DIYbanter - View Single Post - Convert cold fill washing machine to hot and cold fill

Palindr˜»me

wrote:
The current rage for cold fill only machines is all very well for bio
powders and combi boilers, but some of us want a machine that has a hot
fill. And before it is suggested that a machine never gets to draw hot
water, that is not the case with my current machine which invariably
fills up with hot water.
Hence is it possible to convert a cold fill to a h & c fill machine???
Has anyone done it??

Something like a hose from h&C supply going to a high-hysteresis
thermostatic mixer unit, with a non-return valve on the cold side, and a
hose from that going to the "cold" fill?

It has to be a high hysteresis "bang-bang" valve because of the possible
pressure difference between supplies. The non-return valve prevents the
possibility of contaminating the cold water main.

If the mixer is variable, you would set it to give an average supply
temperature set to the highest acceptable temperature for any clothing
material that is going to be washed..

This does mean that the machine does get water supplied at much the same
temperature throughout the year, heated hopefully by a cheaper power
source than full-price electricity, and washing cycles are significantly
quicker as there is shorter delays for water heating.

I've thought about it - but most of the year now I get my hot water from
an immersion heater, so it would actually cost me more - in hot water
sat in pipes.

But it would be fairly straightforward to do - without interfering with
the machine and/or invalidating its warranty. It's obviously not as good
as a machine taking both supplies and able to set its own temperature
for different cycles or parts of them.

--
Sue