liberator1509
Well-known member
Hey Rich - another fab machine!
Hi Rich and all on AW
What a fantastic machine – really good to see a 1504 once again, and in good nick for a machine that is as old as me!!
It might be worth pointing out a few things about this range – US members have spotted the GE Fliter-flo connection, but in fact GE (the US organisation) did not have an interest in Hotpoint when this machine was introduced. Hotpoint did import GE small appliances in the 1920s, but this was a short-lived venture. By the 30s, the UK Hotpoint company was part of AEI and the 1500 series Top Loader was introduced under AEI ownership. Elements of the design were probably licensed from GE and certainly it is very similar under-the-skirt, but this was never acknowledged as far as I know – not even when AEI sold the rights to Fisher and Paykel! Interestingly AEI were only able to use the Hotpoint brand for the UK market, using Gala for its considerable export market until the mid 1970s, for of course GE US had the rights to that brand elsewhere. A GE tie-in did re-emerge (known as GDA – General Domestic Appliances) shortly before the company was sold to Indesit.
The infamous static first rinse was a feature on machines from the 1502 to the 15790 (i.e. from 1968 to 1982), and it did serve a purpose! There are a few fundamental differences between the GE and AEI design – the AEI machines do not spin after the wash and nor do they spray-rinse (they also neutral drain and, of course, self-heat). In an era when most washing powders were ‘high-suds’, an agitated first rinse without a spin and spray rinse would just whip up more suds, so the first rinse aimed to kill suds with a cold soak followed by spin (rather like rinsing in a twin tub). It did work – in my 9605 (the very last model made, and of course designed for low-suds powder) the agitated first rinse whips up almost as much suds as the wash if high-suds powder is used.
Rich’s 1504 has the earlier four-pole motor (found from 1500 to 1504) which runs at half the speed of the later smaller ones (see Mike’s pic), but has twice the torque. The result is of course much, much quieter, stronger and smoother than the later models, and probably accounts for this machine still going strong today – Rich’s machine is incredibly quiet!
The clutch is a centrifugal slip-clutch under the motor, which serves two purposes – it can slip to allow the pump to run with the wash tub brake locked and once the brake is released, it also allows a slow build-up of the spin-speed as water is thrown from the clothes. In my experience, clutches would wear out after about five or six years in average use. As the clutch wears, the machine is less able to pull the tub into spin. A clutch burning every year would suggest extraordinarily heavy use, or a problem with the transmission. The pumps also tended to leak and require periodic replacement. The transmission locks the tub in wash mode (it shouldn’t rotate) and the power unit drives the Spiraclean Gryator (Hotpoint’s on and off term for an agitator), and the two way pump re-circulates through the filter-clean tray. For pump-out, the motor reverses, and the break is released to allow the tub to spin. A brilliant and clever design!
Rich your 1504 is fantastic - it is great that you have saved one of these, and it will go for years! Makes me think that if a 1502 ever appears, I'll HAVE to get it past him indoors!! See ya soon again...
D
Hi Rich and all on AW
What a fantastic machine – really good to see a 1504 once again, and in good nick for a machine that is as old as me!!
It might be worth pointing out a few things about this range – US members have spotted the GE Fliter-flo connection, but in fact GE (the US organisation) did not have an interest in Hotpoint when this machine was introduced. Hotpoint did import GE small appliances in the 1920s, but this was a short-lived venture. By the 30s, the UK Hotpoint company was part of AEI and the 1500 series Top Loader was introduced under AEI ownership. Elements of the design were probably licensed from GE and certainly it is very similar under-the-skirt, but this was never acknowledged as far as I know – not even when AEI sold the rights to Fisher and Paykel! Interestingly AEI were only able to use the Hotpoint brand for the UK market, using Gala for its considerable export market until the mid 1970s, for of course GE US had the rights to that brand elsewhere. A GE tie-in did re-emerge (known as GDA – General Domestic Appliances) shortly before the company was sold to Indesit.
The infamous static first rinse was a feature on machines from the 1502 to the 15790 (i.e. from 1968 to 1982), and it did serve a purpose! There are a few fundamental differences between the GE and AEI design – the AEI machines do not spin after the wash and nor do they spray-rinse (they also neutral drain and, of course, self-heat). In an era when most washing powders were ‘high-suds’, an agitated first rinse without a spin and spray rinse would just whip up more suds, so the first rinse aimed to kill suds with a cold soak followed by spin (rather like rinsing in a twin tub). It did work – in my 9605 (the very last model made, and of course designed for low-suds powder) the agitated first rinse whips up almost as much suds as the wash if high-suds powder is used.
Rich’s 1504 has the earlier four-pole motor (found from 1500 to 1504) which runs at half the speed of the later smaller ones (see Mike’s pic), but has twice the torque. The result is of course much, much quieter, stronger and smoother than the later models, and probably accounts for this machine still going strong today – Rich’s machine is incredibly quiet!
The clutch is a centrifugal slip-clutch under the motor, which serves two purposes – it can slip to allow the pump to run with the wash tub brake locked and once the brake is released, it also allows a slow build-up of the spin-speed as water is thrown from the clothes. In my experience, clutches would wear out after about five or six years in average use. As the clutch wears, the machine is less able to pull the tub into spin. A clutch burning every year would suggest extraordinarily heavy use, or a problem with the transmission. The pumps also tended to leak and require periodic replacement. The transmission locks the tub in wash mode (it shouldn’t rotate) and the power unit drives the Spiraclean Gryator (Hotpoint’s on and off term for an agitator), and the two way pump re-circulates through the filter-clean tray. For pump-out, the motor reverses, and the break is released to allow the tub to spin. A brilliant and clever design!
Rich your 1504 is fantastic - it is great that you have saved one of these, and it will go for years! Makes me think that if a 1502 ever appears, I'll HAVE to get it past him indoors!! See ya soon again...
D
