New member

[Hoovert5004]

Hi guys.
I just wanted to say what a great site!I am in England and myself and partner are collectors of vintage appliances.We both collect twin tub washing machines but I also collect front loading auto washers and dryers.The picture is of the Hotpoint Supermatic 1400 and the machine dates from 1959.This is the oldest machine we have.Most of ours date from the 70s and early 80s as machines from the 50s and 60s are hard to find here but they occasionally pop up and we are lucky to get them.
Mark

 

[Unimatic1140]

Welcome to Applianceville

Hi Mark, welcome to the club! I'm thrilled you found us. That Hotpoint twin tub of yours is super cool, I love the red agitator and filter pan. Is that a clear glass lid I see on the spinner side?

 

[Hoovert5004]

Hi Unimatic

Thanks for the welcome. Yes the spinner lid is a clear perspex and the lid slides towards you into the machine rather than opening upwards.Its a great design and its great to watch the spinner getting up to speed.The agitator itself is black with 4 paddles at the base and then just a long straight smooth shaft but it creates amazingly powerful currents for its design.The filter tray is red as you can see but the grey area is metal.The gearbox is actually direct drive which was a shock as we thought all Hotpoints were belt driven.The spin side is also direct drive.At least we dont have to worry about belts snapping.The Hotpoint 1400 was the first twin tub Hotpoint made in Britain so it was a great find.We also have the last twin tub Hotpoint made so its great to have both the first and the last of these great machines.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

GB Hotpoint TT

Mark, Isn't this site a blast?!!!! Neato Hotpoint
Darrel

 

[Hoovert5004]

Hi Darrel

This site is brilliant! I found it a while back and have been in a few times but just recently been in quite a lot.Its great to see the old American washers.I own a modern American top loader.Its an Admiral(Maytag) High capity washer (221b) and its great but I havent been able to use it for a year as when I moved to Edinburgh the washer wouldnt fit into the kitchen and so it has been in the garage with our collection ever since and I cant even bring it in to "give it a go" every now and then.The thing which I found strange was it not having a heater.I believe its because in America you tend to use powders which work in very cool water and that you even have powder which you can use to do cold washes.Is this true?Im used to doing hot washes and so had to turn up the temp of my hot water to use the washer.Im just old fashioned I suppose as English powders are now designed to work on low temps but I still like to do my hot washes.
We do own a 1983 English Hotpoint top loading automatic but it needs a new seal round the agitator shaft at present.I have one but the problem is trying to get off the tripod which drives the agitator.These are notorious for siezing on due to the detergents and ours is siezed but I dont want to damage the agitator shaft when trying to take it off.Its a job for a day when I have lots of patience!
Mark

 

[partscounterman]

I'd sell my soul...

Wow! What I wouldn't do to get to play with your ultra-fab hotpoint twin-tub! Love the agitator! Love the filter pan! I remember @ 1974 that Westinghouse had a twin tub fitted with their spiral agitator and a filter pan. I never got to see one work though:-( Also, I'm sure many american & canadian members have seen the Speed Queen/Simplicity Super-twin. I know this site is dedicated to Automatic washers, but I will always have a special place in my heart for twin-tubs.
By the way-does that Hotpoint spin rinse?

 

[gyrafoam]

Now that is the first one of those I ever saw---how kool! Must be fun to play with. I think those heating systems are great also. We in America take hot water for granted because most of us have huge (by most standards outside the US) water heaters! Mine is natural gas fired and heats water very quickly, so I can call on a hundred gallons or so in pretty quick order. Also I think the American top-loaders don't have them because of their water capacity. The wash cycle would be over before a heater would have time to have much effect. Any way thanks for the photos! I'd love to see more! Best wishes and welcome! -Steve

 

[gregm]

love the red

that is one of the coolest vintage portables, I have yet to see ....... welcome

 

[westytoploader]

I have a Bosch AquaStar "tankless" water heater and it heats water on-demand, great when I have more than I washer/DW running! The temperature is adjusted quickly as well.

Do they use the tankless design in the UK? I thought at one time they did, but I'm not sure...

--Austin

 

[Hoovert5004]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the comments about the Twin tub.I know this site is for automatic machines so I must apoligise but just thought you would like to see it.
With regards to the water heating we do have in the uk whats called called the combination boiler which heats the cold to hot as it goes through the boiler so this would have been ideal fo using the Admiral(Maytag)but unfortunately I didnt have one of those.The standard size home hot water tanks are not very big over here and so a full load on hot would use the whole tank of water and then it would be a while to wait for the water to heat up again for the next load.I should have thought about these things before buying my American top loader but just really wanted one and I so I didnt think of it at the time.The other problem was that the American waste water pipes much be much bigger than here in the uk.I wasent told by the shop that I would need the plumbing changed.I was amazed at the size of the drain hose and it wouldnt fit into my waste pipe.The force of emptying was amazing and I didnt know how I was going to get the machine to empty.Fortunately I used to live in a one level flat(apartment) and the bathroom was next to the kitchen.What I had to do was put a hole in the wall and put the waste pipe through this into the bathroom.The machine would empty into the bath!Not the best of solutions but the only one I could do as I couldnt get all the pumbing changed!
With regards to the question about the Hotpoint spin rinsing.This didnt appear on a Hotpoint twinny until 1971!It was called the Hotpoint supermatic de luxe which had automatic rinse in the spinner.The same rinsing technique was kept until the last twin tub was produced in 2000.It consists of many holes round the top of the spinner where the water would cascade over the clothes.When the water reached a certain level the motor would come on to spin the water away and then it would slow down when the water was again at a certain level.This could be repeated as many times as you wanted.We are lucky enough to also own the first model to have the spin rinse system.
I thought you would like to see some pictures of the 1983 Hotpoint automatic top loader we have.Please excuse the decor of the kitchen.We still need to change our kitchen and decor...lol You might notice how good the filter tray is on collecting lint.

 

[Hoovert5004]

CONTROLS.

 

[Hoovert5004]

EMPTYING READY TO SPIN.

 

[Hoovert5004]

RINSING

 

[kenmore1978]

Water heating

Mark, TL machines don't heat their own water for a few reasons, two of which were mentioned, the fact that US households typically keep at LEAST 30 gallons of hot water in a tank on standby at all times with a fast recovery rate (if gas-fired)so water heating isn't really needed. Also, it's true that a TL machine has so much water, the cycle WOULD be over before a heater had much effect, especially since our machines run on 110 volts and can't draw more than about 13 amps at that voltage without taking up an entire circuit. Newer homes branch circuits are rated at 20 amps, but 110 volt appliances still have to adhere to the old 15 amp standard to assure an appliance will work in older homes.

 

[Hoovert5004]

AFTER FINISHING. VIEW OF AGITATOR.

 

[gyrafoam]

How kool is that!!!!!! A Hotpoint top-loader, with the old Hotpoint spiral agitator, and a '50s GE type filter-flo system---all in miniature!!!!! (Is that a solid tub?) I would LOVE to get my hands on one of those, and I can't for the life of me figure out why something like that was not marketed here in the US! And the "Rinse & Hold" feature is something usually found only on US dishwashers.I am curious what the knob is used for ---what are those numbered settings for? Thank you so much for sharing those pictures!!!!!!!!!! Now if I can only figure out how to find one of those for export with ac/dc current! -Steve

 

[gyrafoam]

DUH! Of course I forgot to mention I am referring to the 1983 Hotpoint automatic! What is the spin speed on that? Thanks --Steve

 

[Hoovert5004]

Hi Steve!
The control knob on the left is essentially a temperature thermostat.Programme 1 is 95 degrees 2 and 3 is 60 4 is 50 and 5,6,and 7 are 40 degrees.The machine fills with water and then agitates for a minute to desolve the detergent then agitation stops and heating begins.When the correct temperature is reached the knob is spring loaded and it pings back to 0 and the wash begins.
The dial on the right is the timer.As you can see the machine has what is known as a "timeline" so you can see what stage of the programme your wash is at.You simply turn the dial and the arrows goes along the timeline to the number which coresponds to the thermostat.This then has now set the washtime.So you first set the thermostat to the desired temperature and then you set the wash time.You then pull out the washtime dial and the cycle begins .These machines have thermostats because they have built in heaters under the wash tub.The wash tub is enameled and is perforated.It has a lip round the top which is filled with concrete to give the machine some stability when spinning.
The spin speed of this machine is 1050rpm.
Regards
Mark

 

[Hoovert5004]

Forgot to mention...
I forgot to say that in the later models of these machines they did away with the timelime and the 2 dials.All you get is one dial which selects the wash temperature and wash time.They did add a slow spin option though.
I prefer the old style as you could have whatever wash time you liked at whatever temperature you liked.In the picture I had selected a 40 degree wash with the longest wash time posssible.
The rinse hold feature is for if you dont want your clothes to stay creased in the tub after the final spin.Also this feature was so you could add fabric conditioner into the final rinse as these machines rinse twice but in this model the first rinse is the machine filling and then sitting for a bit without agitation then emptying and spinning.In the later models they introduced agitation into the first rinse.
Regards
Mark