Lavastoviglie Ignis Hostess 1968 Panoramica 160622

This is the Ignis dishwasher model Hostess from 1968 built on the Ignis Corsara chassy, the mechanical part is exactly the same as that of the Corsara dishwasher and the internal basket are nearly the same so the Ignis Hostess dishwasher can be considered a front loading only version of the Ignis Corsara. It has Rilsan-coated wash tub and front door, the side walls of the machine are based on the exclusive Ignis patent used in the production of refrigerators. The structure of the sides is made of plastic laminate having the interspace between the internal tub (cooling chamber in refrigerators) and external walls filled with polyurethane foam to ensure superior acoustic and thermal insulation with half the overall thickness of insulation required with the classic insulating "sandwich" used by all other manufacturers of the time; it was so good that the Ignis system was evenctually adopted, under the Italian Ignis license, by all refrigerator manufacturers around the world by the year 1969. The front of the porthole is in enamelled steel but on request it was also available in the stainless steel version such as the so called Xilostil Corsara. This model was created for the growing requests for undercounter appliances to be installed in the new coordinated modular kitchens. All the controls are mounted in the upper part of the front door and are the same as the Corsara dishwasher, the four buttons turn the machine on and off and select the temperature and the type of cycle, the timer knob at the top right selects the functions of the cycle to be performed. Unlike the Ignis Corsara, to allow the undercounter installation of the machine, the ventilation opening, through which the exhaust vapors are conveyed outside during the drying phase, is placed at the top left of the front door and masked into dashboard. Both the lower and upper basket are easily loaded by pulling them out like a drawer and the automatic rinse aid and detergent dispensers are mounted inside the front door and are both electrically controlled by the machine timer. Like the Ignis Corsara, the Hostess was also released with two different timer configurations, the first version of both machines featured the Holzer timer, which was later replaced with a Crouzet timer when the Ignis switched to Crouzet timers for almost all appliances produced after 1969 with very few exceptions. The Hostess cost about 20% more than the classic Corsara dishwasher. As it was designed to fit into modular kitchens, very few were sold as stand-alone units and since in the 1960s not many people could afford a full coordinated kitchen, far fewer units were manufactured than the Ignis Corsara which was mass-produced. The Hostess was the Top of the Line Ignis together with the peculiar Alice countertop dishwasher, it has the same “Rotoget” system with crossed sprinkler as the Corsara but was more effective in cleaning the objects in the upper basket. The lack of the top door in the Hostess dishwasher allowed for smoother corners around the tub ceiling that conveyed the water more effectively to the top face of the items in the upper basket. Having a single front door also guaranteed quieter operation and suffered fewer failures than the Corsara, not having the upper closing gasket that could easily fail if not carefully maintained but above all because the front controls were less prone to be damaged by the humidity and water (or any liquid) that could infiltrate more easily through the Corsara's dashboard causing damage to the timer and push-button controls. Aesthetically, the Hostess dishwasher was the first machine to incorporate the peculiar design which was then applied to the first series of Ignis Multiprogram front-loading washing machines and despite the fact that it looks like a very small machine, it houses 8 complete servings places on the upper basket while the lower ones easily accommodate pots, pans and serving dishes needed to prepare a meal for eight. The Hostess dishwasher is still one of those beautifully designed 1960s machines, made to last decades when used correctly and well maintained.