Meet our new Miele W1!

[adamthemieleman]

Hello all, I've been quiet on the forum lately, largely due to work and personal issues at home.

However I'm making a return with the best way I know!
We've upgraded our Miele with guess what, another Miele!

We had this WKG120 at my work (John Lewis). It was an ex display which we needed to get rid of as it was no longer ranged, but it had a slight electrical fault, (it wouldn't switch on)
Miele came out and fixed it and updated it while they were out.

So an ex display ex repair Miele W1 all ours for a grand total of £400! This is a machine that normally retails for £1k!
On top of that we get the free years worth supply of twindos and the 5 year guarantee.

It's currently doing its 'calibration' wash. I have some rather grubby work shirts to test it with, including one shirt which has two stains side by side. I have no idea what it is, but nothing has shifted it.
I like Miele and I know they're good, but I don't have high expectations for the twindos or the steam smoothing.

Here's some photos

 

[uncledave]

Sweet machine. Thanks for sharing.

 

[aquacycle]

What a bargain, Adam, well done! I've considered upgrading our W562 but I'm waiting until it hits 10 years old.

 

[rolls_rapide]

"grand total of £400!"

Gosh! That's a real bargain!

Well done indeed.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Miele -Immer Besser

Wow, got a bargain there Adam, looks great , will you use the tank dispensers regularly do you think ?

 

[adamthemieleman]

Well...

Turns out, we need an engineer visit already! As this was a demonstration machine, it had the cartridges preinstalled on delivery, and guess what, the dispensing didn't work! I assume the tubes are blocked. The machine is also vibrating excessively, despite being perfectly level. The old one didn't do that!

Still early days, but a bit disenchanted at the moment.

I'll keep you all updated

 

[henene4]

The first generation W1s (and T1s for that matter) had a lot of smaller issues (vibrations, bad wash&#92rinse results). But given yours has the calibration cycle already. it should be of a later revision.

There should be a cleaning cycle for the dosage system, but you'd need the empty cartridges you can fill your self for that.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Cartridges

Are there any sealant tabs still in place on the cartridges? (You know, like the tabs on tomato ketchup squeezy bottles, or the foils on 3-in-1 carpet shampoo).

Perhaps the pipework requires to be manually primed?

 

[northernmary]

Twindos Cartridges

The twindos cartridges have rubber ends that you remove. At the end of the cartridges are spring mounted rubber bungs that move in and out when you insert and remove the cartridges they open and seal the cartridges.

If the machine has been stood for a long period of time the liquid inside of the twindos system will become thick and will require an engineer visit to flush the system out so its able to be used again

 

[northernmary]

Maintance section from manual

System needs a visit from tech to flush through if not used regularly

 

[rolls_rapide]

Thanks for the info.

I presumed that the machine being ex-display, that the twin-dos had never actually previously been used, and merely thought the cartridges had been placed into the slots (with sealing caps still in place), for demonstration purposes only.

 

[adamthemieleman]

Yes, as it was ex demo, the cartridges were already inside and have been for a few months. We're also experiencing bad vibration, I realised it wasn't dispensing for the shorts wash so did a spin. We've had a Miele before which was smooth and hardly moved, I know this is faster and potentially heavier but nothing to make the vibration it was doing.

The calibration wash went well, very smooth and quiet, but I'm not sure it hit 90, as the door didn't feel hot. Perhaps it's not supposed to.
I must admit though, Miele were great over the phone. The engineer comes Tuesday so hopefully he can fix both issues. They even told us the voucher codes to redeem the supply of twindos, as the voucher had been lost.

I'll keep the thread updated with any twists and turns..

 

[jerrod6]

I think the W1 is supposed to be release to the USA either this year or next.  

 

[launderess]

MieleUSA hasn't had a new washer model added to the line up since the 30XX series a few years ago. Though there have been "upgrades" they are due for something new.

My guess is one big issue is to decide if a version of the W1 does come to this side of the pond should it be 120v or 220v.

Since it seems MieleUSA has all but given up on 220v for domestic washers outside of the "professional" side such as the Little Giants for the USA market, will be interesting to see what if anything happens with W1 units.

 

[foraloysius]

It will also be interesting to see what they do with the dryers. A Miele heatpump dryer draws a max. of 1100 Watts, so it would be no problem at all to make one for 120V

 

[launderess]

Though gaining some market share

In large part for urban areas and other construction where vented dryers are not possible, any sort of condenser dryer is still a hard sell for much of the USA.

Here in NYC you are seeing more condenser dryers or any sort (heat pump and so forth) due to new construction and or redevelopment of former commercial space. In either case access to outside facing walls is at a premium. Also much new construction is glass façade instead of masonry walls, thus again venting a dryer would be difficult to impossible.

Running a dryer for two hours or so just isn't up a large part of American's laundry habits. What with washers (front loaders) now taking one and a half to two hours (or more) to complete a load, asking some to endure another two hours for drying time is more than some will bear. You're talking about between four to five hours just to one load of washing.

For those where such economical "green" or whatever appliances are up their street, fair enough. But those having grown used to the speed and ease of electric or gas vented dryers may and likely will balk.

One saving grace with heat pump dryers is they can be used in temperate climates such as NYC during the warmer and humid times of year. Once temps go above say 75F and humidity kicks in (for which NYS summers are famous), my Lavatherm dryer is almost totally useless. Only way to run the thing is to also turn on the air conditioner, which to my mind is a foolish waste of money.

 

[rolls_rapide]

"my Lavatherm dryer is almost totally useless"

Is it a standard condenser type, by any chance?

I have a condenser Zanussi dryer which works wonderfully in the cold winter breezes.

However, still/muggy summer heat it does not like, and laundry takes forever to dry, virtually baking in the machine. You can smell the heat.

I am actually tempted to go back to a sensible vented 'hose-out-the-window' dryer.

 

[launderess]

Yes, Lavatherm 57700

Owner's manual claims the thing can be used to a "permissible ambient" temperature of 35°C (95F), but I've never been too sure.

Once outdoor temps reach 75F or above and thus indoor aren't much less (without turning on the AC), the thing is useless. Better to dry things by hanging them on a maiden or horse. Indeed if one turns on a fan they will dry faster than in the Lavatherm.

During cooler or cold times of the year, things are more tolerable. There times are as listed above in previous post.

Knowing in advance how the filter system on this model of Lavatherm isn't the best, tend not to do towels and things that give off much lint. Still am sure sooner or later the thing will need to be opened for a full cleaning.

If one didn't have the Lavatherm would consider a Miele or other heat pump dryer. After all either way would be looking at drying times in excess of one and one half hours.

Warm and muggy weather NYC has in spades during late Spring through much of the Fall, hence why the Lavatherm is useless to one for much of the year.

" am actually tempted to go back to a sensible vented 'hose-out-the-window dryer."

Yes, that is why we keep the small Whirlpool compact/portable vented dryer. Though have jigged up a window vent (bit of wood with a hole sawed out), so don't have to hang the hose out of window.

It actually is the best of both worlds. In deep Winter when the Whirlpool vented dryer spews out telltale plumes of steam (a dead giveaway that a clothes dryer is being used), can switch to the Lavatherm. Not only does the latter dry one's washing, but adds some heat and moisture back into the room. Most welcomed with the dry conditions from steam radiator heating.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Disadvantages

Condenser machines are good for placing almost anywhere, but they need the proper temperature differential in order to work properly; i.e. cool ventilation.

Vented machines need the hose and window or duct.

Heatpump condensers don't have the above disadvantages, but they have other disadvantages of their own - long drying times, and susceptibility to clogged heat-exchanger/heatpump.

Decisions, decisions.