Our 'new' Hoovermatic 3174

[avilidman]

Hi Folks,

We picked this beauty up recently on Ebay from Central London (not a good place to drive). We took a bit of a chance as it hadn't been used for a while and the guy said that the pump tyre was gone and also the OCV valve seized on the top (he wasn't wrong there - stuck fast). I did a couple of days' worth of fiddling, some umming and arghing, and eventually managed to free the valve. In the end, it took some ATF/Acetone mixture and a hammer! The pump tyre is actually okay as he glued it back on, so not ideal, but working. I have a spare anyway. Here is a video of the full wash we did on Sunday. Sorry it's a bit long but I know some like to see washing, some spinning, etc. We didn't go too far on the temperature as, whilst the hoses at the rear are fairly new, the ones between the tubs and pumps aren't, although they look okay.

There's still a bit of cosmetic and internal work to do but this will be a 'running' restoration I think. We're really pleased with it though.

Not sure of the exact date of this. The serial number is HH 651562. Would be interested if anyone knows.

Cheers All.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoovermatic

Hi Aled , congratulations on your 174 Hoovermatic , the first produced .glad you where able to sort out the issues , it's the hoses that's the common fault on these , if ya don't use them regularly they dry out and crack but you don't need me to explain that from your other washers

Your serial number would make production March 1958 an early model first produced July 1957 .

Have fun and enjoy , Mike

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoovermatic 3174

And who can forget that memorable sound from all our childhoods ...

 

[avilidman]

Thanks Mike

Good to hear from you Mike. If anyone knew the answer to the date question, I was sure it would be you! I was struggling to work it out as it doesn't seem to follow the pattern of the later serial numbers, unless I'm missing something.

Interestingly, another 3174 has come onto Ebay today, not far from me. It's in Woking, Surrey. Doesn't look in as good condition as mine was but they're asking more for it than I paid.

You're right on the hoses though. The guy I got it off had replaced the two pump-to-valve hoses, although he's used car coolant hose. Seems to do the trick. I wouldn't know where to get replacements of the softer rubber hoses now. I may take a look at the bottom ones at some point. I think he lost interest when the valve seized.

I hope you're doing well. I really enjoyed your Easter 2020 appliance meet videos.

Cheers
Aled

 

[vacerator]

That wash action!

What fun too! BBC news on in the background to boot.

 

[keymatic]

Morning Aled,
Congrats on getting your "New" 3174 up and running, it's looking good. I watched your clip on Youtube.

As you say the hoses can perish really easily but the worst thing to go is the Resilient mount / bearing under the spin can, they are a nightmare to get out, having recently replaced one in my 3304E.

These machines just go on, and on. have fun !!
Cheers
Keith

 

[avilidman]

Hi Keith,

Your 3334 looks in lovely condition. I am mindful of the mount/bearing as I had one split in a T5044 a few years ago. The mount looks okay on this although I'm not sure about the bearing. There is a little bit of stiffness on first spin which seems to ease after a little while. Possibly some water ingress there. No sign of leaking underneath (yet).

I was wondering if I could put something on the mount to keep the rubber supple but wouldn't know what.

Cheers
Aled

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoovermatic

As these get old , near 60+ years old now original parts are doing really well still, we have used replacement car hose for the tub hoses and it works just fine, its about keeping them all used and supple so they dont dry out.

The pain when it does start to wear is the resiliant mount rubber as Keith has mentioned, best to use "Son of a Gun" lubricant spray on them or a smearing of clear water soluable sealant to keep from splitting.

Always makes me smile when I see the hand grip next to the wash timer dial, yours looks mint painted grey, mind suffered the fate of a young child using it as a piano keyboard and had scraped into the paint the chord notes ABCDEFG etc so I ended up rubbing off the paint which reveals the lovely chrome metal underneath so not sure why Hoover did that ?

 

[chestermikeuk]

Hoovermatic

Looking great there Keith and also look forward to see your restore pics of the 3304E , thats one my Aunty had before the Keymatic 3243 stacked set.

Next on my list is my 3309 with charcoal lids , needs a re-spray and a check over after few years of no use !

 

[keymatic]

Hi Aled,

I herald Mike's recommendation on the "Son of a gun" product for keeping rubber parts supple, although i do wonder if there are any other rubber rejuvenator products on the market ? reason why is i have been plastering my "Thor" drain hose in the SOAG product for ages and it doesn't seem to be doing anything, as a water based product it dries quickly, hey ho !!

Mike, the 3304E is "Drying out" so to speak at the mo, i put so much waterproof paint on the inside of the spin can and it pooled at the bottom, having said that it was about 3 weeks ago so i will check it soon, i need to see if will physically work as well as i changed the pedestal over from a short shaft to a long one from a 3301L, i know when i tested it before i was getting a "run on" whereby the spin can was still revolving after the pedestal had stopped, indicating that the bolt was loose.

Cheers

 

[avilidman]

Hi Mike and Keith,

I've ordered some SOAG. Good tip, thank you. It will come in handy for the Hotpoint 9403 also.

I will start investigating the paint on the hand grip. It is a bit worn in places. To be honest, I thought that it was a chrome finish that had worn off rather than paint over chrome so that's a new one on me. Very likely that I'll leave that alone.

Interesting to see the mount and bearing off one too. Hopefully mine will stay on for a considerable time longer.

Thanks again guys.
Aled