lets go digital ! washer thermometer

[ricky5050]

Hi all

I thought I'd let you know about a cheap purchase you might be interested in, its a waterproof digital thermometer for aquariums that is ideal to test the water temperature of your vintage washer, it only cost a few pounds from ebay.

My Bendix LT washer has an unusual way of keeping temperature, if you select a warm wash it fills with hot but a sensor in the fill part (for want of a better word) mixes in cold once it realises the water is too hot, this gives a wash temperature of about 30c (86f), the machine will then wash, stop at the "heater on" part of the timer but not heat the water no matter how cold the water is.

If you select Hot it fills with only hot water and the heats to 60c(140f) at the heater only part, and likewise if very hot is selected it heats to about 80c (176f) i think.

However if the hot water isn't hot enough, when the heater comes on it will only heat so far when a hot 60(140f) is selected and may cut out at 50c(122f) , because ( according to the manual ) the thermostat has its own internal micro heater and can only work in a certain way. I'm not 100% in understanding this, but basically if you select a very hot wash let it heat up to as close as Hot wash temps then select Hot is will continue to heat up to 60c. In other words the machine was designed to take in very hot water, ( in the days of coal fires and large hot water tanks, as opposed to modern instantaneous combi boiler type hot water which i have).

My boiler gives out water at 55c(131f) with incoming in summer water temps of 12c (54f) ( these will both be lower in winter as combi boilers can only raise temps by a certain margin)

I've noticed that if i select a Hot wash let it fill with hot only and then switch to warm ( so that the heater doesn't kick in) with the cooling effect of the clothes /drum etc it gives a perfect 40c (104f) wash, but sometimes my hot water wasn't hot enough to ensure a full 60c (140f) wash.

So i bought this little gadget and its great ( if its accurate )as i can monitor what temperature the water is getting up to.

It may be my thermostat is a little faulty also as the washer is approximately 47.

Any way I thought you may be interested to do you're own experiments.

cheers

Richard

 

[ricky5050]

consumer testing at home!

warm wash

 

[ricky5050]

that will kill any nasties

I under stand 71c (159f) is the lowest high temp to kill bacteria so great for whites and my work shirts as i sweat a wee bit and like to make sure they are clean.

Ps Primark shirts cheap as chips and can handle this punishment without shrinking, Next shirts pah they shrink when wet!! (clothes shops in UK)

 

[tomturbomatic]

Do you leave that in during the cycle? We have found that infrared thermometers work very well for this purpose. Just point them at the window and pull the trigger and you get an instant temperature reading.

This thermometer is a far cry from the glass floating thermometers we used in the 50s and 60s when I started keeping aquariums. Time marches on.

 

[organboy1974]

That's a good idea

Great Richard. I love improvising this sort of thing. I've got a meat prong thermometer that cooks use to check the inside temperature of meat to make sure it is cooked through. It reads both C and F.

It is great for my machines to check the correct wash temperature. The Hoover Single Tub and Servis Twin Tub don't have thermostats so it's just guesswork. The Hoovermatic Twin Tub thermostat reads too low so the water is about 7 degrees hotter than it says. Then the English Electric Twin Tub does the opposite and reads too high by about ten degrees.

Thankfully I have solar panels to heat the water which is usually about 60 to 70 in the summer.

ps. I like the Wolseley. Is it a Six or 18/85?

 

[ricky5050]

Thanks

Hi Tom I pop it in when it reaches heater on and close the door till its at the right temp, I'm looking to see if there is somewhere I can locate the sensor near the hot water.

I looked at infra red but they were a bit dearer than this to try.

And thanks organ boy, yes it's a Wolseley six automatic , one month older than me , jan 1973 I love the a30/35

Richard

 

[organboy1974]

With the Gear Selector.....

.....on the right of the steering wheel not the left then (ie. the opposite side to other British cars).

It's a 1955 A30. Twenty years older than me!

Aled