Two stunning washers for my twinnie collection

[unclejohn]

Hello everyone out there everywhere on AW !

Hope everybody is doing well.

Since my last find (late in Feb 2020, an A50 - see link), there was the crossing of a desert amidst this pandemic: virtually nothing on kijiji, with also no significant numbers of interesting items either from ebay or craigslist...

However, the guy who sold me the little Maytag in 2020 has sort of struck gold this year in his quest for vintage or antique home appliances. He often takes a drive around in his car and checks for bazaars, flea markets, as well as for the few things which people get rid of often for free. "You won't believe how much stock i've gathered in my house" he said (sounds too familiar to some?).

The fact is he has found two wonderful twin tub washers, an Hoover model 0617 (beautiful avocado n' white finish) and an yet unidentified european twinnie which looks much like an old Acme or Manweb from UK. God, i like those stylish lids! Will come back as soon as i can with more details and pictures of the new acquisitions - for the latter, i'll have to contact the seller any time soon to eventually get it home for the ridiculous amount of 25$! I'll keep you posted. - unclejohn

p s have added a picture of an US-made Hvr T-1001, exactly same design as the first gen 0617 from Canada except here for the color of the top trim and tubs

unclejohn is back ...with Maytag !

Hi Everybody ! Got me yet another twin tub !! I'm tempted to say, as a design, the 'cutest' of all twinnies. Yep, someone sold (through Kijiji) an Maytag model A50, known as Porta-Washer. As it happens, i contacted the guy--who had it in the basement of his house. Moreover, he was located in...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[ozzie908]

Where is a picture of the other twin tub you got?

Am gagging to see what it is >>>?

 

[unclejohn]

Sorry no images yet ...

... just a teaser ?

First, thanks for your question Austin.

For the other tt (from Europe, but still unknown brand at this time) i will most probably go the seller's house by tuesday. Will then bring it home and get to know more about it. A friend of mine is supposed to lend me his digital camera before the end of the week. By the past I had the annoying tendency of taking pictures of vintage stuff with single use disposable Kodaks - of course no match to any good digital device. Perhaps i should have waited a bit for a posting, but i couldn't wait to share my enthusiasm and excitement at these new additions in my collection of vintage things mostly twin tubs.

 

[ozzie908]

Being a twin tub fan myself

Is what makes me curious to see what it is.....!!

I have a very rare and nearly working condition Burco 21 from the early 60's it needs a bit more working on and a respray as it was stored in a shed with growing ivy I can't wait to get it restored.

If you look at my profile pic I have a Rolls that hubby got me for my 60th its now in working condition and stacked along with many other twin tubs all varying in type I shall have to get some pictures done myself.

Austin

 

[unclejohn]

Oh, that Burco washer ...

... really must be something !

Respray: my "new" little 0617 will need a complete paint restoration, as there is a good amount of rust at some places, only one side could ne called ok. Instead of the sandpaper i will use a spray can of rust remover which will clean the surface prior to a new paint. Of course, all must be dry before appling the thin layer of primer, then two good coats of gloss white enamel paint and voila. Perhaps i should also refresh with a thin spray the little wash tub which has a lotta tiny scratches

Concerning the Euro twin tub, i should get it by tomorrow evening (tuesday, ET US Can). As i said, i will post more details about it and soon will take some pictures of both machines.

Cool that are you are yourself a fan of the inimitable twin tub ! I miss for sure the era of those humble but noble washing machines, the years if my childhood. My mom have had an Hoover, my grandma a beautiful Hitachi twinnie, and one of my cousins had a small Kenmore twin tub IIRC.

jc

 

[keymatic]

Hi John,

Looking forward to the unveiling of this mystery machine, if it is an export from the UK we will be able to help if needed, it will be interesting to see if it is an agitator or pulsator type washer, Acme and Manweb machines had both of types washing method on the market.

Regards
Keith

 

[unclejohn]

Thank you, Keith...

I am, myself, anxious to know more about that new "vintage".

Will keep you posted - with upcoming details, and photos to come soon as well.

 

[unclejohn]

Got it !

Hello.

The mystery washer is home. It is: Concorde Model 172
- - mfd by Tallent Engineering, Aycliffe, Durham

Heard about those machines, but never saw one before!
Reminds me the old Hoovermatic my mom used when
i was a little toddler (model 0500). This machine was
also made for the north american market, as testifies
the 110 V - 60 cycles - CSA written on the data plate.

Year?
Were these good machines? Seems solidly built.
The unit is a little bit larger than a Hoover,
but seems to weigh roughly about the same...

 

[launderess]

Hello Luv,

Great finds! Good to know up north still has many wonders yet to be discovered.

If you don't mind me stealing some of your thunder, believe what you've got hold of there is a twin tub sold under both Colston and Corcorde badge.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?82352_303

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?34554

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33201

 

[ozzie908]

Concorde also known by Rolls

Rolls Razor was the first incarnation of these twin tubs and they ended with the Ariston badge the only things that changed were the appearance and the dials. Everything under the hood was the same.

The Rolls is what I am standing behind in my photo.

Austin

 

[vacbear58]

Coronet

How very interesting that you have managed to get this machine, I wonder if it could have been an "import special" as sometimes happened with other UK manufactured appliances.

As Austin says, this machine is a direct descendant of the Rolls machines which were on sale here from around 1959. Quite how Charles Colston (who was the man who set up and ran Hoover UK Until the mid 1950s) managed to extract the washer manufacturing facility from the collapse of Rolls is not clear but these machines went on, more or less unaltered from 1959. It seems that in mid-late 1960s the machines got a styling update, squaring up the cabinet and moving the controls to the top of the machine. They continued to be sold, again largely unchanged, until shortly after the Ariston acquisition when the whole line was dropped in around 1981. The main difference is that the last models (Ariston - as posted by Laundress) were taller than the older machines.

They are rare in the UK, I managed to pick one up in late 2020 which has recently been restored to full operation - see the pictures below.

It is unlikely your machine will have a heater so it will be interesting if it has one knob or two. The timer runs for 4 minutes. The capacity of this machine is about 4 pounds or approximately twp thirds that of a Hoovermatic or Speed Queen (Servis)

Al

 

[unclejohn]

Thank you all for the kind replies.

Will share photos of the machine i have, as soon as i can
(i should borrow -- not steal ! -- the digital cam of a friend...)
The matter of a few days, perhaps.

However, a quick search on Google led me to an Emelec washer (mine's Concorde looks EXACTLY like the one on the picture; NO heater, one wash setting dial, one "on" red lamp and two push button switches [the one here has tree] - see image below)

Stay tuned
-unclejohn

 

[keymatic]

Hi John,
The Emelec information is from my collection and this was basically a rebadged Rolls Concorde i think, albeit the wash lids are positioned differently and more squared off, there were so variations of “Rolls” machines during the mid to late 60’s. I think your machine was shipped with the owner, i dont believe these low cost machines would have been exported.
Looking forward to seeing the pics.
Cheers
Keith

 

[launderess]

" I think your machine was shipped with the owner...."

Would be my guess as well...

So many goodies have ended up in North America courtesy of those moving house.

Back in day when crossings were largely by ocean liner (this didn't end until sometime in 1960's or so), ships gave generous cargo allowance. Things got better if you didn't need access to whatever during voyage so it could be stored deep in ship's hold.

Nowadays where nearly everything is by air things vary. Military, diplomatic and often corporate households receive decent to great allowances for moving things. This either by air or usually shipped in crate via that method or ship.

 

[gizmo]

Unclejohn stated above that the machine is 110V 60Hz so it was made for the North American market, not a private import of a UK machine.

 

[launderess]

Stand corrected then.

That's me sorted.....*LOL*

 

[vacbear58]

Coronet

Having checked back on our Which reports I have found a similar machine in their report from October 1967 - as noted above this machine was sold as a "Special" by several electricity supply authorities - the report notes that this model was also so as the Emelec that you have referenced above.

This was one of the cheaper machines on test (they were always low cost machine) so it could have been bought it by a department store chain as a low cost portable, apartment sized machine - which is what I meant as an "import special" above.

Its a simple machine. The good news is that, as it did not change much, spare parts are still possible as they were for my machine which is from about 10 years later

Sorry the pictures are not quite in order, the last photo is the first page of the report

Al

 

[chestermikeuk]

Rolls - John Bloom

Fabulous find UncleJohn, youve hit the jackpot with rare twinnys over the pond. Now I wonder if it has 2 motors or the one with one belt drive ? looking forward to the pics inside and out .

Heres one we repaired a few years ago as the water seals had all perished along with the pipes but we used car track rod end boot covers and cut to shape etc, worked a treat !!.

Enjoy !!

 

[unclejohn]

Thank you, Keith (Keymatic), for the infos regarding the Emelec notably (and, yes, for that picture...) Every bit of extra information is precious!

Yes, wish to take some pics of it asap (will have first to meet the friend with that 'good' camera...)

A big Thank You as well to Launderess, as well as Al (vacbear58), Mike, Austin and Chris (gizmo), for also providing their fair share of infos - incl. tech stuff. The Which report was (and still is) a great tool for comparisons between different types of designs, etc., all this vis-a-vis the viewpoint of the consumer.

I confirm: the mention CSA (Canadian Standard Association, the canadian equivalent to UL) is printed on the metal data plate located behind the machine, plus the 60 cycles 110 V (instead of 240 typical of EU) numbers. An "export" of some sort? Just perhaps like the Hoover my mom had in the late 60s, model 0500, a Hoovermatic 3334A without the 'matic' (please refer to link)

I just picked up a Hoover 0500/3334A

I had been watching this on Ebay. Sent the guy a email and turns out he listed it for his in-laws. They bought it new when the were young and just married. It was pretty well taken care of. I need new hoses underneath but is complete and working. Anyway made him an offer if it didn't sell for...

www.automaticwasher.org