On 11/4/2015 7:10 AM, Martin Bonner wrote:

Re US machines: do they typically run at 120V or 240V? If the former,
that might be one of the reasons for hot-fill. (It's hard to get more
than 13-16A through a plug+socket, and 16A at 120V takes a long time
to heat anything - same reason boiling-water taps are more popular in
the US.)

I've never seen a 120v US washing machine. Dryers, yes, they run at
240v, but gas dryers are much more common in the US than they are in the
UK.
My US washing machine is a 120v frontloader with both hot and cold fill,
the dryer is gas.
My UK washing machine is a 240v (230v?)frontloader with both hot and
cold fill; the dryer is a 240k electric.
The US dryer gets more use than the UK one, gas being considerably
cheaper to run.