Washing machine drum damage: repairable?

Hi, The bearings failed on my AEG washer-dryer. I have replaced them successfully but discovered secondary damage to the drum, where the inner part appears to have struck the heating element (bending it) and knocked a fitting of some sort (possibly a support for said element?) off the outer drum. This has left a hole about the size of a penny at the bottom of the outer drum.

I'm about to price a replacement drum (suspect this is going to be uneconomic) but wondered if it's likely to be practical to repair the hole some other way (a silicone sealed patch pop-riveted in place, perhaps?).

I'm concerned that the elemement may be damaged, too- is a resistance check likely to be sufficient to confirm it's working? If so what would I be looking for (~8 ohms?)?

Advice appreciated, especially "cut your lossed"!

Cheers, W.

PS it's an AEG OKO-Lavamat 1261 turbo, if that matters... about 5-10 years old.

Reply to
William Warburton
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I happen to be currently juggling bits between two AEG machines to get a fully working one again.

Presumably you've done the same remove front of machine, steel clamp band, concrete loaded tub front as I did to get to the inner drum. On mine the element is clamped against the tub outer a wire holder, which I guess is the part you've found has come loose.

I may have a servicable tub (which I think is the usual name for the static, outer drum) and possibly inner drum left over at the end of my repairs.

The machine I'm getting going again is a 5 year old 72620. The other is an approx 10 year old other model (number not to hand).

The inner drums look identical prior to dismantling (same overall pattern, number of holes, etc.) so your machine may well be the same. This also suggests a variety of AEG machines over that period will have a suitable drum if you can find one at a disposal yard, etc. Not so sure about the outers until I've dismantled them both.

Get in touch if you're interested in parts and can collect them from SW London, but I may not have them for a little while as its taking time to get time to effect the repair.

Cheers IanC

Reply to
clowes_ian

Hmmm, just noticed yours is a washer-dryer. Mine are just washers, so may well be more different than I first thought.

IanC

Reply to
clowes_ian

Probably. What's the outer drum made of? Many years ago, I kept an old Hoover washing machine going for a good few years by repairing the leaks in the steel drum with a car Isopon kit occasionally.

Not sure what it will be cold, but not open circuit. I would guess a lot nearer its operating resistance (24 ohms for a 2kW heater). Check the metal case of the element is not punctured and that element is isolated from case.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

hole: depends on drum material: steel, ali, plastic etc. Ali could be repaired with epoxy resin, but certainly avoid the quickset stuff. Better would be a bolt on ali patch and a load of silicone. Always scrape ali immediately before applying glue.

Heater element: check element resistance, should be somewhere vaguely in the region of 20 ohms, might be half or double that though.

Ideally you should also test it with a megger, but most folk dont have one of those.

It is possible to Check R from heater outer sheath to the contacts on the highest R range. If conduction is detected it may well fail when mains V is applied. But for legal reasons I will say only install it its passed a megger test.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

Hi again, (Google isn't retrieving this thread for followups- sorry if this posting breaks your threading)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Much appreciated.

I'm encouraged by the reports of successful repairs to this component (it _is_ referred to as the "tub", apparantly- the drum being the twirly bit, rather than the cylinder it spins inside, which is where I have a problem).

The one I have is stainless steel- a replacement would be around £60, but I would need to transfer the associated components (heater, temperature sensor, weights and in particular the bearings and "spider" for the drum). My current thinking is that I am more likely to be successful repairing the tub than dismantling everything without causing further damage.

The heating element measures about 20 Ohms, as advised, and I can detect no sign of earth leakage, with my limited test gear.

I plan to pop-rivet a patch of sheet metal over the hole, generously sealing with (non-acetic acid) silicone sealant. The sheet metal in the tub is very thin and I was successful drilling a test hole, so I think this should be feasible. There appears to be little strain on the area, so hopefully the seal will last.

Thanks to Ian Clowes, in particular for the generous offer of a tub- though timing and geography prevent me taking advantage I really appreciate the offer.

Cheers, W.

Reply to
William Warburton

Hi,

I'd consider just taping over the hole with a few layers of aluminium tape, it has a working temp above 100c. Or tape over the patch/silicone with it as well as a belt and braces thing.

cheers, Pete.

Reply to
Pete C

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