LG "Steamwasher"

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tolivac

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While at "Best Buy" for my weekend looking for movies overheard one of their appliance salesmen trying to sell a LG Steamwasher" to a young couple.He was explaining the steamcycle and something unusual-does the machine really do this-for you LG experts.He claims when the washer is done with the spin cycle-as the drum is slowing down-the energy of the spinning drum is converted to electricity-like the Hybrid car-and used to help power the machine.That could make some sense-but the washer would need an eneregy storage device-such as batteries to store the power from the drum spinning the motor during braking .this sounds fantastic-Is it true??Looking at he price of the WD set-WOW!!!The couple walked away.also the salesman was talking about spin speeds-he commented that too high of spin speed ruins clothes-he said to the couple "that over 1300RPM ruins your clothes"Funny-some of the clothes spinners go to 3500RPM-no damaged clothes there.He mentioned that the 1150 RPM speed of the LG washer was "Just Right".
 
I don't think so

He everybody.good to be back. I was in the hospital but am o.k now.The LG Steam washer spins a full 1320 rpms I have no clue where these punks get there resources but a high spin is not really "bad" it just has a tendancy of causing wrinkles.They usualy come out in the dryer or during the steam process.
 
The spin speeds was what I was thinking about as he was trying to demo the machine to his prospects-I thought--"Hmmmm-clothes spinners go to 3500 RPM,Bocks go to 1800--"No damage there.I thought the same wrinkle come out during drying or other processes.The only time "damage" could occur is if the spinners were not used or loaded properly.
 
Laundromat:

Sorry to hear you were in hospital, hope you are now well!

Spin speeds:

High spin speeds on certian fabrics can cause damage depending upon their condition and construction. For instance fragile lace items or other delicates could be torn to shreds by long high speed spins. High final spins will also create tons of creases which as another poster stated usually come out in the dryer. However if one is going to iron the laundry after line drying, or if "damp dry" from spinning it can be a problem

Hoover TTs spin very fast, at about 3100 or 2100 rpms, and one has to be VERY careful about what goes into that spin tub and for how long. Dress shirts can come out looking like who did it and ran, if care is not taken.

There is a school of thought that final spin speeds over 1300 are not much use except in the most heavy of wash loads like towels.

L.
 
The speeds on spin driers and dual-tub machines can reach up to all those RPM's because the diameter of the tubs is tiny. 1320 RPM on a tub the size of the LG might equal or surpass that centrifugal force if you do all of the calculations.

As for the Best Buy salesman: off in his own little world. I doubt that LG has retro-fitted its washing machines with alternators, but stranger stuff has happened.
 
I figured the BB salesman was going too far--would explain why his prospects walked away.--So did I.I would have to imagine the LG or any large tub FL washer could have RCF equal or more than small tub high speed spinners.Thats interesting that some fabrics are not strong enough to withstand the hi-speed spin cycles.Something to bear in mind.
 
Miele states their new honeycomb drum is less damaging to fabrics than traditonal front loader tubs. IIRC there can be some damage after awhile if laundry is "sucked" through the holes during long high speed spins. Those pucker marks on laundry may look interesting, but it does mean those areas were being "push" through the holes in the tub as laundry was plastered to the tub during high speed final spins.

Spinning is really a form of compression, which is fine for removing water, but not all fabrics can withstand such forces for long.

L.
 
What a crock!!!

This salesman obviously has no idea about what he is talking about.... he should move over to a poor car sales company!

It used to be that 400rpm was classed as the highest for spinning delicates, wool and easy iron. Now on AEG models, delicates are spun for 1 minute at 700rpm, wool at 900rpm amd easy iron 900! As my machine tumbles after the spin, my clothes come out virtually wrinkle free (so long as I dont overload the drum and they have plenty of room to move.)

As far as the top spin speed is concerned.... What planet is he on??? There is still a difference in how dry the clothes feel when they come out after 1200rpm and 1600rpm!

Thats my two bits!
 
spin speeds, electronic braking

This salesman obviously got several things confused.
LG does used electronic braking on their motors, technically electricity is thus produced. But (unless you count a few micro-farad in the condensor) none of it is stored in the machine.
Silly!
 
how much water is left over at what spin speed

I found this info on the Austrian electrical engineering association site...independent so probably trustworthy. Translation follows the German text, so just scroll down if you've already gargled this morning:

Wie viel Schleudertouren sind notwendig?
Es werden Waschmaschinen mit 1.600 Schleudertouren und mehr angeboten. Der Unterschied in der Restfeuchtigkeit von 1.600 zu 1.400 beträgt nur 2 %, nämlich 46 % statt 48 %. Aus der Praxis kann berichtet werden, dass Wäsche, die mit 1.600 Touren und mehr geschleudert wird, sehr stark knittert. Auch wenn sie im Wäschetrockner getrocknet wird, ist der Bügelaufwand wesentlich höher als bei Wäsche, die mit 1.400 Touren geschleudert wurde.
Wird ein Wäschetrockner eingesetzt, sind Schleuderdrehzahlen von mindestens 800 U/min erforderlich, empfehlenswert sind 1.000/1.200.
Im Abluft-Wäschetrockner wird pro % Restfeuchtigkeit mit 1 Minute Trockenzeit gerechnet. Das bedeutet, dass mit 1.600 Touren geschleuderte Wäsche im Ablufttrockner eine nur um 2 Minuten kürzere Trockenzeit als mit 1.400 Touren geschleuderte Wäsche benötigt.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION (SUMMARY)
What spin seed is necessary?
Washers with spin speeds of up to 1600 rpm or higher are available to purchase. The remaining moisture in the clothing when spun at 1600 rpm versus 1400 is only 2%, or 46% (by weight, says Keven :-) instead of 48%. Practical experience shows that laundry which is spun at 1600 rpm or higher is very highly wrinkled. The time and energy spent pressing - even after machine drying - is definitely greater than for laundry which is spun at 1400 rpm.
For machine drying a spin speed of at least 800 rpm is necessary. Speeds of 1000/1200 are recommended.
In an exhausted clothes dryer (the only kind used in the US, says Keven), one may figure one minute drying time for one percent residual moisture. This means that laundry spun at 1600 rpm dries only two minutes faster than laundry spun at 1400 rpm.
(end translation)
Of course the amount of moisture left is not linear to spin speed...you can not say there is "only" 2% more water remaining to be removed at 400 rpm than at 600. The maximum effectiveness is reached between 750 and 1000. Everything above that is just marginally better.
Hope this answers the question.
 
its going to be interesting to see if this salesman is going to try to sell the machines to someone else-and what he says-I would think an energy storage system to use the spining drums brake energy would be too large to fit in the washers cabinet.I could just picture batteries in the pedistal!no room for your laundry cleaning products!
For the pucker marks on clothes-yes the cloth pushed thru the holes certainly could cause stress and weaken fabric fibers.And if they encounter rough or sharp edges in the holes-tearing could result.
 


Unfortunately, I think this is way too Technical and the amount of time and energy taken to press clthes after 1600 spin is not taking into account all our experience at grass roots! My machine, when not overloaded, does not crease my cottons at 1600 because it tumbles for a few minutes at the end of the cycle. This makes a huge difference. If I then take the load out immediately and into the dryer and then immediately out again at the end of that cycle, i have 80%less ironing to do. But then I never have to iron these days....... i send them to the cleaners!!!
Happy wash days to all!
 
Actually, that dopey Best Buy salesman is correct. LG washers use a type of regenerative braking, but they do not store the energy. If you spin the drum of an LG washer by hand, one that is not plugged into an electic outlet, the diplay will light up for you. This would not be possible without an internal power source. This is not just the SteamWasher, but all LG direct drive models. What the actual "use" of this is and how that energy is directed, I have no clue, but it is there.
 
Does size really matter?

Said: For the pucker marks on clothes-yes the cloth pushed thru the holes certainly could cause stress and weaken fabric fibers.And if they encounter rough or sharp edges in the holes-tearing could result.

Way back we had a *contest* to see what the size was --let me finish-- of the space between the inner and outer tubs/drums in a washer. I reported my findings. I could NOT however get a short thin disposable wooden souvlaki stick ( OK=> a/k/a shis-kebob stick) into the holes of my FridGeMore front-loader. I did not realize 'til that point that there are MANY MANY more holes than in my top-loaders and they are tiny!

Here is a pic of one stick that I believe is actually thicker than the one I had originally used. With it are two common items as a reference.

5-6-2006-08-43-47--Toggleswitch.jpg
 

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