A3260 Manual plea (!)

redrose · Oct 23, 2011

Hello. This is my first post as a new member. I was delighted to find this site. I thought it was just me who was convinced that older machines were FAR better built and more easily maintained than the new stuff. I have a Hoover A3260 which was a wedding present in 1984. Unfortunately (that's an understatement) my wife died recently (Sep 2011)from cancer aged just 49, but we always loved our Hoover electron 1100. Like Trigger's broom it's had lots of new parts e.g. seals, brushes, bearings, solenoids etc. I am able to maintain it and I wouldn't part with it unless it exploded. I even, 15 years ago, completely disassembled the Crouzet electro-mechanical switching unit and rebuilt it. I'm a graduate mechanical engineer with a passion for aircraft, motor bikes and anything else which responds well to a bit of engineering TLC, and these old Hoovers make me feel like things really were better 20-30 years ago.

Does anybody have a copy of the use manual for the A3260? I just need to understand the washing cycles. Since my wife died I now have to use it rather than just repair it when it needed attention. She always used the "M" - Delicates - setting but I think I can save time and money by using more appropriate cycles.

Any help would be much appreciated.

aquarius1984 · Oct 23, 2011

Hi there

Welcome to the site, Very Sorry to hear about the loss of your wife.

M is a really delicate cycle and it has a slow spin speed at the end which is not really good for cotton items especially if you tumble dry.

The manual wont really help you s its just a description of various things.

Dont ever worry about the time it takes to wash a load most programmes are about 1 hour to 2 hours and using short cycles for some things just wont get them clean. also you will end up with a smelly dirty washing machine that will contaminate garments.

I will explain how to do your laundry and how to get the best results following in my next post.

Rob

aquarius1984 · Oct 23, 2011

Ok

Sort your laundry into piles, I tend to wash a load as it forms into a good load. Enough to fill the drum loosely.

Never mix Whites or items with large white patches in with darks.

Roughly a good guide to sorting would be would be.

Whites like tea towels, bed linen if its white, towels white shirts if white etc.

Dark towels/Coloured towels alone - never mix them though, seperate loads for each.

Dark items like t shirts, trousers, etc - look at the label to confirm its cotton or polyester/acrylic etc.

Jeans and underwear if its dark or medium in colour, dark socks etc

Wooly Jumpers and knitted items.

Now.

Whites, wash on the 95*c programme. Its letter "C" I think on those. Whites.

Jeans and under wear Letter F 40 Non Fast cottons

Towels, Letter D Colourfast Cottons

Woolens Letter G Woolens

T shirts trousers etc Letter M if its of a synthetic fibre. F if its cottons.

That should get you by on most things.

Remember ignore the times the machine takes it really should be done properly. Just wondering what washing powder you use, that sometimes makes a difference too.

aquarius1984 · Oct 23, 2011

If its any use further or your not sure drop me a line and il quite happily ring you

aquarius1984 · Oct 23, 2011

Oh yes I forgot to say if you have pastel coloured garments of cotton they can be washed on 60 cottons letter D. Synthetics on L or M.

A rule of thumb is to keep similar colours together and if its white and has got a fair amount of colour on it then wash on a low temperature wash like F or M depending if its synthetic or cotton.

ronhic · Oct 23, 2011

My condolences to you.

We all have different ways of washing.......and mine are slightly different again.

I wash for 2 people, so there is undoubtedly more than you normally generate in a week, but here we go.

- Whites and business shirts at 40c depending on how dirty, you could go to 60c if they're cotton

- Coloureds - seperated into lights and darks if you have sufficient at 40c

- sheets at 60c

- towels at 60c

Don't be afraid to literally fill the machine either - not 'Pack it', but right to the top of the drum

If collars have a ring, I just dip quickly in water, rub a bar of soap across then rub the collar across itself 2 or 3 times and bung it in the machine. That's all it will need.

I know that people sometimes prefer to do 95c washes, but with the quality of Persil/Ariel etc, there is no need in my opinion. I've washed at those temperatures for over 20 years without an issue - and no smelly machine either.

Make sure you wipe the seal out at the end and leave the door ajar.

paulc · Oct 23, 2011

redrose

Truly sorry to hear about the death of your wife. You have my deepest sympathies.

Welcome to this wonderful site. You will find lot's of advise and help here as there are a few Hoover washing machine experts. I have limited experience of Hoover machines but have learned loads about them on here and by watching video's on youtube. Well done for repairing and managing to keep a lovely machine going.

redrose · Oct 24, 2011

Wow! Thank you very much for all your responses. It's nice to know that there are nice people around. Interesting point about the smelly machine - presumably that's caused by bacterial colonies which seem to thrive on washing powder (ironic).
The main drum bearing is on the way out so I'm going to strip it down and replace it and probably the drum-backplate seal at the same time. Whilst I'm at it I'll power wash all the pipes, soap drawers, cavities, door boot etc. Not the electronics of course

There's a spare parts shop near me which does a good line in old stuff.
Thanks again. I hope I'll be able to help with some queries next time.

Mark.

ronhic · Oct 24, 2011

Mark

It's much more a North American phenomenon than a European or British one aggravated by dumbed down temperature settings, use of liquid detergent and lots of fabric conditioner.

If you're using a powdered detergent and don't go silly with the conditioner, then you'll never have a problem with that machine as far as odours and mould go - especially if you wipe out the seal and leave the door ajar.

matchboxpaul · Oct 28, 2011

Hi Mark.

I own an instruction manual for the A3260 - will take some photos of its pages and will post them here for you to have refer to.

Wont be able to sort until early next week, but rest assured they will be posted.

Paul
p.s congrats on keeping an old machine going - a machine that can be tinkered with, rather than scrapped after 3 years.
If the fancy takes you and you want to know exactly how old your machine is then, next time you take the back off, make note of the serial number:

it will start with '3260' - for the model.
the next single digit is for the year, though you need to know the decade e.g a '3' in your case would be 1983 or a '4' would be 1984.
the next two digits are for the month eg '07' would be July or '11' for November.
the remaining digits are the individual machine identity.

redrose · Oct 28, 2011

Thanks Paul, that would be much appreciated.
Next weekend I'm going to take her to pieces to check the bearings and motor brushes. I'll take some pictures to show you (and the other guys) what state she's in since acquiring her in 1984 as a wedding present.
Mark.

matchboxpaul · Nov 3, 2011

Hi Mark.
Apologies for the delay, but I wanted to photograph the manual in natural daylight and today was the first opportunity (was working from home today).

Here you go then...