So did I ever tell you about my trip to Japan in '97?
Panasonic:USA :: National:Japan
- Thread starter bajaespuma
- Start date
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I have the whole catalogue scanned if anyone is interested. and if anyone can read Japanese. I have catalogues for their diswashers and refrigerators too(cool stuff). Does Panasonic market a Front Loader here yet?
jasonl
New member
Caption the Japanese girl
OHHH What beeg washa!
Panasonic always had some unusual designs up their sleeve. Their televisions are wonderful. Made in Japan, and nowadays that's a good thing.
That washer looks fun. The impeller is also the recirc pump. So whenever it spins, water shoots out at the clothes.
OHHH What beeg washa!
Panasonic always had some unusual designs up their sleeve. Their televisions are wonderful. Made in Japan, and nowadays that's a good thing.
That washer looks fun. The impeller is also the recirc pump. So whenever it spins, water shoots out at the clothes.
I don't read Japanese, but from the diagram above, it looks like you can buy a Suds Saver model.
From my days working for a Japanese firm; they consider about 100 yen per dollar to do a quick-and-dirty currency translation
So to figure prices, just move the decimal point two places to the left.
liguistics:
Ima nanji desu-ka (What time is it?)
Anata-no den-wa bango nan-ban desu-ka? (What is your phone number? )
Ikimasu (let's go!)
So to figure prices, just move the decimal point two places to the left.
liguistics:
Ima nanji desu-ka (What time is it?)
Anata-no den-wa bango nan-ban desu-ka? (What is your phone number? )
Ikimasu (let's go!)
Japanese Yen to U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate Forecast
Current Forecast of Japanese Yen to US Dollar Exchange Rate with Chart of JPY/USD and Historical Data.
www.forecasts.org
Caption the Japanese girl:
I rike motion in ocean. Rery good. Make me geel good.
I rike motion in ocean. Rery good. Make me geel good.
kirk280980
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 172
Re: suds savers on Japanese machines, I read an article about this online a while back, which was collaborated by a Japanese work colleague when I asked her about it. In short, there is indeed a facility to recycle water, but it isn't from a previous load of laundry. Believe it or not, that's used bathwater being siphoned back into the washer.
Now, before the cries of "Eeeeewwwww!" begin, in Japan it is quite normal to take a shower first in order to cleanse one's body, and then follow this up with a soak in the bath solely for relaxation purposes. You're then left with a tub full of warm water that is still pretty clean, and rather than waste it by pulling the plug, it gets another go in the washing machine first.
With Japanese homes being on the smaller side, washers are often located in the bathroom. So it's a simple matter of dunking the hose (which has a small submersible pump fitted to the end) into the bathtub, and allow it to draw up water as needed when the machine fills. Although many of us would probably have some reservations about this whole idea, I have to admit that it does sound ingenious, and I can see the reasoning behind it.
Now, before the cries of "Eeeeewwwww!" begin, in Japan it is quite normal to take a shower first in order to cleanse one's body, and then follow this up with a soak in the bath solely for relaxation purposes. You're then left with a tub full of warm water that is still pretty clean, and rather than waste it by pulling the plug, it gets another go in the washing machine first.
With Japanese homes being on the smaller side, washers are often located in the bathroom. So it's a simple matter of dunking the hose (which has a small submersible pump fitted to the end) into the bathtub, and allow it to draw up water as needed when the machine fills. Although many of us would probably have some reservations about this whole idea, I have to admit that it does sound ingenious, and I can see the reasoning behind it.
Ruv you rong time!
jasonl
New member
Oh me so hawny
I like taking a sh-bath. I take a shower like normal, but as I'm showering, the stopper is on the tub so it's filling all the while.
I like taking a sh-bath. I take a shower like normal, but as I'm showering, the stopper is on the tub so it's filling all the while.
westytoploader
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2004
- Messages
- 4,485
Very interesting machine!!! Looks a lot like the Haier that bpetersxx made videos of, especially with those water channels in the tub. I didn't know the wash impeller also pumped the water, but it does make sense now...I'm willing to bet that the Haier works the same way.
And that bath/wash water gives a whole new meaning to "suds saver"! I saw a picture of either a Chinese or Japanese bathroom with a small washer in it as well, and the Eastern-style "squatter" toilet doubled as the drain for the washer, but also as the shower drain! Imagine that, ewwwww...
And that bath/wash water gives a whole new meaning to "suds saver"! I saw a picture of either a Chinese or Japanese bathroom with a small washer in it as well, and the Eastern-style "squatter" toilet doubled as the drain for the washer, but also as the shower drain! Imagine that, ewwwww...
jasonl
New member
It all goes down the same hole so why not? I'm sure there are p-traps to keep sh*t from coming back up.
Here we go talking about toilets again.
Here we go talking about toilets again.
I was in Japan in '96, working at a facility owned by National (Matsushita). So there were plenty of National branded electrics around, including a laundry room they built just for us American engineers. At the time I didn't pay much attention to the washers. I noticed that they didn't have an agitator, but that a small load seemed to be getting immersed and turned over just fine.
jasonl
New member
Using bath water to wash
That would work unless...
Naughty Chinese boy take extra rong bath and reaves something behind in the wata. Naughty naughty rittle boy.
That would work unless...
Naughty Chinese boy take extra rong bath and reaves something behind in the wata. Naughty naughty rittle boy.
Designgeek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 865
Yes, Panasonic has front-loaders, including one from a couple of years ago that has an inclined-axis drum and some very clever energy-saving features I can't recall the details of at the moment. They also make twin-tubs with a timed pre-soak feature. None of these are marketed in the US yet. I have good connections with Panasonic so one of these days I'm going to send them a marketing case for bringing these products into the US.
That unit with the waterfall feature is the same form-factor as the standard Japanese washer, plus the clever design with the impeller. Notice that the impeller has shallower ridges than your typical pulsator; probably because it spins faster (for the pumping action on the underside).
Re. Japanese plumbing & water conservation: If you've already washed your body thoroughly (and I do mean thoroughly!, as in, wash between your toes and don't forget your bottom either!) in the shower, and let that water drain out, and are taking a bath purely for relaxation, the water in the tub will be quite clean enough for washing your own clothes and possibly your partner's. The obvious exception of course is if a person has a contagious illness, in which case one can't be too careful.
Note also, the rinse cycle will be using fresh tap water, so by the time you're done, anything that might have snuck in from the bath has been suspended in detergents and then flushed out.
What you don't want to do is recycle used water from the washer into the bath. You don't want to bathe in water that might have some detergent residue left in it, because it could be an irritant to sensitive skin areas.
However, you can use the water from final rinse as wash water for the next load, this is entirely sanitary and is common in Australia due to the necessity of serious water shortages. So you could save that water in a tank, and then put the suction hose into the tank for the next load.
Also, when you're going to take a shower or bath (or run the dishwasher for that matter), save the "purge water" (the cold before the hot comes up, typically 3 - 5 gallons) in a tank for a few days, and then use that as your water source when you have enough for a load of laundry. Zero waste, and the water is fresh from the tap.
Re. the Japanese squat-toilet, the case could be made that it's more sanitary than the USA version because you don't sit on a seat that could collect germs from water droplets during the flush. Also the squatting position is supposed to put your lower body into a more correct configuration to poop, vs. sitting down. (The opposite case is the "disabled access" American toilet that's higher off the ground, to the point where sometimes your feet are off the ground. You do not want to poop with your feet off the ground; that can lead to all kinds of problems...)
Generally, Japanese culture is if anything *more* concerned with sanitation & hygiene than US culture, due to the necessities of public health in ultra-high-density urban environments.
That unit with the waterfall feature is the same form-factor as the standard Japanese washer, plus the clever design with the impeller. Notice that the impeller has shallower ridges than your typical pulsator; probably because it spins faster (for the pumping action on the underside).
Re. Japanese plumbing & water conservation: If you've already washed your body thoroughly (and I do mean thoroughly!, as in, wash between your toes and don't forget your bottom either!) in the shower, and let that water drain out, and are taking a bath purely for relaxation, the water in the tub will be quite clean enough for washing your own clothes and possibly your partner's. The obvious exception of course is if a person has a contagious illness, in which case one can't be too careful.
Note also, the rinse cycle will be using fresh tap water, so by the time you're done, anything that might have snuck in from the bath has been suspended in detergents and then flushed out.
What you don't want to do is recycle used water from the washer into the bath. You don't want to bathe in water that might have some detergent residue left in it, because it could be an irritant to sensitive skin areas.
However, you can use the water from final rinse as wash water for the next load, this is entirely sanitary and is common in Australia due to the necessity of serious water shortages. So you could save that water in a tank, and then put the suction hose into the tank for the next load.
Also, when you're going to take a shower or bath (or run the dishwasher for that matter), save the "purge water" (the cold before the hot comes up, typically 3 - 5 gallons) in a tank for a few days, and then use that as your water source when you have enough for a load of laundry. Zero waste, and the water is fresh from the tap.
Re. the Japanese squat-toilet, the case could be made that it's more sanitary than the USA version because you don't sit on a seat that could collect germs from water droplets during the flush. Also the squatting position is supposed to put your lower body into a more correct configuration to poop, vs. sitting down. (The opposite case is the "disabled access" American toilet that's higher off the ground, to the point where sometimes your feet are off the ground. You do not want to poop with your feet off the ground; that can lead to all kinds of problems...)
Generally, Japanese culture is if anything *more* concerned with sanitation & hygiene than US culture, due to the necessities of public health in ultra-high-density urban environments.
Yes, and let's remember that the Japanese were taking at least one bath a day way before our Western ancestors did it more than once a season. Here's some more pages from that catalogue, speaking of their front loader model:
and,
I have no idea what any of this means but, boy, their brochures sure are pretty:
If anyone's interested, I have one of their brochures for Dishwashers(very cool designs & I need a dishwasher that has special racks for chopsticks!) and another one for Refrigerators( featuring in-the-floor models like the ones they make here for fancy boats). Let me know if you're interested.
Speaking of bathrooms, I really got to like the type of combined tub/shower I found in several Japanese hotel bathrooms. The tub itself was short, but with very high walls. Basically, a full size adult could sit in one and have the water come up to chest level, overing one's knees as well. Probably about two feet deep or more before the water level would hit the overflow. Not like the piddling 10 inches or so with American style tubs. Great for a good hot soak. The water pressure would also be very good, with ample hot water, so that filling the tub after taking a shower wouldn't take very long.
I looked for this type of tub in the US when I got back, but while they are available, the pricing is rather steep. I have seen custom tubs advertised on TV, though, with deep sides and sealed doors that open to let mobility impaired seniors in and out more easily. Those no doubt are even more expensive.
I looked for this type of tub in the US when I got back, but while they are available, the pricing is rather steep. I have seen custom tubs advertised on TV, though, with deep sides and sealed doors that open to let mobility impaired seniors in and out more easily. Those no doubt are even more expensive.
