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TwinTub Washer/Inverter


Artful Dronald

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Hello everyone,

 

I have just moved aboard my first narrowboat and I wanted to do so with as few modcons as possible, I have however, decided that I need to wash clothes and not be going to a launderette. I ordered the twin tub washing machine below.... Total Power: 360w

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L89RRFP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I thought I would be able to run this off my small 500w Sunshine sine wave power inverter but it's not playing ball.

 

Any ideas what I missed? Please be gentle - complete novice

 

Many thanks,

Graham

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Please explain "not playing ball".

 

What exactly does (or does not) happen.

 

Anything with motors in tends to take a larger power when first starting up that it needs when actually running.  I suspect the 360 watts is actually running, and it needs more than this to start, and your 500w inverter may not be enough.

 

I have run small twin tubs off of quite small inverters, but there has usually been more of a margin between the quoted powe rof the twin tub, and that of the inverter.  A smaller one, (with less capacity of course) would probably be fine.

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Things like electric heaters use the wattage that they are rated at, ie a 500w heater will use 500 watts.

 

Things like Washing machines, fridges, etc that have electric motors actually need a much higher starting current to get the motor turning, once it is running then it drops back to its 'rated wattage'.

 

You really need an inverter 2x your required wattage, so in your example a 1000 watt inverted would be ideal.

 

Next question -

 

What type of inverter is it ?

There are 2 main types, 'Pure Sine Wave' and 'Modified Sine Wave' some electrics / electronics do not like running off MSW inverters.

 

Cheap ones tend to be MSW and some of the cheap 'ebay' Chinese ones are often not actually achieving the power that they are sold as.

 

Edited to spell Sine correctly (its not a road sign)

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Next question -

 

What type of inverter is it ?

There are 2 main types, 'Pure Sign Wave' and 'Modified Sign Wave' some electrics / electronics do not like running off MSW inverters.

OP says it is a sine wave inverter, (not "sign"!).

Shouldn't matter for these simple washing machines.  We have used either with equal success.

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2 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Please explain "not playing ball".

 

What exactly does (or does not) happen.

 

Anything with motors in tends to take a larger power when first starting up that it needs when actually running.  I suspect the 360 watts is actually running, and it needs more than this to start, and your 500w inverter may not be enough.

 

I have run small twin tubs off of quite small inverters, but there has usually been more of a margin between the quoted powe rof the twin tub, and that of the inverter.  A smaller one, (with less capacity of course) would probably be fine.

The inverter tries to run the machine but then shows the fault light and makes a loud noise!

 

Sounds like you're right, it needs more power to get it going, I wish that was clearer before I bought it - returns are an issue right now!

 

Thank you :) 

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Things like electric heaters use the wattage that they are rated at, ie a 500w heater will use 500 watts.

 

Things like Washing machines, fridges, etc that have electric motors actually need a much higher starting current to get the motor turning, once it is running then it drops back to its 'rated wattage'.

 

You really need an inverter 2x your required wattage, so in your example a 1000 watt inverted would be ideal.

 

Next question -

 

What type of inverter is it ?

There are 2 main types, 'Pure Sign Wave' and 'Modified Sign Wave' some electrics / electronics do not like running off MSW inverters.

it's modified sine wave...

 

Hmm maybe a bigger investment in an inverter is needed for this :( 

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Just now, Artful Dronald said:

The inverter tries to run the machine but then shows the fault light and makes a loud noise!

 

Sounds like you're right, it needs more power to get it going, I wish that was clearer before I bought it - returns are an issue right now!

 

Thank you :) 

As you are new to boating and boating equipment, until you learn a little more, particularly about electrics, it would always be advisable  just to ask here for suggestions, or confirmation of your thinking.

 

Are you in a marina ?

How are you charging your batteries ?

 

 

Good luck

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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

As you are new to boating and boating equipment, until you learn a little more, particularly about electrics, it would always be advisable  just to ask here for suggestions, or confirmation of your thinking.

 

Are you in a marina ?

How are you charging your batteries ?

 

 

Good luck

Good idea - thanks

 

Yes, currently in a Marina for the next month at least

 

I've installed two 250w solar panels which is charging my batteries very well for my current needs

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Just a thought...

I have a similar setup. On mine the 'fault' is battery low. I find that having the engine running provides just enough extra umph into the batteries to fool the inverter into running ok. Worth a try anyway.

 

John

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I had one of these twin tubs and mine had two separate motors, one for the washer and one for the spinner. I never tried using them both at once but it worked fine on a 500W 24v inverter using the spin drier after the washer. The current will be large running from 12v say 50A so you need the battery close to the inverter  or with large diameter cables otherwise the voltage drop to the inverter will make it shut down. Easy to measure with a multimeter.

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The other problem with these machines is the length of time the spinner needs to get up to speed.  Ferrari they are not.  All the while it is accelerating a drum full of soggy clothes it is drawing full power, and more whilst also driving the emptying pump (if fitted).

The wash motor has a much easier life.

 

Check your current set up is OK, as above, and then try with small loads and/or the engine charging.  If it is OK a bigger inverter is next.

N

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I've driven a similar twin tub off a 600W modified sine wave inverter with no issues at all. Bought from a nearby Maplin (remember them?) in an emergency when out cruising and the Victron inverter came over all poorly. Never tried running both washer and drier motors simultaneously. It did have very good connections to the batteries, via the main bus bars. I threw away the connecting wires that came with it. Used thick wire, 6mm2 and less than 1m long to the + and - bus bars via a suitable midi fuse and proper crimp connectors, not crocodile clips, then the existing 50mm2 wires to the batteries. @Artful Dronald, could you give us some more details/photos of how the inverter is wired to the batteries?

 

Jen

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These things do come in a variety of sizes.

The smallest will run happily from an inverter as low as 300W, provided you don't wash and spin at the same time-I think the one we used to have had 150W motors.

DSCF8605.JPG

We now have this somewhat larger model.  We run it on a 700 watt inverter, but I think as the larger motor is only 230W, it would probably e OK on a 500W one, provided again that you only operte one motor at a time.

flamingo+laundry+-+resized.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

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