Solar Heated Water for Washing Machines with a Cold Feed only.

[rob26440]

Tragically my machine sees whether there is any water left over and runs the pump, so any pre fill with hot would get pumped out instantly.

Billy,

These machines are getting too smart.  Time for plan B then....

Try loading the machine as normal, set it off and then pour hot water into the soap tray so it mixes with the cold being fed in automatically.  Trickier to judge the temperature, I admit - but it's better than being beaten by some clever Dick's idea of logic.  The soap tray on my machine can be opened more or less all the way while it takes on water.  Doesn't cause any flooding.

Rob.

[Billy]

Tried that, if I open the soap tray just a smidgen I gets wet feet and I'm sure it's not my bladder, I think 

Oh god, better check that as well    do I hear the dulcet tones of Gravitas 

I did think about a hole in the worktop with a funnel but Mrs Barge muttered something about not being so silly 

[rob26440]

OK... Plan C.... wash clothes by hand. 

[Greenbeast]

Yes unfortunately my plan has fallen down too. i can't use a 3 port valve to do the switching (between hot and cold) either because they're designed to work under positive pressure on the AB port and not the other way round.

So i'm stuck with an egg timer and taps on the hot and cold feeds

[Billy]

No problem,

My Mum used to spend all day Monday doin the washing, turning the odd tap is peanuts. 

[Greenbeast]

No, i'm not bothered and even the misses doesn't seem to mind the idea. it just would have been 'cool' to have it done automatically

[daftlad]

A couple of solenoid valves from a scrap washing machine, a 555 timer kit from craplin, a relay, a placcy box, an old 12 volt psu, and a push button.
connect it all together, push the button when you turn the washer on and it allows hot fill for 10 minutes then swaps to cold fill.
jobsagudun?
might need a mixer valve to keep the water temperature to 40 degrees, or whatever?
I probably won't get round to it either and will stick to the manual technique!
laters

[Greenbeast]

ah yes never thought about using solenoid valves.

[knighty]

the best thing I can think of... (which is easier to do)

would be to install a small timer and a thermostat ?

timer powers a relay, that disconnects the power to the cold feed and connects it to the hot  (timer set for 5 min or so... just a bit longer than it takes to fill)

set the thermostat to the desired temp....

when the machines goes to fill it fills with hot instead of cold... until it thermostat picks up the required temp and swaps power to the cold feed

if the temp drops - the thermostat would switch back to the hot feed..

once the (5 min) timer runs out it would cut power to the relay - so it would fill as normal after that ?


I'm not very good at explaining this kind of thing... hopefully someone else can understand this and explain it to others !

[knighty]

this helps to explain it a bit....

when timer is active (first 5 min) original cold feed is connected via relay to thermostat instead of the cold feed
when temp is below the temp you want - power is diverted to the hot fill instead
when temp is over the temp you want - power goes back to cold feed


(would need another relay so you're not putting power "back down" the hot feed supply too - missed it out of the diagram... because my diagrams arn't exactly great!)

[knighty]

ok... that'll teach me to read a thread properly before I reply.... daftlad just sugested pretty much the exact same thing :S

[Billy]

My, how things get complicated.

Yeah, I am guilty of putting foot in mouth 'cause I didn't or couldn't be bothered to read the thread properly.

I did a test on the machine yesterday after saying it wouldn't accept water put in the drum.  Well it does, it tests the pump and a bit comes out but then it stops.  But the significant thing was that the water I put in was 38C but was tepid after a few seconds in the drum, obviously.  Ok, I didn't get the thermometer out but it would have cooled down enough to put the water heater on for a 30C wash.  I reckon it used about 7 litres of water to fill plus a bit when the clothes were wet, would the heat input of such a small amount of water make a difference. 

Maybe we should be preheating the machine to the working temperature .   

For me who uses the machine only twice a week, unless baby Jack comes round, the savings in leccy are not great but if I have an excess of hot water I will be putting some straight in the drum, hot as possible, to just below the touching clothes level, put clothes in and away we go, the residual cold fill will hopefully stop the clothes from heat damage.  Oh and the detergent mush go in the drum 'cause there won't be much water through the draw.
 

[Greenbeast]

Yes, the top of my tank was about 44 degrees when i ran my test on a 40 degree wash, it didn't stop to heat initially but then it did after a while, my guess was the same, that the machine cooled it down.
So i think i'll use a TMV at 50 for 40 degree washes and at 40 for 30 degree washes, etc...

[rob26440]

I will be putting some straight in the drum, hot as possible

Billy, et al,

Beware... as I expect you know, clothes will shrink immediately if they get water on then that is too hot.  I pre-mix about 8 litres to around 40C before putting it into the drum (to allow for the machine's take up of heat) and make sure the clothes can stand the heat.  The mains supplied water via the detergent tray enters the drum from the lowest point so the cold will push the pre-loaded hot with little mixing into the clothes as it fills.  I usually add more water at the appropriate temp via the tray as the clothes soak up the water at the start of the wash cycle.  These modern machines seem to run with very/too little water - I suppose that is to get the economy rating.  Also, I turn off the heater.

So the machine only uses about 8 to 10 litres of hot for each wash.... is it really worth it?  Yes, it is!  6 to 7 times per week for 15 years.  Around 45,000 litres that would have been heated by electricity which costs about 3 x as much as gas.  Even better if heated by the sun.  But I've a good few years to go before I get my money's worth out of the solar tubes and all its ancillaries.

"Detergent mush".  I like that expression.  That's why I went to liquids - also mixed with warm water before putting into the drum/tray - quite viscous these liquid detergents.  Some of these modern liquids have a pretty strong, lingering and 'orrible smell.  So choose carefully.  I never buy the "measured" capsules/doses of detergent - too wasteful.  I don't know who sets the sizes.  (Well of course I do!)  With softened water, it hardly needs any detergent.

Rob

[Amy]

So rather than go to the trouble of inventing a bank of valves and a programmer to run it all. keep the machine as it was meant to be and do as many of your washes as possible on a cold fill.

Then when you do have to do a hot wash for certain items like towels and work clothes, do that normally too cos you saved the money on the cold fills.

As i mentioned earlier, in the nov dec jan quarter, i halved my leccy bill just through changing 4 light bulbs and going over to cold fill.