LG WASHER SPIDER CORROSION

[washman]

Jetcone nailed it

Anyone remember when laundry applianaces were considered durable goods? Unfortunately that is no longer the case. And an entire generation of millenials is being educated to believe this is normal.

Yet despite all the hype about HE machines, what is the overall benefit if they fall apart in a catastrophic manner such as this and it is not cost effective to repair and these things wind up in the scrap heap?

I know I have caught flak for this, but I utterly fail to see how these new machines, made as cheaply as possible, can possibly be a good investment over a 25 year old Maytag or new SQ top loader?

The pics above are not just shoddy assembly but an outright insult to manufacturing in general.

 

[kb0nes]

Clearly this outcome is very atypical and quite possibly due to usage.

Still its pretty clear the manufacturer didn't engineer in much margin for such things to happen. A catastrophic failure like this in 3 years wow.

Indeed the metallurgy of the casting alloy itself is in question. Being that it is a casting adds the possibility of porosity into the mix. Many alloys of aluminum really aren't all that prone to corrosion, Aluminum is a lot like Core-Ten steel, it forms a passive oxide layer that is protective to the base metal.

As mentioned it would be simple for LG to greatly extend the life of these parts (even when usage is less then optimum) by anodizing or perhaps powder coating these spiders. Simply engineering the casting to be smooth and drain well without any catch pockets would likely help a ton too. But it costs money so that's out the window.

If I were restoring a machine with an aluminum spider I'd smooth all the flash and mold marks on the casting then give it a good bead blasting. Follow this with anodizing or powder coating and it would outlast us all, indifferent to usage.

It is a shame that LG seems to keep coming up with issues, but then again there has never been any company that doesn't have design problems, not today nor in the past.

 

[combo52]

Corroded washer spiders

These spiders are operating in EXTREME CONDITIONS in some homes.

The failure we have seen likely has nothing to due with recycled aluminum being used, usually recycled metals are BETTER and more corrosion resistant than virgin metals.

Frigidaire has experienced thousands of spider failures in American made washers in as little as three years of use.

Anodizing and other epoxy coatings may add a little life, but the real problem is the extremely abusive environment some washers are operated in, I have pulled apart many FL washers after years of use and the spider looks almost new, others look like the one above.

 

[thomasortega]

All the questions I would make were made by other members...

But there's one that i'm really curious...

What's going to happen when these spiders start to fail at 1400 or 1600 rpm?

LG is getting revolutionary... After the Turbo Drum technology for the top loaders, they are about to launch the Flying Drum technology for the front loaders.

I'm sure I know the three things that caused this: Profit, Gain and Programmed obsolescence.

 

[mark_wpduet]

To Oneway88

Question...Was your door left cracked between cycles? Just curious because I think lots of FL owners leave the doors shut after washer is done.

DADOES - On that picture of the WP DUET drum you posted above, what is that stuff all over stainless steel part of the drum? The spider itself isn't as bad as the LG one, but the whole thing still looks like it's been to hell and back.

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>DADOES - On that picture of the WP DUET drum you posted above, what is that stuff all over stainless steel part of the drum? The spider itself isn't as bad as the LG one, but the whole thing still looks like it's been to hell and back.</blockquote> Link to the thread about the refurb project I did last year.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?42798

 

[electron1100]

Not all ally parts corrode badly

This is a picture of the spider and backplate from my 1971 Hoover Keymatic as stripped from the machine

Until I got it I would have no idea as to what powders would have been used in it, but this machine was made in the pre-bio age and would have gone through those powders when they arrived and probably liquid cleaners when they arrived in the 1980s.

The only thing I do know is that where I live in the UK we have very soft water

I have seen worse than this, but nothing as terrible as the examples shown by you blokes over there in states, it would worry me too.

Though I take the point about inferior quality alloys being used, I have seen pictures of rust spots on so called stainless steel drums from certain Asian manufacturers............

It must be down to cost cutting

Gary

 

[tomturbomatic]

The trouble with front loaders is that they cannot be left looking like they do on the sales floor, all closed up, if they are used. After use, they have to be aired out. My FLs always have the doors open and the dispenser drawers either pulled open or removed when they are not in use, but they are in the basement and out of the way. The dispenser compartment of the Mieles has to be dried very well with a heavy cloth to remove the water from the little spray holes at the top or black mold will grow there. If you have a show place laundry where the machines are on display or in a traffic area, leaving the door open and the dispenser tray out does not present as nice a picture as the machines do in the magazine ad.

In addition to all of that, there is quality and there is cheap crap dressed up like in the Yiddish expression, "oipen putz, inten shmutz" which translates to, Fancy on top (or outside), filty underneath (or inside).

 

[mark_wpduet]

yes

very important to leave it cracked and dispenser pulled out when not in use. I pull my dispenser out and can dump some water left in it. I can see a lot of people not doing that and it would just sit there all close up not able to dry and that will cause problems.

 

[ls]

pH and other culprits of aluminum corrosion

-I have been in water treatment for many years. The spinner is some grade of aluminum. Aluminum prefers a pH of 6.5-8.0. Many municipal water supplies pH ranges from 7.0-9.5.
Here in St. Louis if your water is being made from the Missouri River, the pH is around 8.9-9.2 due to the lime softening that is needed to drop the heavy particles and make it clear. So, our water pH is already causing a corrosion issue with the aluminum. (The same issue is occurring with new residential aluminum hot water boilers for radiant floor heat ((not made of cast iron anymore)). People are filling up the aluminum boiler with 9.2 pH water and they are lasting 2 years. The warranty will read that the water pH must be maintained at 6.5-8.0).
-Other issues are high pH detergents. Then add some heat to accelerates the attack on aluminum.
-And yes, aluminum is a weak metal. So there is galvanic corrosion most likely occurring. If any other metal in the galvanic series that is stronger (like iron)starts corroding, and deposits on the aluminum, it will cause the weaker aluminum to become the sacrificial anode and corrode faster. As you know, some people have iron in their water supply (as noticed by the ring it leaves in the toilet).
-So to explain why some people may have issues while others do not, let me start by saying that everyone in the country does not have the same water quality. For example some people on well water supplies may have greatly higher or lower pH water. Just depends. Some people may only wash in cold and warm water, and never use the hot water or steam cycles with their high pH water. Some people have heavy metals that are stronger than aluminum in their water. There are a lot of variables and combinations, but pH is one of the biggest culprits for aluminum corrosion.