Hoovermatic saved from the tip

[anthony]

Hi all
this machine was in a bungalow that some friends of mine just bought .the bungalow had belonged to an old lady and had been sold after her death complete with all its contents .The Hoovermatic was in the corner of the kitchen with 1960s kitchen units built around it in such a way that it could not have been moved without removing some of the units .Part of the FORMICA worktop was hinged and had a clasp fixed to the wall to keep it up while the machine was in use access to the control on the front was through a drawer front that was also hinged to drop down.The whole thing was so well made that we didnt even know the machine was there till we started to dismantle the kitchen.It was destined for the tip along with an old gas stove and an Ascot water heater.I asked if i could have the machine and was told yes as long as you get the thing out yourself.The machine was literally stuck to the wall with cobwebs but i got it out and into my car and its now in its new home [my shed]I can only imagine that the machine may of stopped working and rather than pull the kitchen to bits the owners decided to just leave it where it was.Apart fron the surface rust on the cabinet its in very good condition of course everything is seized up nothing will move at least not yet.I havnt had the back of yet but i have had a look underneath and all the rubber hoses still feel quite supple.The old round pin plug gives some indication of when the machine was last used.Another odd thing is the length of the mains lead [6mtres]I have never seen a tt with such a long flex .Yes i can hear you all saying nothing unusual there someone must have fitted a long lead to it.The unusual thing is that the cable has not been changed and is genuine ribbed Hoover cable [same colour as the cabinet base

 

[anthony]

pic 2

 

[anthony]

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[anthony]

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[anthony]

inside

will have a look insid tmro and take some phtos

 

[keymatic]

Nice find Anthony !!! Rubbish tips can harbour many treasures
I took an Ada Coronation washer to the tip this morning...it was totally knackered, but complete.
Cheers
Keith

 

[anthony]

Did a bit more investigating today and evicted hoards of spiders [they have all taken up residence in my shed hoover.Well all i can say is i have seen worse on newer machines .A couple of perished hoses but apart from that its not to bad the only real problem is the spin motor armature [its toast]Both pumps were full of crap but they have cleaned up nicely .The pulsator was stuck fast but that also has freed up and after a clean and a lube is running smoothly.the water valve was full of dried soap i usually soak anything like this in hot water with a dishwasher tablet .Thats it for now guys will do a little more tmro heres a few more photos .Anyone in the UK got an armature they want to sell ?

 

[anthony]

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[anthony]

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[anthony]

wash motor

been dismantled and cleaned inside and out bit of lube and it runs like a dream apart from the rush of air from the fan its almost silent

 

[anthony]

both this and the valve are having an overnight soak

 

[anthony]

outer spin chamber

one side has been cleaned with a brillo pad.The stuff in the bottom is the remains of another old repair i will remove this and do it all again

 

[anthony]

outer spin chamber

one side has been cleaned with a brillo pad.The stuff in the bottom is the remains of another old repair i will remove this and do it all again

 

[anthony]

no luck with the armature

seems these are practically imposible to get hold of now looks like i will just have to put the whole thing on hold for a while .i wonder if hoover used this armature in any of there other machines anyone know?

 

[keymatic3203]

Hi Anthony

I can't maker any promises, but I do have a box of boxed armatures and coils from this era of machines, I can't say without checking whether or not I have one, if I do, you're welcome to one.

Mathew

 

[anthony]

thank you Keymatic

that would be great if you had one .I have trawled the internet searching for one but so far had no luck .I have also thought about fitting something else in its place .If i can get the motor working i am going to strip the machine and restore it After some 40 years of fixing these things for a living its great to be able to take my time and do a full restore instead of working against the clock to get a machine back to its owner

 

[anthony]

everything out

Decided to do a full strip down on this machine .In almost 40 years of working on these things i have never gone this far with a strip down but i decided i wanted to give it a really good clean inside and out before i paint it .today i have applied some car body repair filler to the bottom of the outer spin can [inside and out ]as there was an old repair that didn't look to good .its now water tight. A few weeks ago i painted my front door a rather nice shade of blue that just happens to be almost the same colour as the base of the Hoovermatic so i will be giving it a couple of coats of that before it goes back on. Here is a couple of photos to be going on with

 

[anthony]

2

the cleaned up chassis ready for some paint

 

[anthony]

3

hows that for quality .[the three cables in the mains lead have even been tinned] .All you get in a modern machine is a connector block in a plastic bag

 

[anthony]

4

other end of the mains lead has this old fashioned plug that gives some indication of when it was last in service

 

[anthony]

spin can repair

 

[anthony]

inside

I have shaped the filler inside so that water can no longer pool in the bottom and will always flow towards the outlet

 

[keymatic3203]

Hi Anthony

I found one armature that may work for you, it's unused but all it says on the box is `Hoover early spin', it looks similar but not identical, if not I also have an early spinarinse to part out if that motor would fit, i don't know of hand if it would.

It's a shame there are not many 3301L machines out there as I have 3 armatures for those.

Email me a postal address and I'll send it off to you to try.

Mathew

 

[anthony]

thanks Mathew will email you

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoovermatic

Hi Anthony well done for getting stuck in with the restore, have never seen one apart like that before, look forward to seeing and reading how it goes, I do have a spinner motor untested from a scrapper if the armature from Mathew is not suitable, inbox me where you are in UK and will see what we can do..good idea with the spin cans which are prone to holes with the caustic detergents.Did you work for a Hoover dealer then or on all machines ?

All The Best with your restore !!

 

[anthony]

Hi chestermikeuk

The one in the photo looks to be in great nick.The outer spin can just had one or two tiny pin prick holes in it .I have seen them in much worse condition i put this down not rinsing the thing out when finished washing .I have gone well up the sides of the spin can with the car filler and as i said earlier the inside is shaped so the water will always flow towards the drain hole.Today the base has had a coat of blue paint and the inside of the casing has been painted white .The rust was only surface stuff a scrub with a brillo pad removed most of it .I have also coated the resilient bearing rubber part in black bostik whilst its not damaged this will give it some extra protection .The spin can to pump hose has a crack in it but this is not a problem it can be replaced with a cut down sump hose from an old auto washer.To answer your question [did i work for Hoover ]No I worked for a company called HC TROLDHAL[ there parent company being General Motors ]There main machines were Frigidaire but they were agents for Hoover Electrolux Hotpoint and a few other long gone manufacturers.I started as an apprentice back in 1973.I spent most of my apprenticeship with an engineer visiting peoples homes repairing machines so yes i have seen it all.Two days a week i would be sent to the local CO OP to spend the day repairing guarantee stuff that had come back to the shop with a fault there would be lots of machines [washers and vacs]that had been traded in for newer models i would fit new parts or take parts from one and fit them to another to get them working they would then be sold as reconditioned.There was literally tons of stuff scrapped just to make space for more some of those machines quite rare now.I of course could take what i wanted with in reason i remember at one tim i had 14 frigidaire spin dryers in the shed along with no end of vacs.I have ranted on long enough .Thanks for the offer of the motor i would be most interested but lets see what Mathew comes up with first
regards Anthony

 

[anthony]

a bit of painting

got the base and the cabinet done today .I used white Hamerite think it will need a couple of more coats though.The last one is of the rubber trim from the top of the machine with years of crud stuck to it .Its about to have a soak in some very hot soapy water

 

[anthony]

which belt

Can anyone tell me which pump belt for this machine .I have a blue spot and a yellow spot they both look a little small to me .