why is the whirlpool surgomatic so hard to find?

[thedrycleaner]

hello fellow washer friends, I have been looking for many years for this washer and have never even seen one posted for sale anywhere. the kenmores from the 50s and the 60s are the closest thing that is ever around. no disrespect to them infact I have a 64 pink visimatic myself. I know the wp surgomatic was around from 1950 to the late 50s, so can anyone give me an insite into why I cant find one? thanks the drycleaner

 

[tomturbomatic]

I suspect that since WP made the Kenmore and Sears sold the WP-made machines for a lower price than Whirlpools sold through Whirlpool dealers, more Kenmores were sold than Whirlpools so there were more Kenmores than Whirlpools. Also, but by the late 50s, people spending money on a washing machine were more likely to spend money on an automatic, if they could have one, than on an expensive wringer.

 

[maytag85]

As Tom mentioned, Sears sold more machines at lower prices than Whirlpool could sell their own machines at their own dealers. Plus Maytag pretty much dominated the wringer market, Maytag was well established with wringer machines and were made all the way up until 1983.

 

[gyrafoam]

They were good machines, their owners used the hell out of them and they were disposed of. Might be some in obscurity somewhere waiting for you to discover them!
Go to every ESTATE sale you can and look in the dusty out buildings and basements.

I do not know whether Sears and/or Whirlpool provided manual machines to the war effort in WWII or the Korean conflict. I would imagine they did.
However, Maytag and Speed Queen sent untold quantities of their manual machines into battle. You can believe that many a soldier remained loyal to the company that helped them have a clean and decent uniform to wear after a month or so of filth and odor (and lice) on the battle field!

Best advertising ever for the baby-boomer generation.

 

[classiccaprice]

Ask and you shall receive

Here's one in Howell, Michigan for $175. It's been up for ~4 months.

"Whirlpool Ringer Washer

Whirlpool electric Mid-century retro ringer washer. Found on other sites for up to $300. All reasonable offers will be considered. Pick up only"

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[mickeyd]

A few thoughts

Hello "Ringers!"

The Whirlpool corporation was making a fortune at Sears stores all across America selling their Whirlpool brand. One wonders what kind of advertising and marketing was offered for the Whirlpool washers. We see the same availability phenomenon with Whirlpool automatics. Would be so illuminating to locate the data revealing the ratio of Sears Kenmore to Whirlpool washer sales.

The Whirlpool Wringers were made and sold through the late 60's, with an Ephemera offering showing the features of the SIX or more annual models.

Sharing your fascination Bill, I've seen pictures of a push button model solenoid that left me gasping. I love the way many of the Surgomatic control panels are high up on the tub, and the fact that many of their full skirts have no bisection around the middle the way the Visimatics do, making them look enormous! The machine offered for sale above is a 1955 model.

The Surgomatics operate just like the Visimatics, but I've noticed that the pump on my Surgo is much quieter than the Visis I have here.

Not too long ago, someone posted a link to a Canadian machine on a site that was loaded with wringer washers. I didn't have a lot of time that day, but I'm sure there are Inglis (Canadian Whirlpool) machines available. Maybe Launderess will remember the listing. You live in Walton, so the Canadian market is within your reach. Good luck on your Surgomatic pilgrimage.

Will snap a pick of mine shortly , although it does not have the Surgomatic logo.

 

[DADoES]

 
Don't overlook the "ringer" misspelling when searching ...

 

[qsd-dan]

When did Whirlpool stop providing parts and support for their wringers? 1980's?

 

[mickeyd]

.

 

[mickeyd]

When I still had a good camera

 

[maytag85]

Reply #7

I believe Whirlpool stopped making parts for their wringer machines sometime in the 1980’s, possibly around 1986 or 1987. It’s interesting how there’s still quite a few parts around for Whirlpool belt drive machines as opposed to their wringer machines. Whirlpool for sure made more automatics than wringer which could be why.

 

[circlew]

Mickey, according to my mom's friend Faye - who owned a Sears Authorized Catalog Store - approximately 65-70% of Whirlpool produced laundry equipment was sold by Sears. This would have been in the mid to late 1970's. I don't know the accuracy, but this was her statement based on what she said Sears officials told her. Sears had majority ownership of Whirlpool at that time.

 

[tomturbomatic]

That WP/KM connection with its vagarities can be seen in how much longer Sears offered the Kenmore combination washer-dryers in the years after Whirlpool had discontinued offering their combinations.

 

[launderess]

Maytag ceased production of their famous wringer washers in 1983, however they ramped up production of spare parts to lay in a supply to last 25 years.

Thus even today you can still often find NOS Maytag wringer washer parts, while OTOH those for GE and Whirlpool are hard to find.

 

[maytag85]

Since this is on the subject of Whirlpool built wringers, here’s a Kenmore Visi-Matic that belongs to a subscriber to of mine on YouTube. The user mentioned they were missing some sort of lint filter part, tried to post a link to here but YouTube deleted my comment since it thought it was spam.

 

[launderess]

"Sears sold more machines at lower prices than Whirlpool could sell their own machines at their own dealers."

In end it was pricing that caused Sears and WP to part ways.

Whirlpool wouldn't lower prices on appliances for Sears to latter's satisfaction so former said "bye-bye".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ded-a-century-old-partnership-with-whirlpool/

Sears and Upton Machine Company go way back to 1920's; over the years Whirlpool became what many considered a captive supplier and less of a partner to Sears.

Majority of Whirlpool appliances were sold by Sears. Latter also held majority share of Upton Machine Company stock which gave it an outsized say in how things were run. https://thebhc.org/sites/default/files/beh/BEHprint/v025n1/p0143-p0153.pdf

Much of what Upton Machine Company/Whirlpool and Sears got up to was suspect if not downright illegal. Occasionally they were caught out as when Oreck brought legal action alleging anti-competitive practices.

Oreck Corporation, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Whirlpool Corporation and Sears Roebuck and Co., Defendants-appellees, 639 F.2d 75 (2d Cir. 1980)

Oreck Corporation, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Whirlpool Corporation and Sears Roebuck and Co., Defendants-appellees, 639 F.2d 75 (2d Cir. 1980) case opinion from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

law.justia.com

 

[mickeyd]

Many Thanks to Tom CircleW

Gosh, that was fast. I was going to offer a guess last night, then declined to suggest that the ratio was 10:1--Kenmore to Whirlpool--but 7:1 seems more likely. Growing up I saw Kenmores every where but Whirlpools hardly at all. I was reared in a working class ethnic neighborhood.

Correction: I found my Whirlpool Wringer Washer Manual late last night, and the the last year WP made them was 1971, not the late 60's, with only one stripped down model offered that year, the sales of wringer washers inevitably waning, while in 1962, they offered EIGHT separate models. Holy Crap!

Like many, I really love Whirlpools maybe because they're so rare. Seeing one is always a treat.

 

[mickeyd]

Overnight memory loss--getting old : >

1962~ NINE distinct models
1971~ THREE models

 

[DADoES]

 
I spied a Whirlpool wringer washer on the school premises many years ago, sometime between 7th and 9th grade.  It was in a storage room of the old field house that originally served the then-abandoned football field.  The door was left open a couple times.  I managed once to get a peep in there, the janitors used it to wash mop and push-broom heads.  It had a bakelite Surgilator.