Anyone planning (and maybe worrying about) installing a washing machine may find the following notes of use. This was the first time I switched the machine on.
Boat electrics
70 amp 12v DC alternator. Engine running throughout wash programme 4 x 110 Ah batteries 2000 watt 12v to 240v AC pure sine wave inverter (Sunshine Solar)
Washing Machine
Candy Aquamatic 100f (compact) max 1000 spin, 1300 watt max Cold feed only, but water fed in via mixer valve at 30 degrees C. (I might throttle this back to 25 degrees, as the washing did seem a bit warm when I got it out)
Notes
My water (flow meter) reading before the start was 7550 litres 10:45 start, Filling and slow drum movement between 10 and 80 watts 10:56 Heating Cycle. (THIUS IS THE BIT THAT HURTS)
1162 watts with the element only on, and 1271 watts with element and drum movement 11:03 Heating went off after 7 minutes.
Note that the 7 minutes to heat the water is consistent with theory, as if the element is 1100 watts, the raising 9.5 litres of water by 10 degrees C, should take just 6 minutes)
Drum movement continues at 10-100 watts until .. 12:02 The draining and rinsing cycle begins. There are 3 cold water rinses with the machine taking in the fabric conditioner on the last rinse at 12:26, The power rarely exceeds 100 watts. 12:33 The final drain 12:37 The spinning cycle starts. Maximum power 200 – 300 watts Programme ends at 12:46 (2 hours)
Water reading at end was 7592 litres. So water used was 42 litres. 9.5 litres for the wash and 11.5 litres for each of the 3 rinses.
This is the hottest and longest programme I am likely to use.
I measured the (settled) battery voltage before I started, and did intend to do the same a day later, but clearly the net result of this power usage is not going to be adverse, so in the end, I didn’t bother.
So, all in all, not as scary as I originally feared.