Finally its happened to me right in front of my eyes but words cant describe it

[electron1100]

3203

AWWWW dont yah just wanna go up and hug it .......lovely lovely..........except for the that flashy ORANGE keyplate doesnt match the machine yerr need to get rid of that Mathew

it looks lovely Mathew and the fot is good aswell.

Well, I spent a few hours with mine this morning, fitted new drive belt, the repaired inlet valve works fine, repaired pump started leaking, i think this time from the actual seal (back to the drawing board), then...........the tub outlet hose started dripping........oh and the new outlet hose.............I snagged it......

So replaced tub hose, put back later hoover pump and gaff taped the outlet hose. all good

Put it on a "heavy soil coloureds" wash, high level pre-wash... great (green light lit up...........emptied went onto the main wash (hot fill only)..............gaaaaaaa hardly any water getting through, checked everything and decided it was the inlet valve.......replaced it with another hot water inlet valveer flooding into soap draw, success wat........went through wash programme (interesting mix of gentle/normal wash action with a no agitation heating stage, then back to normal wash action with heating, oh yes main wash blue light on.........then went into rinse cycles and final long spin.............very happy that programmer etc side is fine...........

I like this machine more and more even though it is testing me at times but nothing terrible

The inlet valve problem is due to a small rubber bung that sits on the end of the steel shaft that is drawn downwards when the coil is energised, this bung swells up with age, and catches the tube it sits in so i have carefully trimmed the rubber bung on the sides so it moves freely in and out.

Well next week if i am lucky i actually do a wash in him.......yah never know

Tata

Gary

 

[foraloysius]

Nice to see all those Keymatics, isn't it wonderful that there are so many of such characteristic machines still exist? I have a 3226. There are a few things missing, but the motor and the timer are working.

 

[electron1100]

KEYMATICS

It is I think testimony to the build qaulity not only of these machines but others aswell that we find are basically working...........

 

[chestermikeuk]

Powder Tray

Thanks for the pics Gary, this type of detergent dispenser was only ever used on the series of machine!! from the inside does the water just come in through the two holes or does it have a spray or filters throughout the tray with lots of holes etc??

You could certainly imagine there would be a flood when opening the drawer due to how near the front of the tray they are...

Mathew, pics are great, no probs!!!look forward to seeing more!!!

Cheers, Mike

 

[launderess]

Well Done

Need to add this above pride and place

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[chestermikeuk]

Who`s Is This...!!!!

Ohhhh Just look at these beautys!!! more pics added to Alan & George..yayyyy...!!! Mathew..It Could be yours!!!

Hoover: Factory Floor

 

[chestermikeuk]

And The Beginning...!!!!

All Thanks to Mr Gibson of Bellvue, Iowa, & Mr. Colston, MD of Hoover UK for running with the idea.....I heard they met on one of the "Hoover Camps" annual big meets in North Canton.....small world, big business...

Official Opening of Hoover Factory

Photographs of the Official Opening of Hoover Washing Machines' Factory in Merthyr Tydfil, October 1948.

www.alangeorge.co.uk

 

[seamusuk]

So according to the above advert there were more than 285,00

Surely theres more out there waiting to be discovered then

Seamus

 

[electron1100]

Soap Draw Mike

Hello Mike

There are circular rings under the tubes where they go into the soap draw, these have i think about 4 holes in them that fire the water in all directions, it certainly works well, and yes the force and amount of water in there whilst it is filling could cause problems if you opened the draw, but this has a cut out switch on that switches off the machine if you do this

I am still puzzled as to how to remove the soap draw........ah well it will reveal itself in time.

The fot of all those Keymatics is stunning, where are they all now as Seamus asks

Also that website about Hoover is compulsive viewing some one should make a programme about Hoover and release it.....that would be brilliant

Right i might get a chance this week to do a wash which i shall vid for youtube ill let you all know

Again thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread
Gary

 

[meadowbank]

Australian Machines

Australian keymatic/frontloader history.
I watch this site occasionally and can help answer some of the questions that have been asked about Australian made machines, I would also like to ask some questions as well.
The Australian produced slant front K/M was withdrawn from the market due to falling sales caused by reliability problems, bearing failure mainly. The problem was fixed towards the end but it was too late to revive the sales (this was before my time
so I am only repeating what I was told).
In the mid to late 1960’s four wide cabinet K/Ms were imported from the UK for evaluation, two 3203H’s and two 3223H’s. (possibly at different times, were these in production at the same time?).
Management had doubts about their reliability so no more were imported. At this time the company had its hands full setting up production of a large top loading automatic based on a design from the Blackstone company in the U.S. this was called the 500 series, see mayfan’s collection for a picture of one. The four K/Ms sat in a storage area until the late 70s and were then sold. I bought one, a 3203, and later acquired one of the 3206’s for spares. Both eventually failed in the key programming mechanism and were scrapped. I still have some parts, motors, hoses etc. which I would be happy to part with for nothing, but the transport costs would have to be paid. When I pulled them apart I was able to compare the drum sizes with a later front loader and there was not a lot of difference, the K/M drum was only slightly larger in diameter.
When the matchbox (where does this name come from?) models became available
The 3236H model was imported and sold in Aust. This was replaced by the black facia 3072 when this became available. (Why are the numbers out of order?) This machine was sold with the marketing number of 455 and the later Australian models followed this numbering sequence. In about 1977 it was decided to setup for production of front loaders in Aust. Twenty 3072’s were set aside and their major parts numbered, they were fitted with a timer with locally derived programs- no prewash, shorter wash times and a modified heater sequence. The graphics on the control panel were made to resemble a top loader because the UK system was more suited to the garment labelling system used there but not used in Aust. Other locally sourced parts were fitted where available and a screw was put into the draw assembly to make it unusable, the first Australian models were to have no draw as it was too expensive. The company was not making any money from the imported machines so the local production had to be cost reduced. Of the twenty ‘prototype’ machines number 4 is still in everyday use but it has been updated with a stainless inner and outer tub from a later machine.
The first Australian machine was the 465 / A3086 heater model, the 5 in the 465 denoting the heater. All production machines start with serial number 10,001, and preproduction or trial run machines start at 9800, I had number 10, 001 for some time but it was sold which I now regret. The new machine sold reasonably well but many people requested a model without a heater so the model 460 was introduced some months later, from memory this was to become the most popular model.
The subsequent models have been described earlier in this thread.
The machine was finally withdrawn from production because of tooling costs, the dies for the tub backplate and the door glass had become unusable and the cost to replace them was not justifiable on the quantities of machines being sold.
I hope this helps fill in a few gaps and is of interest. MB.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Wow......

many thanks for the information. thoroughly fascinating stuff and definately appears to fill a bit of a void in peoples knowledge of the old Keys!
Many thanks for posting the info and welcome to the club!

You ask about the widebody models.
My understanding of their production dates is roughly:

3224 slanted - 1961 to 1964
3226 slanted - 1964 to 1967
3203 widebody (cold fill only) - 1967 to 1968
3203H widebody (hot and cold fill) - 1968 to 1969
& finally
3223H the last widebody (equipped with powder drawer) - 1969 to 1971/72ish.

The 3223H ran alongside the 3235 and 3236H Matchboxes for a year or so, until Gary's machine was introduced. Obviously spent a little bit longer tinkering with the 3243H design before releasing it.

Going by the dates therefore, I would have thought that the imported widebodies would have appeared in Australia over tha last couple of years of the 1960's. unless they all arrived as one job lot giving the people in Australia the chance to test the two versions.

The term 'MATCHBOX' derives from the way that the machines were advertsied. To emphasise their slim proportions, when compared to what had gone before, the advertising people coined the slogan 'New Hoover Automatics - fit in a Matchbox (Well almost!)'. The pictures portrayed the machines emerging from within a matchbox.

You obviously have had/got a major connection with Hoover Australia and am really intrigued to see the Australian version of the 3236H (or any of the australian version early machines).
You mention 'prototype 4' still being in everyday use! Would that machine be yours? Is there any possibility of posting a picture or two of it?

Below is a picture of the 3236H being advertised in 1971. This is the version that my parents were bought (with matching dryer) as a wedding present, from my mothers parents.
Did the Australian version look identical to this UK version, or were there styling differences at all?

MB - many thanks for taking the time to post your information. It has got me really interested in another branch of Hoover automatic production. You have me thoroughly intrigued!

many thanks and eagerly await any further tit-bits.
Regards
Paul

 

[matchboxpaul]

and all three versions.

left to right:

the 3236H Hot and Cold fill 'Automatic De Luxe'
the 3243H Keymatic De Luxe
&
the 3235 Cold fill only 'Automatic'

The early versions of the 3235 had the half panel that you can see here. Later versions saw the panel extended to full width, but still without the powder drawer (I posted a piccy of the later vesrion earlier in the thread).

Wonderful machines.
Paul

 

[matchboxpaul]

and a nice piccy of the Australian 'Zodiac 12'.

This would be a late 1980s machine?

Paul

 

[paulc]

My best friend's Mum at primary school had the 3236h, I remember it and an "A" "B" button ( normal and delicates I think ) and an emamel drum.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Has anyone seen, have or had the Hoover Keymatic pictured in post#338756 above - 4th machine in the 1st column (has buttons and knobs on the top instead of the front and looks like it has a LCD display)?

 

[matchboxpaul]

Built to do battle with the 3223H

Hi Paul. The old 'A/B' button.
Simply resulted in long or short spins, but still at 720rpm. Cant remember how long the short spin lasted, but i think the long spin was 4 minutes.

Hi Melvin. If the machine you mean is the wide one, with the flush, chrome square door, then what you are referring to is one of the Holy Grail machines still to be found. Not actually a Hoover machine, but a product of their biggest UK foe - Hotpoint!
It is Hotpoint UK's very first front loading automatic - the 1600 - introduced in 1969.
A very advanced machine for its day - too advanced some would say. It boasted a whopping 1100rpm spin speed - bear in mind this was 1969!
Problem was that it used to vibrate and dance quite a lot.
Replaced by the model 1830 in 1973 - same machine, but with Hotpoints new purple styling - it was quietly discontinued in 1974ish.
The machine has the facia on the top front, with programmer dial, timeline, door release switch and a mystery option switch - anyone know what this was for?

To the best of my knowledge, no mass produced machine would reach the dizzying heights of 1100rpm until Hoover's A3060 Electronic 1100, A3062 Keymatic 1100 and A3064 Selectamatic 1100 in 1978.

No model 1600 has yet been found.
Paul

 

[paulc]

Paul

I have actually seen one in person.....all be it I was about seven and it was not in operation but truly a beautiful machine. I wonder if there are any still knocking about, we can but hope!!!

 

[keymatic3203]

mystery switch

Paul, as an educated guess, I would say the mystery switch would be similar to the A/B on the hoovers, as with the timer would have done a complete circuit per wash, as the toploaders and matchboxes, so to get the synthetics you would need a `short spin or no spin' option, just a guess. the same way the hotpoint toploaders had the two dials. and of couse spinning at 1100, it would need a synthetics option. See you later Mathew

 

[keymatic3203]

mystery switch

Paul, as an educated guess, I would say the mystery switch would be similar to the A/B on the hoovers, as the timer would have done a complete circuit per wash, as the toploaders and matchboxes, so to get the synthetics you would need a `short spin or no spin' option, just a guess. the same way the hotpoint toploaders had the two dials. and of couse spinning at 1100, it would need a synthetics option. See you later Mathew

 

[paulc]

mystery switch

The Indesit L5 had a switch to reduce wash action and spin for synthetics......although reducing the spin was pretty pointless as a spin of 380rpm is hardly Hotpoint or Hoover standards!