My Personal Hoover Challenge.....

[matchboxpaul]

I remember those machines

Hi Cbosch - my confusion grows deeper. I was sure that my machine had a powder drawer - the machine always grabbed my attention whenever I saw it as it was VERY (not shouting - just emphasising) similar to my parents 3236h - just a bit fatter!

The attached picture is of the 3221H from the November 1969 Which magazine and was kindly sent to me by Kevin Cox.
Could this be the machine you remember, although it doesn't appear to have an A/B button?

If you were to graft the styling of the red version 3236h matchbox onto this machine (but not replace the programmer knob - as the 3221h's is the right style - i.e not as deep as on the matchboxes), then you would have the machine from my memories.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi there Keith - the quest has developed and the weekend just gone saw me go Hotpoint crazy - I will send you an updated and expanded copy for you to peruse (will send to your advertised e-mail address).
Cheers
paul

 

[cbosch]

Nearly

This machine does ersemble what I remeber but my grnas definitley had a AB selector switch. So many models out there with so many differences I think the model I am thinking about would have been bought 1979/198?. It was a great machine with a wonderful distribute before spin with all the water in the drum . If I remeber it had 7 programmes
B1 Whites, B2 Fast coloureds A3 white synthetics A4 minimum iron B5 non fast coloureds A6 delicates B7 wool. I recall that the A switch simply stopped the machine spinning and it simply did a distribute for the entire spin programme.
The machine ran until 1999 beautiful machine and I miss it.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi Cbosch

Thinking of my options here.

Bought 1978/8 (was it purchased new)?
Was it a 'widebody' machine like the 3221H is OR a 'narrowbody' machine like the 3236H is (see the second post in this thread for the 3236H image).

The wider machines were replaced by the matchbox/narrow series in the early 70's and the matchbox series replaced in the mid 70's.
However some matchbox models continued to be sold through to the late 70's, through dealership exclusive models.
One of these was the A2018 Automatic E (bronze facia, no powder drawer/with an orange logo and ring round the programmer - obviously not the one you remember). This model was based upon the A2020 Automatic though.

I don't know for certain what one of these looked like, but there is an image of a machine in an old copy of Which magazine (november 1982 - oh to have a scanner)which is a matchbox (narrow machine) with slate grey facia, what is probably a red logo (which would equal red ring round the programmer) and no powder drawer - all matchboxes had A/B buttons and your programme description matches the Cold Fill machines (scroll up and have a gander at the 3235 facia panel image which I posted and you will see it tallies perfectly). Without a clearer image I can't confirm what it is, but I think it could be an A2020.

Basically scroll upto the image of the 3022 dryer instruction manual and cut a hole in the door and you would have the machine that I am talking about. Could this be your machine?

If Yes brill!
If not then, and this depresses me a bit, there could be yet another model out there!!!!!!

Sorry for the essay - just trying to get a clearer picture.

 

[cbosch]

I think you may be right

"One of these was the A2018 Automatic E (bronze facia, no powder drawer/with an orange logo and ring round the programmer - obviously not the one you remember). This model was based upon the A2020 Automatic though. "

You may have been right this oculd be the machine. Although if you cut a hole in the door from that fryer picture you would get what the machine looked like aswell. I can't remeber the colour exactly. but definitley had an orange ring round the programme dial.

Sorry I can't be of more help but would love for oyu to tell me exactly what it was.

 

[matchboxpaul]

The A2018 in all its glory...

....I have been drawing again!

This was a machine owned by an aunt and uncle of mine - the A2018 Automatic E (sold through the Electricity Board Shops). Their's was written off by a 50 pence piece!

Anything like your grans machine Cbosch?

Replace the bronze facia with all over slate grey and the orange detailing with red and, I think!, you may have the A2020.

 

[newwave1]

Paul. This is an australian model! Did it look anything like this?

Darren

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi Darren - no doubt about the look of the A2018. The machine lived through to about 1990 and I saw it regularly due to the Aunt and uncle being very close family memebers whom we visited regulary. The A2018 was as per the drawing (or at least the one in my family was).

The Autralian models definately are of matchbox contruction - just facia differences and lacking a door slide. I occasionally pop over to the Australian ebay site, to have a gander at theses machines.

Cheers
paul

 

[cbosch]

Thanks

The machine in your latest drawing was exactly the machine beautiful machine it was loved the door slide and the the orange dial!

Many thanks
Match box

 

[matchboxpaul]

no problem

glad we got your mystery sorted out cbosch.

also brought back memories for me and am glad that i drew it as it reminded me what a smart machine the A2018 was (haven't seen its image for nearly 20 years myself).

Also pleased as it means that there isn't another 'mystery machine' out there to worry about (yet!) - it's bad enough trying to identify my own.

Cheers
paul

 

[hoovcand]

MY PERSONAL HOOVER CHALLENGE

DONT FORGET THE HOOVER HOLIDAY MACHINE SOMEONE WILL HAVE THE INFO I JUST READ IT SOMETIME AGO EVERYONE LOOK THROUGH YOUR HOOVER SERVICE DATER ITS THERE (TRY UNDER SERVICE UPDATES)ALEX HOOVCAND

 

[newwave1]

I found this piccie in my photo collection i think this is from the selectamatic era....

Darren

 

[newwave1]

Hmmmm paul is this what you were after?

Darren

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi Darren - thanks for posting the piccies.

The first one would be the A3108 - I have never seen a full picture of this machine before - so major thanks on this one.

The second machine is tha A3052 automatic de luxe which, as it states, was an exclusive model sold through house of fraser only and based upon the 3236h matchbox.
I have seen this machine before, but only through searching through the forum archive and discovering one of your old posts. I can tell you I was ecstatic when I discovered the picture as, prior to then I had not seen this machine before and, well, I do love my matchboxes.

Anyone got a picture of the A3040 (same machine, but with blue and white facia) which was a currys exclusive. If so it would be

a)fantastic
&
b)the first time I will have seen the machine since I was about three years old. A mate of mine at play school (pre junior school!) lived in a pub and an A3040 was a pub-kitchen machine. The private quarters had a stacked bendix 7147 washer & 7446 dryer combo.

Fingers crossed for an A3040.
Cheers
Paul
(p.s hope you like my latest piece of 'appliance art' - the A2018. I know the door is set too high and it has been changed on my hard copy)

 

[mattywashboy]

does anybody notice that on the australian models (the Zodiac), there is no soap drawer. I had one of these breifly and it was impossible to use softner, you had to chuck the soap in at the start and to put softner in was just a load of messing around waiting for doors to unlock etc etc.

 

[matchboxpaul]

first thing my aunt would do was dump a pile of Surf straight into the drum of her A2018, pile the clothes in and then turn on. weird to think that machines with no powder drawer were being produced well into the late 70's.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Bit of an update

Got my ebay purchases - pretty much comprehensive Hoover service manuals - over the weekend.
Have spent this afternoon checking all the models against my spreadsheet and everything tallies - apart from the mystery machine which started this thread!
I searched long and hard and not a trace of a widebody 'de luxe machine' like my drawing could be found (Alex - would it be possible to provide any further info re the machine you read about at your end ?).

Unless you come up trumps Alex (no pressure), I am going to have to resign myself to the fact that my mind (at 28!) is playing cruel tricks and that the machine that I remember was probably the 3221H and didn't have a powder drawer (I am sure it did though).

Looks like it is forever going to remain a mystery.
Cheers
paul