Thread Number: 36025
Another UK Classic "captured"
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Post# 537080   8/15/2011 at 08:02 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        

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Nicely timed with Matchbox Paul's most excellent thread on Hoover Automatic washers, a beauty showed up on ebay last week.




Post# 537081 , Reply# 1   8/15/2011 at 08:04 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Hoovers first "own" tumble drier

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The previous version being a "badged" English Electric

I believe that this comes from 1970



Post# 537082 , Reply# 2   8/15/2011 at 08:07 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Full Frontal

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As Paul has documented on his thread Hoover initially had two body styles for this series of washers and driers, hence the half width panel

Post# 537084 , Reply# 3   8/15/2011 at 08:08 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Money Shot

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The drum is blue vitreous enamel

Post# 537085 , Reply# 4   8/15/2011 at 08:10 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Lint filter

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Two part, on the back of the drum



Post# 537086 , Reply# 5   8/15/2011 at 08:13 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Inside

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Surprisingly clean and free of lint. I have only done a minimal amout of vacuum cleaning inside. It runs nice and quietly too



Post# 537087 , Reply# 6   8/15/2011 at 08:15 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Except

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The heating elemnts appear to be held together with STRING!!!!!!!!!!!



Post# 537089 , Reply# 7   8/15/2011 at 08:27 (4,609 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
The ebay picture

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My mind was very much exercised by what was sitting to the right of the machine the drier was sitting on. Despite the fact that it was sitting on a relativly modern Indesit washer my mind ran to it perhaps being a wide body Hoover Automatic (not Keymatic) washer from that tantalising corner. Sadly, it was a Potterton central heating boiler - oh well ....... I wonder what other machines it has sat on over the years, the 99 year old lady who owned it died last year sadly and her son who was attending for the collection of the machine would not have had a clue, if he could actually have heard me.....

Its not half heavy too as I had to carry it myself out to the car, about half as much again of the weight of my 9 year old Hotpoint condensor drier.

I will not be keeping this myself, I believe it is destinied to return to the land of its origin, forty years on :)

Al


Post# 537136 , Reply# 8   8/15/2011 at 11:29 (4,609 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK)        
That string

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You will find is a heatproof fibre glass which supports the heating element.

Without it the heater would not be able to hold its shape as well.

Austin


Post# 537150 , Reply# 9   8/15/2011 at 12:28 (4,609 days old) by aquarius8000 ()        

Congratulations!Great find!

Post# 537161 , Reply# 10   8/15/2011 at 13:00 (4,609 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)        
Oovahh - Who Better!!!

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Glad you picked it up Al, a lovely addition and an icon in the line up and timeline of the Hoover History!!

I never saw one of these in the shops or knew anyone that had one, Paul tells me it would have matched my aunts 3243 Keymatic, Thank goodness Aunty Margaret bought a late keymatic and an early new released full panel dryer!!...LOl

It could only team up with a half panel washer - just doesnt look right IMHO




Post# 537173 , Reply# 11   8/15/2011 at 15:27 (4,608 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

Thanks to Al!

The machine looks in great condition and a condition that belies its, in a couple of months, 41 years of age.

Obviously well cared for by its previous owner, its apparrent lack of an undercarriage shows that it has been proffesionally stacked in its past!!!
Bought in early 1971, I am thinkg as a matching set, with either a 3235, 3236H or 3243H.
Should hopefully be reunited with a partner soon.
Thanks again Al.


Hi Mike.
Re: your Aunts 3243H.
There is a bit of a mystery as to whether the Matchboxes were introduced as a three model washer line-up all at once, or whether there was a delay in bringing on the 3243H. Neither myself or Mathew has amanaged to fathom it out yet.

The only reason which sows a small seed of doubt, is due to a photograph of a Freemans catalogue which either RobM or Keith posted a whileback and I have attached again below.
Its probably from 1970, though cold be 1971, and it shows the 3236H but being sold alongside a 3223H widebody Keymatic De Luxe.
Probably creating a mystery that needn't exist, but why couldnt Hoover do the Hotpoint thing and list introduction dates of their appliances.

I am sure a definitive answer will be found one day.

Paul



Post# 537195 , Reply# 12   8/15/2011 at 16:08 (4,608 days old) by 74simon ()        

Al, well done on winning the dryer,  it does look in good nick! Am sure it's going to a loving home, will you 'test' it for the new owner? Shame the other appliance turned out to be a boiler, I wondered if it was a widebody, but compared it with the pictures from Paul's hoover thread and it didn't look right.

 

Wonder who won the other early 3022? Wink

 

Paul - regarding the delayed intro of the 3243H, my service manuals have separate sections for the 3235/3236H and the 3243H - the basic and deluxe info has a print date of 9/70, the Keymatic (referred to as the Slimline Keymatic) info is dated 2/71, and then there are later update sheets - might be work checking the dates in your manuals to see if you have an earlier date on your 3243H servce info.

 

I've read a Design Centre letter at the archive at Brighton Uni from before launch (April 1970 I think) which mentioned some delay in production due to teething problems - never thought about it before, but maybe it was specifically the KMDL that was problematic?


Post# 537206 , Reply# 13   8/15/2011 at 16:35 (4,608 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Undercarraige etc

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Paul

I am not sure what you mean by lack of undercarriage as it appears identical to the one shown in your thread. What I can say is that the rollers of the wheels have been removed, presumably to stop it moving when on top of the Indesit or some other machine which would not accomodate the original stacking frame.

Seeing the Matchbox Auto beside the wide body Keymatic it is not beyond the bounds of possibality that Freemans bought up a load of old stock, and indeed that may have been why the the Matchbox Keymatic was delayed. Given its very keen price I would have thought the old wide body auto would have flown off the shelves, but the Keymatic, maybe not so much so. And again, your recollection of a wide body auto but with powder drawer might be another indicator of an early special again to clear stock.

Mike,
I agree about the "half panel" - it always looked wrong to me, even back in the early 1970s when the range was introduced - it really did make the BOL machine look like a BOL and really emphasised the lack of a powder drawer, and as you say, the dryer just looks odd. perhaps it was to provide a decent production run of each style of body, but it just seems crazy to me that they just did not have one style (as they did later) and be done with it - once a Cost Accountant, always a Cost Accountant - yes folks I am one of those bean counters always being blamed for the decline in equipment standards :(

I wonder who won the other 3022 (funny how two came on at almost the same time) although i could make a good guess :)

Al


Post# 537209 , Reply# 14   8/15/2011 at 16:41 (4,608 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

Hi Simon.

You are right about the dates in the service manuals - another reason for thinking there was a delay.
Possibly a case of getting everything 'Keymaticky' to fit inside the new slim bodyshell?

By 1971 it looks like they had either perfected the design, or at least got a prototype to show.
Does anyone know whether the set up below was for the Design Exhibition (which Hoover later pulled out of, as a result of the Hoover Conquest issue) or whether it was a foyer exhibit?

Paul


Post# 537213 , Reply# 15   8/15/2011 at 16:53 (4,608 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

Hi Al.

For 'undercarriage' read its wheels. Its the aviation enthusiast coming out in me:-)

Your Freemans theory could be true. Keen pricing and a desire by Hoover to rid themselves of old stock?
The truth is out there somewhere - must keep digging.

The half panel production strategy, ever since I first knew of their existence, has always struck me as pointless and probably a costly faff.
Comes across to me as a means of punishing the purchasers of the 3235 mere Automatic machine, stripped of its chrome trim and full facia, yet backfiring in a way as you have to manufacture two different bodyshells and annoy the purchasers of the 'de luxe' machines, who have to acquire a strange looking dryer to go with their more expensive purchases.
They saw sense eventually...


Post# 537215 , Reply# 16   8/15/2011 at 16:56 (4,608 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield, East Midlands, UK)        
Full facias

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You know Paul, looking at that picture above all the autos appear to have full width facias on them. And, just because the Keymatic is shown, does not necessarily mean that they had one actually working - it may just have been a prototype.

I must also say, I am amazed at where you get all this stuff :)

Now, just to annoy you, I have a recollection of another hoover model. It would be back in 1980 at the time when my Mum's first Zanussi gave up the ghost and had to be replaced. It was definatly a Hoover Aristocrat model, I think it had a recessed rather than proud door and whilst it had a powder drawer it had onely two compartments, there was nowhere for fabric conditioner - I remember this as a particular point my mother raised against it. I THINK it had an 800 spin, for in that regard it would have been the same as the 218T my Mum eventually bought - i am sure she would have gone for a faster spin othewise

Al




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