Explosion + burning smell: still working?

[haxisfan]

I experienced a strange happening some time ago (probably over a year ago) with my dishwasher (Candy Aquaviva)... I was all engrossed in the hassle and bustle of worktop cleaning in the kitchen when I heard a small electrical explosion... then another smaller one, I looked around and it seemed coming from the dishwasher but I wasn't sure. These little explosions were followed by a burning smell. I grew suspicious so I flipped the dishwasher on the floor and started to investigate trying to find any possible scorch marks around the components inside: I had no joy though as everything seemed to be in order.

My suspicion was totally obliterated by the fact that later on that day I found a blown out CFL light bulb in the kitchen. Today, after a considerable amount of trouble free dishwashing, the explosion and burning smells are back... the dishwasher was draining its last rinse water and the incident happened as the timer was clicking to its last position (for residual heat drying). This is ever so puzzling for me... I've never seen a drain pump fail in such a way! To make things even more puzzling, when I moved the cycle selector (mechanical timer) to a draining position the thing was still working fine :-&

I'm willing to replace the drain pump as this is available online for about £30.00 but I wouldn't want to change the wrong spare part nor starting to throw money away as other potential failures might be in line as this appliance has given its share of service already. So, it might be time for a new dishwasher, still... any help would be mostly appreciated... should you have experienced a similar episode with a drain pump in an appliance. Many thanks every1 ;-)

 

[haxisfan]

Here a picture of it...

 

[aegokocarat]

i would say replace it. the unit has said ''ive had enough ive been going for over and a day so good bye'' if you do change it may i suggest a whirlpool model, ive read through the reverw and they seem ok.
Tom

 

[foraloysius]

Haxisfan

Is there something you wanted to make clear with the picture? I don't see anything special in it.

Whirlpool dishwasher? We have one in one of the offices I work. I find it a nightmare to load. Friends who have one say that too. If you consider a Whirlpool take some of your stuff with you to the store and make sure it can be loaded easily in the racks.

 

[dj-gabriele]

I second Foraloysius,
Whirpool makes some of the worst dishwashers ever! My aunt has one and uses it only for dishes and silverware as it's almost impossible to load anything else satisfactory, plus Altroconsumo always rates them lower than any other brand for cleaning, even if I must say that in 6 years my aunt has had her machine, it always worked without a glitch.

 

[nrones]

Slow down

There is yet no reason for recommending a new one!
As he said, he would first love to repair it, but if he doesn't, I am almost 100% sure he will buy Candy/Hoover.. but it won't come to buying new, since that sound appeared, gone, and it didn't wanted to come back later..

Haxisfan,
I think it would be good if you could film it, because I am sure a lot of people here would know what is it the first second if they could hear.. they just can't hear it from the text! xD

Dex

 

[hoover1100]

Is your dishwasher

on top of the worktop? :S

 

[haxisfan]

Thanks for your feedback so far...

I spent little time looking at reviews especially on Whirlpool dishwashers but I couldn't find many... probably I didn't look hard enough. I was absolutely shocked to see that Currys sells online a basic Indesit model for less than 130 quid... how can they do that... I hope they don't expect a further payment in kind when you purchase one of these!!!

'foraloysius' the pic didn't have any particular purpose but thematic... just to make the thread look a little more colourful ;-)

'nrones' I will try to make a video, although it might not do it again next time... it might do it the time after that or who knows when, in any case... that means putting it on during the day or getting up really early

'hoover1100' the dishwasher is on top of the washing machine.

I'm still hoping that some of you might know what these symtoms could indicate and let me know as appropriate ;-)
In any case, I've got another load almost ready for tonight and I'll post again to let you know how it's going. Thanks again every1!

 

[haxisfan]

Last night cycle ok

It went through a cycle fine last night... no explosions. I'll keep an eye on it though.

I went through more reviews and I found that there's a Hoover bottom of the range model that gets both good and bad reviews... but the bad ones refer mainly to the lack of instructions on how to adjust the upper basket, some people think that this is fixed and doesn't allow enough space at the bottom for tall dinner plates... others say that the basket is adjustable but the manual doesn't mention it, still, I'm sure I'd be confident enough to tackle such adjustment should I ever decide to go for that model. Candy equivalent bottom of the range model gets positive reviews all the way (theoretically it should be the same as the Hoover). The next model up from the Hoover range doubles up its price tag... there's nothing between bottom and mid range!

I have experienced loading Bosch and Beko dishwashers and they seem relatively easy and I own a Zoppas dishwasher (Electrolux) on holiday which is pretty identical to some Zanussi 1s I've seen around... however, I can't say it's the easiest to load... the top rack has an awkward configuration which causes glasses and cups to fall and tumble... until it's completely full, so that they can support themselves.

Anyway... I only need a little expertise from you... please help! Where can an electrical explosion followed by electrical/burning smell come from? I'm sure it's not the immersion heater because it's happened only during the drain phase. Is it possible that a creepy-crawly got into the electrics causing some kind of short circuit? But wouldn't that blow a fuse or something? HELP!

 

[nrones]

Noooooooo!!!!!

Well, I know you aren't still really considering buying new dishwasher, but if you do, please DO NOT DARE TO TAKE THOSE CHEAP CANDY/HOOVER.
Reason is simple - You won't get a Candy/Hoover dishwasher. You will get a chinese peace of sh*t just named Candy/Hoover. It is so bad dishwasher that makes standard models for some Candy, some Gorenje, Elin, WEG, Midea, Proline, Baumatic, Newworld... and 45cm models for almost everyone - all brands from above + Indesit/Ariston, All Antonio Merloni's, and once I even saw a Zanussi badged that one.

Your current dishwasher is a 100% Candy product, and a propper replacement available in UK (since u want Candy) would be HOOVER DDY 068 but it is probably too expencive for you..

Too bad, here there are no chinese 60cm Candy's available... only 45cm.. The cheapest 60cm one (a bestseller one too)is about 350e (picture), and newest ones comming soon (link)!

So, just save a bit more money, and get a real thing, rather than buying that bottom of the bottom, not even made buy Candy, or having it's programmes and racks

Dex

 

[haxisfan]

Okay, now you’re just rubbing it in!

I adore that Evo model featured in your link but there's no way I can get one of those over here!

Thank you for the advice about the cheapos... in fact I paid twice as much for my Candy dishwasher 8 years ago and it wasn't even the top of the range! Anyway, I don't look at expense as much (to a certain extent... I'm still not willing to spend as much as one would need for a top of the range Miele) but at value and general satisfaction, so if spending extra means getting the aforementioned elements, then so be it! But that's not always the case, that's why I'm always willing to keep an open mind.

The model shown in your pic is from a decade ago, in fact it looks very similar to mine, however they were selling another model not long ago cosmetically identical to that called 'Nova'... and it was relatively cheap, but not as cheap as nowadays bottom range.

 

[aegokocarat]

Dex that was the same dishwasher i had before i had my zanussi. my candy dishwasher didrnt wash dishes and yes i did correctly load it, it always left streeks of food on my dishes and i always cleend the food trap.
id rather go for: blomberg(beko) samsung hotpoint or miele

 

[nrones]

it's relative!

This is the only model Candy still makes, it is still being in stores, but it is having electronic control, instead of mechanic like yours!

Aegokocarat,
I found out that dishwasher experiences, no matter what manufacturer, are really confuzing! I don't know how is your Zanussi now, but for example, I think someone from this forum said he never seen something as bad as Zanussi dishwasher... from the other side, Haxisfan is having that dishwasher for 8 years using it every day, he didn't report any food remains left yet!
Also.. one of my personal friends thrown away Bosch (simple one) because some things were left greasy after wash, and belive me, she is a light-loader, used to leave half - full baskets!!! She doesn't want to hear about Bosch/Siemens, as she was out of money at the time she thrown away Bosch, she got exactly Candy from the picture, and she is happy so far, and I am happy with my Siemens that is a twin sister to that Bosch...

So I'm still confuzed.. And probably I will be, because I can't just conclude and say ''It's bad'' when it is all mixed up

Dex

 

[aegokocarat]

Dex, the zanussi works brilliantly but the upper rack is badly designed so evrything is always scatterd into spaces that are empty. i don't like it very mutch cos of that experiance i had with zanussi but i not get rid of it cos it works fine.
Tom

 

[nrones]

now I can conclude a minor thing

Tom,
Both you and Haxisfan, have complained about the upper rack bad design.. let's wait for someone to say it's good, or we can be 100% sure that they need to re-design it!

 

[maytagmark]

The dishwasher may be ok

It could just be the electrical connection, You say it it only has this problem when the heating element comes on, the motor and pump doesn't use many amps but the heating element does, If a connection is not tight enough it could cause a pop and burning smell, if the machine is not hardwired and just plugs into an outlet the outlet may have gotten loose over time and not making a tight connection or the house wires going to the outlet may not be tight enough or the wiring to the machines junction box may not be making a good connection. Just a few things to check before you buy a new machine and have the same problem.

 

[nrones]

isn't heater

No, you mis-understood him.

Machine did an 'explosion' when it started draining for residual-heat drying, so that means heater was off... however it didn't happened again

 

[maytagmark]

No you misunderstood

It happened at the end of the drain cycle, at the begining of the heating cycle

 

[haxisfan]

Thanks maytagmark!

Unfortunately the most puzzling bit is that it's happened while the machine was switching from draining to residual heat, this is virtually nothing, in this dishwasher and most EU dishwashers (but the top the range models) there is not activity in the washer during this stage as the remaining hot water on dishes condenses in the sump.

I wish I could be certain of what it was doing the first time I heard/smelt these noises/smell... at a guess it was doing the last hot rinse just before the drain pump kicked in. However, you made me think of the possibility that it might actually be something related to the mains inside the dishwasher itself. I think I'll have to clench my teeth and take it down to check whether I find traces of burning... I always wanna avoid that really cos' it's very fiddly to reach down and feed the hoses through the hole in the cabinet where the sink is eeeerrrrr! Thanks again

I don't know what's going on around my house recently... the cooker gave up on me a few weeks ago, my multifunction printer's been giving me a fatal ink waste absorber error in the last week or so, my toaster had to be replaced a couple of days ago and my microwave blew up just a few minutes ago... and nearly forgot... my head is exploding as we speak! Anyway, all these incidents are not connected... they're just weird coincedences!

Until next time... should my broadband modem or maybe my pc behave themselves