 cu ft
Perfect for the quest to do laundry once a month, and be done in one load.
I love that Lady Executive, Greg! I want to see pictures of you with it set up under some fab piece of Mediterranean-style furniture and a swag lamp, with you in a sundress and your hair up, smiling coyly at the camera. ;-)
We actually kicked around the idea of getting a modern dryer, but I loathe electronics (they screw me everytime), so I don't want to go there.
I also thought about the Norge negative-pressure dryers. Ralph and I tore one apart and rehabbed it when I had my Wards set in Oakland, and it was a good (albeit noisy) dryer performance-wise (with an end-of-cycle signal that would get you written up by the HOA, and send you stomping back to the laundry room from the other end of the house, yelling "All right, all RIGHT, ALL RIIIIGHT!!")
The Norge system seems a little pissy about airflow--as in, lint buildup is forever a risk, and easily clogs the chute at the front of the drum. I hadn't thought about the older positive-pressure dryers--can you even get parts for them if you needed them?
I'm a little loathe to get a gas Wards/Norge positive-pressure, Sock Jet dryer, anyway--even though ours lives outside on--and under--concrete. Roger and I found one years ago that was so full of lint that the burner had started to singe the accumulation around the door, and surely it was a few cycles away from a major house fire.
Perfect for the quest to do laundry once a month, and be done in one load.
I love that Lady Executive, Greg! I want to see pictures of you with it set up under some fab piece of Mediterranean-style furniture and a swag lamp, with you in a sundress and your hair up, smiling coyly at the camera. ;-)We actually kicked around the idea of getting a modern dryer, but I loathe electronics (they screw me everytime), so I don't want to go there.
I also thought about the Norge negative-pressure dryers. Ralph and I tore one apart and rehabbed it when I had my Wards set in Oakland, and it was a good (albeit noisy) dryer performance-wise (with an end-of-cycle signal that would get you written up by the HOA, and send you stomping back to the laundry room from the other end of the house, yelling "All right, all RIGHT, ALL RIIIIGHT!!")
The Norge system seems a little pissy about airflow--as in, lint buildup is forever a risk, and easily clogs the chute at the front of the drum. I hadn't thought about the older positive-pressure dryers--can you even get parts for them if you needed them?
I'm a little loathe to get a gas Wards/Norge positive-pressure, Sock Jet dryer, anyway--even though ours lives outside on--and under--concrete. Roger and I found one years ago that was so full of lint that the burner had started to singe the accumulation around the door, and surely it was a few cycles away from a major house fire.
brucelucenta
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fire
You right about it. That was why my parents old '57 Norge dryer went when it did. It caught fire and luckily was self contained. They replaced it with the "Premier" gas dryer that matched the '63 GE washer they already had replaced the Norge one with.
You right about it. That was why my parents old '57 Norge dryer went when it did. It caught fire and luckily was self contained. They replaced it with the "Premier" gas dryer that matched the '63 GE washer they already had replaced the Norge one with.
Frankendryer
My KA dryer with the sort of oval drum opening in the two piece Kenmore front, the electronic dryness control for Normal and Peppermint Press, the 70 minute timed dry cycle and the 37K BTU modulating flame burner holds a lot and dries it FAST. It brings a load from any of the washers up to 165F exhaust temperature at the end of the vent tube in 5 to 8 minutes and holds it there until the machine goes into cooldown, which means that even though it is very fast, the air and fabric temperatures are held to the safe & optimal peppermint press dewrinkling temperature whether wet or dry. Unfortunately, it is probably dangerous to operate in the basement so it has to stay outside where it is used during air conditioning season.
My KA dryer with the sort of oval drum opening in the two piece Kenmore front, the electronic dryness control for Normal and Peppermint Press, the 70 minute timed dry cycle and the 37K BTU modulating flame burner holds a lot and dries it FAST. It brings a load from any of the washers up to 165F exhaust temperature at the end of the vent tube in 5 to 8 minutes and holds it there until the machine goes into cooldown, which means that even though it is very fast, the air and fabric temperatures are held to the safe & optimal peppermint press dewrinkling temperature whether wet or dry. Unfortunately, it is probably dangerous to operate in the basement so it has to stay outside where it is used during air conditioning season.
There are so many things to dislike about WCI washers, but certainly the salt in the wound for the AW family is that we lost GM Frigidaires to these cheap, ill-conceived machines.
However...thirty-five years' distance from that horrendous seismic shock allows a soft spot in my heart for these red-headed stepchildren. Logic and facts not included, LOL.
However...thirty-five years' distance from that horrendous seismic shock allows a soft spot in my heart for these red-headed stepchildren. Logic and facts not included, LOL.
