Washing machines

[ukrizla]

Hi all my wife and I shall be picking our boat up in a couple of weeks and we are planning on being full time liveaboards. SWMBO has told me she wants a washing machine on it, but we have been informed (how true we dont know) that to have one plumbed in that a hole would have to be cut into the side of the boat and some sort of fitting on the outside so it can empty straight into the cut. Now as I am not very diy minded is this just a ploy to get us to part with more of our hard earnt or is this true. Any help would be great and would also stop the gaffer from going on about it

 

Regards Shaun.

[cotswoldsman]

Service was at nearest laundrette far easier!!!

[mickp]

hi

it is a staight forward job really but unless u have the tools ,ie hole saw and electric drill etc ,then maybe left for others and i cant see it costing much unless kitchen units or where ever it needs to sit needs alterations ..

[ukrizla]

Thanks for the replies, no it would just be cut through the wooden side panel and srtaight through the steel, no cupboard alterations required.I dont think the wife would be to pleased dragging loads of washing up the toepath in the darkest depths of winter, thats why she wants a washer. Me I would get her a wash board and tin bath mmmmm now theres a thought

[Ex- Member]

Hi all my wife and I shall be picking our boat up in a couple of weeks and we are planning on being full time liveaboards. SWMBO has told me she wants a washing machine on it, but we have been informed (how true we dont know) that to have one plumbed in that a hole would have to be cut into the side of the boat and some sort of fitting on the outside so it can empty straight into the cut. Now as I am not very diy minded is this just a ploy to get us to part with more of our hard earnt or is this true. Any help would be great and would also stop the gaffer from going on about it

 

Regards Shaun.

 

Yes you will need an outlet, this is as simple as drilling a hole and inserting a brass or SS skin fitting.

 

You of course need somewhere to locate the machine and get a hot or cold supply to it.

 

The main thing though is powering it. if your on shore line or If your boat has a built in generator or 240 volt alternator then you won't have any problem powering it.

 

If you only have battery power your going to need quite a powerful Inverter probably around 3kv if this is the case then you may well need more batteries to service such a device. washing machines are quite greedy power wise. There are smaller twin tub versions which need much less power and don't necessarily need a new hole drilled in the hull. There just a little more labour intensive.

 

If you know what power you have available then members can recommend efficient machines for your requirements.

[ukrizla]

Hi Julynian It will only be used when on shoreline, or that is the plan the boat also comes with 3kw inverter, so im hoping that it could also run off this when we are cruising.

 

Regards Shaun

[Nickhlx]

Thanks for the replies, no it would just be cut through the wooden side panel and srtaight through the steel, no cupboard alterations required.I dont think the wife would be to pleased dragging loads of washing up the toepath in the darkest depths of winter, thats why she wants a washer. Me I would get her a wash board and tin bath mmmmm now theres a thought

 

Couple of points I would add....

 

1) Check where the machine is to go and that you can get in in to position - ours is in the dinette and there is absolutely no way we can get it out, even if windows / doors were to be removed as it is bigger than any available aperture - it was installed as the fit-out was happening and if it were to be replaced it would need dismantling or maybe even cutting up.

 

2) Try and see if you can get a hot and cold fill - it will save on washing cycle time and heaps of electricity for heating the water, apart from the cost of replenishing batteries each time, we run ours only when the engine is running off the Victron 3000 watt PSW combi and seems fine, but does draw over 200 amps at times from the bank if not on.

 

 

Nick

[Ex- Member]

Hi Julynian It will only be used when on shoreline, or that is the plan the boat also comes with 3kw inverter, so im hoping that it could also run off this when we are cruising.

 

Regards Shaun

 

No problem then, just be careful what machine you choose, some will work with a 3kw inverter and some won't as i mentioned members can recommend makes and models suitable for 3kva, we're going the smaller twin tub route so haven't looked into full size machines. The hole in the hull is an easy job if you have the gear, to have it done professionally shouldn't cost more than 30 quid labour and around a tenner for the skin fitting, if the lining has to be stripped out and replaced then you;re probably looking at a few more quid.

[blackrose]

Service was at nearest laundrette far easier!!!

After 5 years living afloat without a washing machine and 4 years with a washing machine I beg to differ.

[boatyboy]

Hi all my wife and I shall be picking our boat up in a couple of weeks and we are planning on being full time liveaboards. SWMBO has told me she wants a washing machine on it, but we have been informed (how true we dont know) that to have one plumbed in that a hole would have to be cut into the side of the boat and some sort of fitting on the outside so it can empty straight into the cut. Now as I am not very diy minded is this just a ploy to get us to part with more of our hard earnt or is this true. Any help would be great and would also stop the gaffer from going on about it

 

Regards Shaun.

Hi Shaun.Its quite a strait forward job.Just remember when you do decide to drill the drain hole in the hull,that your boat sits a lot deeper in the water than you might think.Sounds daft but forwarned is forwarned,and better than flooding the boat.I've fitted two washing machines in our boat,Both The Candy ones that are somewhat smaller than the usual domestic type.They are quite small capasity though.Ours have both been 3.5kg.

One thing also to check is that your inverter is a fully syne wave model,and not a quasi syne wave model.As most modern washers are digital,and do not work on Quasi invertors.I know this as our first Candy was the old fashioned machanical model,and worked fine on our Stirling 1800 Watt Quasi Inverter.The new one was Digital,and would not work on our inverter.I never knew that at the time of purchase.Funny thing is it works fine connected to our 1kw Honda suitcase genny.

Hope that helps...Dave

[paulcatchpole]

inserting a brass or SS skin fitting.

 

Or plastic, they're a lot cheaper...

 

All my new ones are plastic, and with four bilge pumps amongst other usual things, I had to buy a few. Brass would've bankrupted me.

 

PC

[cereal tiller]

cratch-paul,you are being rash yet again!plastic fittings harden with age,and a modest bump can cause them to break.

why have you got 4bilge pumps?.are you a descendant of NOAH?

[Ex- Member]

Or plastic, they're a lot cheaper...

 

All my new ones are plastic, and with four bilge pumps amongst other usual things, I had to buy a few. Brass would've bankrupted me.

 

PC

 

Well personally I think that's a bit risky, plastic and steel are not an ideal union with regard to expansion and temperature and exposure. Catch a plastic fitting on anything hard externally and it'll sheer straight off. The minimum I would use would be some kind of Nylon heavy duty joint, but then only if Brass or SS wasn't available, surely brass fittings aren't that much more costly than plastic although I've just paid 12 quid odd for a 1 1/4" bsp skin fitting with tapered tail.

[romarni123]

Try and get one without the fancy electrics they work better off the inverter,measure the door width currys do a machine which is narrow cant remember which one though, if it looks like it wont go through the door take off the lid as they have a overhang and refit it in the boat,

[cotswoldsman]

After 5 years living afloat without a washing machine and 4 years with a washing machine I beg to differ.

 

Differ as much as you like I do not think you would convince me. This week dropped a big bag of laundry at laundrette in Kings Langley next day they kindly brought it back to the boat all washed and neatly folded £8.50.

[mickp]

Try and get one without the fancy electrics they work better off the inverter,measure the door width currys do a machine which is narrow cant remember which one though, if it looks like it wont go through the door take off the lid as they have a overhang and refit it in the boat,

i must agree with this as we had to choise a washer drier that would fit though a walkway to kitchen,found the hotpoint aquarius was the narrowest and works fine on landline or 1800w inverter ,although only use the inverter if desperate,normally put washing aside till back on landline ,as wash dry cycle on these new machines takes ages unless you just use the quick wash function

[CygnusV]

Hi all my wife and I shall be picking our boat up in a couple of weeks and we are planning on being full time liveaboards. SWMBO has told me she wants a washing machine on it, but we have been informed (how true we dont know) that to have one plumbed in that a hole would have to be cut into the side of the boat and some sort of fitting on the outside so it can empty straight into the cut. Now as I am not very diy minded is this just a ploy to get us to part with more of our hard earnt or is this true. Any help would be great and would also stop the gaffer from going on about it

 

Regards Shaun.

 

We wouldn't be without ours. Its in the wheelhouse next to the freezer, another essential if you're looking at living aboard. As previously stated modern auto washers do not like quasi waveform inverters but will work normally with the much more expensive pure sine wave. I think that this is true with any thyristor controlled electronics. If you can find one of the older 'clockwork' controlled machines it will work with no problem. As for plumbing. Our washer is connected directly to the domestic cold tank and we simply run the waste pipe out of the canopy, no holes to drill this way.

 

Listen to SWMBO, she talking good sense......

[paulcatchpole]

cratch-paul,you are being rash yet again!plastic fittings harden with age,and a modest bump can cause them to break.

why have you got 4bilge pumps?.are you a descendant of NOAH?

 

Everything falls apart with age... I can't see Phyllis being too worried about her entire boat hardening with age, and I bet she's got the same skin fittings.

 

The four pumps are made up of two in the engine bay, I like to have a backup as the boat is a cruiser-stern and accumulates water at the best of times. The other two are at opposing ends of the dry cabin bilge, in case of any leaks, condensation or rainwater. It was easier to install them at the time of putting the floor down, and they're so cheap, it made sense to me.

 

Well personally I think that's a bit risky, plastic and steel are not an ideal union with regard to expansion and temperature and exposure. Catch a plastic fitting on anything hard externally and it'll sheer straight off. The minimum I would use would be some kind of Nylon heavy duty joint, but then only if Brass or SS wasn't available, surely brass fittings aren't that much more costly than plastic although I've just paid 12 quid odd for a 1 1/4" bsp skin fitting with tapered tail.

 

It's just conceivable, if I caught one on an exposed brick that I might damage one, but is that really the end of the world? I'm not so convinced that the differing expansion with temperature is a huge problem. The fittings are into slightly over-sized holes, then bonded in place.

 

 

£12 to £20 each, depending on size, against £2-3 each, multiplied by a few of them, is a lot of money to me. Perhaps not to you, but each to their own budgets, as it were.

 

PC

[Guest]

Brass skin fittings can shear off very easily too. If I were to build my own shell, I would put metal wedges either side of the skin fitting to prevent this from happening. Some builders do this as standard.

[Ex- Member]

Brass skin fittings can shear off very easily too. If I were to build my own shell, I would put metal wedges either side of the skin fitting to prevent this from happening. Some builders do this as standard.

 

Good idea (wedges) the skin fittings I used hardly protrude and are bevelled though certainly not impossible it could happen but shortens the odds I suppose. I did come across some in bronze very expensive too.

[DeanS]

didn't read the whole thread, but here's what we had to do, on a budget shoestring (as always). We have a slow rev engine, and there is simply no way we would ever be able to live onboard, and do washing onboard permanently, with a normal washer. We went for a top loader, which uses about 400Watts. We run it when cruising. The drain outlet, I teed onto the existing basin outlet pipe, which already had a pipe draining out of the boat. You have to make sure you keep a bend in the washer drain, which is higher than the outlet point (else your basin water will end up in your washer A bit fiddly, but we've done 3 months so far, and we do washing every 2-3 days. There's 6 of us onboard. You should be fine then

[Paringa]

Getting the thing in and doing any alterations is the easy bit...getting it to run can be a nightmare, i have been there.

 

If you are on shore-power then things are easy...but if you plan to cruise...hmmm

 

Inverters need to be big my 1800 will run the motor but will not run the element, i now give it a mix from a thermostatic valve when i cruise avoiding the need to heat up the water. If you do run it off your batteries, as has been said before, it will be a big drain on them...

 

My "old" - infact it was brand new Zanussi compact - would not run off of my Vetus gen, and i have been informed can be problematic even with a Honda EU20i which is supposed to be a very clean output...I ended up buying the little Candy but not before altering my cabinets to suit the Zanussi which is slightly smaller in width...

 

I have worked through the issues and got it to work for me. Something else to consider, I only do washing in the summer as i do not have a drier, in the winter i go to the laundrette! If i could turn back the clock from a financial and hassle point of view would i have bothered? Probably not, however here i am bankside and i can do my washing when i please...

 

Cutting a hole in the hull...ha, the least of your worries!