ECN Forum
Posted By: pauluk Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/23/05 09:29 AM
A selection of regional TV commercials for our electricity boards from past years (Real format):


Yorkshire Electricity Board, 1983 (970KB)

Northern Ireland Electricity, 1982 (347KB)

North Eastern Electricity Board, 1990 (952KB)


Looking at the 1983 YEB commercial, isn't it funny to think that you can now go and buy a microwave oven in Asda for £29.95?




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 11-23-2005).]
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/23/05 11:44 AM
ASDA, now part of Wal-Mart. We used to shop there in the eighties. In the YEB ad. you could have no- deposit credit. The APR was 37%!!!!

Alan
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/23/05 03:09 PM
Apart from the prices -isn't it simply amazing how the prices of microwaves, DVD players, and the like have dropped- on this side of the pond, most of our appliances are quite a bit larger than those pictured in the ads.

As an example, one ad shoes a "large" refrigerator that looks to be only slightly larger than the hand-cart that delivered it. Contrast this to what folks here are buying...400 Kg behemoths that have two doors, a freezer drawer big enough to wash the dog in, 1 meter wide, two meters tall, and 80 cm deep.

Likewise, the typical clothes washer looks to be about double the capacity of those shown.
The cooker shown is about 2/3 the size of our "usual". I have one that size- and had the devils' own time finding it!
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/23/05 09:57 PM
Yep - that's what makes people in Europe believe everything is big in the US! I mean, what meal could you cook needing 6 burners? Or let alone the vintage 1920ies gas range (residential) I once saw, with 16 burners and two(!) ovens!
We managed to get two grown turkeys in our European oven, so I guess that should be enough...
Standard refrigerators are about 32" tall and 24" wide, small ones are even narrower. The freezer part usually takes 3 pizzas. Ours is twice as tall because the top is refrigerator and the bottom is freezer, but that's it. We have two though, but after all 7 people are a big family I think.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/24/05 01:38 PM
Appliances have certainly been smaller over here on the whole. There does seem to be a trend for larger washers and fridges in some homes though, and "American-style" appliances are now much more widely available than just a few years ago.

Quite a lot of places now sell U.K. versions of Whirlpool, Maytag, etc. For example:
http://www.ogormans.co.uk/whirlpoo1.htm
http://www.ogormans.co.uk/american1.htm
Posted By: C-H Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/24/05 04:05 PM
Reminds me of a large fridge in the Electrolux catalogue. I don't remember the exact wording, but it went something like:

"Please note that this product is designed for the North American market. It is therefore noisier and less energy efficient than other products" [Linked Image]

(I usually detest the bashing of American stuff, but if the manufacturer puts it in the catalogue...)

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 11-24-2005).]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/24/05 05:18 PM
Not that common here.
The only slightly American-looking appliance I've ever seen here was a 1950ies gas range, surprisingly made by Austria Email. Still it was narrow for a US range. Some weird people import US refrigerators here and complain on boards how to hook them up... we've gotten along fine with our own stuff all the time and the US have too with theirs, why mix now??? That big stuff simply doesn't belong here IMHO.
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/24/05 10:12 PM
I can see the attraction in big freezers and fridges. Only us two here, and both of our 'conventional uk size' machines are always crammed to bursting. Wouldn't it be nice to have room for another litre of farm milk or a big block of Double Gloucester imported from Blighty? Or be able to freeze all the garden produce without worriting about space? 'Er indoors might even find space for my jar of 'Cascamite' occasionally!

Alan
syntax

[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 11-24-2005).]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/26/05 04:48 PM
Well, ok our freezers aren't that small either. People who have the space usually put big dedicated freezers in the basement, they open at the top like an old trunk and hold 150 or 200l, making them huge. Like 80cm tall, 120cm wide and 80cm deep. Searching for something at the bottom of those can become a challenge... smaller freezers are the size of the refrigerators mentioned above but have drawers instead of open space.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/26/05 05:00 PM
The large, chest freezers are fairly common here as well. As they tend to get used mostly for longer term storage though, they often end up in the back of the garage due to the sheer amount of space they occupy.

Of course, given the size of the average modern garage here, by the time you get a freezer in the back there's no room for anything bigger than a Pinto in there......
Posted By: djk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/26/05 08:53 PM
European fridges and freezers arn't THAT small to be quite honest.
OK the types that fit a standard "unit" i.e. the size of a European washing machine or dryer are quite small but they're designed for use in an apartment / very small house.

The typical full size fridge freezer has far more efficient use of space than a typical american side-by-side unit. The insulation's more efficient and thus the sides / back and doors of the machine are much thinner. They also don't use the same method of cooling the interior. The evaporators are built into the walls of the cabinate's interior. Automatic defrost is accomplished in a totally different way.

We invested in a Bosch US-style side-by-side (made by Maytag badged by Bosch) and to be quite honest it's not all that good. The storage space is comprimised by all of the hugely thick doors / fans / water coolers / ice makers etc etc

The standard Bosch full height european fridge-freezer we already have fits things like pizzas etc much more effectively and has substantially more space in the fridge area.

There are also european 4-door freezers that are pretty huge

The other major difference between appliances on either side of the atlantic is the tendency in Europe to build everything in. The fridge and freezer space in a kitchen may be scattered around the kitchen and disguised as cupboards.

Cooking appliances (ovens and hobs) tend to be built in and split up too.
It's not unusual to have an 80cm cooking surface thesedays.

In general, I think in Europe we just have a more modular system and do tend to have a range of appliances that will fit apartments / smaller homes but if you do want something big... you can quite easily get it.

Also, in terms of clothes washers... a front loader will generally wash a large load than an equivlant sized top-loading agitator machine. The newer machines squeeze a LOT of capacity out of a standardsize cabinet.

The agitator machines used in the states tend to look big, but they don't really effectively wash large loads (I have used machines on both sides of the atlantic)

You do have vastly larger dryers though! On the other side of it, a european washing machine will spin your clothes dry at about 1600 to 1800 rpm..

At the end of the day It's all just supply / demand and different focuses in each market [Linked Image]

Europeans are starting to look for more capacity and Americans are starting to look for more efficiency and flexbility so, perhaps we'll all meet in the middle at some stage.

There's no question though, looking at those ads, that prices have plumetted and fridges are about 4 times bigger [Linked Image] Lifestyles have changed a lot too.. in the 1970s and even 1980s frozen convenience food was the big thing ... hence the giant chest freezers and small fridge were ideal for many homes...
By the 1990s everyone became far more "foody" and started expecting a LOT more from their convenience food ... Suddenly the chilled ready-meal, salad in a bag, pre-prepared chilled vegetables, fresh juices etc etc became the norm and suddenly we required huge fridges..

Also, in most parts of the states the climate has traditionally meant that you guys had to refridgerate absolutely everything ... You also have some rather more scary insect life that will munch on it if you dont [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 11-26-2005).]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/27/05 12:02 AM
During the colder months our refrigerator is only half as full as it is during summer because we can put stuff into the built-in closet below the kitchen window, which basically has outside temperature.
Our chest freezer used to be in the small room originally designed to be a servant's bedroom. It gave up the ghost when I was around 8 years old and was replaced with an upright refrigerator-freezer combo, the top and bottom half each being the size of standard units. If we ever manage to clear the basement of old construction materials (mostly salvaged doors and wooden floors) we plan on buying a new one.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/27/05 12:01 PM
Quote
You also have some rather more scary insect life that will munch on it if you dont

You know what they say about everything being bigger in America? That includes the bugs! [Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Hoover is now producing a rather curious washing machine. It's a top-loader, but the drum still rotates about a horizontal axis. That axis actually runs left-to-right, so the drum is turned 90 degrees compared to a conventional front-loading machine.

You have to open the lid on top, then turn the drum around until you get to the opening hatch on it. I first saw one of these in Comet a few months ago, and it sure looked an odd arrangement. The machine is only 16" wide though, so I guess it might be handy for narrow spaces.

http://www.hoover.co.uk/docs/product.asp?id=114



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 11-27-2005).]
Posted By: Owain Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/27/05 01:36 PM
My mum had one of those sideways-drum top loader washing machines back in the 1980s, made by Miele, it was a washer-dryer.
Posted By: C-H Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/27/05 03:22 PM
We had a washing machine that looked just like that back in the 80's, made by UPO. I think the idea with the trum supported on both sides was to make it more durable.
Posted By: gideonr Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/27/05 04:37 PM
hmmm, does away with the door seal too...
Posted By: djk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/28/05 01:30 PM
Paul,

Those drum-based toploaders are quite common and popular in France in particular. They usually have a taller deeper drum that isn't as wide so they can fit a similar amount of clothes as a standard front loader but take up less floor space. They're ideal in a small apartment.

There are usually two doors in the drum that can only be opened by pushing them inwards. So, during the spin / wash the doors can't be pushed open by clothes at the inside of the drum.

There's a second door on top that seals the tank
Posted By: pauluk Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/29/05 11:36 AM
From Alan Belson:

Quote
Here's a 'top-loader' from the mid 1920s!
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/30/05 10:48 PM
Ahh yes,
The old wringer washing machine!.
We had one of them at home down in Temuka when I was growing up.
The wringer rollers were something you really had to watch when feeding clothes into them.
One seconds in-attention and your fingers would be through the rollers.
Which I might add, is a rather painful experience. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/30/05 11:46 PM
Denise preferred our old 'Hotpoint Twintub', and we only went 'auto' when it finally expired and they were no longer sold. We then got a Hoover, with a big square plastic plate; you 'programmed' it by poking the plate into a slot, remember those? That Hotpoint conical agitator remained the same design for 40-odd years, because it worked. Maytag?- I believe that name has been mentioned recently in US posts? The Hotpoint mangle had been superceded by a spin-drier alongside, and there was a perforated 'fluff filter' thingy that could be fitted over the paddle, plus a pump for emptying / circulating. Good machine, the casing wound up as a garden incinerator for quite a few years.

Alan

PS. Mike, that's a powered mangle with a worm & wheel drive. It would have dragged your whole arm in!

[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 11-30-2005).]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 11/30/05 11:57 PM
Would anyone object to me starting a new thread about washing machines alone?.
As not to totally thread-jack Pauls original thread.
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 12/01/05 07:51 AM
Mike, maybe a new thread on all domestic electrical machines, (irons, vacs etc.)?

Alan
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Regional Electricity Commercials - 12/01/05 09:00 AM
Alan,
Good call mate!. [Linked Image]
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