R.I.P. Zanussi ZWF 1431W (for good this time …). ;-(

[T_i_m]

Hi All,

Back in 2008 I rescued a 13 month old Zanussi ZWF 1431W that was put on Freecycle because their Insurance Co had written it off with dead bearings.

I got it home and cut the plastic tub open (it was welded together in the factory to save 3p ) replaced the main spindle seal and bearings, sealed it all up again and away it went. 😉

A while back I thought the motor had gone (it was tripping the RCD in the CU) but it turned out it was just full of carbon and has worked fine ever since after a good clean out. 😉

However, yesterday (~7 years after I first repaired it and with daily use since then) the Mrs said it was making a funny noise and on closer inspection it felt like something had failed where the drum joins whatever joins the drum to the main bearing shaft? When turning the drum by hand you could feel the bearings were still fine but if you pulled the drum up and down it moved (with a torn metal sound) but the drive pulley didn’t move at all (confirming the bearings were still good).

Anyway, the door seal was quite mouldy (it was pretty bad when we got it), I knew I’d have to unbolt and undo all my sealing to get the tub apart again and I have a million other things to do, so daughter, ‘a girl with a van’ went out and bought us a new machine … (knowing I would try to repair the old Zanussi if she didn’t). ;-(

We went for a Bosch this time, a WAB28162GB, partly for a change (all our other whitegoods are still Zanussi), partly the reasonable price, partly because it was another brand I knew of and have generally found reasonable (power tools etc) but mostly because it was in stock at our local supplier (so the new machine was collected and fitted in 30 mins because we have a load of washing to catch up on).

Only time will tell if it’s reliable etc (fingers crossed). If it lasts more than 13 months that will have beaten the Zanussi, well, the first time round anyway. 😉

Cheers, T i m

[Martin]

Re: R.I.P. Zanussi ZWF 1431W (for good this time …). ;-(

Looking back at the ‘history’ of this machine and the determination you applied Tim please accept my respect for your determination toward keeping your machine alive. What is so interesting overall in all the ‘posts’ on the subject is the reference to the ISE10 and how that ‘history’ meanwhile has dealt with both aspects.

[T_i_m]

Re: R.I.P. Zanussi ZWF 1431W (for good this time …). ;-(

Martin wrote:Looking back at the ‘history’ of this machine and the determination you applied Tim please accept my respect for your determination toward keeping your machine alive.

Thanks for that Martin. The history on the tumble-dryer is even longer. 😉

What is so interesting overall in all the ‘posts’ on the subject is the reference to the ISE10 and how that ‘history’ meanwhile has dealt with both aspects.

Yes (sad). I was talking to someone this morning on *my* perspective on all this re how ‘most people'(?), and especially ‘these days’ wouldn’t even dream of looking into what (say) stopped their washing machine from working, including checking to see if the drain pump impeller wasn’t blocked with some jewellery. ;-(

Maybe, the rules and regulations, combined with the complexity (electronics) of much machinery today, plus the comparatively low price mean that even if people were interested in repairing stuff themselves, in most cases they wouldn’t have the tools, skills or access to spares at reasonable prices (the latter being one of ISE’s goals I understand).

Luckily, I was born to a family where I wasn’t given everything I wanted and so typically had to fix other peoples broken stuff to be able to afford such things myself. I also came from an era where component level repair was still common and spent much of my time fixing stuff for others.

So, part of me regrets allowing our daughter to dispose of the old washing machine because I would have liked to at least strip it down to find what the fault was and may have been able to fix it (based on the ‘what is there to lose’ principle). But I may take solice from having given the machine another 7 years ‘life’ … but am still confused why it didn’t last that long from the factory (and the part I repaired was still good, 7 years later)?

That said, whilst the machine sounded like something fairly major had failed (is there some webbing that spreads the load from the main shaft over the end of the drum?), I know there were many bits that were still fine (and could have gone on eBay) and may now never get back into a machine? ;-(

Even if those parts are recycled into the raw materials, that still won’t be as ‘good’ as putting them back into another machine. But who would bother these days … ;-(

Cheers, T i m

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