Australian Market Hoover 455 Washer & 155 Dryer

[crouzet951]

When I first bought the 455 in 1980, and for quite a few years afterward, anyone I mentioned it to thought I was crazy. They were shocked at the length of time the cycles took, while advantages like virtually no lint generated and far more efficient spin drying fell on deaf ears.

At that time, Australians loved their big top loaders that used 200 to 300 litres of water per load. Of course to be fair, the big machines could take double the load of mine and cycle time was usually 20 mins or so.

 

[optima]

Hoover 455

Never could get my head around why top loaders were the norm in Australia rather than front loaders that use far less water, it's always got me thinking why.

 

[rapunzel]

"Never could get my head around...

...why top loaders were the norm in Australia"

Why not? We may be an ex-English colony, but that never meant that we had to import exclusively from the UK. We are not that far away from the US either. Americans brought their products and technologies to Australia and these were modified to fit in with the Australian way of life. And life in Australia isn't a desert, it's a dessert.

The rebate scheme encouraged Aussie consumers to try out front loaders, which have gained market share, but as these machines are now approaching the end of their life cycle, consumers are not necessarily replacing them with another front loader.

 

[twinniefan]

Don't forget twin tubs

Hi guys,
John your picture of the little big wash advertisement bought back memories from my childhood, indeed my mother almost purchased a 455 but decided to go with a Westinghouse top loader instead because of larger size capacity etc.
Optima, I guess we collectively decided to follow America and go with large top loaders, however do not forget that twin tubs had a fair chunk of the market in those days too, especially the ever reliable Hoovermatic.
Cheers
Steve.

 

[meadowbank]

Hello John,
Some points that may be of interest with your 455 rebuild:
1. If your outer tub is completely rusted out you can fit a chrome iron tub from a late series Australian machine with the dispenser draw. It is a direct swap and gives you the option of fitting the Australian suspension rubber system which prevents the tub from twisting in the shell. This system was designed in the UK but not used for cost reasons. I have done this tub swap in the past to a 455, although it reduces the authenticity it keeps the machine going.
2. The correct bearings for the back plate are large clearance bearings with the designation C4. As the bearings are a shrink fit in the back plate some of the clearance in the bearings is taken up, this reduced clearance could(?) shorten the life of standard clearance bearings. For the larger bearing near the seal (6005) the best type is a bearing with a contact seal. In the NSK range it is designated as a DU bearing with a seal on one side and DDU with seals on both sides, the seals are usually a rust red colour. For the NTN range the designation is LU/LLU and the colour is blue.
3. Be careful with heater wattages. The Australian machines used a higher wattage heater and heated the water without agitating the clothes, that is the wash motor and heater were not used at the same time. This was done to simplify and cost reduce the timer(one motor) and reduce the wash cycle time by heating the water more quickly. Fitting an Australian heater to a 455 would exceed the allowable 2400 watt load by a significant amount and may cause a fire.
4. If you are rebuilding the wash motor do not use the contact seal type bearings as described above as they are not capable taking the high motor speed, too much heat build up from the seals. These motors are capable of very high speeds when run directly on mains voltage, as they are in the spin cycle. I had one recently which ran up to 22000 RPM unloaded.
5. When you are taking the rear end shield (non pulley end) off the wash motor the plastic plug assembly can be passed through the cut out in the end shield so that you do not have to disconnect any wires.

This has been a bit technical so apologies to those with little interest in this area.
John, do you have any information on the Philips 3600F, this was a model manufactured for Philips by Hoover Australia. It was a standard Hoover machine with a horrible two tone brown facia and knob, the shell was painted a fawn colour from memory. I have an instruction book for this machine as well as some trim parts but alas not a complete machine. There were also top loader Philips models made as well.

http://t

 

[meadowbank]

Unintended link

Not sure what happened in my last post but a link was included which was not intended.

 

[crouzet951]

My apologies for not answering sooner.

Hi Steve (twinniefan)

Thanks for the comment. I hate to admit it, but the 455 ad was liberated from a Readers Digest in a dentist waiting room in the early 80s. My need was greater. Hehe.

I'm about to post some Aus Hoover brochures and there's something for Hoovermatic fans.

Hi meadowbank

Thanks for all the fantastic advice.

I am now keeping a look out for a late outer tub for future installation. Luckily my vitreous enamel inner tub is in very good condition.

I was going to use a Stokes drum bearing kit (purchased some time ago when they actually had parts for these machines) which has SKF bearings (made in France) included - nos. 6004-2RSH & 6005-2RSH. Both bearings have contact seals on both sides. Do you think they'll be OK, or should I go for NSK or NTN ?

Another thing is that the bearing nearest the seal had seized, and there's a groove in the shaft, so the spider/shaft is unusable. I have the old spider off my parents' 525 when I replaced it about 10 years ago. It's only slightly worn where the oil seal has made a small groove, but it will be fine using the carbon seal. Neither Electrolux nor Stokes can now supply a new spider.

The $64,000 question - what do you suggest to retain the counterface on the spider? I was going to use a waterproof epoxy putty product obtained from Bunnings, as this coming loose last time was what let water in to destroy the bearing and the shaft.

Fingers crossed that the element holds out as the machine is pretty much useless without it.

Your advice on the motor bearings is very interesting. There are a couple of UK online parts sites that have genuine Hoover motor bearing kits, but after emailing them they don't send parts outside the UK. Very frustrating. They also have new spider kits which is doubly frustrating. I used the UK model A3090 when searching these sites as it is similar to the 455 (720rpm spin and AC brush motor). You can see on the images of the kit that the bearings are non-contact seal type.

What I might do is get the motor bearings out, and hopefully the type numbers will be visible. Thanks also for the advice about the plug assembly.

It's funny you should mention the Philips 3600F. As mentioned above I've been scanning some Aus brochures and this machine has been briefly mentioned. From somewhere in the past a photocopy of the instruction manual is in my possession (can't remember where from), but I do remember seeing them in the shops. It would be fascinating to see one in the flesh now as it'd be doubtful that very many were made.

My scans are about to be uploaded, along with what were going to be simple notes about each model. These have become something like War And Peace. Hehe. Please let me know if there are any errors.

Thanks again to you, and all people on this site. The enthusiasm has been infectious.

Kind regards
John

http://www.diy-spares.com/cgi-bin/product.pl?PID=644665&query=hoover%20a3090%20&model=a3090

 

[twinniefan]

Philips range

Hi Meadowbank,
I remember the Philips range they were called the "Gentle Care" range and it consisted of 3600F you mention, a twin tub and 2 top loaders. from memory the top loaders were simply a rebadged Hoover 720 and 730, the front loader was a rebadged Zodiac, (I think.) but the twin tub was definitely not a Hoovermatic, it was more like a Hitachi twin tub.
I do remember seeing a few tv ads about them and an ad in a magazine.
The advertising concentrated on how gentle these washers allegedly were because in some tests paper tissues were put in the wash and apparently did not fall apart.
I kind of remember the various washing actions being described as "Pendulum washing action" for the F.L., a reversing pulsator action for the t.t. and I think "Heli-Swirl" wash action for the t.l.'s, but I could be wrong on that one.
Hope this info helps.
Regards,
Steve.

 

[rapunzel]

I recall the Philips top loaders also. They had the same spiral agitator as Hoover, but, from memory, I think their wash action was intermittent agitation and soaking for gentler care and to differentiate them from their Hoover cousins.

 

[meadowbank]

Philips toploaders

Hello John, Steve & Repunzel.
The Philips toploaders were numbered 3800A (=720) and 3820A (=730). I have a combined instruction book for these machines, it does not go into any technical details so I don't know about wash action differences compared with Hoover.

John, I would expect the standard bearings you have would be OK for the drum so long as there is no tightness when the drum is rotated with the belt off.
I have repaired a machine which had the same seal failure as yours. Getting the spider clean where the counterface mounts was the issue with this machine as well. The factory used a good quality silicon sealant on the new surfaces, unless you can mechanically clean the aluminium surface to the new metal I suspect you will have the same problem again. Another option is to use the lip seal with a thin stainless sleeve over the previously worn area of the spider shaft. These sleeves are called SPEEDY SLEEVES and are available from bearing suppliers. The lip seal got a bad name when it was introduced because of bearing failures however the failures were not usually caused by the seal but by incorrect assembly of the bearings into the backplate. The bearings were contaminated with an etching protection put onto the backplate.
For the motor, any good quality bearings that do not have contact seals would be fine.
The numbers for the model 490/495 were A3738 & A3740 respectively and the dates were April May 1988. A few weeks ago I acquired a prototype machine which has a hand adapted shell, probably from a 490, which has all of the (then) new parts fitted for a 525 model.

 

[crouzet951]

Thanks to all for information on the Philips machines.

Hi meadowbank

Your information about the bearing contamination is interesting. The new backplate (from a 525) for the 455, purchased in 2001, had bearings (Japanese NSK) already installed, though failure in this case was almost definitely caused by the counterface coming loose.

Yesterday as well, when getting the bearings out of the backplate, the outer bearing came out normally, but the rusty and seized inner one was solid. It wasn't coming out without a fight. I ended up heating the centre of the backplate over a solid electric cooktop for 15 minutes or so, then quickly getting the backplate into position to tap out the inner bearing and tipping ice cubes down the centre to hopefully shrink the inner bearing a little. It worked a treat. Whew! The outer race bores in the backplate look fine.

Yesterday too, I drilled out the rivets attaching the spider to the 455 drum, as it had to come off whichever way due to the inner bearing seizing and scoring the shaft. Looking at the 455 spider after it's cleaned up a bit, and the old one from my parents' 525, they are quite different where the shaft joins the alloy spider. A couple of images are attached.

The image attached to this posting is the 455 spider. It's a bit hard to see but the area around the shaft is a shallow cone shape, though of very rough finish. I would even be worried how true the area was for mounting the counterface.

The image attached to my next posting is the old 525 spider. The area around the shaft where it meets the alloy spider is completely flat. It's not machined, and there is a trace of moulding flash, but it looks quite true. It's probably more suitable for the counterface than the 455 spider ever was. I will check out the Speedy Sleeve as well.

I'm still slightly hopeful of obtaining a new spider as a company called Big Warehouse Spares still lists new spider kits. They confirmed by email that they're still available, and it's been ordered, but I'll still believe it when I see it. If it arrives I'll definitely use the oil seal.

One last question, does the grooved or plain side of the counterface face the carbon seal?

Are you able to post images of your 525 prototype as I for one would love to see them.

Thanks once again for your expertise. It has been invaluable.

Best regards
John

 

[crouzet951]

Refer to posting 690789

Hi meadowbank.

This is the 525 spider described in the above posting.

 

[meadowbank]

Spiders and seals

Hello John,

A few answers: I have never seen a 455 spider without the seal but I expect that it would be like the picture of an early Australian spider I have shown. There are a series of concentric rings probably to increase the surface area for the adhesive to adhere to.
The grooved face of the counterface abuts against the spider, on the samples I have the grooved face is a poorer surface finish.

And a few suggestions: There were two types of bellows seal available and they both had occasional leaking problems. One has a plated steel ring which held the carbon seal face into the rubber of the bellows, these leaked at this joint and the steel ring eventually rusted which meant failure. And the other (the only one which Hoover Australia used)leaked where it was fitted into the backplate. The carbon seal face is bonded to the rubber on this seal. In production this seal was fitted with a bead of silicon rubber the same as the counterface. I would suggest doing the same.
I have included a picture of a spider arm to show a chamfer on the very end. I suggest that you do this to your spider as on some backplates there is reduced clearance and the spider can contact the backplate in extreme out of balance conditions- makes a very load noise.
I have also included a picture of the factory service tools for bearing removal.
The long knurled part is used to punch the bearings out and the collars are used with the cap screw to pull both bearings into position. The large washer is used to fit the later 'oil seal' type of seal.

I will post a picture of the prototype machine later, it is in storage under the house at the moment and is difficult to get at easily.

 

[meadowbank]

see 691104

Picture of spider arm modifications.

 

[meadowbank]

see 691104

Service tools for Hoover frontloader bearing replacement.

 

[crouzet951]

Thanks again meadowbank for the fantastic information.

The company supposedly supplying the new spider emailed me today to say there'll be a slight delay. Fingers are still crossed, hoping a new spider will arrive. It would save me so many problems.

The backplate bearings aren't too difficult to remove and replace, but those tools sure would have made it much easier.

I went to SKF at Archerfield yesterday and obtained the motor bearings - non contact seal type as you mentioned. The armature has been sent to an electric motor firm to lathe and tidy up the commutator. There's still a lot of meat on it thankfully.

The motor on my 455 currently (the one being overhauled now) is actually an Australian built one from a 470. A friend of mine gave me this hardly used 470 motor in the early 90s. The original one on the 455 was starting to get a bit noisy so I swapped them. The only problem run into was that the original British motor on the 455 had a different power connector. It used round terminals, and the tachometer coil was connected via wires to the socket on the motor, rather than the Aus motor using spade terminals, and the two terminals from the coil poking through the plastic cover in the socket. Luckily at the time I had a correct 470 type plug and proper spade terminals, so it is connected correctly.

I had always surmised that the UK models simply had a different connector, but looking at the exploded view of the 3236H motor from the parts list, the plastic cover, spade terminals, and fixed terminals on the tacho coil are the same as the 470 motor. It is the 455 motor that is different. I wonder if one of our UK based friends can confirm the plug and socket change on the motors of later machines. The 455 manufacture date is February 1979.

Perhaps with the advent of the 1100rpm machines, the original plug was working loose and/or damaging the tacho coil via the fixed lugs, so they changed to a plug with locking tabs to solve the problem. They then perhaps standardised this socket on all motors, even the 720 rpm models. The 455 parts listing does not show this round connector type motor either, so it must only be the later ones fitted with it.

Attached is an image of the end of the original 455 motor with the matching plug sitting on top, showing the round terminals and the locking tabs.

On the follow up posting is an image comparing both rear covers and sockets.

Many thanks again and I hope these postings are not too boring for everyone, so apologies if they are.

John

 

[crouzet951]

Refer to posting 691513

Original UK 455 motor on the left, Aus motor on the right.

 

[meadowbank]

Hoover frontloader motors

Hello John,
I don't know which plug/socket was fitted to the 3236H but the control module was different and called a 'DC module' were as the 455 and latter were called 'AC modules'. I suspect the motors were different as well. When the 465 was introduced the motors used were imported from the UK and had the round pins. In Aust. the reliability reports indicated that the round pin plug and socket were not as good as the flat pin assy. so the flat pin assy. was reintroduced. If this was when the Aust. motor was introduced I don't know, but the flat pin assy. was used until the introduction of the induction motor.
If you have any issues with the motor armature I have new spares. As well are you aware that you should check the motor speed in the distribute cycle and adjust it if it is out of spec. especially after any work has been done or parts swapped?

 

[crouzet951]

Hello meadowbank

Sorry, in my wild theorising about plugs shaking loose in posting 691513, I failed to realise that the spade type connector plug has locking tabs as well (Image attached).

It looks like my current setup is best to stick with after reading your information regarding the two plugs. Thank you for the offer of a new armature. The armature in the original 455 motor is in good order, so I have a spare.

In the image of the rear of the machine above, the little Whiteout dot can be seen on one of the pulley spokes used to check distribution speed after swapping the motor over. I hadn't thought of doing that again, but I will now when reassembled.

Cheers John

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi John.

The repair is moving on then?
Certainly the pictures you have posted of the rebuild so far jog the memories of mine and Mathew's 3236H.
As you can see, your 455 is in much better condition than the 3236H, but then the 3236H did survive by the skin of its teeth for probably 20 years in a derelict school....