1960 Parnall dryer. Model D59

[parnall_doug]

Hello all!
I've just joined, having recently become the proud owner of a 1960 Parnall tumble dryer (model D59).
I had hoped to reply to thread No 30096, where this model of dryer is discussed by members electron1100 and chestermikeuk (and others), but it looks like one can't post on an 'old' thread after a certain time, hence this new thread!

Now my coonection with this model of dryer goes right back to the 60s, when my parents had one from new, (c1960/61) when they were newly married and had just set up the family home.
I came along in 1966, and I grew up with the Parnall in our kitchen. Some of my very first memories were of me sitting infront of the dryer, just watching the laundry tumbling over and over. I remember that distinctive smell of freshly tumbled laundry coming from the machine!

Well, the Parnall stayed with us until 1987, when one day apparently a smell of burning and a bit of smoke appeared from it, so that was that, it was unplugged and went on the skip. I was gutted! Unfortunately I was the only one in our family who regarded the dryer as a future 'classic' and something worth saving, but I had no means of being able to store it, and no knowledge of electrics and so the lovely old Parnall's days had come to an end! :-(

Here is a photo I took of that machine, just before we carried it out to the skip.

(I'm not used to this forum format, so apologies if the photo doesn't appear, or it is too large etc)

I shall continue in the next post......

 

[parnall_doug]

Am I right in saying it's only possible to include one photo per post? No worries, I'll bung another pic up in this one.

So, continuing on from my first post, when we said goodbye to our old Parnall 24 years ago, I will now bring the story more up to date!

Pure curiosity led me to putting 'Parnall dryer' into the images part of the online search engines one day, just to see if the type of dryer I grew up with still existed. I knew I'd recognise 'our' one straight away and what did I come up with? The ones on this forum!! Wow! There were a couple still out there!
I had no plans to go any further than that, but I thought I'd include 'Parnall' in my daily searches on the well known online auction site 'Ebay'! (I work nights, and have plenty of time to browse uninterrupted Lol)
I thought that maybe one day (whether it be in 6 months, a year, 5 years etc) an identical Parnall machine would pop up. I was in no hurry, as I have a modern dryer that does the job, and besides, I have too much hoarded stuff (clutter!!) as it is, but my slightly retro themed kitchen would look all the better were I to ever find a Parnall.
Anyway, after only two or three months what did I find? Wahay! Bingo! Someone was selling a Parnall, and it was in good working condition!

Here is the machine!

(More about this machine in my next post.... if I haven't bored everyone stiff with my ramblings!!)

 

[chestermikeuk]

Parnall

Hello Doug & and welcome to the club, glad you where able to find your family favourite again!!! They where a solid easy to use dryer which gave years of good service, when generally dryers where an unknown...!!! I love the drop down baseplate which reveals the filter....these where more high heat and a medium airflow... Heres mine which I got from Bjorn, a fellow collector and it was his Grans dryer..!!!

 

[keymatic3203]

welcome

Doug, yes that dryer looks in great condition, many of us have spent many years looking for those machines that we remember from childhood, so well done for getting it.

Mike, such a modest photo of your parnall, lol.

Doug, do you have any other vintage electricals, in your retro kitchen, and carry on the ramblings, it's good to know that these classic machines are still about and in use.

Mathew

 

[keymatic]

Hey Doug,
Nice machine and in fine condition !!
You just need the matching washer now, a nice "Spinwasher" to complete the set.
Where abouts in Hampshire are you..?
Keith

 

[parnall_doug]

Thanks for the replies so far folks!

Mike,your machine looks to be in good nick too. My first search for Parnall on the 'net came up with the older version you photographed in the other thread, the same as the one in the Science Museum.
Mathew, I don't have any other vintage electricals in my kitchen as yet, although I have a new 'old' Bush radio, and a retro style toaster which go with my retro theme. I do have my mother's old Bamix electric handwhisk somewhere, which I shall put in my kitchen (when I next come across it!). I have thought of maybe buying an old Kenwood Chef, but space is quite limited.
Keith, yes I didn't know there was a matching washer, until recently when I saw some 'blurb' about them! I do love the Hoover Keymatics too, so who knows, maybe one day! I live in the Waterside area, so I'm sandwiched between Beaulieu/The New Forest and Southampton Water.

Getting back to my machine, I was fairly sure my bid on the Ebay listing would be the only one (starting price of £50) but I was prepared to pay up to £200, I was that keen to have it! As it happened mine was indeed the only bid, so off I went to collect it the day after I won the auction, from down in Paignton.
The seller had bought the Parnall from its original owner, a woman living just down the road, and she told him she'd bought it new 51 years ago. He had bought it from her to use in 'everyday' use, as he had a young family. He'd done his research, and knew the history of the Parnall company, so he knew it was a well built machine and would most likely give many more years of good service.
As it happened the chap's wife decided, after only a week or so that she wanted a new machine, hence the Parnall ended up on Ebay.
Anyway, I gave the guy my 50 quid and I brought my prized load home! Now I live in a first floor maisonette, so the next thing was getting it up the stairs! My dad (now in his late 70s) was draughted in to help, and we lugged the beast up the stairs! His comment, when catching his breath at the top of the stairs was "I had forgotten just how heavy and solid these flippin machines were!!"

Anyway, with its handy three wheels the Parnall was manoeuvered into its final position.
I soon found out the most likely resaon why the dryer was not kept by the guy I bought it off! Upon running it with a load, I found that it would suddenly stop of no accord. He hadn't mentioned that little 'quirk' to me!
Anyway, the only resaon it stops is because the door catch switch or whatever the correct term for it is, doesn't make a proper contact all the time (I guess the door has dropped very slightly, or the catch has worn). This is esaily cured (albeit as a temporary fix) with a little bit of folded paper just wedged at the base of the door when it is shut, and the dryer runs perfectly, coming up to heat quickly, and running for whatever length of time the timer is set to.

Here is a pic of my kitchen, and the Parnall's new home.....

 

[hotpoint9534]

Hi Doug,

Is that a circa 1989 Zanussi FL1023 complete with variable spin slider I spy there?
I would keep hold of that one if I was you, they are much better built than nearly anything available today.

I have the similarly named 'ZFL1023' which is the Jetsystem version from the same vintage, but they look almost identical.

Love the dryer by the way!

Tom.

 

[vacbear58]

retro kitchen

Doug

Welcome from me too. Well you have a good start on a retro themed kitchen there, although my estimate on the formica tops would be 1970s, but whatever, they are still great. Now, ignore what Tom as said just above (ducks and runs), what you need in that corner is a Servis Supertwin Mk2 which will do a great job of drying the clothes ready for the Parnall. Keith was right of course the ideal would be a Parnall Spinwasher but they are as rare as hen's teeth (of course Keith just happens to have one and some of us are as GREEN as your kitchen cupboards with envy) so the Supertwin is just the job. OK we can accept a Hoovermatic as well.

Shame about the gas gooker, there have been a few vintage electric ones on ebay recently in reasonably good looking condition, although I have always heard that the Cannon models with the foldaway grill are built like tanks. And, given teh right layout (which you seem to have) a British style vintage kitchen can work very well, Ricky5050 has one and it looks fantastic, both old cupboards and old (but working) appliances

Al

 

[keymatic]

Hi Al,

Really, Green with Envy..they are ok..but would swap it anyday for any Servis Auto toploader..I just can't believe one has not appeared, when you think their 1st machine appeared in 63' and ran through to 71' approx.

Those Cannon cookers weighed a ton, my nan had two and the last one we got for only a few years ago, she said they baked cakes lovely..I think they were called a "Foldaway" The cooker i always wanted to try and get hold of and have in my house was a New World "Rangette" big double cooker with a little fold away grill in the middle, my mum had one when she first got married in 66,

I think i will let the 60's dream kitchen go now, seeing that i have just had a new kitchen put in..lol !!

 

[vacbear58]

Rangette

Keith

Those rangettes appear with reasonable frequency on ebay given their age and price when new, I suppose they were around in one form or another for 25 years or so, although personally I dont care that much for styling the later 1970s models.

And actually it was the same with the Cannon cookers as well, indeed they may even have been around even longer, and likewise again on the styling. I believe that at one point in the 1960s they made a dual fuel version with electric ven and gas hob and grill, which was very forward thinking for the time.

My favourite was the 1960s Carron (later Cannon I think) Capri range cooker with eye level grill, again when it got the glass doors and such I did not care for it so much. And it was interesting reading the comments on "Doris Day O'Keefe & Merritt" flair type range (gas) about the controls being so far from the gas hob as the Carron (even in the gas version) had all the controls to the right of the eye level grill, although of course that hob did not slide in and out.

I know what you mean about the Servis although you, maybe more than anyone, knows that they may still be out there. I suppose the problem for us in the UK is that with small homes and corrospendingly small garages and few basements machines were more likely to get slung out rather than just pushed into a corner and left. But keep the faith, they one may still emerge - or one of the many other machines that we have documented through our collections of literature.

Of course the problem with a "classic" kitchen is often they lack features which are so useful today, particularly deep "pan" drawers and the like. I just had a litte browse at ebay at lunch time and just at the moment there are at least two lots of 1960s Hygena units (styled like those in the thread I posted in "Super" a few weeks ago), two lots of metal English Rose and some other assorted lots from the 1950s but I am afraid I like pull out drawers & racks so with Ikea I must stay

Whats your new one like? Still got the Hotpoint TL in there?

Al

 

[keiththomas]

Well I was interested in this machine but am I right in thinking Parnell was the first to introduce the dryer idea from the USA but then was taken over by the then GEC.

 

[vacbear58]

1st Drier

Keith

I believe the first tumble driers were introduced around 1955, it would be a toss up whether it was Parnall or English Electric who were first. ChesterMike has one of the first model Parnall (it does not look like this one), I am not aware of any collectors having the FIRST model EE, but given that company's history of using Westinghouse designs it could well be American designed - I have a picture of one at home.

I believe that the Parnall of this thread was manufactured at the same factory which manufactured the solid door Bendix/Fishlow drier as there are some very strong similarities in the design. Mike will probably know better, I think he has all of them

Al

 

[vacbear58]

English Electric 1955

Maybe our American friends can tell us if this is a Westinghouse design

 

[vacbear58]

Another one

I think this is a really cute picture

 

[vacbear58]

And here is the Parnall

Shown beside the Parnall wringer washer. Mike's is the same as this one

 

[parnall_doug]

Wow! I can see me spending hours on this forum!
Some great adverts and I love those two old Parnalls!

To reply to some of the above posts:
Tom, spot on in your observation of my Zannusi! I also have its matching tumble dryer 'mate', a TD201, which lives in the spare room. I will still keep it, with the Parnall 'sharing' the work load... not that any of my machines get heavy use, as for most of the time it's just me on my own.
The two Zanussis were left behind by the previous owners of my parents' house. They bought the house in 2000, and both machines certainly were not new, so circa 1989 sounds right. My parents gave me the machines when I moved into my own home 8 years ago, and they've both worked faultlessly. I'm glad they get your seal of approval!

Al, thanks for your comments on my kitchen, and for the washing machine suggestions!
Yes, the kitchen is indeed 1970s (1973 to be precise) and is original to the property.
I haven't tried to theme it to a particular decade, although I think those wall units give it more of a 60s look, which is now enhanced with the Parnall!
The gas cooker was left by the previous owner, and was virtually new. I sort of like it for its old looks and its simplicity, however, you inspire me with regard to vintage electric ones, and maybe my next bit of detective work should be to find the exact model of Moffat that we had in the 60s!
You also mention the Carron Capri cooker and Hygena kitchen units. We had both!
Our cooker was the later glass door electric version (Carron Capri 3) which replaced the Moffat circa 1980 (see my photo below). Our neighbour had the older gas version. The Hygena kitchen units date from 1971, when we moveed into our second family home. Are the units you mention the same as the ones in my photo?

 

[keymatic]

Hi Doug..

Nice retro pic there !!

That cooker brings back a few memories..my parents had the Cannon Cordon Bleu 4 (gas), virtually identical to the one on the pic but had solid white doors..something tells me it use to have salt & pepper pots insetted in the top near the controls..that was a big ole cooker..lol. Then mum decided to have an upgrade to the "Classique" brown modern version, last model made. We were at the Ideal Home Exhibtion looking at the new fancy model, and if memory serves me right, costing over £1300 quid, my mum just turned round and said "right, we will take one"..all the way home she was wondering how she would break it to dad..

They were really good cookers.
Keith

 

[parnall_doug]

I can't remember what my parents paid for theirs Keith, but I seem to recall it was a lot!
I was sad to see the lovely old Moffat go, but I remember being excited at the thought of the griddle on the new one! The one our neighbours had also had the solid white doors. You are right about the salt and pepper pots! I had forgotten all about them, but the photo below, taken from another angle shows them!

I took the photos in 1989, when we were about to move. I now have some of the kitchen utensils in the pics!

 

[parnall_doug]

And here is a piccy of my Parnall in the kitchen. The 'Oxo' and tea bag tins on top are ones my folks had from new. They were subsequently kept in the garage for storing 'odds and ends' in. My dad was going to throw them out a few years ago, when he was having a clearout, but needless to say I rescued them first!

The stool just visible to the left of the Parnall had been left in an outside store cupboard by the previous owner of my property. It cleaned up well and goes perfectly in my little kitchen!

Sorry about the modern fridge on the other side.....!!!

The really pleasing thing for me is that I probably saved the Parnall from suffering the same fate as our original one did, as I can't imagine the guy who sold it to me would have bothered trying to relist it.