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Forum Index : Other Stuff : Washing Machine Off Grid
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Tim_the_bloke Senior Member  Joined: 15/11/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 105 |
What washing machine for an off grid holiday house? I have plenty spare of 12V power. But, I have not found a 12V washing machine worth buying. I could buy a normal 240V washing machine and run it through the inverter or start up the generator. At home in the city, my F&P washing machine claims it draws 450W on a sticker on its back. This seem not too much load to run occasionally, and even the inverter should cope. What do all you experienced people use? |
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| Georgen Guru  Joined: 13/09/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 462 |
Running wattage is one thing, but most important is peak power demand when it starts, which might trip inverter. Would be good idea to have soft start washing machine. I looked at 12V home appliances issue quite a lot. Surprisingly there were number of comments, that it is much cheaper to have inverter and forget about all the extra expenses plus massive repair costs should appliance falter. George |
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| Tim_the_bloke Senior Member Joined: 15/11/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 105 |
Yes, but how would I know prior to purchase if a washing machine has a soft start? Does anyone know how the smart drive F&P washing machines run happily on an inverter? |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Hi Tim, I think most of that 450w on the f&p would be a water heater, they are very good for low power used by the motor, I personally think that some of the more deluxe modern washers have to much electronic fruit on them and it shortens their usable life. I have not kept up to date on what is on the market right now so I cant recommend a specific model. this might help a little. its an oldish page but covers the basics quite well. RPC power consumption of washing machines Its going to depend on your inverters/batteries abilities as to what you can run. Same ol story, a good 1kw toroid inverter will run something that a poorly designed 3kw solid state inverter will not. I was all set to turf out an old twin tub on one of my last builds, or at least build a soft start module for it. anyway we tried it on the inverter and it toys with the old washer so it stayed. One thing that has almost caught me is some euro washing machines will still run a heater on the cold cycle, apparently water can be too cold, who knew! I have had some problems with a couple of bosch machines myself, it was frustrating because they were promoted as being off-grid friendly at the time. Same story , I have no idea what has happened in the time since then. cheers I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
the other issue to think about is water pressure, overhead tanks are popular here and they sometimes struggle with tiny inline screens and sticky water activated solenoids. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| Tim_the_bloke Senior Member Joined: 15/11/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 105 |
I have a pressure pump for water pressure, not an overhead tank. I have referred to the instruction booklet which came with my Fisher & Paykel washing machine (at home) which states "your washer does not have an internal heater to heat water". Good news, I hope this is true for current models. I read the article via the link you offered. I was impressed at the volume of water washing machines use. It also says the F&P machines have a soft start. So, I probably should buy a new F&P washing machine, choose a small model to save water, and run it through the inverter. |
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Bryan1 Guru Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1344 |
G'day Tim, About 10 years ago I got a 7kg F&P washing machine and it's still going today, we did have some trouble with where a chip let out the magic smoke and a look thru my F&P circuit boards found the part so swapped it over and back to running. A few years later the water pump gaveup the ghost so under $100 for a new one and fitted it myself. Never bother with hot water as a good pre soak and using powdered washing stuff not the liquid crap works very well. We run a SA32 2400watt inverter and it never complains when the machine starts either. Cheers Bryan |
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| bitdog Newbie  Joined: 13/11/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 15 |
The old wringer washing machines were quite simple. One person on this site uses direct wind power to move yard art. Direct power from a water wheel could make a home made washer from a plastic 55 gallon drum cut in half. A short crank & rod runs a longer crank back and forth as an agitator that lifts out. The drum is on a tilt table for dumping into a weaved/holed basket & drip dry on the clothes line. Which is no tech to break & no cost to make. I doubt it's what you wanted, but it is an option. Bitdog |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
A while back I monitored the power consumption of every electrical load in the house, including an F&P washing machine. The recorded figures from my sheet of paper say, lowest recorded power (when switched off) 3.6 watts, highest peak inrush ever recorded 555 peak watts. One heavy duty wash (50 minutes) 83 watt hours consumed. The electrical load is not constant, from memory the highest peak current was during initial acceleration during spin dry on the highest selectable spin speed. I never thought to measure it on the medium or slow spin speed settings. Cheers, Tony. |
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| Tim_the_bloke Senior Member Joined: 15/11/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 105 |
I am still working towards this project, so thanks for your data. My old inverter which was to run the washing machine is faulty and needs replacement. I have just sourced a replacement inverter, but not yet unpacked it for testing. I intend to test the new inverter with my existing Fisher and Pakel washing machine at home prior to purchasing a washing machine to install at the farm. |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I have 2 washing machines, a F&P and a generic front loader. The front loader has a built in heater, and uses over 2200 watts for 10 minutes at a time, 2 or 3 times during the cycle. I cant disable the heater, so its a power hungry machine. It also has a unpredictable wash time, from 45 minutes to 2 hours, and always seams to take longer when I'm in a hurry. But, it uses very little water, and does a good job of washing cloths. The F&P uses a lot more water, and the cloths are not as clean as the front loader. But it does use very little power, and the wash time is predictable. Its also got a bigger capacity, so I can wash blankets, pillows, etc. Because I use off grid power, and my water is tank water, which machine I use depends on the day. If its overcast and raining, I use the F&P, but if its dry and sunny, I use the front loader. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
The average power for a F&P is quite low, but your inverter will need to supply some quite large power peaks, but for only a second or two. Some inverter designs may be quite happy with that situation, others might buckle at the knees and roll over. My refrigerator is even worse, around 125 watts running power, but a horrific 2.4 Kw inrush at startup. Cheers, Tony. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
One thing I discovered from all my power consumption monitoring, its not the infrequent heavy loads that matter so much, as the tiny constant loads that run 24 hours and bleed you dry. For instance, that F&P when switched off draws 3.6 continuous watts, or 86 watt hours per day. And funnily enough the exact same power to do one full heavy duty load per day, if you pull out the plug when not in use. Amazing ! Cheers, Tony. |
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| bitdog Newbie Joined: 13/11/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 15 |
My experimenting showed that, warm water and soap is not required to clean clothes. Wet soaked movement & water change got out everything except oils from clothes. Oils built up over time and every 5th wash required warm water and soap. Not all cloth items require perfect cleaning. A dogs blanket or floor mat for example. With all that in mind, I built a simple cleaning device from a 35 gallon plastic drum on it's side, with an opening slot on the top towards me, and a water hose aimed down the slot so the water in the drum went around and out the top overflow slot. Throw in some clothes, open the ball valve for the hose & the drum fills, swirls, pushes clothes, until you come back 15 minutes later, and put yer clothes on the line. It uses a lot of water, and you need 60 lbs pressure, but there is no moving parts, it requires no electricity, or heated water, and it works real well. For oil clothes, heat a bucket of water and use soap, then throw the clothes in the swirl drum for the rinse cycle. It's camp fire logic, for you my friend...... |
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