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Pifco Tea-maker 1045/5907½ Pifco Tea-maker
1045A/5907½ In 1954 Pifco Ltd. of 63 Gt. Eastern Street, London EC2 entered into an agreement with Teesmade Engineering to produce the automatic tea makers already manufactured there in their name. These were marketed as the Pifco 1045 and 1047. Teesmade Engineering not only manufactured the units but also provided after sales care. There is a label on the underside of many units giving the address "52 Lansbury Drive, Hayes, Middlesex. Tel Hayes 0661" for spares and service and asking customers to ship the kettle only if only that item required repairs. The pictures in red are from a 1954 catalogue. The text reads: "A flick of a switch and complete relaxation while the water boils, kettle automatically switches off and a gentle buzzer announces that the tea is ready. The Tea-maker comprises a 2-pint kettle, ivory enamel finish with insulated handle and chrome plated bayonet fitting lid. Mounted on an ivory enamelled base 10¼ in. x 5in., embodying a cork covered stand for a teapot. (Teapot not supplied). If desired a table lamp or radio may be connected to the 2-pin 5 amp socket incorporated in the base. Complete with 4 feet 3-core braided circular flex. Loading 560 watts." 1954 price £3/19/6 - no tax. |
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Make you own Automatic Tea Maker In February 1957 Practical Mechanics Magazine featured an article on building your own teawaker which suggests using a Smiths Callboy alarm clock and a 750w Pifco kettle (model number not given but probably issued as a spare for the 1045 or 1047). The writer, A.S.Neale, suggests mounting the teawaker onto a bedside table (as illustrated), complete with a lovely rectangle of formica upon which to stand your hot cup. The bleary eyed mechanic has obviously been working on his construction all night and is badly in need of his cup of tea! This issue's editorial introduces another ground-breaking invention: "Another American company says that it will have tape-recording for television on sale to the public in 1957. This means that you will be able to purchase a spool of tape as you now buy a gramophone record and record your own television programmes." |
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Pifco Tea-o-matic 1047/10408 Pifco Tea-o-matic
1047/10408 The photograph shown was supplied by my correspondant Penny. In the 1954 catalogue the text reads: "Set the clock and the Pifco Tea-O-Matic, without any attention -
A handsome appliance comprising electric alarm clock in ivory plastic mounted on ivory enamelled base 10 5/8 in. x 5 1/8 in. and chrome plated 2-pint kettle in modern styling. (Teapot not supplied). Table lamp or radio may be plugged ino the 2-pin 5 amp socket mounted on the platform. Complete with 4 feet 3-core braided circular flex. Loading 560 watts." The clock is by Metamec and has Pifco printed on the face. 1954 price £6/19/6 plus tax £1/5/6 The picture of the box below was seen on ebay. My own later 1047 box is marked with the original price £13-19-00. It contains a label explaining the new wiring colours (blue, brown, green/yellow). |
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This photograph shows the Pifco Tea-o-matic belonging to my correspondant John, who points out that it differs slightly from the model above in that it incorporates two pin plug outlets in the base which act as an auxilliary terminal for a separate lamp or other electrical device to be switched on with the alarm. John has kindly supplied the following description of his model: "10" x 5" folded and painted metal base, hardboard underside with four retaining screws through rubber feet. Chrome kettle on sprung hinged base with switch to provide boil dry cut off. Clock mounted alongside to occupy other half of plinth. Round clock face mounted in square plastic surround. Motor body in black plastic supported at rear by additional "A" bracket for extra rigidity. Clock by Metamac Electric has five controls comprising, alarm cut off, alarm set, sync.start, hands set and "tick" on/off. (Highly sophisticated). Internal wiring and switching is crude and to pre- war standard. Manufacturer plate on rear of plinth. Kettle with neolite handles has blade type heating element. Kettle discharges into operator provided tea pot (need to ensure adequate capacity!) with quiet and rapid discharge by normal standards. |
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Pifco Tea-o-matic 1049 Pifco also took over and rebranded Teesmade Engineering's Teeboy Deluxe as the Tea-o-matic 1049. This photograph shows the lovely late 1950's Pifco 1049 which has a similar base, kettle and teapot to the Teeboy, but a very different and stylish clock face. Under some examples you will see labels referring to Teeboy Engineering for servicing, e.g. "Service Tea-O-Matic, Teeboy Engineering C° Ltd, "PIFCO" made in England". The name Teeboy Engineering indicates a post 1965 model. |
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Pifco 1151 The Pifco Automatic Teamaker 1152 is believed to be from the late 1970's. Once again it features a Metamec clock. |
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Pifco 1152 The Pifco Automatic Teamaker 1152, from the outside identical to the 1151, was probably Pifco's last offering to the teawaker industry, and is believed to be from around 1980. The two upper photos show Doug's example. He writes: "When I got it, it was very shabby, but it has cleaned up a treat. Today (Sunday) it made tea for us. Over the last week it has driven me MAD as the auto function at first didn't work at all due to dirt and damp, but nylon lubricant sorted that. However, once working it was very intermittent, sometimes switching on the element and then not. "To cut a long story short, I eventually realised that it has a very long cycle. About 6 hours before the alarm time, a cam on the hour hand starts to raise a lever which snaps shut 15 minutes before the set time and causes the contacts to close. They remain closed for 90 minutes, rest open for the next 4 hours then start the cycle again.Testing within 6 hours of set time bypasses the system and nothing happens, unlike a Goblin which can be set as short as 30 minutes in advance. Many hours were lost until I sussed that one! "The water boiler and teapot have a huge capacity: 5 cups or 4 mugs. The mind boggles at so many people all wanting an early morning cuppa. The buzzer is activated by a thermal switch on the element but has no cut-out so it must be switched off or the element would burn out.The light is switched on manually. One bizarre feature is a fake 'tick-tock' for those who like to be lulled to sleep by a regular rhythm. The clock face is lit by an orange neon bulb which is now very faint. However, it is my first real Teasmade that is not a Goblin and I like it's style." In 2001 Pifco was taken over by Salton Inc, USA, a small appliances manufacturer. Pifco tea makers have been discontinued for some considerable length of time, and despite some persistent enquiries, Pifco insist that they have no literature or information to impart. The Pifco 'stable' currently includes: Pifco, Salton, Carmen, Russell Hobbs, Tower, Mountain Breeze, HiTech and Haden. |
