Decisions decisions, A power question, washing related

[doratheexplorer]

10 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

I have to disagree with some of your points.

 

While I accept they do require you to spend time doing the washing it isn't exactly hard labour? I actually find I quite enjot getting involved in doing the laundry again after decades of owning an automatic. Of course the last time I had a single tub washing machine I was in bricks and morter with a bucket of terry towling nappies that needed my attention each day so, as there are just the two of us now it's quite a different scenario

 

No they don't take large items like bedlinen but they will wash a pair of jeans perfectly well and get them clean so long as you do not overload the drum (the same applies to an automatic - it just has a larger drum) The thing about washing large items on board a boat is trying to find a place to dry large items on a boat and so a trip to a launderette with the bedlinen and the larger towels and get them dried while you are there is a great option.

 

I do not understand why you can't properly rinse?

 

I sort my washing into lighter coloured stuff going through to gradually darker and dirtier stuff and set out with a drum of good warm water with the correct amount of detergent.

I start off putting the light coloured smalls in with perhaps a short to make up a load if required and let it agitate for 10 minutes. Then I remove them to the spinner placing a recepticle under the drain pipe to catch the warm soapy water. At this point the next items go in and start washing.  I give the first load a good spin, return the captured water to the washing drum and rinse them in the sink. I then return them to spin.

At this point the second load will have been agitating for 10 minutes and so I repeat the process until the washing is all done.

Depending on the amount of washing I may find I need to top up the drum with some warm water and some additional detergent for further loads but the rinsing is dependent upon my own eyes seeing the water running clear in the bowl and so if the laundry is not rinsed properly it has nothing to do with the performance of the machine.

 

 

I didn't say it was 'hard labour', I said it was labour intensive, which your description demonstrates.  If you're rinsing in the sink, then you're probably not rinsing properly unless you're using huge amounts of water, water running clear is not an indication.  Washing detergents don't just work through creating suds, most of the residues will not be obvious.  I agree, that bedlinen is too big to go in, so there's a weekly trip to the launderette anyway.  Do you live aboard?

 

I bought my automatic washing machine for second hand but hardly used £60.  I still say this is a no brainer for the OP.

[cheshire~rose]

4 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I didn't say it was 'hard labour', I said it was labour intensive, which your description demonstrates.  If you're rinsing in the sink, then you're probably not rinsing properly unless you're using huge amounts of water, water running clear is not an indication.  Washing detergents don't just work through creating suds, most of the residues will not be obvious.  I agree, that bedlinen is too big to go in, so there's a weekly trip to the launderette anyway.  Do you live aboard?

 

I bought my automatic washing machine for second hand but hardly used £60.  I still say this is a no brainer for the OP.

So a washing machine can rinse better using less water? I do use a fair amount of rinse water but so does a washing machine. I don't get any build up of residue but I am careful not to use too much detergent either. No I don't live aboard but I don't actually see why that makes a difference? 

I would not have space in our boat to give to an automatic anyway. I wold rather use the space for storage in our galley and there is no room in the toilet but personally I have never really understood the need for washing machines and dishwashers on board a boat. Of course if I worked full time it would be a different consideration but I don't. 

 

You seem to be very keen to make up the OP's mind for them based on what suits you best. I don't see this as an issue where one size fits all. What suits one person may not suit another - that doesn't make that choice wrong or any less relevant. Like most things in life it's about informing yourself with as many opinions as possible and see how valid they are for your circumstances.

My suggestion was to buy a s/h twin tub and try it. If it doesn't suit nothing is lost because the OP will get their money back. If they start reconfiguring the boat to get an automatic in when they don't necessarily need to then no matter how cheaply they manage to buy the washing machine the cost may well mount up and they could be losing valuable space for other stuff 

[LadyG]

On 26/01/2020 at 17:50, Loddon said:

That is why I no longer have the ZWC but do have a Candy

 

Oh, I hace a Candy, it draws all water from calorifier, I was going to fit a Victron 375 and ditch the big chinese inverter thing, do I need both? I assumed I would use it when engine is running, I have no idea how it is wired.

Edited January 28, 2020 by LadyG

[doratheexplorer]

12 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

So a washing machine can rinse better using less water? That's right.  It's what they're designed to do.  I do use a fair amount of rinse water but so does a washing machine. I don't get any build up of residue but I am careful not to use too much detergent either. No I don't live aboard but I don't actually see why that makes a difference? 

I would not have space in our boat to give to an automatic anyway. I wold rather use the space for storage in our galley and there is no room in the toilet but personally I have never really understood the need for washing machines and dishwashers on board a boat. Of course if I worked full time it would be a different consideration but I don't. 

 

You seem to be very keen to make up the OP's mind for them based on what suits you best. We're both suggesting to the OP what we think is best.  When I was new to boating I was talked into getting a portable twin tub by another boater and, in my naivety, I struggled on with it for quite a while.  Regular trips on the bus to a launderette for bigger things, clothes not getting as clean as I'd like, spending all evening after work getting washing done while tired.  This was my experience.  Then I bought a proper washing machine and I wouldn't dream of going back.  I don't see this as an issue where one size fits all. What suits one person may not suit another - that doesn't make that choice wrong or any less relevant. Like most things in life it's about informing yourself with as many opinions as possible and see how valid they are for your circumstances.

My suggestion was to buy a s/h twin tub and try it. If it doesn't suit nothing is lost because the OP will get their money back. If they start reconfiguring the boat to get an automatic in when they don't necessarily need to then no matter how cheaply they manage to buy the washing machine the cost may well mount up and they could be losing valuable space for other stuff The washing machine goes in the same space where the old one used to go and I plumbed it in myself.  It wasn't hard and the bits cost me about £10 I think.

If that wouldn't work for the OP then fair enough. But he said " have a space I can create to house it.  I loose the cupboard under the bathroom sink, but hardly use that so seems good".  His question wasn't about the logisitics of fitting a washing machine, it was about generating power for it.  He already has a convenient way of doing that.

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by doratheexplorer

[doratheexplorer]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Oh, I hace a Candy, it draws all water from calorifier, I was going to fit a Victron 375 and ditch the big chinese inverter thing, do I need both? I assumed I would use it when engine is running, I have no idea how it is wired.

How do you control the wash temperature?

[cuthound]

On 26/01/2020 at 18:14, Dai Molly II said:

I must admit am starting to lean towards a try of the twin tub, a small gamble of under £100 or nearly £1000 and lots of work!! ?? Seems the twin tub will do almost anything bar a duvet cover.  Can soon find a laundrette for that, will fit in the shower tray to run and empty.  thanks for usrful input ??

 

I have a twin tub, but I have noticed they now do a single tub version. Handy if space is at a premium.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-IN-1-Compact-Automatic-Washing-Machine-Free-Standing-Top-Load-3-5KG-Spin-Dry/303078776188?redirect=mobile

[LadyG]

12 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

How do you control the wash temperature?

I have never used it, today's electrian told me it would kill my batteries, and he has removed the chinese rubbish inverters as I did not like the look of them.

 I will wear shorts and T shirts from now on, sandals, no socks.

Edited January 28, 2020 by LadyG

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I have never used it, today's electrian told me it would kill my batteries, and he has removed the chinese rubbish inverters as I did not like the look of them.

 I will wear shorts and T shirts from now on, sandals, no socks.

Nope. Socks is long gone.

[matty40s]

We fit washing machines if people want them, but we dont fit Zanussi.

Candy are the most likely to work off non-grid electrics.

[system 4-50]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

I have never used it, today's electrian told me it would kill my batteries, and he has removed the chinese rubbish inverters as I did not like the look of them.

 I will wear shorts and T shirts from now on, sandals, no socks.

Nothing wrong with sandals & socks.  Preferably a matching pair.