ALERT! ALERT! Rare Zanussi FLE 3000 on Ebay!

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Apologies Paul...

if I'd have been a little more pro active in reading your posts I would have emailed you prior to bidding.

Fear not - it's gone to a good home :-)

Saj
 
How do Saj

Dont apologise at all - I am just over the moon that its preserved. That is the main thing and what is most important to me.

I was resigned to the thought that Joe and Jemima Public had won it and that, in the end, it would go the way of many a vintage machine.

Can we expect some piccies of it at all?

Have fun with it, treat it gently and keep it safe and dont ever scrap it. You got a goodun there.
Really pleased
Paul
 
Piccies will soon follow.

I'm amazed at the chronic amount of limescale that is being pumped out after each rinse following a good old 95c wash with some Bold. It still needs a bit of spit and polish but generally is in very good order.

Its been very well looked after and the bloke who had it, purchased it from new and also had the matching dryer which wasnt for sale!

Works splendidly, even down to the distribution during emptying the rinse water (Hotpoint/Hoover style except anticlockwise of course.) And absolutely no bearing rumbles at all. The brush motor is fairly smooth during washing and rinsing and it is incredibly stable (sat in the middle of my mothers kitchen!!! :-))

There is however one issue with it which needs tackling. The armature I think is worn in the motor. There was a little arcing on an interim 500rpm spin and there is a lot of speed fluctuation at higher revs (really noticable at the magic 1000rpm end)I shall check the motor brushes first though.

Piccies within the next 60 mins.
 
if your worried the motor armature is worn don't use it until youve checked it and the brushes, you will do serious damage to it if the carbon is too low!

http://i
 
Wonderful to see Saj

The machine looks a real treat and cant wait to see what you get upto tomorrow with it. Be sure to report back all your findings. Am really interested to know more about the machine.

What were the sellers reasons for getting rid of the machine?

Also, you mention the matching dryer he had! Was it a 'computadry' at all or a top of the range dial control machine? Am really interested to hear whether they did the full matching dryer or not.

Just reposting a link to your photos - took me a while to realise I needed to click elsewhere.

Congratulations on a great buy!
Have fun tomorrow
Paul

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sajid6952/
 
Paul....

It was the TOL dial controlled dryer. Also immaculate. Plastic tinted door. The washer and dryer didn't really go with the rest of the kitchen which was an early 80's brownish tint....divine!

Reason for getting rid of it was purely updating. The blokes 94 year old mother has recently moved to a care home so theyre having her AEG, so it was either sell hers or sell the Zanussi. The couple have had the Zanussi from new and have generally cared very well for it.

It's totally riddled with limescale and the dispenser drawer and housing do not warrant discussion (they're a bit of a state.) Thats tomorrows job.

Weather permitting I'm hoping to get her outside tomorrow and check this motor out because it is a bit of a worry and I'd rather sort it than leave it to drag on longer than it needs to. The original owners have never had anything done to it mechanically before anyway so its probably time something needed a little TLC.
 
FLE3000

Hi Saj,

From the rating plate I can see that this machine was manufactured in the 5th week of 1987.

With regards to the motor, they are officially no longer available although I know of one or two sources if needed as a last resort. The brushes are easily available, although they vary depending on whether you have an AEG, Sole or ZEM motor. All three makes were used on this model.

Tom.
 
Hi Tom.

How do you date Zanussi machines?
Probably me being blind, but i cant see anything on the ratings plate to show he date.
I take it that its like Hotpoint and is in the form of a code, with an associated reference table.

Hi Saj.
Yep the powder drawer area does/did look a tad gunky in your pics.
I wonder if they ever did a full 'computadry' machine to match? Tommmmmm!!!

Enjoy the day
Paul
 
Hi Paul.

There were two numbering systems used for Zanussi machines. The old system was used before January 1987. Here the first four digits of the serial number (F.Nr.) gave the date. For example 8603 would be March 1986. The first two being the year and the last being the month.

In 1987 the Electrolux numbering system was adopted, whereby the first digit of the serial number (F.Nr.) would give the year (in this case 7, meaning 1987), and the next two giving the production week number (in this case 05, meaning week 5).

I'll have a look at the dryer range for you later!

Paul, did you get the message about the timer knob on the Z919T thread?

Tom.

hotpoint9534++8-2-2009-07-54-27.jpg
 
Old date code

Here is the rating plate from my Z9191T. This shows the old numbering system. My machine was made in April 1986.

hotpoint9534++8-2-2009-08-56-11.jpg
 
Hey Saj,

Brilliant machine. Looks fantastic, didn't realise it had a time remaining display, I onl thought these machines displayed the programme number a la Servis Quartz or hotpoint Microtronics.

Will have to check it out for myself soon now you live fairly local again :-)

Take care,

Jon
 
A little update...

Firstly - a few more piccies have been added of the machine (see link)

I've been out in my mothers back yard all day tinkering with it and having a play.

Firstly I did another 95c cottons wash following on from the one last night except this time I added some commercial descaler. Lordie! I checked the filter afterwards and you could seriously have built something that wouldn't have fallen down with the contents of it.

I then decided to give her a whirl with some laundry. Around 1/2 to 2/3rds of a load of cottons and polyester mixes on programme 2 (Cottons 60c) which yielded excellent results - the motor fluctuation has settled down slightly when I did the cycle with some washing in - but it's still an area of concern which I will come back to!

Wash and rinse levels are both the same (high!) Even for a cottons 95 or 60c wash the machine fills almost half way up the door - with a sensible load in the machine due to absorbency, its more like 1/3 up the door once the load is saturated but even so, plenty of water used! Likewise rinsing is of the same water levels with tumbling commencing during filling as the pressure switch engages at the first level about 2 inches above the level of the door gasket.

Interim spins are 500rpm and last for 90 secs or so after rinses 2 and 3 (it does 4.) Final spin is in 3 stages which appears to be 2 mins at 500rpm 3 mins at somewhere about 800-850rpm (ish) and then the final minute at 1000rpm followed by some "fluffing" action involving 3 or 4 anticlockwise tumbles of about 10 seconds each before the end of the cycle.

So all in all - a great buy of which I'm thrilled with. It's now been tucked away into my mothers shed where is sits covered in egyptian cotton towels with its transit bolts back in which is where it will stay for a short time until I can convince my other half that theres no reason why it can't go home and sit alongside the Miele in the utility! :-)

I have had a good look beneath the surface - had the back cover off and had a look underneath and noted a few areas of concern which I intend to get sorted once I get the machine home.

1a) Despite my efforts in descaling it today, there is so much limescale deposit, it's going to take time to shift it, if the door gasket is pulled back you can see it about 5mm thick stuck to the other side of the drum. That will be a work in progress to get it to the standard I'd personally be happy with as there are also limescale deposits still inside the drum. I haven't looked at the heater element yet!!

1b) The dispenser drawer and it's housing. The main wash compartment is stained black and it will not come off - I've tried everything, it's a lost cause as is the fabric conditioner compartment underneath the insert. It is however markedly better than what it was. The recess is caked in years worth of detergent residue which has hardened to form something that won't shift too easily. Still, I have removed the black gunk from it so the deposits aren't really harming anything in the meantime while the machine is tucked away.

2) There is a little surface corrosion on the underside but nothing too worrying though the motor looks a little oxidised on the outside. I have peeled back the sound insulation on the motor and from what I can see at first glance it seems like the motor brushes may have worn unevenly so this of course will be a priority job when I get the machine at home to sort at leisure.

3) The drive belt has seen better days. It's starting to crack in places and is rather dry and brittle.

I did some videos (poor quality as I did them with my mobile) which I will upload to Youtube and provide the link in due course.

I'll shut up for now but will update on developments made. :-)

Saj.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sajid6952/
sajid6952++8-2-2009-16-47-45.jpg
 
Hi Tom.

Thanks for the Zanny dating information. Really very appreciated and should come in useful with future acquisitions.

Thought I had responded with a 'thankyou', or the like, on the other thread for the washcraft dial info, but just been and checked and hadnt.
So apolgies for that one Tom - your info hadnt gone unnoticed and is safely added to my favourites. Again, thanks for the info.

Regards
Paul
 
Hi Saj.

Thanks for the updates and the pictures.

Great that the sellers included the filter spanner too. Our Z919T came with its one as well - hadnt realised you needed a tool to undo the filter and wondered what the hell Rob was holding, when he came out of the sellers house with it.

The computawash really is wonderful and cant wait for further updates, as and when they are ready.

all the best with the maintainance regime.
paul
 
Finally....

Got round to uploading the videos to Youtube which I made when I had the machine in action on Sunday.

Hopefully taking it home within the next few weeks (fingers crossed) so I can get down to the nitty gritty of attending to what needs doing to the machine.

Saj

http://www.youtube.com/Crafetteaway2
 
Have saved to my favourites! Lovely machine it is (yoda speak there!).

Good luck with the tinkering and keep the updated coming.

Really appreciate the info.
Paul
 
Posted these in the blue forum.

Thought they should be posted here too - the forerunner of the FLE3000....

The Zanussi Z2001IZ.

Your FLE3000 Saj, replaced this style of totl Zanussi.

Paul

matchboxpaul++8-6-2009-12-06-8.jpg
 
Unfortunately I think only about four people bought one of these! On all my kitchen and utility room raids I performed, as a kid, I never saw one ever.

Paul

matchboxpaul++8-6-2009-12-07-34.jpg
 
Motor...

Hi Liam

The FLE3000 has a brush motor. Back in the day it was virtually unseen to combine "computerised" technology with an induction motor due to the incompatibility at the time. Of course these days, it's now changed somewhat. Even though it's a brush motor, it retains the classic Zanussi quality of being stable and smooth even at full tilt on final spin. :-).

Paul

The Z2001IZ - Can't say I've ever seen one in the flesh either but they do look magnificent don't they?! Well you never know....one day...!!
 
congratulations saj

congrats on the FLE3000 =] its a fantastic machine,

loves it =] make sure you do a boilwash with loads of suds =]

would love to see a sudslock on this machine

Kyle
 
Aah right, i guess my FL1012 must have a brush motor aswell then - mine sounds exactly like your FLE3000 on the YouTube videos.

They are amazingly smooth & easy on the ears. None of the gritty sounds that you get from newer machines with brush motors. I love listening to mine whiring away.

Have you got any other old Zanussis in your collection?
 
Z2001IS

I am pleased to say I have seen a Z2001IS in the flesh. My neighbour had one. It looked amazing and was very solid. Alas I never saw it in operation as it wasn't a house I was in very often. I wonder what happened to it. Imagine if one popped up on ebay. There would no doubt be a stampede! Lol

Steve
 
Thanks Tom, it had been bugging me - Im not quite at the stage where im happy to start dismantling the machines to find these things out!

I must try & clear some space in the garage so i can get to the information plate & try & work out the date of manufacture. So far i know it was between 1986 & 1989, but other than that, not sure as id not seen how the Zanussi dating system worked until a few days ago.
 
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