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I’ve been thinking about this a bit lately.
I have a plan to expose what we can on this as, from what I can see, none of us are happy about this current trend, agents included.
To do something about it I need more information, I need to know what manufacturers are doing it and, if possible, some model numbers. After that just let me rip, all I need is the information to be factual.
I’m up for a scrap this week, taking no prisoners.
K.
Re: Sealed Tubs
Come on guys, I wanna have some fun with this and I think we can push it a bit further as well with a nice press release. 😉
Keep a note of the silly prices but I need more than just Whirlpool to work with.
K.
Re: Sealed Tubs
Hotpoint model WF340G/WE and most new Hotpoint production. Sealed drum part number 1605490. list price £132.12 ex vat.
I have been informed of Indesit and Zanussi models using sealed drums as well.
Jim.
Re: Sealed Tubs
Indesit W103UKBG, W103UK/B, WI101UK, WIA101UK, WIL103UK, W123UK(BG)/P, WIL113UKBG, WAX120UK/P, WIXE127UK, WIXL1200OTUK, WIXL126UK, WIL113UK, WIL113UKTE.
There’s some Indesit for starters and that’s 3 different drum units between them 🙄
Dave.
Three different drum/tub units al sealed is that?
I heard murmerings about the Lux produced one, it may have been Alex that mentioned it.
K.
Re: Sealed Tubs
Yep, part numbers:
C00094782 – £90.00
C00095889 – £111.14
C00113810 – £124.59
The Tricity Bendix one is buried in the forums, I’ll try and find it 😉
Dave.
Re: Sealed Tubs
I was trying to look out some model numbers, but the info is a bit scratchy at the moment. The pictures on all current production machines show split tubs, but sealed are arriving.
I was in the Factory in Porcia 2 weeks ago, and I can confirm all laundry is now being produced with a sealed tub. That is the new “HEC” range with a removable front, as well as the split cabinet we have seen for the last 16 years. Ironic really, as soon as they produce a removable front so the engineer can be looking at the bolt heads, they do away with them.
We are now finding if we order a tub front, or tub rear on some of the older split cabinet models, we get a sealed tub/drum. Need to replace the rear weight in some cases as they don’t fit the new tub.
So, we get insurers telling us to keep costs down and fit bearings, and now it is a whole tub change. If fixed priced servicing takes off, it will cost repairers a bomb.
We already have had 2 U/G with a bra wire trapped that wont come out.
Seems to be the trend these days, and the waste mountain will get even higher.
Alex
Re: Sealed Tubs
I have customer with a six month old Hotpoint washer dryer that I have had to strip right down twice in the past three weeks, first time a 20p coin had jammed between the inner drum and drum support and was cutting a nice groove into the back of the drum, a couple of weeks later I had to repeat the exercise to remove a very large flat metal earring. I was called because they didn’t want to pay Indesit Company labour charges but on these sealed drum models that would have been two drums in less than a month, or a BER 😥
What is ironic is that the Indesit company now has a dedicated ERS support team with a full time Project Leader.
The object of the Economic Repair Support team is to use ” good methodology and practices to achieve lower cost of parts repairs”
The three mains areas they are focusing on ATM are fitting bearings to rear half & drum assemblies, fitting motor brushes to motors and fitting a pump motor only to repair a pump assembly. 😕Re: Sealed Tubs
I would love to display a warning on my site about all the washing machines with sealed tubs. If people stopped buying them they’d stop making them. I wouldn’t say don’t buy one, but I think people should at least know the potential consequenses and make an informed decision.
Re: Sealed Tubs
andy_art_trigg wrote:I would love to display a warning on my site about all the washing machines with sealed tubs. If people stopped buying them they’d stop making them. I wouldn’t say don’t buy one, but I think people should at least know the potential consequenses and make an informed decision.
In an ideal world, but does the customer really care. If the manufacturers could stop the “progression”, then the price would be out of sync with the rest of the industry, and regretfully this is price driven. I mourned the demise of enamel tubs and bearing spiders, never thought plastic would catch on, let alone sealed.
Hopefully the WEEE directive will iron it out a bit.
I had the same train of thought regards timing chains in cars rather than cam belts; got to the point now that you are hard pushed to find a car that does not use a belt in order to allow the engine to self destruct. Even with a car at £15k plus, we the consumer has learned to live with it.
Alex
Re: Sealed Tubs
Alex wrote:In an ideal world, but does the customer really care.
That’s why I specifically said I wouldn’t try to tell people not to buy them, if they are happy that it’s a fair price to pay for cheap machines then that’s up to them. But to find out if they care or not they need to at least know.
Most of them are naive and just keep accepting lower and lower prices without questioning how it’s achieved. The current situation is that there are only a few sealed tubs, it’s not a foregone conclusion that all washing machines will go the same way. It’s one of the things the ISE is fighting and if people can see the ISE can be stripped down and bearings knocked out for x amount but a similarly priced washing machine would have to be scrapped they may vote with their feet.
[edited once to remove an errant apostrophe and the second time to add this explanation as it looks a bit dodgy once someone’s replied]
Re: Sealed Tubs
Funnily enough I was having a conversation today along these lines Andy.
Basically consumers just don’t understand that to lower the retail price has a cost attached. The cost is that you sacrifice on build quality and/or you use sealed assemblies to lower the build cost. You specify thinner metals, lighter paint finishes, poorer plastics and on and on the list goes.
Warning people is a good idea, I did it in the manufacturers section as much as possible but it is a slow and, at times, unrewarding thing to be doing which will take a long time to show any effect. However, that said, there’s an awful lot of people out there that have already been bitten and don’t want to be again.
K.
Re: Sealed Tubs
I feel a little let down that Which? and other consumer groups don’t seem to be challenging the situation. They, like much of the public lament the throwaway society we currently have but appear to just accept it as inevitable which it isn’t. They should be championing products that stand up and expose themselves to lower sales figures by channelling more money into reparability or longevity than in superficial benefits with hidden strings attached.
The way I see it there are 3 choices for the public. Accept the much cheaper prices – and the consequences, buy proper washing machines where if they still want bigger drums and faster spins cost £700 – £800 and more, or try the ISE. The ISE isn’t cheap, so they need to be assured it will last a lot longer than all the other normal washing machines. Part of the assurance is that it’s much more repairable by their local repairman just like in the old days with Hoover and Hotpoint washing machines. But another part is that they would get reasonable help to keep one going themselves if they are so inclined and up to the job. If an ISE customer repairs cars or is an electrician etc. he’s as much right to try and fix it himself than all of us have to try and fix our own lawnmower or shower – because we can. No one should have to pay a “professional” if they are capable of fixing something themselves – none of us in the whitegoods trade would, and it’s a bit hypocritical to try to deny others the same.
Re: Sealed Tubs
I heard today that Whirlpool have now put sealed tubs into production 👿
Question is what will happen to the ISE machine when the accountants at Beko decide that a split tub is uneconomic to produce?
I can’t see them making a split tub for just one discerning customer 😥Steve
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