The FL1012 is plumbed in & sounding abit rough :S

[fl1012]

Finally managed to get Mums 20 month old Zanussi Essential into the garage and brough my FL1012 into the utility room to give it some use as it'd been stood since March.

So far it's done 3 washes:

1 x Fast Coloureds Heavy Soil (with prewash)
2 x Non fast Coloureds

It completes a 40 degree cotton cycle in an hour - Mum was well happy - the Essential take 2 hours as we have to leave 'Extra Rinse' on permanently, due to the hopelessly small amount of water it uses!

However, I have encountered a few noises from the FL1012 that im abit concerned about, so am asking for advice!

1. The pump was always abit noisy but it drains quicker than our new Zanussi. However, today it let out a nasty screech on wash number two, me & Mum thought it was about to die, but now it's gone back to normal. Im guessing it'll need a new pump before long. Any thoughts guys?

2. Also, the machine sounds quite rough for the first 5 mins of each cycle (even if i put one cycle on straight after another has finished) then it quietens down. Its like a second long gritty drone as the drum starts to rotate. Strange thing is, its as quiet as a mouse after the first 5 mins. It never did this before it went into storage.

Finally, on the intermediate spins between rinses, it squeaks whilst spinning. This is worst when the machine is unbalanced and although its always done it, it now seems louder & is sometimes accompanied by a metallic tapping, which quietens if i hold either side of the machine. This tapping is only apparant on slow spin (around 500rpm) and doesnt occur all the time. Once it speeds up to 1000rpm it's much smoother with no odd noises.

Its quite strange because most of the time it sounds briliant but then all of a sudden it sounds like it's about to take the Utility Room down. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar with this type of machine or another old Zanussi, and what the cause might be, etc.

Thanks alot in advance,

Liam

 

[servisslimline]

answer

for problem 2, the belt could be about to brake, it happened on my zanussi fla1002w, it made a grinding kind of sound at the beginning of every turn but went away when up to wash speed, then as we had only had the machine for about 3-4 months, the belt broke and we had to put our old hotpoint 9534 on, and we still have it working because we only just fixed the zanussi about 1 month or so ago and havent had time to change the machines over

 

[fl1012]

Thanks servisslimline, i will have a hunt on Ebay for a new belt for it, just incase. I can't imagine they cost alot so no harm getting one regardless. I know it's never had anything replaced and must be 20 years old now. If it carries on as it is, i'll leave it plumbed in for a couple of weeks & then swap back to the Essential. Once ove got the FL1012 out, i'll take the back off and have a look.

Will it do damage if the belt goes? It's not like a cambelt on a car, where the snapping means 'bye bye'?

 

[servisslimline]

well...

it is actually, if you leave the belt on without noticing then it will end up bieng ripped to very thin shreads as it would have got weak, it happened to my zanussi, and we took an hour getting all the thin strips of the belt out from where it was caught to the motor and pulley

 

[fl1012]

Nasty.....

Is there a simple way to eliminate the belt? Im guessing it should feel rubbery, not feel brittle?

 

[hotpoint9534]

Hi Liam, I'll try to work my way through the problems.

1. With regards to the pump, it could be wearing out, alternatively, there might have been an obstruction which has now cleared. Have you cleaned out the drain filter lately?

2. Does it sound rough when you spin the drum by hand? It could be the belt, the bearings or motor. The way to eliminate is to disconnect the belt, spin the drum and then spin the motor pulley to see if either make the noise. If neither do, it is the belt causing the trouble.

3. The squeaking has occured on all the FL1012 machines I've used (about 4) and is to do the suspension. The type of suspension used on this machine is a friction damper (different from later Zanussis) and rarely goes wrong. The squeak is nothing to worry about and occurs on my ZFL1023 (same era as FL1012 but jetsystem) when it is out of balance.

Hope that is of some help,

Tom.

 

[fl1012]

Hi Tom

Thanks so much, that's really helpful

I'll respond with numbers next to each problem/observation to make it easier to follow.

1. The drain filter was cleaned about a month ago, whilst it was in storage - i also drained all the water from the filter housing, which im also thinking could have caused the noise, where the pump has got excessively dry? Ive checked the filter again tonight after the 3 washes and it's completely clean.

2. There's no noise at all when i spin the drum by hand in either direction. There is slightly more movement up and down when one agitator is at the top of the drum, but even then the drum only moves by about 5mm, which im guessing is reasonable? I will try the other pointers youve given me aswell, though i might wait till the weekend to see if it settles down as it was moved around alot today as i was struggling to get it level in the utility room.

3. That's a relief! I thought i could hear a similar squeak on some YouTube videos ive watched of similar machines, but it just sounded louder today than before, and when the squeak was at its loudest this metallic tapping started, which made we worry a little. It does definately vary depending on the load type, balance etc, and sometimes doesnt do it at all, so i'll put my mind at rest now youve said it's normal!

Thanks once again, great help.

Liam

 

[hotpoint9534]

Hi Liam, glad I could be of some help!

I'll respond where I can.

1. It's entirely possible that the pump has got excessively dry. As long as the pump doesn't become noisy or starts leaking I wouldn't think it was too much to worry about.

2. As long as the bearings are silent, the slight movement shouldn't indicate a problem. Bearings tend to be a constant rumbling noise as well, not intermittent. Once you've checked the belt, the only other thing I can think of is to check the carbon brushes on the motor. If they've never been changed on a machine of this age they are likely to be wearing thin.

On a related note to your machine I've found the timer chart and exploded diagrams for the FL1012. You may find them of use or interest. Have a look at the links below.

Tom.

http://www.electrolux-ti.com/Diagrams/U0000/C06/272EN.PDF

 

[matchboxpaul]

How do Liam.

Glad that Tom is able to help - hope your superb Jetsystem and 9191T are giving good service.

Read the thread, but i am all about visuals and history - the mechanical side i leave to other more knowledgeable people.

You mentioning the FL1012 made me think about mine and Rob's WD1012 and about getting it out for a play. Then i remembered how god damn, bloody heavy it is!!! Will have to wait till a more permanent home is found before plugging that old bird in again.

Great machines - well engineered - the Appliance of Science - but heavy.

Paul
p.s the wd1012 was bought from the local scrapman, who lives down the road from rob's place. spied it on his truck, waiting to be tipped off onto the weighing-in ramp. rob then went about asking people who the truck belonged to. truck identified, house identified , bloke identified and he even delivered it to the door - thank god!

 

[hotpoint9534]

Exploded views for FL1012

In the link below.

http://www.electrolux-ti.com/Views/U0P09/343.PDF

 

[hotpoint9534]

FL1012 vs. WD1012

Hi Paul, the WD1012 is without doubt heavier than the FL1012. All the equipment plus the weight of the induction motor must make it even worse than my Jetsystem to move about! The Hotpoint 9534 is much lighter in comparison.

Interesting that the FL1012 used a brush motor, but the WD1012 used an induction. I wonder...

I think my Z9191T needs a new capacitor but that's for another thread!

Tom.

 

[fl1012]

Tom, thanks for those diagrams - the amount of work that mustve gone into them is crazy! I love how one of them tells you what sort of rotations the machine should be doing at the various stages!

With regard to the problems/observations:

1. The pump is pretty loud to me, but i'll try to explain how loud so you can judge if this is the norm. When the machine is distributing, you can only hear the pump running, you can't hear the motor etc. When the machine spins at 500rpm, you can begin to hear the motor, but most of the noise is from the pump and the squeaking (when it occurs). The only time the pump fades into the background is when it ramps up to 1000rpm - to be honest the machine sounds at its best at this speed!

2. Definately no rumbling, when the machine is washing, the primary noise is the clothes hitting the water, and the motor whiring away in the background comes next (except for the first 5 mins when it makes that strange noise i described earlier). So i think it's safe to say the bearings are probably ok, but it is on its original brushes i believe, so maybe i should get these changed. I won't attempt that job tho!

Thanks once again for the diagrams

Paul

Your WD1012 is my machines big bro It looks immaculate - did it need a good clean up? That was a lucky find - why the hell do people chuck decent stuff away i wonder?

They are bloody heavy - i was sweating like Michael Jackson in a Kindergarten after shifting the Essential into the garage and the FL1012 into the utility - did it by myself ya see! Im gonna have to get a sack truck to move them i think, so i don't bang the machines about amongst other reasons.

You may also be able to help with the loudness of my pump Paul *thinks there's probably a rude joke somewhere in there but not sure* - how loud is your 1012 pump? Does your machine suffer the symptoms mine does?

Ive got my eye on an Ecologic on Ebay, and an Electra badged version of the Servis Quartz - im getting hooked - noooooo! ;-)

Thanks for the advice & comments guys,

Liam

 

[fl1012]

Stop Press

I forgot to add that the noisiness of the pump is once the water has all been drained from the drum, whilst the pump is actually pumping water, it's as quiet as any other machine ive used.

 

[matchboxpaul]

Hi Liam.

yep - we were quite pleased with the way it brushed up. apart from a dent on the front at the bottom, which runs from the bottom left hand corner of the filter door to the base of the machine in the middle, its in fine visual condition.

The odd rust spot that there was just rubbed away, with work.

Inside, if i remember rightly, its rustless.

Now to the issue! It has a hole in the outer drum. I never saw the hole, as rob did the temporary repair to it, but either something came out from the inside and wrote it off OR, rather more distressingly, it was holed from the outside in, on purpose, specifically to write it off.

the hole has been resealed, but will obviously require checking each time it is used with water.

Other than that issue it performs very well indeed. Its very quiet with, as Tom mentioned, it having an induction motor.

Now I cant tell you how loud the pump is/was, as i havent heard it for must be getting on for a year now. All i can say is that, when it was running, it never made me say to myself 'oooh, the machine has a loud pump'. All i can assume is that it was of a realistic noise level.
We never got vids of the machine unfortunately, as it was pre a decent digital camera so, back then we didnt really bother with making vids.

real sorry that i cant offer any more help with it. Tom is the zanussi man and i bow to his expertese.

all i can suggest is, if possible, make a vid and post it on youtube.

NOW - why did you have to go and mention electra on ebay. I went and checked and found it and the blasted thing is about 20minute drive from me.
All I can say to you is 'go for it!'. It looks lovely. Not as stylish as the servis branded machines, but still smart.
Would the ecologic you mention be the AC152 ecologic 1250? I had never seen this version before - quite why they were AC numbered, I dont know. Perhaps they were last of the run of the old machines, so had to conform to the new numbering system.

Real words of warning to you now - the bug will hit you hard and, before you know it, you will have 5 machines. then 10. then 20, then...... then...... Its incredible how they just keep coming. Its a really great hobby - i just hope you have a BIG garage.lol.

Paul
p.s below is a picy of the WD1012, literally about 5 minutes after it was gently unloaded into robs backyard.

p.p.s do invest in decent a sack truck - they are a really useful tools in our rarified line of hobby. Just be careful of thresholds - they are a menace!

 

[matchboxpaul]

powder drawer area...

before:

 

[matchboxpaul]

powder drawer area...

after:

 

[fl1012]

That's a great shame if someone did punch a hole in the outer drum on purpose. Is it a plastic or metal tub on these machines? Ive not had the lid off mine yet! It's certainly scrubbed up well though - that little bit of rust under the powder draw seems to occur on all of them - mine is just the same.

No worries about the pump, something for you to listen for when you get her plumbed in in future!

About Ebay....

Yeah i ignored a Servis Quartz on Ebay a month or so ago as i didnt realise their significance, then when reading about the demise of Servis, i saw that it was the first microchip controlled machine available in the UK, so i was abit gutted as it was only 30 miles from me. Then when i saw the Electra my eyes lit up. Don't let me stop you bidding though Paul, i should really only get one of the two (The Ecologic or the Electra) as i'm living at home at the minute and can't take the p*ss too much!

The Ecologic is the AC152 yup. I don't know as much about Hoovers as i do Zanussis but i know theyre a solid machine and a good one to look after. It looks like it might get pricey though, as it's up to £30 the last time i checked.

Do you use msn by the way? Ive added you incase you do, i think we cud chat for hours lol

Liam

 

[newwave1]

Hey liam,
No point goin over old ground as everyone has given you great advice, as the owner of a WDT1061/a i can vouce for tom in that the suspension does make a little squeeky noise when spinning more so when out of balance! Not a problem though!

Darren

 

[fl1012]

Hey Darren

Yeh im happy that it's just a characteristic of the machine now everyone has told me lol. I think it was just coz of this tapping noise that i thought 'oh Christ, whats up with it'.

I like your WDT - there's a dark grey Turbodry similar to that on Ebay at the moment. I thought about it, but with limited space it's too similar to the FL1012 so i think i'll hang out for something like a Washcraft or original Jetsystem. Ive got my eye on an Electra & Hoover Ecologic anyway so i best calm down!

You have a couple of Zanussis then?

Liam