UK market front & top loaders 195? to 1990 - theories, queries & rarities

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

Hi all.

I have created this thread to act as a bit of a running mate for ChesterMike's excellent twin tub thread.

Obviously this thread will be catering for the world of front and top loading laundry (non Twin-tub!), including vintage tumble dryers as well.

Please endeavour to keep all twin tub, single tub and spin dryer information on Mike's excellent thread, so as to avoid the jumbling up of information.

I have expanded this thread from the off though to include machines 'sold' in the UK market place, as opposed to being centred around machines 'built' in the UK, so feel free to post images of and discuss rarities from the likes of AEG, Indesit, Fagor, Hirundo etc (I will be!).

See what nuggets of new information can be discovered.
Regards
Paul

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

Attached a link to Mike's twin tub thread below ....

.... noting that there is some information, provided by 'anthony' concerning the Frigidaire Jetamatic starting at reply #228 onwards

British Twintub Washing Machines 1959 - 1990

Heres a fun compilation video of British Twintub washing machines (or twinnies) have put together after requests from our overseas friends comparing different styles/actions etc. I`ve also shown some inside money shots to get an idea how they work, its interesting from initial feedback you get...

www.automaticwasher.org

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

HOOVER SELECTAMATIC 1100

I recently joined an archive newspaper website, in order to hunt around for some adverts for machines over the decades - my recent postings on the twin tub thread are courtesy of the website.

Hundreds and hundreds of adverts later, I found some new information regarding some of the rarer and more obscure front loaders.

I have never really understood the Hoover Selectamatic!
I don't remember ever seeing one as a youngster in the 1980s.
I don't remember ever reading about them.
I don't remember ever seeing them advertised.

In fact the first time I saw one, was when I first met Mathew (keymatic3203), who had managed to save an A3114 'Smoother' version.

The weird thing is that, after years of accumulating brochures and also looking through other peoples brochure collections, neither the A3064 'New Magic' or A3114 'Smoother' ever seem to have appeared in Hoover's full range brochures.
If anyone does have official brochures for these models, then please pipe up!

This situation has always struck me as weird - why manufacture what amounts to a top of the range model and then not include it in your brochures?
It even tended to be ignored in the official Hoover servicing information, with the A3064 being given an addendum page only.

First image is of the A3064.
Second image is of Mathew's A3114.

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

HOOVER SELECTAMATIC 1100 ... continued

Looking through the newspaper archive and searching for both versions of Selectamatic threw up only a handful of instances of it being mentioned and all those times were via adverts for Debenhams.

A statement on the Debenhams advert for the A3064 contained a statement that might answer the reason for the Selectamatic's general obscurity:

'Debenhams are only one of the few stores to have this machine'.

Just a theory, but I wonder if the Selectamatic was essentially a department store exclusive, sold through only a handful of stores, but never described as an exclusive (maybe because they were both styled to look like part of the main ranges)?

A strange situation for a top of the range model (the Selectamatic was above the Keymatic, with more programmes and no keyplates to lose) to be produced as an exclusive, but it would explain why it was rare (only sold through a handful of stores) and why it never appeared in official Hoover brochures (it wasn't part of the official Hoover range).

All just a theory.

Paul
p.s machine pictured in photos 3, 4, 5 and 6 below is Mathew's A3114.

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

ACME Automatic

Sold door to door and for years a mystery as to what it looked like or was, the ACME automatic surfaced in the pages of a magazine I bought a few years ago.

Since then I found a couple of adverts for it too - appears to have been peddled door to door 1966 into 1967, then sold off (as bankrupt stock probably) during 1967.

A recent discussion elsewhere has us thinking that this machine was built by Zoppas, with a number of styling cues leading to this conclusion.

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

ACME Automatic ... continued

recently another collector got in touch with me to say that he was watching some old episodes of Crossroads on YouTube and a machine he had never see before had appeared.

He popped me the link and low and behold - the machine appears at 16m 20s in!

Paul

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

CREDA 10300 debonair electronic

In the history of the Creda square door, there was one model that always evaded the searches for information - the 10300 debonair electronic.

This model was only sold through independent retailers and this has always struck me as strange.
Why reduce the chances of selling your mid range model to only those visiting independent stores, rather than selling them as part of your core range through the likes of Currys and the electricity board shops?
As it was, if you wandered into Currys the only Creda's you could buy between 1976 and 1979 was a budget model with one option button and enamel drum, or an all singing, all dancing top of the range with three option buttons, variable temperature dial and stainless steel drum. A big gap existed in the range that the 10300 filled, but which you could only purchase from 'Jo Bloggs Electrics' or possibly a department store.

As with the Hoover Selectamatic, with the 10300 not being part of the core range model line up, it doesn't appear to ever have been advertised in any official Creda brochures. Again, if you know different, please let me know.

Thankfully though, some of the independent stores that did sell the machine, advertised it through the pages of their local newspapers and this is where I found information for the 10300. One of these local newspapers was the Long Eaton Advertiser - Long Eaton being about twenty five minutes away from where I live.

Possibly for the first time, here is some information on the Creda 10300 debonair electronic ....

matchboxpaul · Sep 19, 2020

CREDA 10300 debonair electronic ... continued

... and quite a startling machine it was, with a stainless steel door and two tone brushed fascia - different to such an extent that I did an artist impression of one.

Does anyone remember seeing or even selling the Creda 10300 - with that stainless steel square door, hopefully the impression below will jog some memories.

Strange knowing that 40 odd years ago, they were being sold just down the road! Oh, if only one would surface - here's hoping.

Paul
p.s if you do remember the 10300 and think the impression is wrong - let me know and I will try to correct it. In the absence of an actual photograph of the machine, black and white line drawings were all I had to go on.

rolls_rapide · Sep 19, 2020

Well done with the information treasure trove.

Here's a a couple of links to Wikipaedia and House of Fraser, regarding Isaac Benzies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Benzie

https://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c0718

It looks as though Benzies/Falconer/House of Fraser Group bought all the stock and became exclusive purveyors of the ACME machine. That might explain why they seem to be so rare.

Therefore, one wonders, did the other House of Fraser stores also sell the machine, such as 'Binns', 'Harrods', etc?

Nice to see that Crossroads managed to get their mitts on one.

matchboxpaul · Sep 20, 2020

'Therefore, one wonders, did the other House of Fraser stores also sell the machine, such as 'Binns', 'Harrods', etc?'

Good question and one I think I can offer an answer to!

Just been and checked the other adverts I saved concerning the ACME Automatic and there was another one, advertising them in the Walsall Observer in March 1967, for sale in Rackhams 'A Harrods Store' in Birmingham.

Looks like your theory is correct and the House of Fraser group bought up the stock and then sold them all off through their various different named stores.

Thanks to 'poptasticdave' for the Crossroads link - great to see one of these machines in colour!

Paul

optima · Sep 21, 2020

Creda Debonair 10300

Never knew there was a Ti Creda 10300 model Paul, seems there was a bit of confusion regarding if the spin speed was 800 or 850 rpm. Quiet and Stable in use. (Far from it) The super de-luxe electronic 10500 i can remember as a kid had a lovely unique loud sounding ramp up spinning sound.

rolls_rapide · Sep 21, 2020

Did the Which? magazine ever get around to doing a test report on the ACME automatic?

alanlondon · Sep 23, 2020

Great idea Paul

I've been though my collection of leaflets and looked for brochures for our earliest Automatics here in the UK. Here's some machines that we all know and some leaflets hopefully some of you will not have seen before (or too many times!).

Cheers, Alan