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Old 14th Feb 2012, 11:33 am   #21
mark pirate
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

I think you would be much better off with a twin tub. We had a Hoover keymatic in the 70's, I can remember it was always going wrong and it was replaced by a secondhand Hotpoint twin tub. This was totally reliable and was still working fine when we moved house in 1986.

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Old 14th Feb 2012, 11:41 am   #22
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Hello Mark

Yes I think your right I remember lots of older people still using twin tubs well into the mid 90s and I sure most of the time they were still working when they decided to update to automatics because I seem to remember a lot of secondhand places full up with working old twin tubs in the late 80s early 90s. I know a few relatives kept the old twin tub as a back up to there new fancy front loaders.
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Old 14th Feb 2012, 1:32 pm   #23
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

The Service Supertwin that I have is 80*49*84H (cm) 31.5*19*33H (in)
My sister (Alsager) has a twin tub in her shed, she will measure it up in a day or so.

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Old 14th Feb 2012, 3:25 pm   #24
Denis G4DWC
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

I was an apprentice in a Radio and TV shop that also used to sell white goods, including the Keymatic, in the 60s. The Keymatic was a bit complicated for our Electrical repair guy so the Boss asked me if I wanted to go on a Hoover training course so I could do the fault finding.

They were a good machine in it's day but there were a number of problems with them. The Keyplate switch I never found unreliable although mentioned as such in a previous post. What was unreliable was the Programme switch. This was a motor driven rotary switch that drove a disc with many concentric partial grooves in it. The grooves allowed switch contacts to make and break as the disc revolved. The Programme switch motor was fed via a resistor and wound up some contacts up by means of a cam to give the timing intervals. When full mains was applied to the motor via the Keyplate switch and other sensors such as Thermostat and Water level switches, it allowed it to turn the cam disc plate so moving things on to to the next step in the selected program. The contacts really weren't up to switching the 3kW Heater or large motor currents and were a frequent source of failure condemming the whole expensive Programme switch assembly.

The drum drive arrangement was quite elegant. The Motor had two outputs one direct and one via a reduction Worm drive Gearbox. The Motor pulleys drove pulleys on the back of the drum that always rotated in opposite directions. These pulleys were mounted on the Drum shaft and contained two Roller Clutches This meant that only the pulley rotating clockwise would drive the Drum. By reversing the motor which, incidentally happened whilst running at full speed, you could instantly change from tumble to spin. Spin Speed was only 750RPM so was a bit slow by modern standards.

The Bottom or Sump hose often failed and when it did whilst filling would flood the house. I visited many houses where the owners had gone to bed having left it running.

Before I got married I bought a second hand Keymatic off a workmate and totally refurbished it. It was pretty reliable and we had it for around 20 years. I put some decent mains power relays to switch the high current loads the relays being driven from the existing cam contacts and the normally unreliable programme switch never gave any trouble after that. It was eventually pensioned off as it needed new Bearings as water was leaking out the back of the drum and despite efforts to find the parts none were forthcoming. In it's day it was an excellent machine the best part was that due to the sloping front you could open the door when full of water and toss the odd forgotten sock in to the wash.

Armed with the circuit diagram it wasn't difficult to fault find once aware of how it worked. Apart from leaking hoses and belts, problems were usually that it stopped at some point in the program. It was just a case of noting where in the 36 step (Early) or 42 step (Later) point, the programme had stopped and then overlaying the circuit with a bit of tracing paper and drawing in the contacts that were made on the Keyplate switch, programme switch and sensors and then following the circuit and measuring volts.

I still have the Keyplates, a couple of spare motors and a pump from our old machine. I think I also have a copy of the Hoover service and parts manual somewhere.

Happy days....

Denis
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Old 14th Feb 2012, 5:10 pm   #25
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorG3VLF View Post
The Service Supertwin that I have is 80*49*84H (cm) 31.5*19*33H (in)
Thanks Trevor I will have a measure up!
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Old 14th Feb 2012, 5:21 pm   #26
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Nice early twin tub would fit nicely and look the part.

The Liberator's height is 81.9cm, width is 58.5cm and the depth is 53.3cm. For reliability I have more faith in this 37 year old machine than any modern offering, bearing failure finished most off which is a shame when it just takes an afternoon to replace them. All the old vintage machines are becoming very hard to find indeed.
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Old 14th Feb 2012, 6:12 pm   #27
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

The Keymatic was a great machine. It only had one common fault. Wet washing piled on the machine would drip into the key mechanism and cause burn ups. Saw quite a few.
Those kitchen units are identical to the ones I had in my 30's semi. They had been fitted in the 60's but were very tired. I chopped them up and they were burned on the open fire. Oh well, it's an age thing. Must admit I like old things but I draw the line at kitchens and bathrooms. They were a very miserable place when I was a kid and anything to make the drudgery of housework a little easier for the woman of the house must be applauded. Maybe not so happy days. John.
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Old 14th Feb 2012, 6:37 pm   #28
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

I think by the 60s if you were rich enough to be able to afford the latest in kitchen units and appliances not much has changed compared with now, apart from things like microwaves and bread makers. I think the main "improvement" is now everything is a lot cheaper so what we now call a basic kitchen in 2012 is a lot more furnished in labour saving devices then what would have been considered basic in the 60s. The down side to all of this which has been mentioned earlier is the fact things made cheap don't last as long.
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Old 15th Feb 2012, 10:58 am   #29
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

We would not do without our microwave and breadmaker. As we've never eaten what I call "plastic bread" (soggy salty flavourless pap) for our entire married life my wife used to make bread using our Kenwood Chef; now it's my turn to do it with the breadmaker.

Agree with John's take on bathrooms on kitchens, though. Of course the TV and various radios here are definitely not modern!

Despite the negative comments about Dyson vacs, we've had ours for a few years now with very little trouble - one belt and one brush. I know they are plasticky but the bagless idea is a good one.
I've got a Bertie (brother of Henry) in the workshop, but a Constellation seems interesting. I remember them but know nothing about them at all.
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Old 13th Mar 2012, 10:56 pm   #30
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Just to update, here is the Servis supertwin Trevor kindly donated to us situated in the kitchen, I have just completed the first wash of the week in it today. After replacing the rubber hoses mains lead and lubricating the machine is working great! It has saved me a lot of time and hassle, definitely better then my previous washing arrangements. Can't thank you enough Trevor the machine is great!! Thank you!
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Old 14th Mar 2012, 10:31 am   #31
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

That's too modern, we had a Hoover with a fold down wringer.

Peter
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Old 14th Mar 2012, 9:56 pm   #32
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Definitely a cream DAC90A then it will look very similar to my friend's parent's kitchen as it was in the 60s.

They also had a fireplace in it and the fire remained lit as much as possible from October until it got too hot in the spring.There was an all night burner so it lasted for weeks on end and burned through a grate every year. His mother was convinced that everyone should be warm and well fed and the Kenwood was in almost as constant use as the fire. Happy days!
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Old 15th Mar 2012, 3:19 pm   #33
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Denby salt and pepper shakers and mugs if I am not mistaken. Excellent choice methinks.
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Old 15th Mar 2012, 5:35 pm   #34
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

I love the old kitchenware, being the only one that can actually cook, I like to use all the vintage stuff I can, made to last, most of it.
Still use two Kirby classics, one up one down.
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Old 16th Mar 2012, 2:07 pm   #35
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

There's a whole house preserved in 1950s style
Not sure the original owner would have paid extra for a red 300 series telephone though?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...pool-home.html
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Old 16th Mar 2012, 5:30 pm   #36
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

A wonderfully re build a credit to you
Regards
Robin


A wonderful rebuild which is a credit to you.

Regards,
Robin.
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Old 16th Mar 2012, 5:55 pm   #37
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Quote:
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Definitely a cream DAC90A then it will look very similar to my friend's parent's kitchen as it was in the 60s.

Thanks for your comments everyone, I think I will go for a cream DAC90A. I will shift the ugly microwave over to the other side and pop a Bush on the fridge, should look quite good on there
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Old 17th Mar 2012, 8:14 am   #38
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

You could disguise it as a zinc meat safe.

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Old 18th Mar 2012, 12:40 am   #39
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

Or simply hide it inside one...
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Old 19th Mar 2012, 3:20 pm   #40
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Default Re: Vintage 50s/60s Kitchens

...altho' you'd need an outside aerial.
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