New Washing Machine Enquiry

[aeg03]

Hi All,

I am not sure if my 8 year old ultra reliable AEG OKO Lavamat 72640 is having a problem with its recirculation pump or not. Its developed this strange noise now that has got worse over the past 2 years and more frequent. Its quite a horrible sound.

If the pump for the jet is on its way out I don't know if its worth paying to get it repaired as a machine that is approaching 8 years old I suppose is probably still good for another couple of years but just bearing in mind that if we spend a lot on repairing the recirculation pump then others parts may start to fail the machine.

I am for the time being making an enquiry on a new machine and reccomendations on which one to get next. We really like Miele but money is a bit tight and I think the house would appreciate a mchine that was near silent (even though the AEG has pretty low noise level) I was considering an LG or Zanussi which has an inverter motor. The Zanussi is a bonus on where it is made by the same company that makes AEG and we have had no problems until now with the AEG and it also have a water jet which I really like the machine to have as I feel it helps saturate the load properly and give good wash and rinse levels with very low water levels, the paddles in Zanussi, AEG, Electrolux drum have lifters so these coupled with the water jet really help saturate the clothes. The LG looks nice and is quiet with its DirectDrive motor but I dont know the reliability and I dont like how fussy they are with unbalanced loads ( I used a Samsung in Dubai and it used to take ages on half loads)

I would like some suggestions please.

p.s a very short vid of the noise my AEG makes is on You Tube called: AEG OKO Lavamat 72640 Circulation Pump Noise Problem.

I could not get link as my Laptop not loading YouTube at moment. It doesnt sound loud on camera but in real lif its pretty loud noise.

Many Thanks.

 

[fl1012]

Tough call....

Between LG & Zanussi i dunno what id choose to be honest. A couple of years ago i'd have said Zanussi, but now im not THAT convinced that the latest generation of Zanussi are particularly special. Our Essential (of the latest incarnation with the central program knob) sounds very gritty & does whine a fair bit after just 2 years & id be suprised if it sees 4 years.

Acknowledging the noise on ours is probably the motor, the inverter motors might be better. But i have seen more of the high end Jetsystems which look like the ones with inverter motors on Ebay for Spares already, nearly always with PCB failure. Maybe the PCBs can't handle the additional features of the higher end machines?

I don't think LG are especially clever with longevity either. Our neighbours LG lasted about 2 years before packing up & bein replaced, but i really dont know as much about LG as Zanussi so i could be wrong on LG.

If it was me, id probably get the AEG repaired, save for a Miele or buy the cheapest possible Zanussi Jetsystem & suffer the slightly higher noise level. I think the extra money you spend on an inverter model will be wasted by the fact that the electronics may give up long before the motor.

Or try and find a second hand AEG/Zanussi from the last of the Jetsystem XC range, which seem the last of the very well built Zanussis.

 

[aeg03]

Thanks for the advise FL1012.

I will stay with the AEG for the time being as its a great machine apart from this noise. It only really affects the machine when doing small loads, the foam seems to make the machine make this horrible noise. It never used to do this, only started in 2008.

With regards to the choice, I really do like the LG range as its completely different from what we have had but at same time the Zanussi with Inverter motor seems silent. I know what you mean about the lastest generation sounding gritty and high pitched. Sometimes my AEG sounds like that but this varies, I think the extra sound insulation in AEG models helps whereas Zanussi's dont have these foam panals in them and the bottom is not enclosed on the Zanussi like AEG.

I have a feeling if we ever went for Zanussi, we will not have any trouble with it - just a feeling I have lol

Check out the sound on vid below

 

[bertrum]

Yes it is worth getting it repaired. Fitting a new recirculation pump is not a majour repair. Shame to get rid of the machine for a fault like this.