Laundromat Trivia - Dryers

[Adamski]

Guys,

Let's see how many get this one right.

[BCW]

Come on Larry, give me a hard one, lol. I'm too old!

Tom

[bo]

My drycleaner has a stack , steam Cissell from the 50's still in use. The timers are mechanical spring things like kitchen timers. Size is smaller than today's home dryer, just a guess but maybe 15 pounds.

[Adamski]

Guys,

I'm talking about a coin operated laundromat style dryer. Keep in mind, this is "Laundromat Trivia".

[MrMachine]

My drycleaner has a stack , steam Cissell from the 50's still in use. The timers are mechanical spring things like kitchen timers. Size is smaller than today's home dryer, just a guess but maybe 15 pounds.

I remember seeing a photo of a Cissell stack dryer from the 50's. I think there was something offset about it....maybe the lint drawers were offset.

The first store that I bought in 1976 had Cissell single dryers. Very solid, simple and they ran quietly. They were powder blue.
Ran great until one of them caught fire and burned half the store down.
It's a strange feeling to be able to see the sky from inside your store because the roof burned down.

[BCW]

Cissel and Norge were big names in the 50's. My Father had one laundromat called Norge Village. The one I own had Cissel dryers from the early 50's in it until the early 80's. Those things were iron bullets. They were all single pocket.
Tom

[Adamski]

Cissel and Norge were big names in the 50's. My Father had one laundromat called Norge Village. The one I own had Cissel dryers from the early 50's in it until the early 80's. Those things were iron bullets. They were all single pocket.
Tom

Tom,

"Norge Village" was a Norge registered trademark just like "Laundromat" was a Westinghouse registered trademark. Those old 50# dryers from the 1950s and 1960s were built like tanks. They were so heavy, you could hardly budge them.

The dual pocket dryer I'm talking about in this pole is actually still in use in a laundromat not too far from where I live.

Come on people ... register your vote. It's easy ... it's fun ... it's the American way.

[BCW]

I was just commenting on the big names back then. I actually put in my vote for Huebsch. They were their own brand back then and not part of Alliance.

Tom

[Adamski]

Guys,

Does anyone know how SMALL EQUIPMENT COMPANY relates to Huebsch dryers? The first dryers my dad bought used in about 1962 were labeled Small Equipment Co on the front. Now these dryers looked exactly like Huebsch 50 lb dryers of the day. So my question is - What came first, Small Equipment Co or Huebsch? Of course, it's possible that Huebsch was simply putting the Small Equipment Co name on Huebsch dryers. On the other hand, it's also possible that Huebsch was named Small Equipment Co prior to changing its name to Huebsch. Can anyone help me sort this out?

[BCW]

Larry, I have no clue on that one. Perhaps they were a distributor or were a company like Hughes Corp. that designed, built and sold laundromats. I have some older SQ 30XG dryers that are labeled Family Pride, which was the name of the Hughes franchise laundromats. I still know of one in operation.

Tom

[Adamski]

Guys,

This pole closes on Friday. Post your vote today. Answer and explanation on Saturday.

[Laundry_Mike]

Cissel and Norge were big names in the 50's. My Father had one laundromat called Norge Village. The one I own had Cissel dryers from the early 50's in it until the early 80's. Those things were iron bullets. They were all single pocket.
Tom

Along with Norge Village, there were also Frigidaire Quick Clean Centers, and Maytag Highlander Centers, and Philco/Bendix had one called Sunshine Cleaning Centers (or something like that)

[bo]

Huebsch private labeled for a bunch of folks. Blackstone was a favorite of mine.

[Adamski]

Guys,

This pole has closed.

43% of you guessed the correct answer - CISSELL. Cissell was building a double pocket dryer way back in the early 1960s - perhaps even the late 1950s. This dryer was about 48" wide and 78" high. It contained two 50# capacity baskets - the upper basket was above and offset to the right of the lower basket.

14% of you guessed MAYTAG. Maytag made a home-style, single pocket dryer in the 1970s that was stackable. These were commonly found in Maytag's "Just Like Home" laundries. They would stack 1 atop another and arrange 2 dryer stacks (4 pockets) along a manifold with 4 topload washers to create individual wash n dry cubicles.

28% of you guessed HUEBSCH/SPEED QUEEN and 7% of you guessed DEXTER. I think Dexter was the first to come out with the current style stacked dryer (full-size, 1 pocket directly above the other). As usual, by this time, manufacturers were simply re-thinking old ideas.

7% of you guessed HOYT but Hoyt never made a double pocket dryer to my knowledge.

Those of you who guessed CISSELL can apply for your free dinner coupon by calling my nearest competitor.:rolleyes:

Thanks for playing "Laundromat Trivia". This Sunday's Laundromat Trivia catagory is TOP LOAD WASHERS.:confused:

[BCW]

Larry, my search yielded different results:The Huebsch Manufacturing Company, which had patented an open air dryer in 1931, introduced the stacked dryer to the market place in 1941 and continued their run in 1954 when they introduced a coin-operated dryer for laundromats. The American Dryer Corporation got into the game in 1965 with two different coin-operated models designed for laundromats. Fourteen years later they introduced the first computerized dryers.

[Adamski]

Tom,

Oh oh ... the pole result is being disputed.

This is news to me about Huebsch making a stacked dryer in 1941. On the other hand, 1941 was well before I was even born. Where did you come across this information?

[CanCanCase]

Based on my limited knowledge of the sands of time I'd wager that you're both right. Huebsch may have had an early STACKABLE dryer where you could put one atop another, but the poll question was about a single machine with two pockets - that title likely goes to Cissell. I'd like to see Dexter knock reverse engineer one of the offset Cissell 75 lb stacks someday...

- Case

[Adamski]

Guys,

I've found some information that may clear up the confusion.

The Huebsch Manufacturing Co. patented an "open air dryer" in 1931. This was merely a round cylinder that was probably turned by motor and mounted above some type of stove (not much detail available). Huebsch introduced a stacked dryer in 1941 but there is no mention that this model was either automatic or coin-operated. My suspicion is that this was a dual pocket dryer designed for commercial laundries of the day. Huebsch introduced the first coin-operated dryer in 1954 but there is nothing to indicate this was a dual pocket dryer.

The American Dryer Corporation started up in 1965 with 2 coin-operated models (neither of them dual pocket).

So, according to the best information available so far; Cissell was likely the first to produce a coin-operated, dual pocket dryer for laundromats.

[Adamski]

Guys,

A number of devices had to be developed before washers and dryers could become automatic and coin-operated.

Automatic, coin-operated washers required the development of timers, electric inlet valves, solenoids and coin slides.

Automatic, coin-operated dryers required the development of thermostats, electric gas valves, timing devices and coin slides or accumulators.

Most of these devices were probably developed in the early 1950s. Prior to that time, washers and dryers required manual operation such as filling the washer with a hose from a sink, manually turning the motor on or off and controlling a manual steam valve to keep a dryer from over heating.

[BCW]

Tom,

Oh oh ... the pole result is being disputed.

This is news to me about Huebsch making a stacked dryer in 1941. On the other hand, 1941 was well before I was even born. Where did you come across this information?

Larry, I came across the link here: http://www.sophisticatededge.com/who-invented-the-clothes-dryer.html

I used to travel around with my father to all of his laundromats in the 50's. I was a little kid then. I remember seeing mostly big single pocket Cissel dryers in his mats. No stacks. He would stick me back there with a vacuum to clean dryer rooms. In July and August, of course!

Tom

[Adamski]

...I used to travel around with my father to all of his laundromats in the 50's. I was a little kid then. I remember seeing mostly big single pocket Cissel dryers in his mats. No stacks. He would stick me back there with a vacuum to clean dryer rooms. In July and August, of course!

Tom,

The Cissell single pocket 50# dryers were fairly common back in the 1950s and 1960s. The Cissell double pocket dryers were more rare but I had seen some here and there. There is a laundromat in Grand Rapids that is still operating one of those Cissell double pocket dryers to this very day. I wonder how big a gas burner is on that beast.