aluminum spider corrosion...

[cfz2882]

...seems to depend greatly on the water and additives used
as well as the design of the washer and metalurgy of the
metals used-the heavily used 1998 frigilux i fixed had very
little spider corrosion...
of my two,almost identical,1984 speed queen top loads,one
had severe corrosion of the basket hub while the other only
had minimal corrosion of the hub-these washers have a S.S.
basket bolted to the aluminum hub with a paper gasket in
between the two-basicly a battery and just asking for corrosion
-the machine with the corrosion had so much corrosion between
the hub and basket that the basket rose up so much that the
agitator was rubbing...
Thought it interesting that two identical machines of the same
vintage would have totally different corrosion evident;
one with severe corrosion,one with vitually no corrosion...

 

[fordtech]

Maybe one had a seal leaking for years?

 

[cfz2882]

these are perforated tub machines,so hub is exposed to water
whenever there is water in the tub-the underside of the
corroded hub was ok,corrosion wasjust between the basket and
hub.
one of these days i might do a test with aluminum-paper-S.S.
sandwich;one with tap water,one with salted"condidioned"
water...just to see how much voltage is created between the
two and what the corrosion difference is

 

[limey]

Spider Corrosion

To cfz2882
I would remind you that aluminium and its alloys are corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH value above about 8.0 and most laundry aids currently in use, including detergent, HE detergent, borax, sodium carbonate (washing soda), sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and ‘Affresh’ can all, should the concentrations be reached, cause corrosion of aluminium.
I would further point out that for galvanic corrosion to take place, which you appear to be suggesting, the majority of the corrosion would take place where the two dissimilar metals are in contact

 

[3beltwesty]

Aluminum in washer is just a poor idea, having it in contact

The lessor noble material will disappear even if they are not connected in a metal to metal sense too, one has current flow through the sea of wash water willed with all sorts of dirt and detergent. One has a battery were there is a connection through the water.

Both the 201 Stainless Steel Basket and cast aluminum *are* connected in most consumer front load washers. From an engineering standpoint it was well understood 1 and 2 thousand years ago not to place dissimilar metals in a liquid next to another.

One already has documented aluminum spider front load washer failures now already mentioned on the web going back almost a decade, and the same poor design gets copied over and over again.

One could say from an engineering standpoint that the designers are insane, or do not care, or are neutered by the bean counters and WANT a jackass design that fail so folks have to buy a new machine.

Some of us here like me would pay 150 bucks extra to get a basket with a spider that will last decades, most folks will not. The average consumer buys into the polished basket, and really has no clue how long that aluminum spider will last before it fails.

Aluminum that is cast has porosity, plus internal stresses from being cast. A cast material is horrible for corrosion, every tiny defect allows liquid to enter.

The waffle shaped thin web spiders casting might be fine for a cad designed stress standpoint, but is the absolute worse for corrosion because one has massive surface area to volume.

A spider in a high end Miele washer is just a thick bar, a fine design because one has way less surface area to volume. Maybe the Germans care, or "discovered" that things that are thick survive longer with corrosion . Ie 1600 cannons in the sea are still there; and thin iron items "disappear".

One has a mess of variables, water hardness, soap used, the castings porosity, the spin speed, the number of washes before failure, etc, etc,

Most all modern FL washers have the same dumb aluminum spider. You read how others find your target ACME FL washer as great, but they are all only a few years old. Nobody knows how long your new FL washer is going to go before it has its spider fail.

 

[3beltwesty]

The spider is aluminum because it is low in cost, and todays

A modern washer today costs way less in actual dollars adjusted for inflation compared to past decades.

If the washer lasts 5 years the makers are happy, you just buy another one. Thus there is little chance that the aluminum spider will go away.