Westinghouse "How Dry I Am"

[filterflo]

Going thru some of my parts, found a couple of original Westinghouse "How Dry I Am" music boxes from the dryers that played the chime at the end of the cycle. Thought I would take a few pictures and post them for some of the guys to see what the music chimes looked like and how they operated.......Myra's late husband had saved these up in the rafters of her basement for years, and she gave them to me several years ago. She had been tossing them out! I was lucky to save her last three units,.......they really are so neat to see them work!

 

[filterflo]

This is a pic of the inside of the box, with the bars that are stuck by the hammers to make the musical note. There are 5 tuning bars..........

 

[filterflo]

There is a cam inside the unit, and this motor turns the cam. The cam pushes up on a hammer and lets it drop on the tuning bar to make the chime ring........

 

[filterflo]

This is the cam and the points on the cam correspond to the tune "How Dry I Am" There is a limit switch that activates and shuts the motor off at the end of the tune, which is at the end of the dryer cycle.

 

[filterflo]

This gives an idea of the relative size of the chime box, which was mounted flat, at the bottom of the dryer near the back. Unfortunately, not many of these survive in good working condition. The box being plastic tends to melt and warp, or just crumble away from the heat, especially in dryers that were not vented. It was such a neat idea though, what a great 50's dryer!

 

[gansky1]

Too fun!

Thanks, Jimmy, I've never seen this before and only heard the chimes for the first time a few weeks ago.

 

[mayken4now]

Very cool Jimmy. I never knew about that. Thanks for sharing.

Steve

 

[gmpayne]

Jimmy your a sweety, love man!!!

 

[filterflo]

Hey Gary, Greg, and Steve, I aim to please! Nice picture of you Gary! Your clothes sure look clean...... Maytag clean!!!!!

 

[kevinpreston8]

How many..

models and years was this offered in Westinghouse dryers?

Were there any other manufacturers with special music, buzzers, etc?

 

[Unimatic1140]

That is cool Jimmy, that is the first time I've ever seen the actual chime box. How fun all that engineering for a end of cycle signal, only in the 50's!

 

[jamman_98]

Wonderful

That is too fun. I can't wait till it is an audio file on the website!

joe
jamman_98

 

[filterflo]

I have a 1959 Wesinghouse Programmed Computer Dryer, and it only offers a bell ringer for an end of the cycle signal. There is a slinger on the end of the motor shaft and a "bell" located nearby, so that as the motor slows to a stop, the slinger hits the bell and makes a ringing sound similar to a telephone bell. I guess Westinghouse figured by 1959 dryers in the home were no longer a luxury and gimmicks like a chime system and the added expense of one was unnecessary. Imagine what could be done with microprocessors today if manufacturers wanted to add this again! Alas, the "How Dry I Am" feature is one of the reasons and good examples of why we all love, cherish and crave vintage appliances!