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Looking for a washing machine


RichM

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I'm looking for a washing machine for my narrowboat. I've considered a twin tub but despite being portable I don't really have anywhere to store it. So the plan is to lose some cupboard space to make room for a compact washing machine.

 

Other threads recommend a compact candy or a compact Zanussi. Are these still generally regarded as being the most suitable for Narrowboats or are there newer/better alternatives nowadays?

One important thing to note is that I have a 1800w Sterling inverter which is MSW. If there's any washing machines that would run on this (with the engine running ofc) that would be ideal though I appreciate I may be asking too much.

 

Cheers

 

Richard

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I believe that you will need an inverter well in excess of 2kw as the heaters tend to be 2kw, plus motors consumption etc.

 

You could always disable the heater and have a 'cold wash' or add some hot water from the shower hose via the soap tray.

 

If installing an auto washing machine you really need to consider the whole system

 

From Water In (amount), to electricity consumption (where is it coming from and how much of it) to water disposal.

 

A washing machine is not a 'stand alone' item (unlike a twin-tub)

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I'm looking for a washing machine for my narrowboat. I've considered a twin tub but despite being portable I don't really have anywhere to store it. So the plan is to lose some cupboard space to make room for a compact washing machine.

 

Other threads recommend a compact candy or a compact Zanussi. Are these still generally regarded as being the most suitable for Narrowboats or are there newer/better alternatives nowadays?

One important thing to note is that I have a 1800w Sterling inverter which is MSW. If there's any washing machines that would run on this (with the engine running ofc) that would be ideal though I appreciate I may be asking too much.

 

Cheers

 

Richard

We had the compact Zanussi on the boat and it was faultless.

 

However despite having an even bigger inverter than yours we never used it unless we were on shore power or underway with the engine running.

 

I think to do otherwise will give your bank a bit of a hammering.

I believe that you will need an inverter well in excess of 2kw as the heaters tend to be 2kw, plus motors consumption etc.

 

You could always disable the heater and have a 'cold wash' or add some hot water from the shower hose via the soap tray.

 

If installing an auto washing machine you really need to consider the whole system

 

From Water In (amount), to electricity consumption (where is it coming from and how much of it) to water disposal.

 

A washing machine is not a 'stand alone' item (unlike a twin-tub)

I think most modern machines will sulk if you disable the heater and throw up an error.

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I believe that you will need an inverter well in excess of 2kw as the heaters tend to be 2kw, plus motors consumption etc.

 

You could always disable the heater and have a 'cold wash' or add some hot water from the shower hose via the soap tray.

 

If installing an auto washing machine you really need to consider the whole system

 

From Water In (amount), to electricity consumption (where is it coming from and how much of it) to water disposal.

 

A washing machine is not a 'stand alone' item (unlike a twin-tub)

I believe that you will need an inverter well in excess of 2kw as the heaters tend to be 2kw, plus motors consumption etc.

 

You could always disable the heater and have a 'cold wash' or add some hot water from the shower hose via the soap tray.

 

If installing an auto washing machine you really need to consider the whole system

 

From Water In (amount), to electricity consumption (where is it coming from and how much of it) to water disposal.

 

A washing machine is not a 'stand alone' item (unlike a twin-tub)

The zanussi is 1600watt, I can run mine on a 2kw inverter. if the inverter has a decent peak load to cope with the motor starting it should be okay.

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There have been several threads on here, with - of course - conflicting answers (that's normal....)

If you are looking at what's new - then you may be disappointed ad EU regs have tightened things up (in order to save the planet??) - see the preceding post.

Of course you might get lucky. But it could end in tears and costalot.

At a minimum you need a larger pure sine wave - it's down to the electronics AND a MSW inverter (because of its waveform doesn't deliver the 'right sort of grunt', even if it's a much larger unit.

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We had the compact Zanussi on the boat and it was faultless.

However despite having an even bigger inverter than yours we never used it unless we were on shore power or underway with the engine running.

I think to do otherwise will give your bank a bit of a hammering.

 

I think most modern machines will sulk if you disable the heater and throw up an error.

At low temperature you may be surprised at how little ah's it uses per wash. It's not insignificant, but in summer with decent amount of solar you don't need to run engine/genny.

 

To the OP; As these washing machines are common on narrowboats, you could ask a neighbour to see If your inverter can run their washing machine using a extension cable.

Edited by Robbo
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At low temperature you may be surprised at how little ah's it uses per wash. It's not insignificant, but in summer with decent amount of solar you don't need to run engine/genny.

Solar was something we didn't have.

 

TBH we never as a rule ran the engine for the purposes of running the washer but rather we did the washing if it was running moving the boat anyway. You could definitely tell when the heating element was kicking in due to the change in the engine tone, so I always assumed it was drawing a fair bit but maybe not as much as I perhaps thought.

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Most washing machines wont run on a MSW inverter.

We have a Candy 1000 on the boat which has replaced our Zanussi both work really well.

At present the Zanussi is in the cottage while the extension is being built, once that is finished it will be up for sale as we will have the room for a full size machine.

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There are many threads here on this subject if you do a search. I have a twin tub that lives in the shower when not in use. Cost less than £100 and does a good wash in fifteen minutes and a fantastic spin in the same time.

 

 

How do you use the shower then?!

 

 

Oh, I geddit....

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We have a Zanussi compact. It runs fine from the PSW inverter. It is a bit intermittent starting from the Travelpower. So we tend to start it on the inverter and then flip over to the Travelpower once it's filling. All this tells me that it wouldn't run from a MSW inverter.

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We have a rather old now Candy 1000. Works great off a 3kw PSW inverter, but spits its dummy out on the genny supply. I doubt it would like MSW. You can add your own hot water manually to this older model, and set it for a cold wash which saves endless power. I understand the newer Candy does not let you do this?

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There are many threads here on this subject if you do a search. I have a twin tub that lives in the shower when not in use. Cost less than £100 and does a good wash in fifteen minutes and a fantastic spin in the same time.

 

Can I ask which brand you went with? I'm looking for a mini twin tub and I've seen several that look very similar but are branded differently. Not sure if they are just the same model tweaked but would be good to know what a fellow boater has found to work well.

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i use a twin tub allso . Absolutely faultless. The spin dryer gets things virtually dry before theyre hung up . It cam fromArgos ,£90 . Made by " Leisurewise "

It runs off my inverter ( victron 2.5 combi type thing ) .

No plumbing , no concerns re power , a total doddle - just how i like things .

I have 400 w of solar panels , MPPT Tracer 40 A & i dont run the engine when using it . In summer i ll use it early AM and let the sun put back the charge into the batts .

Yesterday i did 2 loads , all spun and hung up over the bow doors by 11.00 . All dry by bedtime , batteries back too 100% according the smartgauge .

I really cannot recommend these little twin tubs more - absolutely fantastic and pure simplicity .

cheers

Edited by chubby
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Cool, they sound to be very useful and practical. I was left a really good Bendix spin dryer by the previous owner so I may just get a stand alone mini washer to go with it while it's still in good working order.

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Another vote here for the portable twin tub.

 

I have recently acquired one of these, our is badged as a "Crusader" it was £78 from Newquay Camping and Leisure, delivered right on time. It's rated at around 300w - there's no heater of course.

 

Our washer at home is a commercial Miele, which cost several thousand pounds. I washed some filthy dog towels in the twin tub and got them at least as clean as the Miele gets them, in less time, and probably drier. I can put the twin tub under the shower mixer tap in our wet room and fill it direct from the shower hose (with the head removed)

 

If it can't live in the shower room you do need a space at least 2' wide, ie about the same as a full size washer but it is only about 15" deep.

 

There's no wonder launderettes are an endangered species with gadgets like this around.

 

 

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