HOOVER OPH714 D

[optima]

Hello Everybody. This is my very first post on automaticwasher.org. I have been visiting this excellent site for quite a while now & i have finally got around to joining the group. I have worked in electrical retail for almost 15 years now. I work in a small but very busy independent shop that used to be a norweb shop. We sell all the major whitegoods. I do the ordering,selling & the deliveries & the fun part picking up the customers old appliances. You would not believe some of the classic washers we pick up. Just a few weeks back we delivered a washer to a customer & I could not believe my eyes when he wanted the old one taking away a Hoover OPH714D. I asked him what was wrong with it he said it wasnt pumping out. Well here it is now in my kitchen working perfectly & the problem a blocked pump sorted it out in minutes.

 

[ozzie908]

Nice one its always good to save a machine from a crushing and its always good to get a freebie...!

If only I had access to some of the machines that are discarded these days its so sad to see them in a skip.

Austin

 

[optima]

Now for plus & negative points. (The plus points) It does a very good wash on the 29 minute quick wash i like the long drum rotations. I like the real time lcd display. The wash time button you tell the machine how long you want it to wash for. Very deep rinse water levels. Low level fab con rinse makes the most of the conditioner. Fast 1000rpm interim spins. (Negatives) No 50deg temperature option. Dont like & dont want the prewash before the 90deg programme. If you want to do a prewash it should be as a option button. Quick wash 800 max spin i would like the option to increase this. Fast iron button a waste of time its quite simply rinse hold. A bit to fussy on spin balancing. Final 1400 spin takes far to long. No slow drum rotation at the end of the final spin. All in all i quite like the machine.

 

[ozzie908]

What you describe is just what my view was on the Nextra I used to own only difference was it had a 1500 spin but like you say sometimes it just would not balance.

Austin

 

[haxisfan]

Low spec Hoover

My Hoover Nextra is quite different as to some of the options you mentioned: it'd annoy me a lot if it didn't let me choose all the temperatures from 0 to 90 degrees!

As for the spin cycle, I'm annoyed for the opposite reason... I cannot get a long spin only mode in my version, as it's limited to a short spin (less than 3 minutes at a max speed of 800rpm), however I usually make sure that I select a programme with a long spin sequence (fortunately I can have as many cycles as I want through the selector and the option combinations). I hated to see what they did to the 'prewash' function, which on mine is selectable through a button, but on the other hand newer models had a stain blaster option which mine hasn't.

I know some 2nd generation Hoover Nextras (2006) were similar to your Optima... but they were the entry level washers from Hoover. I can't stop loving my Nextra though, that's how I managed to forgive her for not letting me have a long spin only cycle

 

[nrones]

Welcome!

Hello, I am a real Candy fan, and I think their products are excellent. You will probobly see that in particular in some of next threads or if you see what I already wrote.

What do you generally think of Candy/Hoover appliances?and your experiences
What machine was replaced with this optima?

I have a Candy GrandOPlus, you can see all the vids with her on my YouTube channel, but there isn"t a particular thread about it (link)

http://www.youtube.com/nrones

 

[optima]

The machine i had before this was a hoover H160E SIX Model. That machine was a top spec machine just before i think they brought out the nextra range. I used to love the fast wash button it would knock 50 minutes off the wash time the only problem was that when it got to the desired wash temp it would go straight to empty then on to the first rinse instead of washing for a few more minutes at the correct temp. I would only use the fast wash button if i was in a hurry because i thought it was a waste to heat the water then to pump it out. It was also a hot & cold fill machine which was good because you could press the no heat button & it would fill with hot only or hot & cold water depending on the programme selected without using the machines own heater. That SIX , NEXTRA & CANDY SMART range of machines were the best & last to come out of the Merthyr tydfil factory before it was shut down.

 

[nrones]

nice

Where is your optima from?
Mine Candy is from Russia

And as you said you work in retail washer shop, can you tell me what machines are the most sold, and "on what place" Candy/Hoover stands if we rank by buying?

I am glad someone else appeared with positive oppineons about Candy/Hoover company! it"s just more and more of us
Still no matter how my old Candy EXCLUSIVE (Charme range, early 90s) was the best machine I EVER used

thanks alot indeed,
Dex

 

[optima]

They is one more thing i hope you will all help me out on. the rating plates do not say where they are made at. Apart from the larger capacity machines which say they are made in Italy. I think candy own a washer factory in China so i guess they are made there. I do know that Hoover-Candy dryers are now made in Poland.

 

[nrones]

Sorry, you replied quicker than me

I think your optima is from Italy. Candy actually has 3 factories in Italy (2 washer and one fridge -Candy, Zerowatt, Iberna). As far as I know if you don"t see where it comes from, it is coming from Zerowatt-italy then, Since all others say where are they from (China, Russia).
But as far as I heared from Candy, ALL dryers produced from them are comming from the newest 2010 plant greenfeield invested in Turkey. As I know other fridges and freezers are produced in Chezch republic, and also I"ve never heared of Candy factory in Poland - in Poland is Indesit plant.
Also, factory in China is focused on machines going to asia and africa, they are extreamly rare in Europe.

Hope this helped
Dex

 

[optima]

Dex, Our top selling washers are still Hotpoint WML540 & WMF540 i dont rate them much. Mind you i am very impressed with the Indesit IPW prime range of washers far better build quality very much like the Aqualtis range & they still have 1 very last uk part in them the soap dispenser still the same as the Hotpoint WMA models that were made in the UK. We also sell quite alot of the basic 1000 spin BEKO machines they have been as yet very reliable. The most unreliable machine at the moment is Amica considering they have got a 2 year guarantee you would be lucky if they are lasting for 2 months without a service call. I Sold a candy GO148 GRANDO on saturday straight forward 8kg basic machine they have been quite reliable.

 

[haxisfan]

@optima

We obviously have different experiences which shape different opinions. I absolutely love the fast wash feature and I like the fact that the machine does not keep your top selected temperature for long... this is handy for non fast colour garments which are more susceptible to run colour at a higher temp or for mix clothes with even higher temps.

Just as an example, I experienced colour run with a temp of 50 in other washers, but not in Nextra with the fast wash option. The clothes will still benefit of wash action and temperature... e.g. when the machine has reached 45 degrees, it's still going to wash for further 5 minutes while it heats up to 50 (this will still give a main wash time of 30 minutes altogether, which seems adequate for dark garments).

There are still other fix length short cycles like the A59' which will carry on washing after having reached the temperature chosen so probably they're more suitable for sturdier laundry. All Nextras ('04 and '06 models except for the 3D ones which had a time manager instead) had them for any temp between cold and 60 degrees, and the main wash would always last approx 40' whatever the temp... the heater in these cycles would be activated almost immediately rather than after 10-12' like the standard cycles. I'm not sure about your Optima... I can't quite see the programmes in the pic.

I hope I didn't give you a headache

See ya

 

[nrones]

Thanks for such a great reply!

Real professional! Here in Serbia we have 5 year free parts and labour guarantee, and Candy is rated as a "quality brand".
I hope my answer about factories helped you too
Where are you from btw?
Do you have msn, facebook, or ICQ I would love to communicate with you

cheers,
Dex

 

[optima]

Dex you are correct candy dryers are made in Turkey. The thing i dont understand is why the HOOVER-CANDY dryers & refrigeration & some big capacity washers tell you where they are manufactured but the smaller drum models dont also i have noticed most of them have haier motors in them which makes me think China but for some reason Candy dont want us to know that & my optima does not say where it was made. Haxisfan my optima does wash in cold water for the first 10 to 15 minutes.

 

[fl1012]

The Optima in the photo actually looks quite nice. I've usually only seen the basic ones & don't like them because without the LED display the design of the facia looks very bare. The LED display improves things alot i feel. Quality concerns me, given the seemingly poor performance from Vision HD's & Grand O's, but if i was buying on appearance alone of that particular model, i wouldn't be put-off.

I would've also considered a Hoover Nextra as i think these look good and are no worse for longevity to many other machines made at the time. I thought the Candy Smart was related to the Nextra in some way but i never knew the Smarts were also UK built. My view is that alot of Hoover/Candys poor reputation stems from the Grand O's/Vision HD's. Prior to that my personal view is they wern't a great deal different to a few other makes.

My Auntie has a Candy Activa Smart (1400/6kg), which i've not seen running but seems ok-ish. Unfortunately it has smelt of burning on a few occasions & as it's only 18 months old i can't say it's proven itself, but if it's based on the Nextra then hopefully it'll go the distance. It's a great shame Hoover/Candy no longer manufacture in the UK but i blame much of that on our Government of the time who did far too little to support our Manufacturing industry.

Optima - It's pleasing to see Beko sell well, im quite fond of them, but it does puzzle me how many people keep coming back for more Hotpoint. One of our neighbours has the WML540 & it's just had a complete bearing/drum change at 18months old. Surely there's gotta come a time when they've failed so many people that they actually run out of willing buyers?!

Do you stock Gorenje? These seem one to watch. I was especially taken by the 2 yr warranty on such a reasonable price machine.

Liam.

 

[nrones]

2 different worlds? xD

I so feel wired when you guys, specially from UK, talk like that... because Gorenje in Serbia is like a Hotpoint in the UK. Gorenje is manufacturer from Slovenia, but soon going to open 3rd factory in Serbia. But that"s not reason why it"s so common here..before 90s Slovenia and Serbia and some other countries were one country - Yugoslavia - so gorenje was a "domestic choice, to support manufacturing", and as much as my grandmother said there wasn"t much choice there only sometimes Candy"s that were very expencive.. so now after decades passed, country isn"t the same, but washing-machine tradition is! So just imagine - wherever you see a Hotpoint in UK, here you"ll see Gorenje if you were here

As I said Gorenje and Candy are 2 most sold brands when it comes to washing here. And both G and C are having 5 year full parts and labor guarantee... while the absolute minimum for guarantee (ordered by law) is 2 years - so it was also wired for you to love 2 year gtee xD

If you have any questions about them you can ask me, or Ingemar (called "gorenje" on here) - just to know about him, he said ME "what Candy is for you, Gorenje is for me" - so you can just think how damn well familiar he is with them

cheers,
Dex

 

[solsburian]

@fl1012

About Merthyr: One criticism there was with Candy was that all components for the machines made there were sourced from ether Italy or Spain, rather then from local suppliers, potentially adding extra cost. We have a Nissan car factory near us and they use the Just In Time principle for parts, and many components are sourced from local companies (they also get some subsidies though). Perhaps Merthyr could have been more cost effective if they did that.

 

[optima]

Liam, The new basic optimas without LCD displays are very disappointing especially the very long wash times on the cotton programmes. The only quick cotton wash is the (a)class in 59 minutes programme that is ok but it has a fixed temp @ 60deg to hot for most things. The only way of reducing the temp is by pressing the cold wash option button ok in the summer but in the winter i dont think so. Candy should have put a variable temp button & also a time saver button on this machine. The thing i like about my OPH714D is that i can select by the wash time button how long i want it to wash for depending on how dirty the washing is.

 

[haxisfan]

I'm disappointed too :-(

The A59' cycle is just a wonderful wash cycle suitable for almost anything and can replace any other standard cycle provided that one can alter certain parametres such as water temperature and spin speed. It's diabolical from Hoover to spoil such a great programme with those temperature limitations (60 degrees or cold)... fortunately it only happens on some entry level models... also from Candy and Zerowatt.

For those who don't know this wash programme similarly to any standard cycle starts with slow tumbles for 2-3 minutes (depending on the size of the load) followed by approx 37 minutes of fast tumbles with short pauses, then it spins at 400rpm after the main wash and it performs 2 high o mid-high level water rinses (the water levels usually change: so far I've noticed that it always gets a higher water level when the load contains dark items) with interim spin at 400rpm... the final spin sequence is identical to those of cotton cycle so it's carried out at the max speed with the max length.

Should anyone be interested, I included 2 links of the A59 cycle below, one with dark clothes and the other with lights.

Bye

 

[haxisfan]

Here's the other...

 

[optima]

Hoover-Candy should have made the 59(a)class wash at the most used 40deg temp or as i say again on this entry machine a variable temp dial. & another thing that annoys me is why are all candy machines smart & grando,s 32 minute fast wash programmes set at 50deg crazy.

 

[haxisfan]

@optima

yeah... that 50 degrees cycle would be nice together with a temp selector... but with such a temperature restriction it seems a bit pointless. I had a Candy Aquaviva for a week and it had that cycle you mentioned but also a temperature selection dial... so that was good.

Another thing I often frown upon is the fact that the prewash thingummy (you described above) is contaminating more and more models within the entire Candy group... I don't get it... why can't they stick to a prewash button? I wonder if they're ever going to realize that they're just embittering their clientele by putting silly restrictions as such.

Still... I'm sure my next washer will be yet again another Hoover/Candy... just for the hell of it ;-)

 

[fl1012]

A59,,,,

That looks like a decent program. Can you select Sensitive Care/Extra Rinse with that program, to add an extra rinse?

Seems a shame that there appears to be no A59 cycle at 40c, but will a standard Cotton 40c cycle be done in about an hour by using Time Saver?

Liam

 

[solsburian]

On the Hoover I had, you could change the temp of the A59 wash. The only caveat was that the recommended load was 3kg.

 

[haxisfan]

@fl1012

Hi Liam,

The A59' can be done at 40 degrees or any other temperature up to 60 on this model (the 1 on the vids) and albeit the name suggests that it should last 59 minutes, it always ends up lasting 1 or 2 minutes past the hour even with no balance issues for some reason which I still find acceptable... of course it would last even longer if the load couldn't be balanced straight off (but this is rare especially on the interim spins because of the reduced spin speed).

The standard cycles at 40 with the time saver would last approx 66 minutes (wash+rinse+spin=25+30+11) for cotton and approx 50'(23+24+3) for a smaller load of synthetics. The extra rinse is not available on the A59' however, as you could see in the vid, this isn't needed as the water level is self-adjusted and would be higher if required. The extra rinse function works differently according to the standard cycle chosen, e.g. cotton (add 2 rinses at whatever required level, usually low, to existing 2 or 3) and synth's (increases the water level of each of the 3 fixed number of rinses).

I always like to see a break down in phases within a wash programme, but I've noticed that when searching the web for wash times, you're likely to find the total time of a cycle, however, as most folks here know, two wash programmes might last the same but could be carried out in a totally different way... like in these examples above. Laterz.

 

[securitybearuk]

Sweet Candy

I Love my Candy fl, its 2 years old I find it an excellent machine. It features 3 buttons Fast wash, this speeds up the drum rotation and lestens the overall wash time from two and a half hours to ninty mins. Stain removal button ensures that todays so called biological powders and liquids benefit from that feature, this button if left on increases the drum rotation time. Lastly the allergy button gives 6 deep rinses with an interim spin of about 800 revs for 2 mins after each rinse,this is to ensure all of the suds are extracted from the wash, finally a 4 phase step up spin to 1400 revs. The spin speed lasts 15mins with a final 5 mins on 1400 top spin.

The negative side of this machine, even though the kitchen floor is level and time and patience was taken to balance the machine. To avoid or lessen vibration I have the knack of washing like for like items, like the vast majority of washers care has to be taken to not over fill or underfill the machine with laundry. I have this down to a fine art now.

Above all else Candy is a strong sturdy well built machine, I dont regret buying Candy.

http://www.sebastiangoldfingle.talktalk.net

 

[reversomatic]

oph714d

Hi,all.Our regular use machine is a Hoover oph714d,and ive been very sastified with it.I,m not a washing machine snob and at the time this machine offered the features i wanted at a good price.I,m not that bothered about it,s lifespan as i like to have a change every 2 or 3 years.I know a Miele is the best you can get but i think i would get bored having the same washer for 10 years.The option i particulaly like is the sensitive care as it not only increases the rinses but also loads more water after approx 10 minutes into the wash so you get a good deep wash.The drum is also larger than some other 7kg machines.I think it,s has very flexible programes.It has excellant rinsing as adds a very deep first rinse if it gets suds locked on the first spin after wash.All in all does what it says on the tin. The only negatives are 60degree default water temprature on coloured and synthetic cycles as its easy to forget to alter the temprature before starting and no matching dryer or stacking kit,so excuse the dryer stood on a towel.So Optima i think you were lucky to snag this washer and hope you enjoy using it.Regards Nige.

 

[nrones]

Differences?

Securitybearuk,
I am really suprised that Stain blaster button on your Candy actually increases time! In my GrandOPlus it doesn"t increase time, it just adds more water to the mainwash, and intense tumbles. Also it keeps the temperature constant all the time, so you can hear alot of times heater turning on and off.

I adore the flexible programmes and options.. it really offers it

Reversomatic,
Can you tell me your experience with the dryer? How does Sensor works?

Now as we could maybe conclude - Candy/Hoover offers everything, but you just need to pay more to have it all (if you need it) - example: All of them have r32, but on some models you have a temperature selector, so there is not a MUST that it has to be 50 xD

Here is a picture of my GrandOPlus by the way... sorry I didn"t catch a knob, if you want I will describe it to you in detail, and you can also see it in videos (link)

http://www.youtube.com/nrones
View attachment nrones++4-28-2011-08-30-55.jpg

 

[optima]

Dex, That Grand O plus is a stunning machine. I would just like to know one thing & its about the silent inverter drive can to tell me if its a brush motor or a brushless induction motor. For the first time last night & it has not done this before i have just found out my oph714D Optima is even more cleverer than i though & its to do with the out of balance sensor. After it has pumped the wash water out & it goes up to distribution speed. It then senses the load balance its either a case of another re-balance or spin but last night it spinned quite out of balance for the 2 400rpm bursts thats when i started to panic thinking my washer is going to shake itself to death then it realised before going onto the faster 1000rpm bit but up till now it would sense before the first 400rpm spin burst. I found that rather clever.

Craig

 

[optima]

A close up pic of the LCD display.