getting closer...
After suffering multiple nightmares and waking up in cold sweats after dreaming about leaky Hotpoints, I was whisked away by the family for a week’s worth of therapy.
On returning from holiday, yet another new bottom carbon seal was waiting on the doormat, which was fitted, the machine reassembled (again) and set on a spin, before the bowl being filled with water.
While not entirely leak-free (but with the number of drips being in single figures after an hour of standing full of water), it was a massive improvement over the previous Qualtex seal.
So, I decided to reunite the body with the chassis, not before breaking the interlock switch, whoops! Thankfully, the spares machine yielded another one (thanks again Ian!).
The later machine’s top seal was also a tight fit between the outer bowl and lid console, which will be more effective in stopping my utility room filling up with steam, when running a hot wash.
The spares machine also yielded its galvanised cover that sits above the rear air-break vent, at the top of the outer bowl, as the original had gone very rusty.
I had a sheet of self-adhesive car soundproofing spare, which was stuck to the inside of the cabinet before it was screwed to the chassis. The machine has now been connected up and the small leak seems to have stopped, after running three full washes.
When full of clothes, the spin was really lack-lustre, so the spares machine donated its clutch shoes that were a little worn and so I screwed several nuts to each end of the friction linings, to weigh them down a bit. The spin appears to be much better, although the next few washes will determine how effective the ‘repair’ has been.
I shall run a few more washes over the ensuing few days (when the family has generated more dirty laundry) and will report back, hopefully, with no bad news and some final reveal pictures…
R