New owner of a Hoover Model 0510 twinnie

[undarl]

Good day, folks.

I'm a new member here, having just acquired a Hoover Model 0510 twin tub washer after a patient search of about 6 months. The washer appears to be in good shape. The agitator motor is nice and quiet and the spin motor works fine though the basket appears to be a bit loose at the base right now, Testing the pump and hoses is my next task. I suspect that I will be best served to replace at least some of the hoses and a belt or two, looking at them.

I wanted to ask: does anyone have documentation, anecdotes, replacement suggestions, part sources, or anything else they'd be willing to share? Hoping to restore the Hoover to good running order and use it in my new apartment.

Pics to follow once I've taken some.

Thanks!

Undarl

 

[undarl]

UPDATE:

The pump works perfectly, and all functions have been tested and are working. There is a crack in the outflow hose and it will have to be replaced. I also discovered that it is a very bad idea to turn on the impeller when it is not completely submerged. *grins, wringing out shirt*

The next step is to remove the inspection plate on the back and eyeball things for possible pre-emptive replacement.

I have taken a few pics of the washer and uploaded them to Flickr. The link should be below. I'll add pics of the underside and the interior as taken.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25512640@N07/sets/72157604468833918/

 

[launderess]

Welcome To The Club

Hoover club that is! *LOL*

You can see pictures of my Hoover TT, which is the same model as yours in my profile.

Parts in the United States are hard to find, but out there. Often one can find bits of this and that as new old stock lurking about in stock rooms of older appliance stores, but don't count on it. In the UK it is another story, as Hoover sold twin-tubs there long after production ceased on this side of the pond.

Yahoo Groups has several forums for twin tub and Hoover TT lovers, which are great sources of information and kinship as well.

What sort of documentation are you seeking? Have a Hoover parts and service manual which covers many Hoover appliances including laundry machines (washers, dryers, twin tubs). Also have a box of NOS Hoover twin tub parts, but haven't sat down to catalog the lot yet. Finally am lucky to have two NOS pumps in my stash, though since have a pretty good "new" pump in my TT at the moment, may never need the others.

The pump always was and is the weak point for these units. At least seems the American versions. When they work, they are great, but once they start to leak it is a slow death march. Happily if one knows how often they can be rebuilt. Or if one is lucky another can be salvaged from another unit. There are several sources for "replacement" pumps in the UK, but these are not genuine Hoover pumps, and some have had issues using them.

Thing about Hoover twin tubs is to use them every now and then to keep standing water from rotting the pump. No matter what one does some water remains in pump and hose and if left standing too long (perhaps because of any detergent residue), it seems to eat away at the seals and diverter valves. We're talking about over a period of perhaps months of non-use, so long as old Gussy is taken out for a spin every now and, you should be ok.

L.

 

[undarl]

Hi, Launderess.

Thanks for the reply! My continued testing seems to indicate that my pump is not leaking -- at least for now. Current problems are: the outflow hose needs to be replaced, two of the three belts should be replaced as well (currently working but they've gone brittle), and the gasket at the bottom of the spinner tub is shot. There's also a fair amount of back-and-forth play in the spinner itself -- not sure how much is intentional or from the broken gasket. Assuming I can get everything running as it should, I hope to use the Hoover as my primary washer when I move to a new place. So no worries about long-standing water there.

As far as documentation, I'm really looking for information on the usage, care and feeding of the twinnie. That can be in the form of official manuals or helpful anecdotes from friendly owners -- I'll take anything.

I've jumped on to one TT yahoo group so far, just trying to spread my requests for knowledge around.

Thanks again!

Undarl

 

[retro-man]

Welcome Undarl

Welcome to the club. A lot of great people here and a wealth of imformation on pretty much all topics. Reading about your TT just brought back a memory that was stored I guess. My 1st apt. my brother gave me a Norge TT that he had used for years then I used it for a couple more than gave it to a friend who used it for a couple more. Then the poor think went to washer heaven when his house burnt down. I wonder if it would still be going today. My aunt had the same model as I did, can't remember what happened to that one. I am not sure if made by the same manufacturer or that parts are interchangable. Maybe someone here could help.
Jon

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoover Splashmatic..!!

Hello Undarl and welcome to the Hoover Twinny club...nice machine and very simple to work on, belts are available here, your type of hose isnt, the model similar to yours in the UK is the A3304 model without the heater, I have the A3301 whith heater and three control knobs....our UK hose arrangement was a "push & twist" short hose that is inserted into the top corner of the washtub, the next models had a flexible hose from the pump coming out of the back of the machine..wheras your long hose comes from the pump base and through the corner of the washtub, I could send a long pipe but ours have ridges and might not form a water tight seal as it comes through the tub corner....heres the Hoovermatic A3301...

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hovvermatic A3301

showing the Snap-In empty hose, let me know what you need and email me etc...

 

[launderess]

If you can tell me exactly what sort of problems you are having with your twinnie, or at least what you think is broken, can look up the information in my service manual. Do not have a scanner to handle all the pages, otherwise would post them. My Hoover TT came with the owner's manual, but again the same problem as above applies. However again, let me know what you want to know.

As for hoses, you can use any modern washing machine hose sold in lengths will do. Just take the old hose off and head to your nearest supply store to match the diameter and length. You will need hose clamp pliers to get the original hoses off, assuming you have the same type of clamps as seen with my Hoover (posted in my profile). You can either leave these in place and reuse when attaching your new hose, or swap them out for something else.

L.

 

[undarl]

Hello, ChesterMike and Launderess (again).

I've now had a chance to look at everything and I think I have a complete handle on the twinnie's condition. I mentioned most of this stuff here and there previously, but I'll reiterate for clarity.

1. The outflow hose has gone brittle and cracked. I don't expect this to be a problem as I'm rebuilding for use and not restoration; as L. suggested I'll be heading out to a plumbing or appliance shop with the hose in hand to get it matched, and probably extended a bit as the original hose is somewhat short. Thanks for the heads-up about the clamp pliers by the way -- I'd noticed the interesting twisted-wire clamp fixtures but didn't realize that there was a specific tool for manipulating them. Would those be an appliance store acquisition as well?

2. The washer didn't come with an input hose. Again, not a problem. I just need a length of hose that I can fit to my faucet. Appliance/plumbing store trip there as well.

3. The spinner basket has a fair amount of back-and-forth play within its housing. I'm not sure how loose this is meant to be or how it might be tightened. The play does seem to be at the mount below the flywheel weight at the bottom of the shaft. Perhaps someone could advise me there?

4. The gasket at the bottom of the spinner basket housing is shot. It looks as though the central part of the "sump" housing was sealed by a large gasket through which the basket drive shaft passes. This gasket seems to have torn all the way around, leaving a ring of rubber around the shaft and a larger ring attached to the bottom of the housing. It would certainly be best to replace this with a NOS or replacement part if possible, but I'm not certain how my luck will be there. Again, advice would be greatly appreciated.

5. The belts leading from the agitator motor to the agitator pulley and from the spinner motor to the pump look to have been rubberized cloth or something similar from which all of the volatiles have escaped, making them rather brittle and suspect. A look at UK repair parts sites indicates that they should be fairly easy to replace.

The spinner motor to spinner pulley belt appears to be newer and shows no signs of damage that I can see. The other hoses are supple and show no signs of microcracking. The timer works perfectly, and the pump does its job with no current signs of leakage. I was able to take the washer through a small test load with no issues other than some minor leakage here and there caused by the problems above. Kevin Cox over at the Twin Tub Emporium Yahoo group sent me some scans of an operating manual for the Hoovermatic 3301L, which filled me in on some useful bits like where the fill line indicator in the wash tub is.

So that's where things stand. Again, thanks for your help! And as an aside to ChesterMike: it was some of your twinnie clips and the clip from 'Just Another Day' on YouTube (along with lswrsi's other clips) that helped me decide to seek out this machine in the first place.

Undarl

 

[launderess]

1. The outflow hose has gone brittle and cracked. I don't expect this to be a problem as I'm rebuilding for use and not restoration; as L. suggested I'll be heading out to a plumbing or appliance shop with the hose in hand to get it matched, and probably extended a bit as the original hose is somewhat short.

It is short for a reason, and while a tight fit, you really do not need too much slack.

Thanks for the heads-up about the clamp pliers by the way -- I'd noticed the interesting twisted-wire clamp fixtures but didn't realize that there was a specific tool for manipulating them. Would those be an appliance store acquisition as well?

Forget the exact name, but the clamp pliers are easily found in appliance, hardware and automotive supply stores.

2. The washer didn't come with an input hose. Again, not a problem. I just need a length of hose that I can fit to my faucet. Appliance/plumbing store trip there as well.

I use an ordinary washing machine hose as well.

3. The spinner basket has a fair amount of back-and-forth play within its housing. I'm not sure how loose this is meant to be or how it might be tightened. The play does seem to be at the mount below the flywheel weight at the bottom of the shaft. Perhaps someone could advise me there?

Will have to look up repair and such for the spinner basket. Know the repair manual covers it, as I remember reading through it when the book first arrived.

4. The gasket at the bottom of the spinner basket housing is shot. It looks as though the central part of the "sump" housing was sealed by a large gasket through which the basket drive shaft passes. This gasket seems to have torn all the way around, leaving a ring of rubber around the shaft and a larger ring attached to the bottom of the housing. It would certainly be best to replace this with a NOS or replacement part if possible, but I'm not certain how my luck will be there. Again, advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sumps gaskets are NLA in the United States, unless you happen to find NOS somewhere. You're best bet is on the otherside of the pond in the UK. You might find NOS or someone with a spare somewhere. There may also be someone who is making new replacement parts.

5. The belts leading from the agitator motor to the agitator pulley and from the spinner motor to the pump look to have been rubberized cloth or something similar from which all of the volatiles have escaped, making them rather brittle and suspect. A look at UK repair parts sites indicates that they should be fairly easy to replace.

Yes, the belts are easily found on the UK side of the pond. I'd order surplus to requirements as supply is drying up since Hoover UK stopped selling twinnies. Don't know what I have in my box of Hoover NOS goodies.