Latest Acquisitions

[DADoES]

 
Arrived.  Seller agreed to deliver for extra $ being as I have transport issues.

No time for pics now, have to be at work soon.

They're filthy.  The extent to which ordinary folk use-and-abuse their machinery is astonishing.  My 14-yo set is NIB in comparison.

Seems the washer's display board broke loose from its mount, on the right side of the console.  Mrs. Previous Owner had to press hard enough on the start button to crack the overlay, then the board dropped further so she was poking a screw driver down inside to reach it.

We had a chat about the kin-folk so that was nice.

 

[DADoES]

AquaSmart Whites Cycle

 
The camera I used can record only 25 mins of video at a time, so three parts.

Average-size load, not the maximum it can take.  Looks larger than it is due to the camera angle.  Detergent added before starting (2 tbsp STPP, 4 tbsp Persil Power Pearls, 2 tbsp Biz powder).  1/3 cup chlorine bleach.  No softener.

Whites cycle runs in HE mode (low-water wash, shower rinse) per default but can be set at conventional mode (deep wash and rinse).  Conventional mode is selected automatically if bleach dispensing is selected.

 

[iowabear]

I'm highly skeptical of these impeller-type machines but it does a great job turning things over on that mixed whites load.

 

How does it do on large items like bed sheets?

 

[logixx]

Great videos, as usual.

Dean did a video of the Sheets Cycle. It did well, as one would expect from that large impeller.

 

[DADoES]

 
I've tried the Sheets cycle once thus far.  Twin-bed sheet set, so small load.  It filled to a default high level for the cycle, started agitation, then drained some of the water presumably in an attempt to "feel" some agitation resistance on the smaller-than-expected load which didn't garner much rollover (was still too much water) but it came out satisfactory.  Next test of it I'll do a queen-bed set, or maybe the queen and twin sets together.  May or may not be a video.  Vids are bit of a chore even without editing involved, and it takes hours to upload hi-def material.

 

[DADoES]

 
I changed the AquaSmart washer and AeroSmart dryer to the top-of-line LCD control panels, found used via eBay.  Those add a bunch more cycles and control options ... but in turn makes finding and selecting cycles and options more tedious since that's done by scrolling through the choices instead of pressing discrete buttons.

The panels are capacitive-touch, not mechanical.  Very responsive.  I've twice accidentally turned the washer off during a cycle by brushing across Power.  Gloss black makes photos tricky.

 

[DADoES]

Regular Cycle & Standard Options

 
Regular Cycle operates only in High Efficiency mode.

Cold Faucet and Hot are not ATC, the other temps are ATC (and the target may vary depending on the selected cycle).  Well, Hot is 62°C (143°F) but majority of households don't have the water heater set higher than that.

The adjustable settings on most of the "standard" (non-Lifestyle) cycles can be saved as defaults (separately for each cycle).  Except Bleach, Drip Dry, and Delay Start must be selected each time.

Slow spin = 330 RPM
Medium spin = 670 RPM
Fast spin = 1,010 RPM

Drip Dry pauses before the final rinse drain and beeps for attention so items desired to be drip-dried can be removed ... press Start to continue the final spin.

Soak adds a 2-hr soak during the wash period.  Some cycles are pre-programmed with shorter soak periods.  Most instances the soak can be shortened by pressing the Back button to manually move the cycle along.

 

[DADoES]

Other "Standard" Cycles

 
Sheets, Colors, and Easy Iron operate only in Conventional (deep-fill) mode.

Whites, Heavy, Delicate, and Rinse/Spin are selectable for either Conventional or High Efficiency.

Some options are not available with some cycles.  Delicate and Easy Iron for example don't allow Warm/Hot or Hot temperature or Fast spin.

The cycle description blurbs (which can be turned off via a system option) alternately appear/disappear during selection.

 

[DADoES]

Bulky Cycles

 
Bulky has several sub-choices for specific items.  The cycles are hard-coded with specific options, cannot be changed.

 

[DADoES]

Lifestyle Cycles

 
Arranged into five categories.  All are hard-coded for specific options.

Special -- Handwash, Wool, Jeans

Stains -- Chocolate, Tomato, Blood, Grass, Fruit, Wine

Family -- Comforter (choice of Feather or Synthetic, same as via Bulky), Allergy, Hygiene, Diaper Rinse, Soft Toys

Sports -- Sweaty, Muddy, Shoes, Beach Gear

Tub Clean

 

[DADoES]

System Settings

 
Out of Balance Recovery has the machine refill and agitate to redistribute the load if it fails to spin, then beep for help if it still fails.

Choice of 0, 5, or 15 end-of-cycle beeps.

Screen Brightness.

Screen Contrast.

Keylock helps avoid accidental control activation by requiring 3-seconds press on Power and Start/Pause.

Hints Pop-Ups enables or disables those cycle description blurbs.

Language choices: New Zealand, Australia, US English, US Spanish, Canadian English, Canadian French,

F&P phone number and web site for service contact.

Reset machine to factory defaults.

The circle/arrow will be covered in a later post.

 

[DADoES]

Troubleshooting

 
Fifteen screens of helpful hints in case of trouble.

 

[DADoES]

Machine Set-Up

 
A menu to set the control panel and motor board together for the machine's dispenser arrangement.

- Detergent & Softener
- Detergent & Bleach
- Detergent, Softener, & Bleach
- No Dispensers

Photo #2 shows a screen that comes up with a key combination that I just discovered today that apparently runs an Installation Test Cycle.  I have not yet run it to see what it does.

 

[DADoES]

Diagnostics

 
Service Menu (Pics 2 through 6)

Warning Status / Fault Status.  Warning Status reflects non-fatal faults that can be corrected by user intervention.  In the instance of No Hot Water, I had the water heater set at a lower temp than the machine wanted so it complained.     Fault Status reports serious errors that require service.

Machine Status displays some basic operational information --
   Size = tub/bowl size (MM diameter)
   HVDC = motor board high voltage output
   WL = water level sensor reading
   T = water temperature sensor reading
   Target = inlet temperature that the machine wants to attain

Hot solenoid, Cold solenoid, Detergent solenoid, Fabric softener solenoid, Pump, Bleach solenoid are to manually operate those components.  Detergent and Softener require hot or cold (or both) be turned on first.  Bleach feeds separately directly from the cold side.  Pump selects Drain, Recirculate, or Off.

Photo #6 is a special screen that doesn't display except via a special key procedure.  It reports a myriad of parameters during machine operation, some of which I don't understand.
   Disp is the display board software version.
   MC is the motor control board software version.
   RPM is the motor rotor RPM reading.
   OB probably is whether off-balance is triggered.
   WL is the water level sensor reading.
   BF is Bowl Float, the water level at which the bowl sensed as floated.
   Fill is the water level the machine wants.
   Idle is the current cycle function -- agitate/wash, rinse, spin, etc. -- not sure exactly what all it says there.
   Time I think is elapsed cycle time, although it doesn't begin counting immediately at the start.
   To Go is remaining time to cycle finish.
   Mixed is the agitation profile (various terms are involved).
   Topup is related to water level control.
The other parameters, I don't know what they mean but some of them change during water level sensing and during agitation.

Photo #7 Control Option
   Hot Tub is a flag that is set on a warm or hot wash fill, clears after a cold rinse.  Spin speed is restricted to medium (670 RPM) if Hot Tub is flagged.  This function allows it to be manually set or cleared for diagnostic purposes.
   Restart allows the machine to "restart"/retry a failed function in an attempt to automatically recover from a fault.  It normally should be enabled and the machine will "restart" numerous times until it gives up and throws a fault, but can be disabled to assist with troubleshooting a problem more quickly.
   Recycle is a diagnostic tool that has the machine run a cycle repeatedly until manually shut off to aid in confirming an erratic problem.

Photo #8 Development Data only appears via a special key combination, and the machine must be disconnected from power to turn it off after it's selected.  I have no idea what the parameters indicate.

 

[henene4]

Best UI ever

With a few exceptions (especially on the comforter cycles - would like these to allow hot), I like the UI basicly in its entirety.

Sadly they sold to Haier.

Imagine they would redesign those now. They could use a huge touchscreen that wouldn't be to expensive by now.

And then they could lay out that entire UI with direct-to-touch tiles. That would make selection much quicker and give a better overview.

All of the selection of the high end model with the convenience of the lower end one.

 

[DADoES]

 
I've used the Blanket and Synthetic Comforter cycles.  The target warm inlet temperature is 50°C in those instances, although there's no onboard heater so the resultant temp in the tub is lower.

 

[henene4]

50C is decent, though a full hot fill would be nice I'd say...

 

[foraloysius]

Very impressing control panel, love all the options and settings. I agree with Henrik about the Hot on Blanket cycle, ditto for the Sheets cycle, but you can work around it. I think any machine would benefit from the versatility of the settings and all the options and cycles. Thanks for sharing Glenn, you did quite a lot of work to get all these pictures.

 

[DADoES]

 
Sheets cycle allows hot temperature, which I have it saved as such.  The description blurb apparently doesn't change.

 

[DADoES]

 
I used the Sheets cycle again yesterday.  Set of queen sheets with three pillow covers and three pillow cases. 

The cycle is kinda goofy.  It fills directly to a fixed, somewhat high level (330 on the info screen), which is too much water even for the queen set.  May be more appropriate for two standard sets, or maybe two queen.  Does not rotate the bowl during fill or pulse it for float-sensing. Agitates at a fast rate for load-sensing purposes when the target fill is reached, then DRAINS some water.  The queen set drained down to level of 300 which was still a bit too much IMO.  A previous twin set, I didn't check what was the drain-out level but it may have been the same.  Agitation then alternates between three patterns for duration of the wash period.  Several spin-sprays, deep rinse, final spin.