A Bit Too Sensitive ????

[samsungfl]

As many or all of you will know by now that I have a Samsung washer, In the 6 months of owning the machine I have loved the way its washed and rinsed the clothes with very little effort from me, but now its becoming a bit of a love hate relationship, as for the love side, here’s a list of Pros:
Plenty of water used in washing, and rinsing
Good Wash Results
Easy To Use
Easy To Maintain
Plenty of flexibility in programming
There are many pros to this machine however there is only one Con to it:
Out Of Balance Spin sensor is ULTRA sensitive, and would not even spin two regular, dry dishtowels without a fight. This is really starting to get to me, as we spent out for what we though would be a good investment after a certain fiasco with a Bosch which we will not go into right now. Most loads I do about half fill the drum, maybe a bit more and the machine takes a few times to make the load balance, this doesn’t bother me as the machine will usually get on and spin, however with the occasional small load I usually end up having to wring all of the water by hand, (not exactly an Automatic Washer then is it?).

Anyway I just thought I’d post this as I felt I needed to get it off my chest and out in the open, there’s no need to reply, I just felt I needed to say it.

Many Thanks if you have bothered to read

Take Care

Richard

 

[frigilux]

Hi Richard--- You are not alone in your frustration concerning the lengthy 'balancing act' required by what appears to be an increasing number of front-loading washers. Several people who frequent this site have mentioned their machines will sometimes take 10-15 minutes to go into a spin.

Fortunately, my Frigidaire goes into a spin fairly quickly; usually no more than a minute or two of reverse tumbling. However, this also means the load can be quite unbalanced during the spin, and I suppose the machine could vibrate/walk if it wasn't on a cement floor.

Glad you otherwise enjoy your Samsung!

 

[mrcleanjeans]

here's the spin on things

Personally,I love old front loaders and loathe modern front loaders for that very same reason.And I mean L-O-A-T-H-E that aspect of today's FLs.I don't want to wait through the Millenium,so to speak to get my wash done.

 

[newwave1]

Richard!
Now ya know why i sold my samsung! it drove me insane! lucky i have 3 machines that dont really care how balanced the load is. the newwave has a balance sensor to make sure for example that all the towels aren't on one side of the drum. else it wont spin. & my aeg thankfully has one of the best electronic balancing systems.

i remember with my samsung i had it full of things lyk t-shirts, & shirts, nothing majorly heavy & it took 25minutes to balance. & didnt spin for long when it did. ridiculous.

hope you find a solution shortly.

Darren

 

[tomturbomatic]

This is the price that is paid for the big, wide drums of these newer washers. I think Miele was really onto something when they made their 6 kg drum deeper, instead of wider than the 5 kg drum. Having to distribute the load EVENLY over a greater peripheral area becomes increasingly more difficult the wider the tub becomes. It sometimes takes certain loads a couple of tries to balance for one of the spins in the Mieles, but not like my Duet. The good old single belt Dual Tumble Kenmore just hauls off and spins, slower of course than these more sophisticated machines. The first couple of revolutions are the ones that knock the machine to the left a bit (no platform for her; she'd be a jumper for sure). With its good, powerful pump, it pulls out all of the water that would be running around between the inner and outer tubs of some other machines and the spinning continues, generally becoming slightly less off center as the weight of the water is spun off.

 

[toggleswitch]

Someone please E-mail a link to this site to the big manufacturers!

 

[Designgeek]

Also with these modern FLs, smaller loads take longer to balance because they are more likely to stick to one side of the drum. A good general guideline is, fill the drum loosely to about 3/4 of its total volume. When the water is added, it'll pack down to about 60% of total drum volume, and that should be sufficient to distribute properly in spin.

For overall effectiveness, a horizontal wash action and vertical spin action make the most sense, but I don't see any manufacturer about to launch a machine with a drum that swivels from H to V and back again during the cycles; that would be rather complicated to say the least.

 

[the7]

It seems that Samsung FL uses 2 springs and 2 dampers to support the drum unit. If so, it will be very sensitive to leveling and unbalanced laundry.

 

[fredriksam]

Yeah I know how you feel Samsungfl. At my job we had an Hoover Newwave similar to the one Newwave1 has, only it was the "europan" model that looks sligtly different. Anyway, it had that sensor but most always spin the clothes without any problems. Well, there was a problem but not connected to the sensors anyway.

Later, this machine broke, due to stupid handlers and such. Two of the transit bolts were in fact not even removed!!!!. Anyway, i repaired an another machine to use. An Whirlpool. It washes really really great but.., Sometimes when the drum is not full and it shall spin. Not so, it just tumbling and then stops. It would do that 3 times and then exit the spin program. This is when its just a little off balance. When it IS WAY off balance, Then the stupid machine DO spins and wander around the floor. I just dont get it, Why is it like this?

The second thing that is bad with this machine is that it doesnt rinse so good, But i trick it taking more water so thats fixed now. These new machines sadly often not rinse too good. Bad.

 

[samsungfl]

Thanx for the info on my samsung

I didnt know it had 2 springs and to dampers (im not very experienced in this sort of area lol, is that good or bad) i have noticed that the drum is VERY springy and will bounce to the slightest touch!

Take care

Richard

 

[brisnat81]

Load Size

Hi Guys,

My Miele never seems phased by anything I've put in there. I can throw in 5 heavy T towels for a boil wash, and it just spins every time. I've even done 1 pair of shoes. 1 Shoe might've been different, but it managed to get 2 shoes evenly spaced around the drum.

For the Euro machines load size seems to less of a factor when it comes to OOB situations.

The worst thing Ive found oob is fitted sheets as they tend to ball up. The Miele handles it as follows though.

Attempt to Spin
Drum wobbles and bounces (Machine doesnt move)
Goes back into redistribute
Machine attemps again,

I've only had 1 or two loads that have needed to try an OOB redistribute a second time, usually it just keeps ramping up to spin.

The whole extra redistribute process adds about 1min to the spin process and I'm yet to have a load of clothes that hasnt spun.

Its capacity and the archaic US electrical system that gives FL in the US a bad name. If people could get away from the US trend of Bigger being best, they might be happy with their products. I've looked at the Whirlpool Duet which is now available here, and I dont think I could fill it. If I do 6 loads a week with my 5kg Miele I struggle to fill it each time. I could do all my wash in one load per week with the Duet. (Assuming it would still spin of course )
Hugs
Nathan

 

[toggleswitch]

i have noticed that the drum is VERY springy and will bounce

I have noticed the same problem with my rump. No longer firm.
and to think the neighbor girl used to call my hemispheres *bricks*

My GE Filter-flo loves to go OOB too!
So far the new GE T/L-er (2006) and the Frid-Ge-More F/L are decent when it comes to OOB. (Although the F/L has left things sopping wet on occasion).

 

[launderess]

Thus far have failed in any attempt to thwart my Miele 1070 from spinning totally, without umpteen attempts. Darn thing takes all in it's stride and seems to be mocking me!

Have pointed out before, many of the uber American front loaders have tilted drums to various degrees, do not know if this affects weight distribution/spinning.

As for American's "larger is better" logic in terms of front loaders, it is not the size but the design of the washers which causes problems. Rather than spend serious money on R&D, and using parts up to the job. Lots of plastic, parts assembled in units, not using shocks and rear bearings of quality and design to support the massive forces of 18lbs of laundry, water and laundry are bound to cause problems.

L.

 

[bingwsguy]

Richard

When I had all of the maddening problems with my ASKO from the mid 90's...one of them was a balancing problem. At first the machine was fine, but after a year, it was having a terrible time with balancing problems. Sometimes it would be perfect, sometimes would not spin at all even with a load that wasn't really unbalanced, and then sometimes take off and smack the tub unit all over the inside of the cabinet. Come to find out the balancing sensor was part of the motor which was bad. Once the motor was replaced, it solved the balancing problem. Could that be part of it with your Samsung?

 

[spinout]

big drums

While big drums are not the problem, per se, they do result in greater engineering challenges. It appears that it is easier and less costly to use load redistribution than to design a suspension capable of handling and decoupling a moderately off balance load.

In addition to the larger periphery of a big drum, keep in mind that centrifugal force increases directly with the radius of the drum and exponentially as the square of the speed (RPM). And longer/deeper drums will also tend to transfer more of a load across the rear bearing in an OOB condition.

 

[samsungfl]

thanx

Thanx for your info there Joe about your asko, im gonna try and find the out of balance sensor on my motor and dissable it some how lol , mines probably in a different place, ive heard its in the electronics, but theres no harm in trying lol

Take Care

Richard

 

[Designgeek]

Yo, Samsungfl, don't disable your OOB sensor, that will only cause the machine to shake itself to pieces. What you said about the suspension being sensitive to the slightest touch, makes sense as a cause of your troubles. Unfortunately there may not be a way to resolve that. I would suggest trying to get a service tech to look at tightening it up if possible.

Also start keeping track of ways you can alter the load composition to make it more stable. For example, towels and sheets together in one load, are a classic formula for going offbalance, even in hefty old top-loaders. Loads composed of articles made of simlar fabrics should behave more predictably. And try sticking to full loads.

Brisnat, here's a practical reason why some of the US machines are getting so large. Assume you live in a sprawly suburb where you have to get in the car and drive for ten miles to reach any kind of shopping or commercial district. Occasionally you need to wash something big like a large blanket. But instead of walking a block or two to reach a laundromat, you have to get in the car and drive, which can be a pain in the butt. So you buy a washer that's big enough to wash your biggest articles, even if most of the time it's going to be running with smaller loads.

Another reason for large washers is, families where both parents work full time jobs. You get home and you don't have time for a 90-minute cycle between dinner and bedtime (this is where Hoovermatics would make a comeback!). So the pile grows until the weekend comes along, and then you want something that's as big as a cavern or a canyon or whatever, to toss all of it in as one batch.

Personally I don't think bigger is always better, and a decent "European-sized" front loader should be quite sufficient for most families (take those big blankets and comforters to the laundromat and use their huge machine once in a while).