[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Around 50 years ago ... ... ... makeshift dryer.

Around fifty years ago drying cabinets were available in UK. One could make, probably fairly safely, using just electric bulbs as the heat source. However, unwise without both courage and electrical knowledge! The reason they disappeared from the British market was the number of fires they caused.

However, I fondly remember the one I lived with. It worked very well, and never burnt the house down!

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Around fifty years ago drying cabinets were available in UK. One could make, probably fairly safely, using just electric bulbs as the heat source. However, unwise without both courage and electrical knowledge! The reason they disappeared from the British market was the number of fires they caused.

However, I fondly remember the one I lived with. It worked very well, and never burnt the house down!

You beat me to it. I was just about to say what Aroy described sounds exactly like an old school drying cabinet. You know what they say - What's old is new again.

[mxx]

I was looking for front load samsung washing machines (around 9 kgs). However, I also saw a that with all discounts the 12 kg model is only 3k more. Should I go for that? Any cons with going for a bigger capacity other than that I should spend 3k more?

I also want to know among LG and Samsung front loads, which is better - ie long lasting and reliable?

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Originally Posted by mxx

I was looking for front load samsung washing machines (around 9 kgs). However, I also saw a that with all discounts the 12 kg model is only 3k more. Should I go for that? Any cons with going for a bigger capacity other than that I should spend 3k more?

I also want to know among LG and Samsung front loads, which is better - ie long lasting and reliable?

Essentially with a bigger capacity you get the ability to wash bigger bulkier items at home such as duvets or heavy blankets and carpets should you wish (though how often would you do that?). Obviously you also get to do a lot more laundry at a go.

Ultimately though it really comes down to your typical laundry load and frequency. If you tend to do smaller loads generally, then you're probably better off doing fuller loads in the smaller machine. I can't think of any other cons really to the bigger machine other than higher consumption. If I'm correct their footprint won't vary much.

As for LG Vs Samsung, pretty sure both brands are much of a muchness. We've not had our Samsung machines longer than 4 years so can't speak to long term reliability. Not really had any issues with the washing machines. Our Samsung tumble dryer had a PCB board issue but that was because the help would often lay out damp clothes on top of the front control panel I reckon (ironic I know).

Will say 3k more is quite good for basically a third more capacity

[antz.bin]

LG front loads are the quietest of them all.

We have had one for over a decade at my parents' place in Nashik and it just runs. The only issue faced is that the WM has started to go out on walks due to the vibrations in the spin cycle . But because it is so quiet, you would almost not notice if you weren't looking if the wash cycle is actually on. Even during the spin cycle, the only noise is from the machine moving; nothing else.

The situation at my in-laws place is similar on their LG WM. No sound. And 4 years in, it hasn't picked up the walking habit yet.

Footprint wise, the one at my in-laws place is the smallest of the lot. Me, my parents and my in laws all have 7 kg WMs. Mine is Bosch, 4 yrs old, loudest of them all.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Mine is Bosch, 4 yrs old, loudest of them all.

Keep in mind that the new Bosch ones have their brushless “EcoSilence Drive” motors and not the same old universal motor. My grandmother bought a 9 kilo model recently and I find it even quieter than our LG Direct Drive.

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Originally Posted by antz.bin

The only issue faced is that the WM has started to go out on walks due to the vibrations in the spin cycle .

Does the machine rock slightly in place? Usually if they go walkabout on the spin cycle it's because all 4 footpads aren't evenly placed on the ground. Could be a case of simply adjusting the one on the side that tilts. You shouldn't need any tools either, usually you can just rotate the footpads by hand till you secure a snug fit, though a wrench makes it easier.

We had a Bosch machine that did that and it did cause issues with the internal drum housing over time because of that unintended lateral movement.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by ads11

You shouldn't need any tools either, usually you can just rotate the footpads by hand till you secure a snug fit, though a wrench makes it easier.

I used to think that, but it is actually quite important to tighten the locking nut above the foot using a wrench (usually there is one supplied with the machine as a typical adjustable wrench is too thick).

At my university dorm we have a new commercial OPL 10 kilo LG unit that runs pretty much 24x7 and quickly became infamous for dancing its way across the floor. Before the first time I used it I made sure to adjust the foot and have it level at 0 +/- 1° on both axes, yet within a week of use it was back to its dance routine. Turns out the nut had come loose and the foot was ever so slightly off the floor again. A couple of weeks ago I brought the wrench LG had supplied with our machine at home and tightened the lock nut this time, it hasn’t moved since.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by mxx

I was looking for front load samsung washing machines (around 9 kgs). However, I also saw a that with all discounts the 12 kg model is only 3k more. Should I go for that? Any cons with going for a bigger capacity other than that I should spend 3k more?

I also want to know among LG and Samsung front loads, which is better - ie long lasting and reliable?

It all depends on the family size and the frequency of washing. I am now on my 5th WM since I bought the first one around 1995. First Sumeet, then IFB and the last three LG.

Current LG front load machines have a direct drive motor so vibration is minimal. Initial WM were 5-6 kg capacity and the last one is 11/7 kg that 11kg wash and 7kg dryer.

In general the Outer dimensions of WM are same up to 15kg or so, but the drum size increases with capacity. The electricity consumption of a WM are on two counts
. Drum rotation. This consumption increases slightly with increase of capacity, but in my observation the increase from 5kg to 11kg is barely 25% to 30%.
. Heater. The larger the capacity the more water needed. So more water means the heater works more. The electricity consumption for heating increases significantly (but not double for double capacity). So if you have larger loads and use the heater a lot, then yes larger machines will consume more electricity. If you wash the clothes mostly in "cold", that is tap water temperatures then there will not be much increase.

Now the advantages of a larger WM
. Large capacity can wash blankets and duvets, not possible in the 6kg machines. The blankets that could not be even pushed into a 6kg machine, go in effortlessly into the 11kg machine.
. Larger single loads if you have a large family. When both my sons are are home then we used to wash at least 11 to 12 loads a week. Now we barely wash 5 times a week.
. Shorter washing times. It may seem a paradox, but 3/4 filled 11kg WM has a 1 hour cycle time. In contrast for the same number of clothes the older 6kg WM had 1 hour 40min cycle time.

Advantages of a WM with drier.
. You can dry clothes in the machine when the weather is inclement. Monsoons in most of the country and winters in North India.
. There are various drying cycles starting from bone dry down to "ready to iron"
. In most of these machines there is "steam" injection facility. Ideal for disinfecting clothes, especially for infants.
. The price differential between dryer and no dryer WM has reduced a lot. So WM with dryer are quite affordable today. Even if you use the dryer for only a few times, the convenience is wort the extra cost.

[BlackBeard]

Hello everybody I would like some feedback regarding after sales service of Bosch home appliances. My experience says that it is pathetic, is it the same pan India?

Apparently their gas hood & hob have a separate call center and another one for the rest of the home appliances. I booked a service request on 28th sept and today, 14th October after a lot of escalation the service guy visited my place. I had 2 service requests (hob & hood), he was informed of only one. I guess attending to 2 jobs in the same location is infinitely difficult & doing them separately is easier!

A couple of years back a relative had a similar experience with their dish washer, the part requested was delayed in-definitely (>4 months) with no further communication from their side. Escalation on social media addressed the issue.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by ads11

Essentially with a bigger capacity you get the ability to wash bigger bulkier items at home such as duvets or heavy blankets and carpets should you wish (though how often would you do that?). Obviously you also get to do a lot more laundry at a go.

Originally Posted by Aroy

. Large capacity can wash blankets and duvets, not possible in the 6kg machines. The blankets that could not be even pushed into a 6kg machine, go in effortlessly into the 11kg machine.

Thanks for your inputs.
Actually as family of 3, for washing clothes 9kg is more than enough for me.
However, I want to occasionally wash king size duvets,blankets etc. Also once in few months full length curtains (2 at a time). Do I need 12 kg for these? Or will 9kg do?

I have seen lot of posts regarding LG front load vibrations. However, the sales persons and LG promo materials say that direct drive motor in LG given less vibrations. Which one is true?

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Originally Posted by mxx

Thanks for your inputs.
Actually as family of 3, for washing clothes 9kg is more than enough for me.
However, I want to occasionally wash king size duvets,blankets etc. Also once in few months full length curtains (2 at a time). Do I need 12 kg for these? Or will 9kg do?

I have seen lot of posts regarding LG front load vibrations. However, the sales persons and LG promo materials say that direct drive motor in LG given less vibrations. Which one is true?

Again, it boils down to how often you're likely to wash those bulkier items. I'm not sure how much it'll run you at a dry cleaners to get your duvet washed but I'd imagine it'll be ball park of that 3k differential. I'd just go for the bigger machine in that case. It'll let you do your regular laundry more spaced out as you'll be able to do a lot at once.

I have a 9kg washing machine and that can handle a double duvet at most, and nothing with a higher tog number. With big curtains you might end up having to do them one at a time.

I can't speak to the proneness of LG machines to vibrations. But I do know that direct drive machines tend to rattle about a good deal less than traditional counterparts.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by mxx

I have seen lot of posts regarding LG front load vibrations. However, the sales persons and LG promo materials say that direct drive motor in LG given less vibrations. Which one is true?

Saying direct drive reduces noise is like saying the reason EVs are quieter than ICE cars is that they don't have a gearbox. Indeed LG Direct Drive was much quieter than the competition when launched, but it is because the pancake motor is also brushless. That the belt can be eliminated has to do with brushless motors being able to produce peak torque at near-zero rpms (just like EVs with BLDC or VFD motors).

Today, you will find that many other belt-driven competitors also have brushless motors and are just as quiet if not quieter, eg. I have often pointed out how my grandmother's (belted) Bosch 9 kilo EcoSilence Drive is quieter than my LG Direct Drive and also hardly vibrates.

I am not convinced at all that Direct Drive has anything to do with vibrations. Except for the plastic model LG used to display at showrooms, I cannot find any evidence or literature that Direct Drive vibrates less than belted. As an anecdote a couple of weeks ago I watched a 10 kilo commercial LG Direct Drive almost pull out its own plug. No such issue with our 7 kilo LG Direct Drive at home, but that was also perfectly levelled by yours truly when it was installed 3 years ago.

There have been other parallel advancements like load imbalance detection which all but the most basic front loaders have today. The higher end LGs do have what they call 'Centum' which has a flexible sleeve in the outer tub to dampen vibrations, instead of the traditional spider. At least that seems like it could work in principle.

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

A couple of years back a relative had a similar experience with their dish washer, the part requested was delayed in-definitely (>4 months) with no further communication from their side. Escalation on social media addressed the issue.

Dryer accessories always took a couple of weeks to arrive and I had to go pick them up here in Goa. They visited within 24h when our dishwasher's inlet valve went kaput and also agreed to replace two missing rack wheels in the same visit. Both cases were pretty expensive: each wheel costs some INR 850 and the inlet valve set us back some 1.6k IIRC.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by mxx

Thanks for your inputs.
............................

I have seen lot of posts regarding LG front load vibrations. However, the sales persons and LG promo materials say that direct drive motor in LG given less vibrations. Which one is true?

Every WM will vibrate if
. The load is unbalanced. This normally happens when there are a few lheavy items - shoes, jeans etc. The load will get balanced if the machine is about 1/2 full and large pieces interspersed with smaller items (socks, shirts, underwear etc).

. The WM is not properly leveled. Use the levelling screws to level the machine. The WM should not wobble or tilt when you push it or try to shake it.

With direct drive motors in the modern WM, the vibration is reduced a lot. Most modern WM will try to balance the load by rotating at low speed and try to shift the clothes at the start of the cycle. Even then I have observed that our WM does vibrate a bit at 1200 and 1400 RPM while spin drying.

The older Bosch design (Bosch and IFB) had no direct drive. The drum would be connected to the motor via a pulley and a big stone was bolted on the top of the frame to reduce vibrations, even though they rarely had more than 800 rpm spin. Once the stone got loose the machine would vibrate like mad and the WM would "walk around".

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The older Bosch design (Bosch and IFB) had no direct drive. The drum would be connected to the motor via a pulley and a big stone was bolted on the top of the frame to reduce vibrations, even though they rarely had more than 800 rpm spin. Once the stone got loose the machine would vibrate like mad and the WM would "walk around".

We used to have a 1999 IFB Supremo Dx, among the earliest designs after the BSH contract went bust. That had a 1100 rpm spin and was noisy, no doubt, but the only time I can remember it trying to walk is when my mum put my plush dog in it. We had it for 13 years but the control board went bust long before the counterweight could go loose.

The Gorenje-built IFB we had after that was also a belt drive design with a counterweight, and never had major vibration issues in its 9-year lifespan.

LG still remain among the best in the business even with brushless motors going mainstream in the last 5 years or so, but I really don't think the 'direct drive' makes a big enough difference realistically. They do have other strengths to play like the recirculation pump (turbowash) and other tech.