Unimatic WI-56 First Wash Pics

[polkanut]

Another revival, hallelujah!

 

[tuthill]

What a beautiful machine! Although it looks a tad underloaded

 

[JerseyMike]

Drool!

What an awesome machine. Thanks for saving it and thanks for sharing the pics of its maiden load.

Mike

 

[swestoyz]

Jim, you've got a beautiful machine there! The wash looked great, both spin and pulsation. Your tub appears to be in beautiful shape!

Question about your machine. If you read up in the Tech Talk's about the 56 Imperial machine, there was a bulletin published in regards to the timer dial having not been printed correctly. My machine will go into the first spin when the indicator shows it should be starting the overflow wash, and stops spinning when it gets to the first spin. It really is funny because the end of complete wash cycle is exactly where the end of dry is. I was wondering if the alignment was more accurate on your machine as they did correct this on the later machines. I noticed your machine had a nylon water valve so I was curious if it was later.

Thanks for posting these great shots!

Ben

 

[rickr]

Great restoration job Jim! And beautiful pictures as well. The 56 model just seems to have much more style than the earlier models. And yours is a stunning example of a 56 Frigidaire.

 

[appnut]

YAY Jim!!!!!!!

 

[fredfred9633]

congrats!!!!!

could you post pics of the dryer???

that would be nice

YAY JIM

 

[gansky1]

Red Sky at Night...Frigidaire Delight!

Beautiful pictures and stunning machine - congrats on getting it going so quickly!

Welcome to the Unimatic Club, now that you've been spoiled, you'll want them all!

 

[joelippard]

Once Again...

There is NOTHING like a Frigidaire! It's true, having one just makes you want another and soon I'll be adding to my collection.

Congratulations on a beautiful machine.

 

[fridgiman]

Thanks everyone

The dryer had a few issues.
First the fan was misaligned and hitting the fan housing. I got that fixed but the timer is not advancing until the dryer has been running for about 30 mins--- very strange.

The washer timer dial seems to be accurate. I have noticed that the overflow wash starts right at the black hash mark that is right between the "m" and "e" in the word "time" on the dial. Next load I'll pay more attention during the rest of the cycle
It does have a nylon water valve. So this might be a latter production machine.

Jim

 

[fridgiman]

Here's a pic of the matching dryer

 

[fridgiman]

Dryer control panel
The heat control is continously variable from high to delicate with no click stops

 

[qsd-dan]

Holy crap, 150 min of drying time! I thought 120 min on my 641C was a ridiculous amount.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Frigidaire Pair!!

Wow, now that is some Frigidaire Set, looking forward to seeing them paired together!! the bronzy control panels have a very retro feel to it....gotta hand it to those Frigidaire Designers, they pressed all the right buttons with form & function!!!

Enjoy, Mike

 

[toggleswitch2]

nice toys!

150 minutes makes sense if If the dryer is electrically heated and used (only)on 110v,

Not all homes/apts. in the early days had adequate amperage, (for the 220v 30a line needed) even when 110/220v service was available.

 

[retro-man]

This is the same exact set that a friend of mines monther had in her basement growing up. I was always fascinated with this set. First it didn't look like the ones my mother had and second there was no exhaust hose on this one where the one we had was exhausted outside. Looking at this one in the pic it appears not to be exhausted outside either. She did many a load in those machines. I should check with him so see what happened to the set. He is the type of guy that might still have them sitting in his basement.
Jon

 

[autowasherfreak]

Beautiful machines you have there. The more I see of the Frigidaires the more I want one. I think it would be nice to have a vintage set to sit next to my Frigidaire front loaders.

You guys and your restorations, are beyond fascinating to me. It is a miracle as to what you are able to do with these machines.

I hope I can live up to your standards when I start restoring my Kenmores.

Jim

 

[foraloysius]

Congratulations on this wonderful set! I am a sucker for 1956 Frigidaire sets. The 1956 models in pink were the first American classics I found on the internet. IIRC an older couple donated their washer and dryer to a museum in Kansas. I was fascinated by that set.

 

[ryanm]

We had one of these washers when I was a very young kid. My Mom and Grandmother didn't like it much, I remember them complaining because it tangled clothes terribly, I remember them also complaining about wrinkles. The machine also had many mechanical problems as I remember, the service man was at our home many times to fix the machine. We only had it a few years, before major mechanical problems caused my parents to get rid of it. My Mom never bought another Frigidare machine. All the other machines we had over the years lasted a long time, but not this one.