I think that one that one (most later Hotpoints) you have to replace the drum. A few years ago, that was about £130. I got a fixed price repair from Hotpoint for under £100.
"Ye Cannae Change the Laws of Physics." So spin speed (and drum diameter) affects spin efficiency. How much that matters depends on how you dry the clothes - and how much you care about wrinkles.
All covered by the science group that did the research on WMs and TDs for the EU's Directive on labelling etc
Have since discovered there are plenty of 1600 rpm washers around. Including what looks like a drop-in replacement for the Hotpoint we have. From Hotpoint - the "Hotpoint NSWM 965C W UK N 9kg 1600rpm Washing Machine - White".
With 13 years behind it, and a replaced readily available, the challenge of DIYing it seems a bit extreme. The video I saw makes it clear it is not a trivial exercise. And with the need to reseal, the risk to reward ratio doesn't make sense.
The fact we've run it on average 3 times a week for 13 years seems to rebut any suggestions that 1,600 is a Bad Thing. Especially when you factor in the %age less water entering the atmosphere to dry.
My remaining question is the piece of string one about how long from noticing the bearing noise to failure ? If this was car wheel bearing I know the answer is thousands of miles (the noise would make it impossible to drive before the wheel fell off .....). This affects whether it's worth waiting for a sale or something similar (Black Friday ?).
Manufacturers might otherwise advertise e.g. "Our washing machine uses only 0.9 firkins of water and .7 kBTU" - those being the figures for a short, cold woollens cycle. Think of the arts students!
How do you deduce the bearings are going? My old hover went as the bearing got water in it and started to rust, however the Service that followed it eventually failed due to the pcb and sequencer blowing themselves up. Thus far, the Panasonic seems to be more reliable in these areas, but its getting more difficult to find them with proper knobs so blind people can use them. I think shortly, the rubber seal round the drum might need to be replaced though. Brian
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