Vintage Washer Question

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washerdude

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Jun 10, 2013
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I vaguely remember seeing a vintage washer in operation where the tub and agitator moved all at once in the same direction during the wash cycle. How many units were made like this and what models were they? Just curious, answers are welcome!
 
There's a harvest gold Skinny Mini set that has been for sale on CL around here for quite a while.  They can't even get $50 for it.  I was surprised to see that the dryer requires 220V.   That would rule it out for most apartment applications.
 
The skinny mini was available with a 110 Volt dryer. The heat on the dryer would turn off when the washer was running at the same time. When I purchased my home in 1978 it was equipped with a skinny mini washer/110 Volt dryer. Drying a load took over an hour to dry. Was used for ten years before switching to a full size Maytag A512 and an used Maytag DG608 dryer.
 
These units were quite an innovation at the time. They were the very first units to incorporate a top load washer with a dryer on top built as a one piece unit. They were only 24" wide and worked quite well. They did not hold up well in service however. The washer had some problems with the clutch assembly that was used to drive the main unit, it wore out after a lot of use and had to be replaced which was no easy task. It did have one rollermatic roller in the operation too. The dryer had bakelite inside where the drum coasted along and was broken easily where the lint filter was and other places. Things could easily get caught and break the bakelite too. It was a very good idea and later on was copied by other companies and improved on. The agitub washer mech. washed fairly well, but the timer could have been extended longer for the wash and spin cycles and I think it would have done a better job. The units that ran on 220/240 dried clothes about the same as a typical dryer. The 110/120 units would take a long time to dry and you could not wash and dry at the same time. Nifty little units though. Frigidaire made them as separate units too, independent of each other as space saver sets. It just goes back to design and what was used to manufacture them could have been better.
 
Did these have a plastic type tub? I remember when I was 3 visiting my aunt and uncle in Indiana (he worked for Delco Remy in Anderson) and she had a green stacked set. I didn't know then it was a Frigidaire, but now I'm sure it was since he worked for GM. I remember looking down into the washer and seeing the agitator and tub as being one piece...I wondered how it would wash clothes like that. I thought this was odd even at that age compared to Mother's Maytag.
 
Yes, they did have a plastic tub. One of the nice things about this machine is that it had no transmission and overloading it did not hurt it, the clothes just could not move well. They would hold about an 8 lb. load and it was a solid tub machine. It did have a safety of sorts that if the pump was plugged for some reason, it would not overflow water. It had a safety level for the water that would not allow that to happen even though the fill was a timed one. It was great if you had very little room or just a closet with hook ups. I know that many apartments had these here in town. They really were the first of their kind in the marketplace.
 

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