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Twin-tub

tomandsophie

By tomandsophie
in Boat Equipment

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tomandsophie Rising Star

tomandsophie

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We recently bought one of these twin-tubs and it is brilliant! I don't think I've ever been quite so excited about a washing machine! We had a regular automatic running off a genny (2.2kw frame genny) which was noisy and the wash didn't quite work right so the clothes never got really clean. Now we have the twin-tub and it runs off our 1800w sterling modified-sine inverter and we don't even have to run the engine as the solar panels give us enough charge to run the machine. Brilliant. The cycle only takes a maximum of 15 minutes (less for lightly soiled clothes) and it gets the clothes very very clean with cold water and Ecover liquid. It washes masses of clothes in one cycle (6.8kg) and then the spin-dryer spins the clothes in 4 minutes to almost-dryness. We then hang the clothes up on an airer, put them in our bedroom, and they are dry within a few hours.

So, to sum up, no need to buy an expensive genny or inverter, little water is used, clothes dry really quickly, cheap machine, no need to run the engine or genny, free to run, need I say more?!

And no, I don't get any commission from the company. Maybe I should.

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tomandsophie Rising Star

tomandsophie

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Hi there, which one have you got, As a lot of us on here our using the very small camping ones that do only 1.5kg of dry weight at a time.

Mary 1

 

We have got the Harris Classic twin-tub. Click on the link in my original post to see it.

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debbifiggy Proficient

debbifiggy

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We have got the Harris Classic twin-tub. Click on the link in my original post to see it.

 

Thanks for this tip. We've been considering replacing our very knackered washing machine for sometime. Well have to do some fiddling about with the layout of the utility area but I would love to be able to wash my clothes properly when out cruising instead of trekking to the nearest launderette or washing by hand.

D

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twocvbloke Rising Star

twocvbloke

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I like those larger twintubs, there's also a Thomson branded one about (at least I have seen them on ebay) which looks to be about the same, but either way, I'd love to have a proper twintub in place of the automatic washer, which takes bloomin' ages to do a single load, but saying that, I'd prefer to have a Hotpoint Supermatic twintub with it's spiral aitator which does a great job on washing... :lol:

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  • 2 months later...
Ged Gongoozler

Ged

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A quick question to anyone with that harris twin tub, it says on the website it can fit under a standard height kitchen work surface.

To my mind a standard height surface is about 90-100cm high, the washer is 84cm. . .. won't this make it a bit awkward opening the doors and stuffing washing in? not to mention getting to the controls.

I would idealy like to hide it away.

 

Also, is it still working nicely?

 

Thankenyou

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tomandsophie Rising Star

tomandsophie

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Yep, washing machine still working amazingly well - haven't had to run the engine for power since about February, it all runs off the solar panels. :lol:

You wouldn't be able to operate it from under a worktop - the toploading doors simply wouldn't open and you wouldn't be able to fill it or operate the controls. However, it's very very light and easy to slide out from under a worktop. The wash cycle is only 15 minutes long, so you wouldn't have it out in the open for long before you can just slide it back underneath. Can't recommend it highly enough.

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Yoda Experienced

Yoda

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A quick question to anyone with that harris twin tub, it says on the website it can fit under a standard height kitchen work surface.

To my mind a standard height surface is about 90-100cm high, the washer is 84cm. . .. won't this make it a bit awkward opening the doors and stuffing washing in? not to mention getting to the controls.

I would idealy like to hide it away.

 

Also, is it still working nicely?

 

Thankenyou

 

If its a twin tub then the doors and controls are at the top. So it will either need pulling out or the worktop removed.

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docus Explorer

docus

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Yep, washing machine still working amazingly well - haven't had to run the engine for power since about February, it all runs off the solar panels. :lol:

You wouldn't be able to operate it from under a worktop - the toploading doors simply wouldn't open and you wouldn't be able to fill it or operate the controls. However, it's very very light and easy to slide out from under a worktop. The wash cycle is only 15 minutes long, so you wouldn't have it out in the open for long before you can just slide it back underneath. Can't recommend it highly enough.

 

Wow, I've got to get one of those...! Also, I was wondering what total wattage of solar panels you have to have managed that long without charging? Impressive stuff.

Edited by docus
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Alistair Contributor

Alistair

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How does it drain??

We've been looking at 3 solutions:

 

Put the thing *on* the work surface and use the sink drain, or install it above the sink drain...

Hand-pump the water out

Bilge-pump the water out (but the wattage of the pump? Use the shower's bilge pump?)

 

?? What do Tom&Sophie, and others for that matter, do?

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Canal Shop Man Community Regular

Canal Shop Man

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How does it drain??

If it is the same as the Thompson one which we have been selling for years then it has a pump to pump the water into a nearby sink or directly through a skin fitting.

 

If it doesn't have a pump, then buy a Thompson one which does . . .

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  • 2 weeks later...
icebreaker Gongoozler

icebreaker

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We also have one of these fantastic machines, and like TomandSophie I was equally excited when I got it because of all the same reasons - great washing ability, no generator, and dry spinning. We have put ours under the worktop, with a hinged lid. It drains with it's own pump and hole in the side of the boat. We however have to run the engine because we don't have solar panels yet, and couldn't have believed that they would power a washing machine!! What are the panels, where did they come from and any other details to get us on the right track,please!

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