Recent content by me

Better reliability than mechanical timers/controllers was actually one of the advertised benefits for the microprocessor controlled Hotpoint washing machine my mum bought in 1981. Ironically, the one thing that failed on it after about 5 - 7 years, was the microcontroller itself, which was on a...

Even premium quality relays can stick sometimes. I saw a documentary about some of our 1950s aircraft, and a former pilot was talking about one, which of course had all electromechanical flight systems, I think it may have been the Handley Page Victor (V-bomber), and was saying that he was...

Oxygen bleach stain remover products containing sodium percarbonate, but without TAED/NOBS (so hydrogen peroxide) usually recommend 40°C and above. eg Astonish: https://astonish.co.uk/products/oxy-active-plus-fabric-stain-remover However it is much more effective at temperatures above 60°C...

Their ingredient lists are available here:- https://churchdwight.com/ingredient-disclosure/ There's no mention of TAED or bleach activator in the ingredient lists of a couple of the oxi-clean products I just looked at, but I've not gone through them all. Clorox 2 powder and their "packs"...

Here's a video showing a sensor being replaced (first video to come up on YT) - Probably need to be a little careful not to get the new sensor too hot while soldering it in.

I hadn't realised they'd now stopped selling Zanussi altogether, they'd already repositioned it as a low end budget brand. There also seems to be far fewer AEG branded models without a filter now, which are presumably made by the same factory as the budget Zanussi range were, so perhaps they're...

The EU specified, eco 40-60, is usually the longest wash on current UK machines, which I think is supposed to be equivalent to a 60C cotton wash using lower temperature, less water and longer duration. An actual cotton 40°C will obviously use a lot more electricity. Most of the energy consumed...

Here's a nice video of the keymatic doing a wash, showing the clutch mechanism as well. I guess Samsung's Quickdrive is the modern version, although doesn't look like it does much. Their addwash doors seem a bit pointless to me aswell, and it must weaken the door glass. I'd rather have a...

An H-axis machine? I assume Zanussi's patents related to the recirculation spout / "jet" passing through the door seal. Monotub's Titan, which also had a recirculation system, was first released around 2000, however it pumped the water though a hollow drum shaft and sprayed it out of the...

I don't know anything about US machines, least of all top loaders, but would it be worth running the diagnostic cycle and checking the timings against the chart (it's a different model in that video, so may not apply anyway), and also using whatever component test options it has (if it has a...

As mentioned in that video, Servis launched the first microprocessor controlled automatic washing machine, the Selectronic in 1976. This newspaper advert is for the 1980 model There's a thread here about it: https://automaticwasher.org/threads/the-machine-in-this-advert-is.31491/ Hotpoint...

That calls for a visit to The Washing Machine Guidance Counsellor - (Incidentally, I believe Arçelik / Beko now own controlling interest in Indesit and the associated brands, although I think whirlpool still holds a smaller interest)

Most surge protectors use MOVs - Metal oxide Varistors, their resistance decreases as the voltage across them increases, and decreases sharply above a specified operating voltage, following a sort of bathtub curve. You'll typically find at least one MOV on the circuit board in most switch mode...

Dyson's modus operandi always seems to be to come up with something he can patent, so noone can copy, and use marketing to convince people it is better. His machine got a fair amount of publicity from BBC's Tomorrow's World as I recall, showing the unique wash action of the prototype. The Dyson...

We do get the occasional drought you know, it only takes a slight shift in the jetstream, although in this region they usually result in just a hosepipe ban. There was a notable one in 1976, with water turned off in some areas and people getting their water from standpipes in the street. :-...