Out with the old, in with the not-so-old...

[fl1012]

Did you give it a try Alex?

Or did you not get chance to sneak round whilst the parents were away?!

I stayed quiet till now as i don't have much positive to say about modern Hoover machines! I want to like them, and i do think the Vision HD's have a certain quirky appeal to them, but the longevity of them seems to be questionable at best, with bearings, electronics and motors failing quite often.

Im not a big modern Hotpoint fan either, but whilst you see alot of broken Hotpoints for sale on eBay etc, i do also think they still sell in massive numbers so youre bound to have failures. Unfortunately with Hoover, they don't seem to sell anywhere near as much as Hotpoint, but you still see a similar proportion for sale as spares/repair, so im guessing the quality could be worse than Hotpoint, which is a shame.

The whole corregated metal panel that you have to fit underneath is a joke aswell. It should either be done at the factory or not bothered with. Expecting untrained owners to start tilting heavy machines to fit these panels is asking for trouble in my opinion. And probably causes alot of machines to be damaged as soon as they arrive with the customer.

Hopefully with your parents new machine, i'll be proved totally wrong!

Liam.

 

[superelectronic]

Future project?

Alas, Liam, I did not get to trying out the new Hoover last weekend. The combination of an unplanned heavy Friday night (with the usual consequences) and dodgy weather made the prospect of hauling a suitcase of washing across London and out to the sticks seem less than appealing! I'll have to make it a project for a later date...due to visit in a fortnight but this won't necessarily coincide with washday. Ho hum!

I did get to see the maiden load on the day I collected the Hotpoint but only the wash action on a 40C synthetics programme. It was certainly thorough! Still washing after a good 45 mins, seemed to heat up properly (so not underheating) and clothes moved well. If you've watched videos of the Hoover Nextra machines on YouTube there are similarities in the speed control - bit too fast to start, drop and stabilise rhythm - but maybe quieter. Apparently it took about 90 mins. Mum said the 60C cotton towel load went on "forever" and she's since been using the 44min wash for most things. I'm definitely intrigued and want to find out, for example, if the short washes + sensitive care = thorough but not too long washes.

Pleased to report the pump was quite quiet.

The somewhat chequered reputation for reliability is, of course, a cause for concern with this machine. For starters, I'm hoping it doesn't suffer with the dodgy disintegrating door gasket some of the Visions have had. The electrics and bearings issues are just par for the course a bit down the line for any mid-range machine these days. It probably won't get too much of a hammering washing for a retired couple - 2 cycles a week plus the specials (towels, bath mats, curtains and the like) and I suspect won't see the 1600 spin regularly. In the meantime, I might fish out the rosary beads and holy water: I'm not religious but anything's worth a shot!

Personally I'd be more than happy to own a Hoover, knowing what I might get myself into and possibly getting the extended warranty! Just not so sure I'd be happy to recommend one...

In the grand scheme of things, we've had such good service from the Hotpoint that if the Optima does turn out to be a turkey, I will move that we chalk it up to experience (and possibly source the replacement personally in the role of generous and dutiful son, as I had half-planned to do already).

If we can all channel some positive energy the way of the Hoover I'd be grateful... ;-)

Thanks

Alex