Jon - I remember shorter times from England...
...and these shorter times matched the heating time we saw in Germany before 1989. I guess it is time to explain in detail.
Prior to German reunification, East Germany used aluminum wiring and their washing machines were designed to run on 6 or 10 amp circuits at 220V.
West Germany (where I lived) used either 3 phase á 16 amp/leg or single phase 220V 16amp heating.
In other words, virtually the same as the UK and Australia.
Domestic manufacturers had always offered lower wattage elements for special needs, so it was not a big problem to either convert 16 amps machines to 10 amp (some had two elements and could thus be throttled back). For the now united and burgeoning inter-German market, all machines sold in the country were knocked down to about 2000 to 2200 Watts (that would be about 2300W today with the step up to 230V).
This is why it is not possible to compare the heating times here to those elsewhere. My 1978 Miele 3-Phase was super fast; my current LG has (effectively) not even 1/4 the current for heating available to it.
Simple math: 240V X 16 Amp = 3840W. 230V (nominal, closer to 215 in München) 230V X 10 Amp = 2300W.
So - enjoy your English speaking machines, but yes - ours are slower to achieve the same temperatures. If anyone using 10amp heating at 230V has a different opinion, please do chime in - maybe all the washing machines I sold in the early 90's were absolut exceptions, all 2.000+ of them.
...and these shorter times matched the heating time we saw in Germany before 1989. I guess it is time to explain in detail.
Prior to German reunification, East Germany used aluminum wiring and their washing machines were designed to run on 6 or 10 amp circuits at 220V.
West Germany (where I lived) used either 3 phase á 16 amp/leg or single phase 220V 16amp heating.
In other words, virtually the same as the UK and Australia.
Domestic manufacturers had always offered lower wattage elements for special needs, so it was not a big problem to either convert 16 amps machines to 10 amp (some had two elements and could thus be throttled back). For the now united and burgeoning inter-German market, all machines sold in the country were knocked down to about 2000 to 2200 Watts (that would be about 2300W today with the step up to 230V).
This is why it is not possible to compare the heating times here to those elsewhere. My 1978 Miele 3-Phase was super fast; my current LG has (effectively) not even 1/4 the current for heating available to it.
Simple math: 240V X 16 Amp = 3840W. 230V (nominal, closer to 215 in München) 230V X 10 Amp = 2300W.
So - enjoy your English speaking machines, but yes - ours are slower to achieve the same temperatures. If anyone using 10amp heating at 230V has a different opinion, please do chime in - maybe all the washing machines I sold in the early 90's were absolut exceptions, all 2.000+ of them.