Vintage GE iron question

[ken]

I've got this old GE iron that still works fine. Its the lower one in the first pic below. I disassembled last night to clean it and found a date of May 22, 1947. It originally had an indicator light located in the side of the handle at the back. The second pic shows the light better. The bulb is long gone. Would anyone here know the correct replacement bulb?

 

[ea56]

These are excellent irons Ken and you'll enjoy using it. When you set it at cotton or linen it gets HOT, so your ironing work goes quicker. We have a vintage Proctor Silex steam iron, not as old as yours, its from 1969, but it sure beats the new crap they sell now. For the replacement bulb I would recommend that you remove it and take it to a hardware or electrical supplt store that sells unusal light bulbs and see if you can find a match. I did this with an old Sunbeam waffle iron some years ago and was able to find a bulb that fit and worked. But even if you cant find the replacement bulb your vintage GE iron should work just fine without it.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 8/31/2016-12:47]

 

[ken]

The bulb is missing. And you're right about it getting hot. The temperature setting screw needs adjustment because the iron gets warm with the knob set to off position. The contacts are not opening like they should when turned to off.

The iron has been in the family since new. It was either my grandmothers or my mothers. My mother says not hers as she always had a steam iron. But I need to ask her for sure because the date of May 1947 was only five months before my parents got married and I wonder if she may have gotten it as a wedding shower gift.

 

[ea56]

Ken, take a good look at the socket that the bulb fits in, then see if maybe you have some other small appliance that has a light, that you don't use and never will again. Take it apart and see if that bulb will fit. This could take a while. For my waffle iron I had an old clip on battery operated book light for reading in bed. It never was satisfactory and I knew I'd never use it again. I took the bulb out and it fit the waffle iron. Necessity is the Mother of invention as they say. With some trial and error you'll eventually find the right bulb. Now for the thermostat, sounds like you know more than I do about this. Good luck!
Eddie

 

[ken]

There isn't an actual socket. There are two flat bars making a U shape the sides of the bulb would fit between and a third grounded one further back the bottom contact of the bulb would make contact with. I'll post a pic when I can.

 

[ea56]

Ken you may be able to find a bulb that will fit at an auto supply store.
Eddie

 

[ken]

Im thinking something like this. The bars that would hold the bulb have a V profile to them which I think would work with the threads in a screw base bulb to hold it. This bulb is 1.19" long which I think would be about right. And actually I found the manual in the first pic above on ebay this morning so I bought it. Maybe it will have the bulb number listed in it.

 

[circlew]

I have the dry only version of the iron shown in the booklet; it was my mom's first iron. It still has the light bulb (which works), but I'm sorry I can't look at it as it is packed up and at the storage unit.

Some items such as this have "bayonet" style lamps, as screw base might tend to become loose often. Sometimes "wedge" type bulbs are used.

http://www.bulbs.com/T--Type/results.aspx

 

[ken]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking bayonet too but the thing that is strange is the recess of the V in the bars that hold the bulb are on the outside rather than inside. If the V were on the inside I could see how the pins on the bulb would fit into it and be held.

 

[ken]

Here's a few pics of the bulb holder. You'll have to forgive the quality. I took them with my cheap cell phone but they still show what Im talking about. After looking at the iron last night I noticed a slightly raised ring that is part of the bakelite itself inside the hole in the handle. I wonder if that ring could work as a thread in screwing the bulb in?

After talking with my mother again and telling her I found the date of 1947 in the iron she said it probably is her first iron. When she and my father got married an uncle of hers gave her $10.00 and told her to buy something she needed. So she bought an iron.