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Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

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490808
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:10 pm

Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#26

Post by 490808 »

BadaBing wrote: Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:11 pm €230 save time and effort, if it breaks in 5 years it will owe you nothing. Less than €1 a week when you break it down.
https://powercity.ie/product/62051W
That looks a lot like our washing machine (think its identical except ours is black) and its lasted 6 or more years (might be much more one looses track) with two breakdowns. The sump pump needed replacing (2019) and the brushes on the motor wore out ( 2021 its in daily use). Sump pump is a very easy fix one screw and a couple of clips a power connector and a bayonet type fitting for the pump. The brushes took a bit more effort had to remove the motor not a big job but I seem to remember to get the price down to something like £8 I did some research and did a bit of messing around but easy enough (swapped the carbon brushes over from one plastic cassette to another).
CelticRambler
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#27

Post by CelticRambler »

Still looking, still thinking ... I've found a (not cheap) Beko that may be of interest - A-rated under the new system, 10kg load, super-fast 14-minute wash cycle (... seriously? :shock: ) or bog standard fast 28-minute cycle - but it seems the increasingly long cycle times mentioned above are related to improved energy efficiency and reduced water consumption (doesn't bother me if it takes 4 hours). Oh, and no bluetooth connectivity!

Two things are holding me back at the moment. Firstly, lack of stock (but there are two, reduced in price, that have suffered dings to the outer bodywork which I'd settle for if I could find out how much of a discount they're being sold for).

Secondly, and of more concern, is a "feature" that sounds like it could be troublesome: supposedly intelligent dosing of detergent and conditioner, where you fill the tray every so often and the machine decides how much is needed for each wash. They say that you can get as many as 18 washes out of each detergent top-up (quantity varies according to the weight of the load). Yes, that would be very handy when miscellaneous third parties are left using the machine ... I never use conditioner so that side of the tray is irrelevant, but I have visions of the nozzles getting clogged up with dried out detergent because I've waited two months for a full 10kg load. Anyone any experience of this kind of thing?
Calahonda52
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#28

Post by Calahonda52 »

the long cycle times for eco washes stems from some EU directive about how energy efficiency is measured, i don't recall exactly how but I did know that some long eco cycles will consume more juice than a short non eco cycle, use a power mart to check if you have one.
..\
beware the duvet option.
I put a tog 13.5 kingsize polyester job duvet into our machine.
on the last fast spin cycle, the friction against the door melted the polyester: game over.
.
However ,all was not lost, used it for years on the roof of the car for transporting stuff, no roof-rack on the ev.
Hairy-Joe
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Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:33 pm

Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#29

Post by Hairy-Joe »

The intelligent dosing may be a good idea. We suffered for years with clogging drains. Clearing solved it for a few months and it would start to clog again. We switched from washing powder to washing liquid in the machine and the clogged drains stopped.

Clearing the blockages resulted in white lumps coming out of the drains. I now thing it was the excess powder going into the machine from "a little extra, just in case".....
CelticRambler
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#30

Post by CelticRambler »

I don't think I understand how internet shopping works any more ... :? One thing's for sure: it'd be a damn sight easier to just drive down to the shops and buy something!

Anyhow ... after much deliberation, I opted out of the auto-dosing thing. Too many "intelligent" sensors involved for my liking, and I think the fact that I still haven't got to the end of the three-for-the-price-of-two bottles of detergent I bought two years ago (might have been three ... :) ) means I'm definitely not over dosing my laundry.

But I decided to stick with the Beko brand, found a model with an even bigger drum (note for others: the drum size and the max load weight do not necessarily correlate) and a tolerable water and electricity consumption. Technically a "C" on the new scale, but the difference between the various A-C models I looked at is such that I can save twice as much by skipping a wash or two over the course of a year!

Grand. Decision made, but jeez - trying to actually buy the feckin thing has been a frustrating experience ... and now I may have bought two. :shock: Having price-compared across several sites, I satisfied myself that the slightly dinged machine at 200€ off was a good bargain and tried to buy it. Cue an hour of head-banging two-factor authentification triggered by my bank's stubborn refusal to register my new phone as the obligatory default confirmation device, but grudgingly accepting to send a code by SMS to the same phone instead :roll: ... and then insisting that I also enter my account password? :shock: Which it promptly rejected. Three times. So locked me out of my account for my own safety.

Finally got through that phase and parted with 377€ ... or did I? The order confirmation stated that the delivery company would contact me in due course to fix a date for delivery, which would be "up to 10 working days" after they get in touch :o and only then would the delivery charge be finalised. WTF? :evil:

Well, I don't know what prompted me to do it, but I went back to Google and typed in the model number, and whaddyaknow, the same machine is being sold new, without dings, by Auchan for 349€ with free delivery. Ah here ... So I tried to sign up for Auchan's online shopping. Couldn't do it; went to bed; tried again several times this morning, same "Oops, something went wrong" error and various bug-tracking sites seem to indicate that Auchan online only works sporadically. Fine ... Hey, what's that? Boulanger are offering the same machine for 349 too? That'd be Boulanger who directed me to the ex-demo reseller? :?: Never mind - in stock - add to cart - view cart ... "This item is out of stock and has been removed from your cart". WTF??? Who does that? :evil:

Out of sheer masochism, I thought I'd have a fresh look at some of the other sites I'd visited, and there, on eBay, is the same machine for 349 with free delivery, last one in stock, being sold by ... Boulanger. So do they have one, or don't they? Fekkit. Push the buy now button and see what happens. Message from eBay "thank you for your purchase, we'll let you know when your goods are despatched". Estimated delivery 17-27 Feb.

I'm not expecting either machine to be delivered before I have to head off for a bit of work, but one or other merchant will be seeing me exercise my 14-day right to cool off - probably the guys asking 27€ extra for dents and a watered down guarantee.
Hairy-Joe
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#31

Post by Hairy-Joe »

Geez that sounds like an ordeal......
CelticRambler
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#32

Post by CelticRambler »

E-mail from eBay this morning: Sorry ... we've refunded you. :roll:
490808
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:10 pm

Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#33

Post by 490808 »

CelticRambler wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 7:33 am E-mail from eBay this morning: Sorry ... we've refunded you. :roll:
Negative feedback then!
BadaBing
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#34

Post by BadaBing »

You should have just got the new one from power city for €230.
CelticRambler
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Re: Washing machines - what to look for in a new one?

#35

Post by CelticRambler »

Do Power City deliver internationally? Coz I definitely can't pick it up from Leinster ... or anywhere else in Ireland, for that matter! :mrgreen:
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