1976 Colston Jetstream 303 - in pristine condition

[marg]

Hello everyone..

We have a 'brand new' Colston automatic Jetstream 303 dishwasher that my father got for my mother in February 1976 and that was never installed, as my mother thought it was much too nice to use.

It's in pristine condition and still has the brochure, consignment note, installation postcard (for free installation by a Colston engineer) and starter pack of dishwashing powder inside. The hoses look to be fine and the whole unit is absolutely beautiful, with the exception of a small chip on the front right hand side, which may have been made in transport.

We have absolutely no idea what it might be worth and would really love some help from your forum. As this is an English machine and we're located in Exeter in the UK, I'm not sure how much interest there will be for it, but any information, suggestions or advice would be really welcome.

Thanks very much for your interest

 

[rp2813]

Spin Tube Wash System

I guess this could be a novelty item -- unless it's a spin tube anomaly and actually can do a decent job of washing dishes.

 

[vacbear58]

Colston Dishwasher

Bit of a story behind this machine .......

The Colston company was founded by Sir Charles Colston, who founded and built up the Hoover company in Britain to the mammoth company it was by the mid 1950s - in trading terms it was actually larger than the US parent company. He was rather unceremoniously booted out in 1956 when the Hoover family decided it wanted more control of the family business - well we can all see where that led.

This has led me to speculate (and it is speculation) that the Hoover company in Britain had, at least to some extent, developed a dishwasher for the UK market. A later Colston brochure which I have seen listed the hallmarks of this machine - low cost (comparatively), compact, easy to install - which could just as equally be applied to the first Hoover washing machine - the 0307.

The dishwasher was launched around 1959 and seems to have been reasonably successful, they feature regularly in home decor magazines all though the early to mid-1960s - at one point there was a link up with the Rolls company which manufactured twin tubs although they managed to avoid going down when Rolls went bust.

About 1967 or 1968 some new models were introduced, essentially the same machine but with squared off cabinets - one for siting on the counter (like this one) and a floor mounted version. Originally it just has a single button to start the programme but later on they added a more conventional programme control although it was still essentially a single programme machine, you could just break into it at different points and they added a rinse-hold cycle too. This particular machine is from around the end of the production run of almost 20 years.

Actually they were quite good DISH washers, my parents had one, bought almost exactly at the same time. It was fine with cutlery too. It held about 8 place settings. Where it falls down is that you cannot really wash pans in it. If you were lucky you could get a casserole dish in the top rack on the right or perhaps a couple of small pans but that was it.

You can see an earlier version of this dishwasher here at 4.47



And you can see this exact model in my parent kitchen in the summer of 1976 below

Al

 

[vacbear58]

PS Sent you an email Marg, to the address in your profile

Al

 

[marg]

Colston dishwasher

Thanks very much for the background information - and I loved the clip of the Ideal Home Exhibition !

It's funny that the photo of the 303 installed in your parent's kitchen makes it look quite compact, whereas it looks very spacious to me when the door's open. I think one of the problem's with fitting it must be the weight, as it weighs 99 lbs, so it's great to see how it would look in place !

Also thanks for the email, Al - I'll respond to you shortly.

Cheers,
marg

 

[geebo]

Is the Dishwasher still available ?

Hi Marg - I am inquiring about the Colston 303 dishwasher. I am new to autowasher and just saw your post. Is the 303 still available for purchase ? Thanks.

Geebo