Do washing machine feed hoses fail?

[AL_n]

I just watched a couple of American videos claiming that the no.1 cause of water damage in the home is burst waching machine hoses. They claim that the rubber/plastic kind don't last long. They recommend replacing them with stainless steel-braised ones.

Dos this advice apply equally well in the UK?

Personally, I've never had a washing machine hose fail. Perhaps our UK hoses are beter than the ones in the US - or perhaps their water pressure is typically higher?

I would imagine that a cold water feed hose is likely to last longer than one carrying hot water. Anyone agree?

Cheers,

Al

[Brian Gaff]

I've never seen one fail myself, and they tend to outlast the machine!

Brian

[Martin Brown]

Sounds like they have zero advertising standards, credulous gullible consumers and can claim any old rubbish to make money from them.

Some places in America the ozone levels are high enough to make rubber go brittle - you can smell the LA ozone 50 miles downwind at peak times!

I doubt it makes much difference the hot water is probably at lower pressure than cold in the UK anyway. Strong UV light might though.

Japanese washing machines were interesting in this respect. Very hitech but somewhat unreliable and homes had a 4" drip tray with drain for the washing machine to sit in "just in case". Ours never went wrong but the implication of having it in the building code was clear.

I remember at university in a shared house we had a front loading washing machine where the interlock only prevented the door from changing state while a wash program was in progress. It spent one whole night trying to fill the kitchen with water to the required level.

[Davey]

The American houses we lived in usually had a pressure reducer as the supply came into the house, and then everything after that was at the same pressure. No tanks anywhere, too likely to freeze in the bitter cold 'Mid-Western' winters. Our washing machine supply here in the UK comes from the tank, so is lower pressure than the machines saw in the US.

[stuart noble]

I've known the washers fail and the threads go, but the hoses have always outlasted my washing machines

[Mike Clarke]

We had one start to spray out a fine jet of water once. But with 3 different machines over a 30 year period I wouldn't regard that as indicating that failure was a common occurrence.

[Davey]

Agreed. To the point of leaving the old hoses on when a new machine arrives, if they look good. The fittings at the supply end can be bastards to undo. The machine end ones are easy.

[Mike Clarke]

Our Bosch dishwasher has something like that built in. The supply and drain hose are contained in an outer hose which drains into a built in tray in the base of the machine. If a leak is detected a water level sensor in the tray cuts off the supply at a solenoid valve at the tap end of the supply hose and shuts down the machine.

[S Viemeister]

Many years ago, in our house in NJ, we came home after a day out to find the basement inches deep in water - the hot-water hose to the washer had burst. The hose had been there when we moved in, and was not steel-reinforced. New installations in that area now have the washers sitting on trays - but wouldn't have helped us, as the high pressure hot water sprayed up to the ceiling, down the walls, and covered the floor...it took days to clean and dry the basement!

[A.Lee]

Had to change one last week due to it leaking, only a slow dribble, but enough to cause a damp patch spreading from under the washer.

[Adam Funk]

I don't recall even knowing anyone who had a hose fail in either country. I think water pressure is typically (but not always) higher in the USA, and in particular, I've never come across cistern-fed hot water over there (so hot water is typically at a higher pressure).

[AL_n]

Martin Brown wrote in news:njwjr.8516 $ [e-mail]:

Perhaps it's the old rubber hoses that they are talking about, (the ones made in the days before the durable synthetic hoses like the ones supplied with new washing machines nowadays)..

Al

[js.b1]

Probably.

CW hose failure at 10yr was very probably from the previous 1985 washer. CW hose failure at 16yr was bought 1996, and whilst subject to 8.8 bar it had also suffered chronic water hammer. The rubber was obviously perished and split. The blue outer sheath distorted by water working its way along, finding a pinhole from which to emerge.

Most UK washing machines are now one hose cold fill.

[PeterC]

The Miele hose has a much higher pressure rating than 'ordinary' hosen. The pressure curve against temperature is frightening for standard hoses - hot fill (unlikely) from a nearby combi, valve shuts off, hose hot and near mains pressure...!

[js.b1]

I believe the price is much higher, =A328-39?

China OUVAN

- OH-WMH-102, grey outer, 1.5-2m, 0-80oC, 1.5bar

- Could that 1.5bar be at 80oC?

Amazon

- 90oC, 10bar - but I bet not at the same time

BES UK

- 20oC =3D 12 bar

- 65oC =3D 5 bar

- Could that be 1.5bar at 80oC... I guess it could?

HW Vented cylinder 0.6-2bar re 2-4 storey. HW Unvented cylinder PRV 3.5 - 5 - 6.5 bar, most likely 3.5 bar.

So another reason to fit a safety thermostat to immersion heaters, and PRV to cold anyway.

[Adam Funk]

I just bought a new AEG washing machine: cold-fill only, and it came with one hose with a fancy gadget (pressure regulator?) on the supply end & the instructions said not to re-use your old plain hose with this machine. The gadget has a ratchet (with a release button) on the female fitting, which made it a bit awkward to undo (I discovered after starting to install the washer-dryer that I'd have to swap it with the dishwasher under the worktop).

[Andy Champ]

My son's maisonette (word chosen carefully) is on the back of 1st and

2nd floors of an old pub. The ground floor is a shop; the front of the building is another apartment.

He had a tap fail full on, and flooded the shop. The builders doing the repairs cocked up, the feed pipe came off the new cistern, and flooded the shop. The shop got really shirty with us for the third flood... and then apologised when it turned out to be next doors washing machine hose.

Andy

[Halmyre]

The hot hose failed at the supply end on our Neff just recently - a fancy metal-braided affair. It appeared to be leaking down through where the braiding disappeared into the crimp; replacing the washer didn't help.

-- Halmyre

[PeterC]

ISTR one figure of about 3bar at 65C - well within the figures attainable from a combi. It does look as if the suppliers are using the 'best' specs.

And those introduce 2 more points of failure, as does the solenoid valve and switchgear for detecting leaks/too long filling.

[grimly4]

Jeez, the designer of that deserves some sort of award.