Weird One

Went to a little baby Bendix a/w last week, problem, progressive overfilling. Got totally baffled by it and pulled it in. Put it on test in the workshop and of course it worked perfectly. So – no pressure leak, p/sw fine, timed fill in rinse OK, so what was going on?

Thinking laterally, it came down to the installation. The machine is normally fitted in a narrow boat, in a housing 18″ off the floor. The boat’s fresh water tanks are at floor level, and all flow functions (loo, shower, taps and washing machine) are handled by a pump and pressure drop switch.

A washing machine valve is held shut by the positive pressure of the incoming water. In this set-up, there is no positive pressure once the booster pump is cut off. Result, valve open, pressure drop, pump on, intermittent fill!

Don’t know what we’re going to do about it though…………..

Any thoughts anyone?

Penguin.