Yikes! White Mountain Ice Cream Makers have suddenly disappeared

White Mountain Ice Cream freezers once were king of the ice cream makers for centuries ever since they were originally introduced in 1853. Now in 2022 White Mountain has seemed to suddenly stop making ice cream makers-freezers. They haven’t officially announced this but when calling the White Mountain phone number their support staff are telling people that they are no longer being made. This leaves a huge void in the family ice cream maker options for those looking for a mid-range priced ice cream machine as well as parts for existing units.

The Amish ice cream freezers are filling the void left by White Mountain’s sudden departure from the market.

For centuries the Amish also grew up with and enjoyed White Mountain ice cream freezers to make frequent batches of ice cream for their large families.  Like so many other products that became obsolete or less dependable over the years, the Amish began manufacturing reproductions making them stronger and longer-lasting as well as replacement parts to keep what they had going.

Within the past decade, two different Amish companies developed their own brands of Ice Cream freezers to replace White Mountain Freezers. Both started off just making better replacement parts as the quality of the White Mountain parts began becoming less dependable.  Simple things like the tub centers, tub, ears, tub latches, and for the hand crank freezers higher quality USA-made stainless steel gears.  Then followed stainless steel freezer cans and dashers and complete gear frames and motor units.  As the wooden staves on the White Mountain freezer become thinner leaking tubs became a problem so the Amish started making poly-insulated tubs that didn’t leak.

Finally, the Amish companies realized that since they were already making all the parts they might as well make a complete ice cream freezer and so Lifetime and Immergood Ice Cream Freezers were born.

Immergood has also developed an ice cream freezer that operates off popular tool battery packs making it very popular for those who frequent picnics and camping adventures. Most who are outdoor adventurers already own a Dewalt, Makita, or Milwaukee tool battery-powered drill with battery packs and a charger, so it is a natural fit.

Now with White Mountain Freezers no longer available consumers are finding nothing between the small plastic ice cream makers being sold in discount stores and these Amish-made brands. During the pandemic, the Amish companies couldn’t keep up with the demand and even in 2022, there is often a wait for some of the electric models. 

You will likely pay twice to three times as much for one of the Amish brands that you may have paid for a White Mountain unit 5-10 years ago. However, inflation would have also increased the price on the White Mountain products.  At the end of 2021 those who still had a stock of the White Mountain units set premium prices. At that point, you would have been ahead to purchase one of the Amish brands because of the better all USA-made quality. The Amish build things to last and be passed down to the next generation.

Cottage Craft Works.com carries the Amish ice cream freezers-makers in both hand crank and electric models. They are also one of the main referrals for White Mountain parts as people call the White Mountain number looking for replacement parts.

 

Rebirth of Vintage Maytag Wringer Washing Machines

Wringer Washing Machines were once the mainstay of virtually every household during the early 1900s. While several companies produced wringer washing machines, Maytag Wringer Washers long outlived the competition and were still being produced up until 1983. These old relics were very well made with heavy-duty parts. They were being made in the US during the error of when quality and longevity matter long before the idea of planned obsolescence was introduced to manufactures. 

Wringer washers began to fall out of favor when the automatic washers with a spin cycle took hold.

Maytag wringer washers are still widely being used in the Amish self-sustaining communities. They are used in many other non-Amish businesses such as garages and car washes that need to frequently wash rags, coveralls, and shammies. They also are still used in many homes as either the main source for clean clothes or as a garage washing machine for worker clothes that the wife doesn’t wish to use in her main washing machine.

An interesting phenomenon is occurring with the rebirth of refurbished Maytag Washing Machines mainly due to the introduction of online replacement parts by Cottage Craft Works.com

Many of the older Maytag Wringer Washers were retired when parts became obsolete and couldn’t be obtained. Many were turned into a flower planter and antique store display or sent to the junk pile.

Cottage Craft Works.com is a unique general store whose sole mission is to search the back roads of the Amish communities and find old-fashioned reproduction products or parts to fix vintage farms and household implements and appliances.

As the industrial revolution and the introduction of electricity to the common homeowner transpired the common off-grid items began to no longer have available parts. The Amish self-sufficient culture is still stuck in those time periods and relies heavily on this vintage equipment.

As part supplies began to dwindle Amish owned machine shops and foundries began to reproduce the replacement parts. Many Amish companies purchased the molds and patterns from the original manufactures so many of the parts are just like they were when originally made.

Cottage Craft Works.com online general store offers all the Amish parts to refurbish Maytag Wringer Washers from replacement, castes, transmission parts, to replacement rollers and wringer parts. Most all the parts are brand new, but they do have sources for some of the used parts as well.

Cottage Craft Works can also source, DC and air-powered off-grid motors as well as gasoline engines to run Maytag Washers off-grid.

Paint can be sourced through local hardware stores Rust-Oleum Specialty 12 oz. Appliance Gloss White Epoxy Spray Paint #7881830

Maytag was very consistent in the parts they made from 1940s-1983 so most all the parts cross over to the various models with some exceptions between the older round tub and more modern square tub models. Along the way, they also made some improvements with rubber tub gaskets replacing the older cork gaskets.

Since the introduction of the available parts by Cottage Craft Works many have been searching for and refurbishing these vintage washing machines. Several have committed they are returning the wringer washing machines that they grew up with because they reportedly clean better. Others have become frustrated in having to spend the money every few years on a new machine because the ones they were using just wore out and were too expensive to repair of couldn’t find anyone dependable to fix them.

Cottage Craft Works.com offers a full line old-fashioned general store from sewing cabinets, kitchen wares, stoneware pottery, vintage replacement gunstocks, and hunting equipment.  Replacement parts for vintage International Harvester, John Deere, and New Idea implements are also a specialty.