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Poppin

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Who has a fully automatic washing machine on board? (not a twin tub). I'm trying to figure out if I can run a small or top-loading one just with engine running a 120A alternator and 2000W inverter. I know that they use a lot of power but presumably that is the heating element. I've heard about people disconnecting the heating element or just running a cold wash, but feeding the machine direct from the calorifier to save power. any advice or descriptions of your setups most welcome!

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Zanussi studio flat washing machine but no invertor. 5 KVA 240 V alternator on engine. Fed with hot water from calorifier. Don't wash at end of day as water is too hot and shrinks clothes. Wash in the morning

Edited by Tonka
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19 minutes ago, Poppin said:

Who has a fully automatic washing machine on board? (not a twin tub). I'm trying to figure out if I can run a small or top-loading one just with engine running a 120A alternator and 2000W inverter. I know that they use a lot of power but presumably that is the heating element. I've heard about people disconnecting the heating element or just running a cold wash, but feeding the machine direct from the calorifier to save power. any advice or descriptions of your setups most welcome!

IMHO I don't think you've got enough power to do it justice - why not go 12v twin-tub (£100) option...………………..

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We have a two year old auto machine that works fine on a 2KW inverter except when you need to heat the water in it. On anything over a cold wash, the heat cycle trips the Inverter. We therefore just tip hot water into the drum before we start and that mimics a 30 deg wash. Some people plumb a hot and cold feed that can be switched - as you cant just feed hot water all the time. We've not bothered as it works well the way we do it. If you need a 60 °C wash, then find a 240v supply in a marina. Wouldn't be without an auto washer.

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Our old living boat had both a dishwasher and a washing machine. Plumbed in cold water only . It had a 800 amp ( big in those days) battery bank and a 120 amp hour alternator. Heart interface and trace  inverter from  an ambulance. We had no issues and that was in 2000. We used to cool wash. 

I think so called progress with electronics has made things worse. 

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Modern washers with electronic controls don't like anything other than pure sine wave inverters. If yours is a modified sine wave then you will need to look for a machine with mechanical / clockwork controls. Ours is fed with water at around 40 degrees from a thermostatic mixer valve for wash and rinse. The inverter is 2.2 and copes well. It could also handle the heater before I added the thermostatic valve but took a lot longer for a wash.

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42 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

Our old living boat had both a dishwasher and a washing machine. Plumbed in cold water only . It had a 800 amp ( big in those days) battery bank and a 120 amp hour alternator. Heart interface and trace  inverter from  an ambulance. We had no issues and that was in 2000. We used to cool wash. 

I think so called progress with electronics has made things worse. 

Pedant alert!

Well apart from the current thingy discrepancies, boat aren't alive so can't be living.

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All right the boat we bought specifically to live on , rather than living in our cottage ( that wasnt living) . Regardless it worked 8 by100 amp hour  notional capacity batteries and alternator combined worked well.

in 2000 it was pretty state of the art. I even fitted at huge cost 1 flexible solar panel.

 

and people call me a pedant!!! Should complain more to the council about those boaters in napton smoky chimneys smoky exhausts bunging up roads annoying us ratepayers....

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8 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

We have a two year old auto machine that works fine on a 2KW inverter except when you need to heat the water in it. On anything over a cold wash, the heat cycle trips the Inverter. We therefore just tip hot water into the drum before we start and that mimics a 30 deg wash. 

Same here. Just ensure you get one that has a cold wash setting then it doesn't attempt to heat the water. Mine is an Indesit with Victron 2kw inverter.

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Our previous Zanussi compact /studio washer woild run happily off either the Victron 3kva Multiplus with the engine running  (175 amp alternator and 540 amp hr battery pack) or ftom 6 ova Onan generator from cold fill.

 

New Zanussi compact/studio washer won't work with the Victron.

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1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

Why put all that strain on the batteries and alternator.  Get a generator which is purpose built to produce the amount of power you need and use that for the washing machine.

Nah. Not having gasoline on the boat. Big safety hazard.

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1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

It's known as petrol in this country.  And more people die from their solid fuel stoves anyway.

Not in Refineries it isnt. We use to make gasoline and gasoil. That's what the industry trades.

People dying from solid fuel stoves is nothing to do with my comment on not using a generator. Having 'petrol' on a boat is a bad bad idea. Not every one dies, but many people get burnt and boats burn. Butane is heavier than air and having an open can of petrol on the cruiser deck of an NB (or worse inside a trad stern) is a very serious risk. A typical winter grade gasoline will contain from 8%-15% Butane (by weight) - probably half for summer grade, and that butane will find its way into the bilge where it can ignite.

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I had a Candy Aquamatic 100F (the little 3.5kg load one) which lasted for 14 years.  Fabulously small and would run off a 1kw Genny (just) or the engine and inverter.  It chewed up the bearings last year and I replaced it with the Aquamatic 104D1.  Only has a cold-water inlet - which I've connected to the hot water line.  The heater was more powerful than the 100F so wouldnt run off the Genny - it needs about 1.5kw.  But with the Morco supplying hot water, it only uses about 10ah for a 1hour wash.  It also uses about half the water of the old machine (20 litres-ish).  Wouldn't be without a washing machine onboard as a cc'ing liveaboard....

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23 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

Our old living boat had both a dishwasher and a washing machine. Plumbed in cold water only . It had a 800 amp ( big in those days) battery bank and a 120 amp hour alternator. Heart interface and trace  inverter from  an ambulance. We had no issues and that was in 2000. We used to cool wash. 

I think so called progress with electronics has made things worse. 

Paah!! Doesnt everybody? we also have a tumble dryer but rarely use it.

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4 hours ago, DaveP said:

I had a Candy Aquamatic 100F (the little 3.5kg load one) which lasted for 14 years.  Fabulously small and would run off a 1kw Genny (just) or the engine and inverter.

That's the one we have on the boat.  I'm surprised it ran off a 1KW genny as it's rated at 1300W.  Our 3KW inverter doesn't even blink, but we have learned not to set off a wash with a cold engine and low batteries when going into a flight of locks ... accurate low speed boat control is not helped by sudden 120A power demands from the inverter!

 

It's plumbed into a cold only feed at the moment, but I did also put a hot pipe next to it - I am intending to put a 30 degree thermostatic mixer valve on it to be nicer to the batteries.

 

 

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13 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Not in Refineries it isnt. We use to make gasoline and gasoil. That's what the industry trades.

People dying from solid fuel stoves is nothing to do with my comment on not using a generator. Having 'petrol' on a boat is a bad bad idea. Not every one dies, but many people get burnt and boats burn. Butane is heavier than air and having an open can of petrol on the cruiser deck of an NB (or worse inside a trad stern) is a very serious risk. A typical winter grade gasoline will contain from 8%-15% Butane (by weight) - probably half for summer grade, and that butane will find its way into the bilge where it can ignite.

I guess propane must be similar to butane?  You know that stuff that 90+% of boats carry large quantities of?

 

I'd agree that keeping and using petrol carelessly is a bad idea.  However it's perfectly possible to be careful with petrol.  The point I was making is that boating is loaded with dangers, many of which have the potential to kill you.  Life in general is similar.  We all have the choice to be careful and we all get to choose what we do on out boats (within the law). 

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12 hours ago, DaveP said:

I had a Candy Aquamatic 100F (the little 3.5kg load one) which lasted for 14 years.  Fabulously small and would run off a 1kw Genny (just) or the engine and inverter.  It chewed up the bearings last year and I replaced it with the Aquamatic 104D1.  Only has a cold-water inlet - which I've connected to the hot water line.  The heater was more powerful than the 100F so wouldnt run off the Genny - it needs about 1.5kw.  But with the Morco supplying hot water, it only uses about 10ah for a 1hour wash.  It also uses about half the water of the old machine (20 litres-ish).  Wouldn't be without a washing machine onboard as a cc'ing liveaboard....

If you run off the hot feed, how do you control the washing temperature.  Most modern washing liquids work through enzyme action, too hot and you 'kill' the enzymes and you won't clean your clothes.

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1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

I guess propane must be similar to butane?  You know that stuff that 90+% of boats carry large quantities of?

 

Yes similar to propane ....but we handle propane properly ie under pressure in a system that stops it escaping as defined by the BSS

A can of petrol is different. If the can is not 100% full ....which is always the case....the air space above the petrol will be saturated with Butane (often under pressure). When you take the can lid off, the butane (gas) rushes out and flows along the floor and finds the lowest way off the boat....which is often down the stairs into the boat.....unseen. When you pour the petrol into the generator, the butane in the petrol will evaporate and flow to the lowest point as well. Never a good idea to do this on the deck of the boat. The risk of problems with petrol on a boat are far far higher than the risks with propane as the propane risks are mitigated to a large extent by the requirements of the BSS. The safest way of handling petrol on a boat is to not have it on the boat.

 

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