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Washing machines on boats


cairanvanrooyen

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Our washing machine has just died and we need a new one. For the past we have relied on using the washing machine only while connected to shore power.

 

However, i wondered if it was possible/sensible to buy a new washing machine that I can use off grid, powered by my inverter - I have a Victron Multiplus 1600W inverter. Due to this limited output, i assume i want a machine that can do cold washes?

 

Any advice on a suitable/recommended washing machine to suit the above?

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Ive just purchased this as a temporary measure (a twin tub as per Jen's post below) ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Washing-Machine-Washer-Spin-Dryer-Apartment/dp/B07T68LQZK/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=G4QPQ639JNGDDEF6CQQS  but yesterday it was priced at £59! and the same for all the other look a-likes from a cheap market...  today they are all around £207...another of Amazons inexplicable price hikes! 

 

I think it might be a copy of this, which is likely better quality. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L89RRFP/ref=emc_b_5_t  

 

but as a try out Im glad I only paid £59

 

 

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, cairanvanrooyen said:

Our washing machine has just died and we need a new one. For the past we have relied on using the washing machine only while connected to shore power.

 

However, i wondered if it was possible/sensible to buy a new washing machine that I can use off grid, powered by my inverter - I have a Victron Multiplus 1600W inverter. Due to this limited output, i assume i want a machine that can do cold washes?

 

Any advice on a suitable/recommended washing machine to suit the above?

The limited output from the Victron may be a problem. May I suggest instead using a portable twin tub washing machine? This uses hot water from whatever source you have, be that gas heater, diesel, or stove backboiler. They need a bit more intervention to use, but clean clothes very well and spin out the water much more effectively than a drum automatic washing machine, so need much less drying time. Lots of threads on CWDF about washing machines. Uses 200 to 300W to drive the drum and spinner, so easy on the inverter and batteries. Used one for yonks.

 

Jen

1 minute ago, Chagall said:

another of Amazons inexplicable price hikes! 

Jeff Bezos needs to pass Elon Musk again in worlds richest man competition. You pay the price.

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Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

Feed the machine with water at 40 degrees using a thermostatic mixing valve connected to the hot and cold supplies, disconnect the heater in the washer so that it does not overload your under sized inverter.

This^^. The only downside is that rinses are also done in the 40 degree water.  Others simply add hot water manually at the start of the wash programme.  I have read that some machines don't work if you disconnect the heater.

 

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Just now, philjw said:

This^^. The only downside is that rinses are also done in the 40 degree water.  Others simply add hot water manually at the start of the wash programme.  I have read that some machines don't work if you disconnect the heater.

 

True.

There are some machines where the fill valve is in series with the heater during the fill period, not common but it needs the wiring rearranging if you dis the heater.

 

Rinsing with warm water poses no problem, by the time it gets to the last rinse, your calorifier will likely be cold anyway.

 

Not many auto washers that use less than 1400 watts, the popular Zanussi KWC 1301 uses 1650 from memory and it is a small "studio" machine.

 

There were machines with 2 elements in where you could disconnect one but I think that idea is now defunked.

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29 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The limited output from the Victron may be a problem. May I suggest instead using a portable twin tub washing machine? This uses hot water from whatever source you have, be that gas heater, diesel, or stove backboiler. They need a bit more intervention to use, but clean clothes very well and spin out the water much more effectively than a drum automatic washing machine, so need much less drying time. Lots of threads on CWDF about washing machines. Uses 200 to 300W to drive the drum and spinner, so easy on the inverter and batteries. Used one for yonks.

 

Jen

Jeff Bezos needs to pass Elon Musk again in worlds richest man competition. You pay the price.

I have a theory that once you purchase something at a good price from Amazon, the next day it is inflated hugely, you then say to yourself "golly Im glad I bought it when I did!" and so will quite likely fall for that trick again, hence jumping before waiting.  

 

Occasionally Ive noticed if you search Amazon and find something you like you often check the price of it elsewhere.  When you come back to Amazon later in the day lo and behold it has dropped in price, so you snap it up...    Ive tried to force that theory and it worked once but they have wised up to me now!  So yes, we are being programmed by Jeff!

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1 minute ago, Chagall said:

I have a theory that once you purchase something at a good price from Amazon, the next day it is inflated hugely, you then say to yourself "golly Im glad I bought it when I did!" and so will quite likely fall for that trick again, hence jumping before waiting.  

 

Occasionally Ive noticed if you search Amazon and find something you like you often check the price of it elsewhere.  When you come back to Amazon later in the day lo and behold it has dropped in price, so you snap it up...    Ive tried to force that theory and it worked once but they have wised up to me now!  So yes, we are being programmed by Jeff!

 

Nah, it's pricing bots reacting to each other in odd ways.

 

There are many tools out there that track the prices of all your products that are being sold by competitors - note that most of the stuff for sale on Amazon is being supplied by third parties, not Amazon themselves.  If you set your rule to always be a penny less than your competitors and two of them do the same then the price collapses until two of the bots hit "safety" limits and reset to some default level.

 

The crazy high price thing is usually driven by limited supplies - it's more common on eBay than Amazon.  If you're about to sell your last few of an item, adding a few tens or even hundreds of pound to an item reduces the chances of selling it.  If someone is daft enough to buy it anyway you make a killing on it!

 

If you set your pricing rules to be an average of some of your competitors and some go low and some go high then odd rule clashes can start to happen - especially if they are using similar bots to monitor your prices.

 

Confused?  So are most of the bots! 

 

 

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Well, Im glad that most of the time I seem to dance in between the bots and am happy with the price I land on. 

 

 

...but Im also quite deflated that my imaginary battles of derring do with Amazons programmers are nothing like I fondly surmised!  'take that you Amazon dogs! I got the twin tub at two thirds the cost' 

 

 

 

Edited by Chagall
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At the risk of being an armchair expert, I saw the https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/wmtf722h/hotpoint-wmtf722h-freestanding-washing-machine Hotpoint being recommended by 'cruising the cut', specifically as it has a cold wash button. The cheaper https://www.electriq.co.uk/p/eiqwmtl75/electriq-eiqwmtl75#!#maindesc alternative I found does not. but does have a cool 15 degree wash

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Check out the Candy 4kg (assuming it's still out there) It has a cold button (I have the 3.5kg) but when I looked it seemed identical apart from that. Limited load, expensive but it has (had) the advantage of having a mechanical programmer etc and is not too choosy about supply. It is front loading so may suit the available space more easily.

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I have an Indesit IWDC 6125 which has a cold wash option. When using offline I put about 4 litres of hot water in the drum manually, then run it through the cold wash programme. It runs happily from a Victron 2Kw inverter, but I can't say whether it would on a 1.5 Kw.

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2 hours ago, Chagall said:

Ive just purchased this as a temporary measure (a twin tub as per Jen's post below) ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Washing-Machine-Washer-Spin-Dryer-Apartment/dp/B07T68LQZK/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=G4QPQ639JNGDDEF6CQQS  but yesterday it was priced at £59! and the same for all the other look a-likes from a cheap market...  today they are all around £207...another of Amazons inexplicable price hikes! 

 

I think it might be a copy of this, which is likely better quality. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L89RRFP/ref=emc_b_5_t  

 

but as a try out Im glad I only paid £59

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s what I use on boat, it works well of inverter and in summer solar more than copes. I store it under bed then it sits in bath and I use shower to fill with warm water. One thing is liquid detergent is better as powder can still remain in small flecks after wash. 

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6 minutes ago, big d said:

That’s what I use on boat, it works well of inverter and in summer solar more than copes. I store it under bed then it sits in bath and I use shower to fill with warm water. One thing is liquid detergent is better as powder can still remain in small flecks after wash. 

Thanks for the tip re detergent. 

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Surely a cold wash won't clean your clothes properly?  Especially at this time of the year.  This is even more true of biological powder/liquid.  The enzymes will not be active at typical cold tap water temperatures.

 

I used to have a twin tub, and the wash cycle will clean your clothes, the spin cycle works fine too.  The problem is there's no sensible way of rinsing, which is just as important as the other stages.  It's also a right faff to set it up each time.

 

Ditching the twin tub for a proper washing machine was one of the best decisions I've made.  I only ever run it from a genny, which puts out a lovely steady sine wave of electricity and means that using it puts no strain on my batteries at all.  Basically it means that doing a wash is no different to in a house on mains electric.

 

I used to dry my washing on an airer in front of the stove in winter or when it's wet out.  But I've improved on that.  I've put little hooks in my walls right up by the ceiling. And now I zig-zag a washing line down the boat from near the stove down through the living room and into the kitchen.  I do this just before going to bed and by morning it's all dry.

 

When the weather is nice, it all goes outside onto a rotary airer which attaches to my swan's neck.

 

 

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We have a ‘mini’ Zanussi auto machine. Once we have hot water we fill via short length of hose from the hot water tap in the galley. Saves have to use the machines heating element. Works for us. And has done for over six years now.

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9 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We have a ‘mini’ Zanussi auto machine. Once we have hot water we fill via short length of hose from the hot water tap in the galley. Saves have to use the machines heating element. Works for us. And has done for over six years now.

What do you do to make sure the water isn't too hot?

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12 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We have a ‘mini’ Zanussi auto machine. Once we have hot water we fill via short length of hose from the hot water tap in the galley. Saves have to use the machines heating element. Works for us. And has done for over six years now.

Do you have a model number or similar that you can share please?

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25 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I used to have a twin tub, and the wash cycle will clean your clothes, the spin cycle works fine too.  The problem is there's no sensible way of rinsing, which is just as important as the other stages.  It's also a right faff to set it up each time.

After the warm wash detergent and spin dry, I put the laundry back in the wash side with cold water for around 5 minutes of agitation, then dump the rinse water and spin out again. Repeat for a second rinse cycle and all the detergent is gone. It is probably not as efficient on water usage as the most frugal of auto machines, but is very effective. For faff reduction, I set mine up on a wooden tray set to sit over the bath tub. The power comes from a waterproof socket. The water in comes from the flex shower hose on the mixer tap, which has a 3/4bsp connection to a short length of hose in to the machine, to give easily selectable hot and cold, or a mix for a cooler wash. Waste water goes in to the bath, then overboard via the Gulper. All easily and quickly removed and put to one side in the Spring when I have my bath. Only a few months to go now! ?

Jen

 

IMG_20210112_114806.jpg.80f991c30315b85e21e34fbe8f3830d4.jpg

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2 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

After the warm wash detergent and spin dry, I put the laundry back in the wash side with cold water for around 5 minutes of agitation, then dump the rinse water and spin out again. Repeat for a second rinse cycle and all the detergent is gone. It is probably not as efficient on water usage as the most frugal of auto machines, but is very effective. For faff reduction, I set mine up on a wooden tray set to sit over the bath tub. The power comes from a waterproof socket. The water in comes from the flex shower hose on the mixer tap, which has a 3/4bsp connection to a short length of hose in to the machine, to give easily selectable hot and cold, or a mix for a cooler wash. Waste water goes in to the bath, then overboard via the Gulper. All easily and quickly removed and put to one side in the Spring when I have my bath. Only a few months to go now! ?

Jen

 

IMG_20210112_114806.jpg.80f991c30315b85e21e34fbe8f3830d4.jpg

This is pretty much what I used to do.  Except, to fully rinse could take up to 5 (or more) loads of water.  Add to that, that you can only fit a few things in at a time, espcially in the spinner, and I found that washing took up my whole evening once a week.  Now, I just stick the machine on at some point during the evening and leave it.  Then hang it up when I'm off to bed.  I would NEVER go back to a portable twin tub.

 

The other problem I forgot to mention is that twin tub machines aren't big enough to do big items like duvet covers.  So I still found myself having to go to the launderette.  What's your solution Jen?

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