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Hoovert5004

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Oct 28, 2004
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14
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

10-28-2004-08-17-9--Hoovert5004.jpg
 
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?
 
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.
 
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
 
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?
 
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
 
love the red

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

10-29-2004-05-08-25--Hoovert5004.jpg
 
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.
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
Heated TL washers

That's great that you can have heated TL machines that we can't have here for the aforementioned reasons.
 
Hi Kenmore78

It can be good having the heated machines but it does have its disavantages as you have mentioned.It can take forever to heat up if you want a really hot wash.It depends on the temp of the water coming from the tank but the 95 degree wash as you can imagine takes a long time to heat.
Regards
mark
 
Welcome Mark

That is such a cool Hotpoint automatic,and that agitator looks exactly like an Easy spirolator.It is fun to see something that is familiar yet different.

Pat
 
Hi! So it has a "time line" timer like our '50s Norge's, a "filter flo" system like our '50s GE's(I would flip if it had a copper filter pan!) ,an agitator that looks like our old Easy "Spiralator" and a high-speed spin like our old Frigidaires (and very first GE Automatics). I just can't get over it!!!! I WANT ONE!!!! It looks as though it spins and drains at the same time---is that so, or is there a neutral drain and then a spin? How common is it to find one of these used, in decent condition? Were they popular in their day? Also what is the reliability of these machines? What would they commonly sell for used? Thanks -Steve
 
Mark, what a beautiful automatic Hotpoint washer. And the twinny ain't bad either :-) And never mind the kitchen dacor, we like the machines!!! And welcome. Glad to have another UK member. Bob
 
water heating

Hmm, see what I mean? If you consider heating to 95C to be "slow" on your 220 volts, imagine what it would be like on our 110 volts :-)
 
Hi Steve and sorry for the late reply.
The Hotpoint has a neutral drain and then spin.With regards to finding these machines in good nick, It is hard to find older models like the one in the pics.The later models are easier to come by and they do pop up on eBay. I did used to have the last model of the Hotpoint top loader but for some stupid reason I got rid of it and I now regret it.The reliability is good on them and prices you pay can vary.They are generally good prices on eBay but if you get them from a second hand shop they can be a bit pricey.I would have got a later one off eBay but normally they are quite a distance from where I live so havent been lucky to get one yet.I did pick up a front loader from the middle 80s last week which I got off eBay.I was very lucky as it was only a few miles from the house and I got it for approx 8 dollars.

Hi Kenmore.
I prefer the rigid drain hose rather than flexible ones on twinnies as with a flexible one you are always fighting to keep the hose in the sink espcially with Hoover twinnies as the force of the water is so great.Un fortunately rigid ones were only used on very early twinnies.
 
rigid drain hose

I can imagine that they discontinued the rigid drain because it didn't allow for much variation in the sink to washer placement, which probably varied much more in older homes.
 

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