Philips Slimstar Hn3156

[sesteve]

I picked up this machine in the summer last year and have just pulled it out of the shed to get it back on its feet. It's a curious machine which reminds me of the Smash robot adverts in the 70s!!

Here are a few pictures from when I first collected it.

 

[sesteve]

I think it's the blue dials that bear the resemblance

 

[sesteve]

It has its original hoses but the drain hose has gone really stiff so I will have to replace it - I think a Servis twin tub hose should do the trick

 

[sesteve]

Another machine with a big induction motor

 

[sesteve]

Ratings plate

 

[sesteve]

Innards

 

[sesteve]

Soap dispenser cover removed showing the water shute

 

[sesteve]

Inside the drum before I cleaned it

 

[sesteve]

The only issue was that the hoses from the inlet valves to the dispenser had rotted and were leaking. I managed to get some internal dispenser hose from an old hotpoint Aquarius which were just the right length so fitted them yesterday. Bit of a shame as the originals were colour coordinated as you can just see in the picture.

 

[sesteve]

The other end by the dispenser

 

[sesteve]

And the dispenser shute. The water jets into this at different angles which then determins which spout it comes out of

 

[sesteve]

The electrics

 

[sesteve]

Last pic of the flap. I've done a video of it which I'm just uploading. It has a bit of a strange wash programme as part of the rinse cycle on programmes 1 - 5 is the wash cycles of the other programmes. This means it does a brief heating cycle on the 2nd rinse.

It also does the spin drains which are something else. I'm not sure if it is our modern washing detergents or me just putting too much in but I did a load of colours in it with liquid gel and I had loads of problems with suds locking during the spins.

Would be great to get any copies of service info if anyone can help either for these or a newer slimstar (I'm sure the basics will be similar) as there is a bit of a leak from the top during the spin drains. Some of the seals round the lid have gone a bit sticky too so will have to see if I can source some replacements.

Overall not a bad machine - quite solid, fairly quiet but not too exciting. See what you think when I post the video

S

 

[vacbear58]

Slimstar

Steve

What a great find, mid 1970s i am thinking, I remember seeing these when my mum bought her first Zanussi in 1975. I had no idea they were built in the UK though, i had always assumed France as H axis top loaders are far more popular there than here. That combined with the blue knobs which the earlier French Philips models had.

Al

 

[sesteve]

Thanks Al. Yes I was surprised as well. I think the crucial numbers that may give a clue to its age have rubbed off but I think mid to late 70s would be right

I know matchbox Paul has one but other than that there seems to be very little information about these. I've attached a picture of some literature which I found on tinternet but it's not in English.

Link to video now attached too.

S

 

[paulc]

I haven't seen one of these since I was 8 or 9. Mum's friend has it right in the far corner of the kitchen with the units build all around it, Great find, super machine.

 

[sesteve]

New link

Sorry, I've been upgraded with my videos! New link attached

S

 

[statomatic]

Hi, beautiful machine, the timer is a "Sibel" made in France.

 

[lemniscate]

Our neighbour had one of these when i was a kid. She had it in a lean-to and I could watch it jumping about from our garden. I think that i read in a Which report that although it has programme 4 5o degrees on the dial, that it only only heated to 40 degrees on this programme. 1000 rpm spin speed, our neighbour loved the machine and when it packed up got the newer version.

 

[alanlondon]

First time...

Hi there, first post on this site, but look at it every day though as, like the rest of you, I adore washing machines, used to repair them a long time ago. I have quite a large collection (in the 1000s) of brochures, manuals etc and when I saw this post today I had to write as this was my absolute favorite washer in the 80s, had one for quite a few years. I have the original brochure, operating instructions and maintenance manual for it – which I’m happy to share. When I get a moment I’ll try and upload some of it. In case you’re interested I have a Keymatic (which needs restoring), a contrarotating Dyson and then Miele appliances as everyday machines.

Best regards

Alan