Installing a dishwasher (I'm in the UK)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Mine has this problem I think.

Perhaps a back flush would push them out.

Been broken over 6 months nbow. Must try and get it fixed.

[adder1969]

Put some kind of water detector under the washer so that you know when it starts leaking!

[Richard Conway]

What? On a 32 amp ring?

[Owain]

Yes. The max load the switch contacts can carry is limited to the 13A of the (single) socket below the worktop.

On a correctly designed ring the current in any part of the ring will not be more that 20A anyway, so the 'loop through' of the ring on the supply side of the switch won't exceed 20A anyway. (The rest of the current in the ring is flowing round the other side of the ring.)

After all, you put a 13A socket on a ring, so why not a 20A switch?

*Always rovided there is a fuse in the spur to limit the spur current to 13A.* You could not, for example, put a 20A fixed load as an unfused spur from the ring, as that would be an excessive point load and would not comply with the criteria for a "standard circuit".

Owain

[doozer]

AFAIK most dishwashers now have flood protection. There is a metal floor to the dishwasher which has a dip in the middle and a float valve. If the float valve is triggered is cuts off water in and starts the pump out sequence. If you are worried about floods it's worth checking if you model has this feature. Having seen it I don't think it would stop all disasters but it will certainly stop most.

[Ian_m]

Also watch out as some have a minum loop height for the waste pipe ie the waste pipe must go up over this hieght for it to work properly usually

50-60cm if it is needed. (also stop waste from sink etc water going back down the waste pipe).

[graham]

We've got a Bosch dishwasher that has a stainless steel arrangement at the bottom and a very fine stainless steel filter mesh.

I would be surprised if anything could work its way into the pump.

The other half who used to work in an electrical shop selling dishwashers etc recommends dish washers with a steel plate rather than a plastic plate in the bottom of the machine. Apparently, the plastic plates may distort over time and allow gaps to form through which particles may move and then enter the pump arrangement.

Graham

[graham]

Apparently, running a suitable dishwasher descaler liquid through the machine can often help prolong the life of the heater element and pump.

Graham

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 14 Mar 2005, wrote

That might be why our machine has lasted so long: it regularly gets cleaned/descaled and such-like. (We're in a seriously hard water area: except when recently descaled, the heating element is usually a nice white colour.)

[Bob Eager]

And if you work out that the diameter of the cut out bit can't be more than abouit half that of the actualy pipe (perhaps a bit more), the cross sectional area of the hole is much less than that of the actual pipe - so the flow is poor.

[Nick Atty]

I like that idea. It has the advantage of blasting nice hot water down your trap at intervals to really clean it out.

When I moved in, the previous owner had taken the (removable) spigots with him. I found out when emptying the washing up bowl the first time. A proper plumbers merchent sells just these bits - which is a lot cheaper than a whole new trap.

[Pete C]

Hi,

Good point, I wonder if it's possible to partially cut the hole and then take the tap off and prise the copper bit out of the way.

cheers, Pete.

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 14 Mar 2005, Pete C wrote

Only if you've got a truly endless supply of spare towels... ;)

[doozer]

Looking as the arrangement in ours I can see how stuff could get into the out flowing water. There is a fine steel filter and a very fine plastic filter for the water that is being recycled (for obvious reasons) but the water that is being sent down the drain only has a rough filter on it. I imagine, therefore, that is how pips get in.

Graham (No I'm not talking to myself :-))

[Lobster]

But why on earth not just fit a proper washing machine valve instead? If you've plumbed in a kitchen before that certainly shouldn't present any problems. Those self-cutting taps are really intended to enable muppets who wouldn't know an olive from an o-ring to carry out out a diy install and save the cost of a plumber.

David

[Christian McArdle]

Yes. Even the cable needs only be rated at 20A on a 32A ring.

The current in the spur is limited to 13A by the fuse. There is no conceivable fault that will draw >20A but

[Pete C]

Hi,

In my case all the plumbing is coming out for replacement in the not tooo distant future, so it's not really worth doing 'properly'.

cheers, Pete.