1980 Pifco Automatic Teamaker 1152

The Pifco Automatic Teamaker 1152, from the outside identical to the 1151, was probably Pifco’s last offering to the teasmade industry, and is believed to be from around 1980.

Doug writes about his example:

“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.”