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rob26440
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« Reply #270 on: July 12, 2009, 11:23:33 AM » |
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Looks pretty good and neat to me.
I'm still toying with the idea for my machine and I have a few questions....
How do you control the initial temperature of the water in the drum if you only want to do say a warm wash and the incoming hot is at 50C or 60C? Do you delay pressing the button so some cold goes in first?
Is there a mechanism to drop the relay in mid flow if you decide it has had enough hot? (i.e. such as a N/C push button on the permanent live to the timer?)
With the mods, I assume any service agreement will be null and void so it's a DIY job to fix all failures.
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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Greenbeast
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« Reply #271 on: July 12, 2009, 11:32:46 AM » |
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i have a TMV on my hot water outlet from the tank, its set at about 45C, i can raise or lower this if i need to but i think that probably suits a 30C wash fine (it will cool in the machine a little)
If i want it colder than that i guess i could forego priming the pipework, just not press the button, or delay pressing it like you suggest
I haven't implemented a way of dropping the relay part way through, i'm not sure i'd ever need to and i was keeping this cheap
well i don't pay for a service agreement and its well out of warranty so i'm not too bothered.
also, once you've had a play around inside and found how many spare parts you can get online, repairing it doesn't seem so bad
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daftlad
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« Reply #272 on: July 12, 2009, 11:41:01 AM » |
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I have just had a look at the instructions for the timer and there is no way of turning it off, I guess you would just have to wait.
There are other timers available which do have reset contacts and for that matter also have 2 pole change over contacts so there would be no need for the relay.
Some people on this thread fit a TMV locally to the washer, I guess you could just set the desired temperature on the TMV except you would have to take into account cold water in the pipe so maybe set it 10 degrees higher.
So for a 50 degree wash set it at 60 degrees.
laters
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« Last Edit: July 12, 2009, 03:02:12 PM by daftlad »
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rob26440
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« Reply #273 on: July 12, 2009, 03:20:46 PM » |
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Yes, I'm contemplating a TMV (got a couple of decent spares already). Might even fit a sensor to the output so I can see the temp of the blended flow - unless I can lay hands (cheaply) on one of those TMVs with an indicator already mounted. Pretty rare I imagine and probably a bit industrial.
Somewhere on the forum, and I've had a good search, is a photo of a TMV'ed plumbing solution for a cold fill washing machine. I can't find it - I seem to remember it was installed on a boat. Would be nice to see it again because it was an elegant solution. Can anyone point me to it? Thanks.
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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Greenbeast
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« Reply #274 on: July 12, 2009, 03:35:49 PM » |
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its on page 12 of this thread, colinstone is the member
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daftlad
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« Reply #275 on: July 12, 2009, 04:07:07 PM » |
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There is no reason why the timer circuit that Greenbeast used could not be used on external solenoid valves.
I think the main reason for doing it the way Greenbeast did it is that it is simpler and much cheaper.
The solenoid valve can be salvaged from a scrap yard.
The problem with the external solenoid valves is that they have to be able to cope with water pressure on the input and output (which the washing machine ones do not), this means buying them, I think Colinstone said they cost him 12 quid each.
laters
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Greenbeast
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« Reply #276 on: July 12, 2009, 04:12:18 PM » |
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yeah for me it was about keeping it dirt cheap, so that it can pay itself back
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rob26440
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« Reply #277 on: July 12, 2009, 04:15:09 PM » |
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Greenbeast,
Thanks. I was looking for an embedded picture. I should have spotted the link. No wonder the search didn't work! Might take a trip to the tip tomorrow to see if I can scrounge a couple of w/machine solenoids. I've got everything else - except the timer - and I might opt for a manual system for starters so I can experiment with the timings and temperatures.
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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daftlad
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« Reply #278 on: July 12, 2009, 04:19:11 PM » |
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Greenbeast,
Thanks. I was looking for an embedded picture. I should have spotted the link. No wonder the search didn't work! Might take a trip to the tip tomorrow to see if I can scrounge a couple of w/machine solenoids. I've got everything else - except the timer - and I might opt for a manual system for starters so I can experiment with the timings and temperatures.
Does your machine fill on and off during the first few minutes? if it just fills until it is full then you can go with the latching relay option. Does that make sense? laters |
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Greenbeast
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« Reply #279 on: July 12, 2009, 04:19:44 PM » |
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the way i figured out the time was to hook up the hot feed and run a normal wash.
i then waited till i was fairly sure it wasn't asking for more water.
turns out its in the region of 4-6 minutes
the original latching circuit wouldn't work for me because my machine turns the valve on and off a few times over the course of the 5 minutes.
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rob26440
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« Reply #280 on: July 12, 2009, 04:23:56 PM » |
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My machine has a "brain" too. It senses the level and tops up during the first few minutes as the clothes soak up the water.
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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daftlad
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« Reply #281 on: July 12, 2009, 04:30:08 PM » |
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You will either need a timer or an egg timer to remind you to manually switch back to cold.
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rob26440
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« Reply #282 on: July 12, 2009, 04:48:31 PM » |
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Got a timer.... me standing over it! Will incorporate a proper (reliable) timer when the time is right... so to speak
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S/E England. 30x58mm tubes, S/W facing 40deg pitched roof, 216L primary and 184L secondary cylinders, TDC3 with home-made, separate controller to switch between cylinders, 15mm tubing with min 25mm insulation.
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daftlad
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« Reply #283 on: July 12, 2009, 04:55:29 PM » |
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Got a timer.... me standing over it! Will incorporate a proper (reliable) timer when the time is right... so to speak
So an egg timer then? Have fun down the tip. laters |
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ericw
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« Reply #284 on: July 12, 2009, 04:57:45 PM » |
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Has anyone tried adding a microswitch operated by adding a cam to the shaft of the washing machine timer mechanism ?
Obviously only possible on ones with rotating selector knobs.
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