To clear more space in our kitchen I'm moving the washing machine into the lean-to. The lean-to already has a cold water supply.
I've always used hot and cold fill but I'm thinking that because the gas-heated water comes from the hot water tank upstairs and is heated by the boiler downstairs, the long pipe runs probably make this an unnecessary & inefficient option given that modern washing machines use so little water for the washing cycles anyway.
What do people think?
In article , Si writes
My own machine only hot fills when the wash temperature is 60deg or above so it's not something happens very often. If I were to need a hot wash I'd run the hot tap on the sink by the machine.
On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:54:14 +0100 someone who may be Si wrote this:-
It depends on usage patterns, system design and how well insulated the hot water pipes are.
You are right in most cases. Indeed, manufacturers have been removing the hot fill from more recent models. Because modern detergents need a profiled temperature wash, the initial fill mustn't be hot, so very little hot was used anyway and most of the heating is done inside the machine gradually.
Unless the insulations is incredible, for most runs and many usage patterns it's irrelevant assuming the machine is reasonbly modern - just use a y adaptor (normally comes with the machine) and link both pipes to the cold, you probably won't even notice the difference unless you run a laundry. Our run's not that long, but the water doesn't have time to run hot before the machine's full.
Almost all machines now are cold fill for several reasons; washing detergents work well at lower temperatures, pipe runs are such that only cold water in the pipe reaches the machine anyway.
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
Thanks all. The machine is a 7 year old Bosch so presumably precedes the changes. I've gone the cold-fill only route.
On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:40:25 +0100 someone who may be Chris Hodges wrote this:-
Many hot water pipes are not insulated. If they are then water remains hot for a fair time.
There is also the question of how long a dead leg there is to the machine and how far the source of hot water is away from the machine.
It is not as simple a question as some think.
Also avoids the risk of the fabrics in the load being exposed to water temperatures beyond their recommended range.
I agree, but my point was that there's often a fairly long run and a fairly long dead leg. In our last house it was well worth starting a hot wash just after running the washing up water, in many houses, including this one, that wouldn't help.
and my lad's Chemistry A level teacher added another: exposure to hot water from the start increases the chance that a stain will be fixed in the fabric. Hence the initial rinse/wash in cold water.
On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:21:25 +0100 someone who may be Chris Hodges wrote this:-
There often is, which is a sign of bad design.
Bad design tends to be a feature of houses built by volume builders, the people who want to sling up the cheapest box for them. These are the same people who have fought like tigers against energy saving and renewable energy features being built into buildings.
Indeed - my pet hate along these lines is the uninsulated runs between the boiler and cylinder. Apart from the waste of energy we don't really need more heat sources in the house in summer. In my case they're under the (8x4) floorboards so I'd have to demolish the upstairs to do anything about it.
Also grey water heat (and water) recovery would be easy if designed in to new build.
Chris
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