Choosing white goods when everything looks the same

[PeterC]

Graet - my foil hat does work!

[PeterC]

I bet Miele's concrete block doesn't suffer from bulging capacitors and other failures (Geoff?). I'd trust concrete rather than cheap electronics any time.

[gremlin_95]

I am sure I read somewhere that Miele washers use a cast iron block instead of concrete! They still out of balance controls as well.

" The stabilizing weight on the Miele washing machine is an unbreakable cast iron cradle around the front and the back of the machine. To an engineer, this is extremely impressive. It's over 20 years since I saw a washing machine with cast iron stabilizing weights"

Read more:

[dennis]

What do they make Mieles out of that doesn't screen EMI? Rust so that shows they have a cr@p paint shop. Are you sure its not a counterfeit?

[dennis]

Other more modern designs use better stabilizing systems and don't need cast iron.

Anyway for a weight concrete is as good as cast iron in most cases, just a bit bigger.

[Paul Herber]

3 times bigge for the same weight. So, not at all as good.

[Adrian C]

Wouldn't depleted uranium be more suitable? :-p

Many (many) years ago I used to work at the back of a local department store. There was a skip mounted garbage compactor there, that had a little platformed walkway that you ventured along with item to dispose, and then returned back closing the sprung safety gate to press the 'compact now' button. You could throw absolutely anything in there, so we* did. A washing machine complete with concrete ballast was no match for the power of the thing. Crack with a resounding bang. Oh, what fun!!

• - I say we, for the other operative was a nice guy called Pete. Pete had a friend, who here I'll call "John". John was with Pete for all time, but in actuality John didn't really exist - a figment of Pete's imagination, ye see. They had plenty of conversations between them to pass away the while....

On occasions I left them to it, with me out on the walkway disposing various bulky things, and sometimes putting the boot in to make sure items disapeared below the compactor entrance threshold. Pete (and immaginary John) stayed on the other side of the closed safety gate and could both be relied on not to press the me destruct button?

Happily yes, but once or twice I did wish there was some way of locking that gate open until I was out...

[dennis]

How does 1Kg of concrete have less effect than 1Kg of iron when its just a dampening weight?

[Andy Burns]

I believe he said *D*ust not *R*ust ...

[Tim Watts]

Because Mieles do not match the weight of a cheap machine, they exceed it by a large margin.

[ARWadsworth]

1/5th of the cost? I paid nothing for the washer, tumble drier or dishwasher. People give this stuff away for free.

[<me9]

No concrete in mine, just castings of steel or iron. It is very effective.

[<me9]

Our Hotpoint used concrete which disintegrated. This was replaced with scrap lead which gave a better balance (and more weight).

THe Miele uses iron based castings so shouldn't disintegrate, so far (5 years) as good as new.

[John Rumm]

Like in many markets there has been lots of brand consolidation under larger parent companies.

So Merloni group now holds Hotpoint (and hence Creda), Indesit, Ariston, Scholtes

Electrolux own Zanussi, Tricity Bendix, Frigidair, AEG

Miele are still independent...

Whirlpool has Philips domestic appliances, Maytag, Bits of RCA

Hoover was acquired by whirlpool and then flogged to TTI (they own Vax and Dirt Devil as well)

Bosch, Siemens, Neff are another group...

and that is before they all start badge engineered models for each other!

[John Rumm]

FWIW, I would comment that our Miele dishwasher is extraordinarily quiet.... (much more so than the Whirlpool that predated it)

[D.M.Chapman]

That's often adjustable on built in dishwashers isn't it? (I've fitted two, both were).

Something to screw in/unscrew near the hinge to control spring tension depending on the weight of the door fitted.

Or have I just been lucky with the two I've fitted? :)

Darren

[pcb1962]

You would expect it to be, to cope with different weights of facing panel.

[Mark]

As others have said avoid frost free freezers as they are much less reliable.

Liebherr are good for Fridges/Freezers and Miele fridges/freezes are all rebadged Liebherrs.

If you want the cheapest solution then buy cheap and expect to replace soon and risk unreliability.

Bosch are more reliable but more expensive.

Miele are *very* expensive so I have no experience of them.

Personally we go for Bosch/Liebherr 'cos I don't want to keep replacing/repairing things too often.