House was cool, sun behind clouds and had some shirts and pants to dry so I used the Hamilton for the first time this season. I turned on the furnace blower to dissipate humidity and dried three loads perfectly. It's a wonderfully made machine, so smooth and quiet in operation and it is the only dryer I have that does not ball up a set of sheets. Watching it is a Zen experience with the blue and white light reflecting off the tumbling clothes.
Used the 1953 Hamilton Dryer Yesterday
- Thread starter tomturbomatic
- Start date
Help Support :
Tom, I agree about being a Zen experience. The few times I was around classic, vintage Hamiltons when I was pretty small. Loved watching the clothes tumble. Although Westinghouse dryers were windowed, just wasn't quite the same as watching a Hamilton.
Glad you enjoyed it, too
I think it had a lot to do with the light show from the drum light and the germicidal lamp casting the changing color patterns on the clothes; better than a lava light and, unlike a slant front WH, the load tumbles much closer to the window.
I think it had a lot to do with the light show from the drum light and the germicidal lamp casting the changing color patterns on the clothes; better than a lava light and, unlike a slant front WH, the load tumbles much closer to the window.
Last evening The Weather Channel said we would have lows in the low 40s and the house was down around 70F so I decided to see what the Hamilton would do. The reason that I only have used it for lightweight fabrics is that it can't be vented outdoors. It is a front discharge design with a lint screen that lets a lot of fine lint out in the air stream. I have a pair of pantyhose stretched around the rectangular discharge chute secured with a big rubber band. The toes of the hose are attached to one of those hangers with two clips on adjustable bars like for slacks or skirts. I hang that from a hanger hanging from an overhead pipe so my aim is to go for fabrics that don't shed a lot of lint But last night I decided to try a standard load of heavy and medium weight cottons. This load is always spun out to a uniform dampness in the Miele W1986 and takes 80 minutes in the GE inside dryer and 70 minutes in the KitchenAid inside dryer, both electric and drawing 5600 watts maximum, and 60 minutes in the KitchenAid gas dryer outside with a 37K BTU modulating burner which holds the dryer temperature at 160F from within 5 minutes of starting. I put the load in and set the heat to high and the timer for 60 minutes. Faint Filtrator fragrance of ozone and hot steamy cotton, BUT at the end of 60 minutes including the 3 minute cooldown, everything was dry and comfortably warm. I forgot to measure the operating temperature, but will do so with a future load. This original style clothes dryer was efficient. This original design has just a 7 inch fan with, I think, 4 blades and a maximum draw of 4700 Watts.
Hamilton invented the dryer and the air flow with the heat contained in the upper part of the dryer chamber and the fabrics exposed to the radiant heat of the electric element. Air is pulled in at the top and passed over the heater then is sucked out the bottom of the dryer. Hamilton called it the "carrier current" and the funny thing is that it depended on the moisture in the dryer's atmosphere to move the heat down. Once the clothes are dry, the upper part of the cylinder is still very warm, but down at the bottom of the cylinder, the clothes are just warm unless you overdry. Running it without heat does not cool the upper part of the drying chamber. Tumbling the fabrics in the steamy atmosphere made for softer clothes, but not as soft as Filtrated fabrics, although at much lower temperatures.
Hamilton invented the dryer and the air flow with the heat contained in the upper part of the dryer chamber and the fabrics exposed to the radiant heat of the electric element. Air is pulled in at the top and passed over the heater then is sucked out the bottom of the dryer. Hamilton called it the "carrier current" and the funny thing is that it depended on the moisture in the dryer's atmosphere to move the heat down. Once the clothes are dry, the upper part of the cylinder is still very warm, but down at the bottom of the cylinder, the clothes are just warm unless you overdry. Running it without heat does not cool the upper part of the drying chamber. Tumbling the fabrics in the steamy atmosphere made for softer clothes, but not as soft as Filtrated fabrics, although at much lower temperatures.
frigidaireguy
Well-known member
1949 Frigidaire Dryer
Tom:
We had the 1949 Frigidaire dryer which was built by Hamilton and had all these exact features. It didn't have any adjustable heat setting you just turned it to the number of minutes to dry and it did the rest. Ours was located in a storage room that had been built on to the garage so we just let it vent out into the room. Mother would only use it in bad weather because that was wasting electricity. How times have changed.
Bob
Tom:
We had the 1949 Frigidaire dryer which was built by Hamilton and had all these exact features. It didn't have any adjustable heat setting you just turned it to the number of minutes to dry and it did the rest. Ours was located in a storage room that had been built on to the garage so we just let it vent out into the room. Mother would only use it in bad weather because that was wasting electricity. How times have changed.
Bob
Bob, A friend's mother had that model with the window at the bottom of the door. It was always weird watching the fabrics riding on the bottom of the drum instead of tumbling from the top like in Hamiltons and other driers with windows like in the launderette. I think your mother's philosophy is one reason that older dryers are more prevalent than older washers. Of course they were simpler machines and were not subject to the corrosion of water and laundry products and stuff, but they were also largely considered a luxury item, mostly used when outdoor drying was not possible, although the people I knew with dryers used them for everything that could be dried in a dryer.
sel8207
Well-known member
pics
Any pictures or videos?
Any pictures or videos?
My sister swears that she is going to bring me into the 21st century, but if that fails, maybe she will take some when she visits. She wants to see the TITANIC exhibit at the National Geographic Museum so maybe she will help. I honestly do not feel like I am missing anything without one of those devices. I am unfortunately, more like my parents every day except for not making children's lives hell.
Similar threads
