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Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin
Well funnily enough (regarding time factors)…no. See, I’m not at all bad when it comes to all things domestic (it’s about all I am good at mind you 🙁 ) and planning ahead is something I have to do all the time to provide an effecient service. Thus, there is never a shortage of anything I need for work, I have 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} more cloths and mop heads than I ever need, and ensure that the dirty ones are all washed & dried long before they are needed. TBH I can’t get my head around this ‘takes too long’ mentality which my clients find so offensive about modern washing machines. Back in 1997 when I first started selling washing machines in a showroom, one of the key things we informed customers of was the fact that ‘shower system’ washing machines were efficient on water and electricity, but in turn needed far more time to do it’s cycle.
As I recall, it was not a big deal for people, or so they said. Quite how all of this has got lost in translation as the years have passed, I don’t know.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Thank you gentlemen for your replies. All I can say about the powder is that in all my years I’ve only ever used brand-name big-box powders (I’ve twice used supermarket branded powder -many years ago- and the foam was horrific :eeek: )and that soiling on all laundry -be it domestic laundry or a wash full of cloths and mop-heads- is not at all heavy. It is the temperature at which the laundry is done at which is the important thing for me, as this is what is needed to sanitise my uniforms and the cloths.
It’s all very well for the ‘experts’ in such matters to say that a cloth can be sanitised at temperatures at above 75C if left in the water for a minimum of four minutes, but this of course does not allow for the fact that the fabrics in any front-loader are ever fully immersed in water for any length of time, hence why I do the longest cycle possible so as to ensure the hot water has saturated the cloths sufficiently.
What I remember most is that back in the day I had a Hoover “European Style” slimline toploader which I used for over three years soley for boil washing cloths and mop heads. It held a 5.5kg load and was used 3-4 times a week. It was still working perfectly well when I gave it away when I down-sized my home. I never had a moments problem with that little trooper.
Martin, such is the direction that my business is now taking, I will likely be expanding the service I provide even further, and to that end I am in the process of having a shed installed in the back garden, where I can once again have two washing machines fully installed and working. I need the extra space anyway, due to the amount of equipment I have to keep on standby (there’s no time to fix a vacuum cleaner the very second it breaks down, I have to reach in and collect another 😕 )
Before I even consider that specialist Meile washer, I’m going to give the “two domestic machine” set-up another go, as it worked for me for years on the past.
I feel kind-of excited in a strange way that I’ve introduced a scenario to you Martin which you’ve never come across before 😀 I know I’m not the only proprietor of a cleaning business who murders washing machines though. Still, as I said in another post, they (the washing machines) are nothing more than a tool of the trade, and it’s not the cost of the breakdown which hits me, it’s the ‘down time’ where I can’t keep my service on schedule.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Spimps. Thanks for your reply.
WRT powder, I actually use very little. I work on the theory that the high temperatures I wash at (which are essential for what I am washing) are going a long way to ‘cleaning’ the laundry anyway, so I have never used too much powder (and I only ever use big-box powder) in the wash.
My gut feeling is that there is something underlying which goes back to when / why the heater bracket first broke. As in, I am wondering if maybe the elements sit too tightly / not tightly enough in situ.
I saw this machine being advertised in this months C&M (Cleaning and Maintenance) magazine, and got rather excited:
http://www.laundryserv.co.uk/products/w … w5064.aspx
Then I saw the price :eeek: At £2500 or thereabouts, I don’t think it’s the one for me.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Martin, the faulty element has two fuse symbols on it (one above each terminal).
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin
The last faulty element has a fine white covering of (I presume) limescale, and two clearer bits in the middle where the heater bracket was holding it down. I am sure the element is being held in place, and there was no sign of grazing from the drum etc.
It is a strange situation to analyse, given that modern washing machines are far from up to the use I give them, so I know I can’t say “my previous machines have been less problematic”. However, as this was the top model in the Bosch range when I bought it, I did have high expectations of it. Thus, when the heater bracket broke, I lost all faith in the appliance. Both of the Bosch engineers who visited (one to assess and later another to repair) did say they’d never seen such a part fail before and that it was just very bad luck. But deep down, I just can’t help but wonder if there is an underlying fault 😕
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin
Thanks as always for your kind reply. I must clarify the situation with ‘the elements I am buying’ (it is confusing, sorry 🙁 )
I bought my machine in March 2011. Towards the end of that year the spin cycle got louder and louder. In January 2012 the machine began tripping out the RCD and I called Bosch in to look at it.
They found that the heater bracket had split in two, causing the element to foul the drum. Of course although the faulty part was tiny, fitting it was no small task. It took three weeks for the part to arrive, and 2 hours for the guy to fit it. He also replaced the element at the same time, as it had signs of grazing where it had caught against the drum. This was a Bleckmann element.
It was that element which failed about 6 weeks ago. I replaced it with a Thermowatt, and that one has lasted 5 weeks of my ‘normal’ use. I have replaced it with another Thermowatt. I’ll check for the fuse symbol on the faulty one in a bit. 🙂
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin
Yes, I got that bit 😀 , I was thinking more along the lines of if there was any explanation as to how that would have happened? Cheers.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin et al
Today I have been working in the home of an electrician, so I took with me my faulty element for him to test.
The conclusion was that the element is not open circuit, but there was practically no resistance (I forget the reading) from the element to the external casing 😯
Does this mean anything to you professionals? Thanks.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hi Martin
I have no way of doing any of those tests, sorry 🙁 From my teenage years spent in a vac & washer repair shop, I can just about manage to exchange a heater element. If there is anything else wrong with the machine, it’s not showing it yet. I’ve done three 60C washes and one 90c wash since I typed that message yesterday. It’s sailed through all of them. Thanks.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hiya
No idea; the Bleckmann element just stopped working, and the Thermowatt replacement has taken to tripping my house RCD…But I have done no test on it, I just whipped it out and tried the machine without it. When I reconnected it, the RCD trips. As all the faults with this machine have been with the heater (as was my last machine), it was the first thing I tried.
Re: bleckmann or thermowatt
Hiya Martin. Thank you so much for the reply. I bought two Thermowatt elements and fitted the first exactly 5 weeks ago. Today the washing machine kept tripping the RCD in the house and continued to do so until the element was disconeccted. I fitted the new element and all is well.
The Thermowatt element was vastly cheaper than the Bleckmann, which was marketed as an “original” bosch part. At the price, I was prepared to take the chance. I hammer my washing machine; I know this. I just wondered if 5 weeks of my “normal” useage was fair for a Thermowatt element, or if I maybe had bad luck.
I’ll order a couple more Thermowatts, I think.
Thanks again.
Re: List of washers with sealed/welded tubs
Thank you Ken. Yes, it was the fact that the combi boiler takes a while to run off hot water that made me ask.
Re: List of washers with sealed/welded tubs
In fairness though, some people like myself are only too aware that their washing machine gets slaughtered. I have no choice but to wash in the way I do, in the quantities I am doing for myself & my partner for our jobs; certainly it would take more than a few raised eyebrows from people who repair the machines to make me overhaul our respective careers. I do of course have a choice as to what machine I buy though, which is why I am doing my homework now on Meile and ISE, ready for when I have to buy another machine.
On the subject of ISE, can anyone please tell me if it draws hot water on all wash cycles, or is it dependent on the program temperature like it used to be on older machines? Also, I have a combi-boiler and the long hot-water run would be such that I doubt any hot water would get to the washing machine before the washer had taken in enough to do the wash…with this in mind, if I got an ISE would it be better to use it on cold-fill only?
Re: List of washers with sealed/welded tubs
“DrDill » Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:19 am
People have the choice to leave lights on, heating on etc, .”That’s exactly my point…they make a choice.
In the same way they choose to do quick washes. People seem to want to save the planet by doing a poor wash cycle (because it’s been advertised as worthwhile on TV commercials for washing powder) yet are happy to leave lights and heating on.
Another thing which gets forgotten (or not known maybe) about full-length wash cycles is that using them at the right temperature allows for less detergent to be used for an effective wash. Surely that has to be good for the environment? I run an 8KG machine in a mildly hard water area, yet only use one solid tablet per wash. But then I use a ‘proper’ cycle you see…the results of a line full of white washing speaks for itself.
Re: List of washers with sealed/welded tubs
Crawling as it maybe, Ken, you and I both know this is the norm and not the exception. More is the pity. But then I suppose hot washing is ‘bad’ for the environment.
But what I don’t ‘get’ is how & why so many people want to wash fast & low temp so as to save the planet, but think nothing of leaving every last appliance on standby, using baths full of water, leaving heating & light on 24-7, and driving huge great cars. I know what I am talking about on this one; I see the appliances as I am cleaning, I wash the tide-marks from the bath, I sweat in the heat of the home as I do so. I work for some amazing, adorable people, but their eco-saving tendencies are somewhat distorted IMO. 🙁
