What Killed Easy?

[johnrk]

I just bought a couple of the Easy Spindrier brochures on the ephemera section here. I really didn't know know until this latest joining on here that anyone had made large twin-tub machines. I never saw one of these machines growing up in the late 50's or 60's. They appear to have so many advantages over wringer washers. I searched the name on here and saw that apparently they were at one time part of the Hupp Corporation and that Arthur Godfrey, nasty old bastard though popular, was a shill for the company and caused many to be sold.

I saw from a posting from a decade ago that apparently Easy thought the future was going to be in combination machines and that that was where they put their R&D money and effort. Is that so? The last Spindrier brochure on here was from 1964.

Were they mostly a regional brand, is that why I didn't see them, or was it because I lived in a city of 10K right outside of Houston and no one distributed them here?

It just seems, the more I read, like it was a fine alternative to the cost of a full auto, but the merits of a good spin dryer can't be denied over any wringer. And were/are they good machines in terms of mechanical reliability and durability? I've always wanted to own a twin tub but none of the Euro-type ones seem to be of this level of size and sturdiness.

Any information provided here would sure be appreciated.

 

[tolivac]

n checking with the appliance swap shops in Greenville-the Easy TT are rare as hens teeth here-again would like one.The Maytag wringers were common here.Sometimes they would be on the porches of older houses here.Now don't see them anymore.In my limited large appliance space an Easy TT would be neat.Don't have the HUGE basements here for museum sized collections.And older machines are VERY hard to come by here-again no basement is the problem-when someone here bought a new machine-because of lack of space the old one was hauled away.And this area is part of the "Land of Rust" because of the high humidity.

 

[jamiel]

I think they were done in by the same thing that caused there to be a lot of consolidation in the industry--on the top-end of the industry, the major manufacturers wanting to develop a full-line, and on the bottom-end, limited ability to reach economies of scale, particularly as the Interstate Highway system flourished. They did make a bad bet on the combos which couldn't have helped their long-term competitiveness.

 

[gyrafoam]

They were around the Deep South back in the day, however not a lot of them. The people that had them seemed to like them better than wringer washers,but, the instalation on hardwood floors could be an issue with those hard rubber castors. I can remember the spinner could send some pretty serious vibrations through the floor and if bad enough, could cause the whole damned machine to dance around. Not thinking apartment dwellers made good friends with the people just below, on washday.

I think the people that had them thought a true automatic was the logical next step when it was time to replace them. A wringer would have been a step-down. They must have been pretty reliable. I don't recall people complaining about them, and they did tend to be long lived.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Easy, as a product of the Hupp Corporation and as a product of the Murray (bicycle) Corporation, had many innovations early in the history of laundry. That copper tub machine with the three plunging bells and the gas burner underneath the tub was amazing. The spin dryer was a great revolution in safety in the days of wringers and super for quilts, blankets, slipcovers and other large bulky items. Easy pioneered the great innovation of having the pump and transmission on either end of the motor, something not seen until Whirlpool's direct drive machines.

Their combo, into which they sunk a lot of money believing it was the future of the laundry industry, was probably on a par with the others and they offered many model choices, gas and electric drying, condenser and vented electrics (like Philco did) and even an undercounter model, as did Philco. The trouble was that they were chasing a doomed dream. Number one, AVCO held the patents for everything from the idea of a combination machine to the suspended mechanism, without which the water extraction suffered. They did not have the money that Whirlpool did to reengineer a machine that could offer better water extraction without a suspension system. Number two, as Kenmore Man told us, servicemen largely hated the combination machines. They were complex, heavy as hell, crammed with parts and were usually made more difficult to work on by being installed in tight quarters. The technology was primitive and not always dependable so the machines got a bad reputation and people stopped buying them. AVCO really pissed in the whisky by dooming an entire class of appliances to protect their patents. Today, they just would have made them for other brands, but that was not what happened then. Finally, the company did not keep their lines comparable with other brands. They built a laundry line for AMC and the machines from the early mid 60s are what I am going on when I make this assessment. The dryer had a galvanized drum. This was not the perforated galvanized metal drum of the Hamilton Heritage dryers of the time, but a galvanized solid metal drum like was used in the cheapest of the Maytag Highlander dryers in the late 50s. The dryer did have a good airflow design, going from right rear to left front, but the small lint screen was mounted in the drum opening at the left front and most of the metal parts had sharper edges, sort of like the finish of an original Norge lint filter rather than like a GE lint filter. The washer was still a small solid tub machine. I do not know how long Easy lasted after they built that first top loader for Westinghouse, but according to the Blue book for trade in values published by the National Appliance Retail Dealers Association in 1972, Easy was listed as "no longer producing" and the last model year listed was 1969, a sad end to a brand that once had models named "Plaza," "Cavalier," "Regent" and "Golden Regent" BUT they offered wringers and spinners through 1968. Kenmore seems to have offered wringers through 1970.

 

[mixguy]

Easy Spindryer

I had one family member, my dad's oldest sister had one. She lived near Morgan City. It was in the kitchen and rolled to the sink for use. It had and aluminum spirolator, and the spin basket had no inner cone as I have seen posted by others and picture. The instruction booklet was very detailed with instruction and hints to make using the machine "easy" to use. Explained faucet placements for wash water saving and "spin rinsing." The huge wash tub could handle a lot of clothes! It was handed down to my grandmother who lived in Kaplan to make her washdays a little easier since she was using a Norge wringer at the time. The Easy was "torn down" for repair because water got into the transmission, someone over filled the wash tub is my best guess how this happened. I remember my uncle's complaining about how messy of a job it was to do. I do not recall anyone having to change any bearings or seals. Great "smacking" sound of the water when agitating.

Breeze and Duz were the most often used detergents, they wanted the towels and glasses that were given in every package. They also ate Crystal Wedding oats for dk. green glasses found inside.

The spinner was sure fast and clothes dried quicker than when passed through the wringer. The waster was retired when pump gave out and could no longer find parts to repair. Also on of the cables to drain the machine became stuck too. It was replaced with one of the last wringers made by Maytag, it had the safety foot petal that to be pressed to use. I no 3 tub was used on a short table for rinsing. Grand kids were not permitted to help, she feared an arm getting caught or a button being popped off.