Unbalanced problem on Zanussi

[aeg03]

Hi All,

I need some advice. As some of you are aware, I purchased a Zanussi ZWG7160p recently. I have a concern about it and not sure if its something thats worth an engineer out for.

I have noticed recently on all the occasions I have done a wash in this machine that it appears to have a problem balancing loads. It takes ages and ages to balance and sometimes its missing out spins as well which I wonder if this will affect the rinse performance. I did a load last night and the machine actually took 4 hours to complete as it had difficulty balancing everytime. This machine is only a few weeks old, its a shame if I have to call out an engineer so early on and I wonder if there could possibly be a fault with the balancing system as I thought it was all integrated into the programming of the machine. The other thing is that I may get charged if they find its 'normal' operation of the out of balance system.

 

[dyson2drums]

Hey

Sorry to hear you're having problems with the Zanussi.

I'd reccomend giving them a call and explaining the situation and stating it took 4 hours, which is pretty long for one wash

Hope it gets sorted

 

[nrones]

Try to keep it on the phone

I don't know if you have a free Service line for Zanussi, but try to solve problem on the phone, which will also help you see if they are more likely to check the machine, or charge you for calling for "normal"...

But knowing what Services doo, I am almost 100% sure that any issue with balancing (no matter if lasting 4 8 or 12 hours) will be pronounced as normal

And one more quetion
It took 4 hours, but what was the original timing of programme? I mean how much more time was used with balancing problems?

Dex

 

[aquarius1984]

Perhaps you had just bads luck? Just glanced back at your posts in the archives and you documents quite clearly that your AEG, Indesit and now the Zanussi all have these "Balancing Issues". I find it odd, that 3 machines all suffer so might I suggest its not the machines and something to do with your floor. Id go with it being uneven and your not adjusting the legs properly.

Failing that your either being too picky, and I would suggest scrapping a household machine and just taking your washing to the local Launderette.

 

[electron1100]

BALANCING DONT ASK

Try my Hotpoint aqualtis is often aborts spins on the rinse and final spin cycle, bedding is its nemesis it just balls it up in the wash cycle.........it will make 15 attempts to balance and if it cant it aborts (crockashite) must be beacause of the delicate lightweight bearings in there.

Oh and another thing, on its final spin which is oocasionally nicely balanced it stops middish point and tumbles the clothes around for aminute and then goes into the final stage of the spin (nothing unusual about that) BUT in re-distributing the clothes they are often not balanced and it it either aborts or does a noisy and out of balance spin at best...............the balnce/spin programming on this machine is SHITE!

Good luck

Though Rob does have a point about uneven floors these poor modern machines just cant cope with them

 

[aeg03]

nrones,

The machine should take 2 hours and 18 mins normally but its just going on and on. I'll give Zanussi a call to see what they say but like you say, they will probably say its normal. The average person would just load the machine and leave it to do its work so I will have to do this and if I have to go out then I'll pause the machine until I get back as I don't like to leave machines running without being in just in case something happens, can never be too careful.

electron,

Ive seen a couple of these on Youtube, must be well frustrating. The newer versions are much better now so at least they have imroved them.

 

[bertrum]

Hi AEG03,

Sorry to say all modern machines now have sensitive out of balance load sensors that opperate from the rise and fall of the drum as detected through the motor tacho.

These modern machines will not spin unless the clothes pin to the outside of the drum.
As Rob says the key is to redistribute and to put more clothes in (believe it or not) as a small load is more likely to become unbalanced during the spin and less likely to pin to the drum.
With a small load the clothes have a tumbling effect on spin and cause the dreaded 'out of balance'.

Hope that helps

 

[aeg03]

Hello bertrum,

Thanx for your response. I should have mentioned in my post that the problem is occuring with both a full load of washing and with half loads as well. I will just have to put up with it for the time being as the main thing is that it works, even if its taking 4 hours or so to complete the cycle.

 

[haxisfan]

They're not all that sensitive...

'Aeg03' I understand it might be frustrating to have to wait longer for your laundry to be done, but at least you're not going to experience any nerve-wracking thumping and banging like you would with some other machines. To top it all off, your machine should theoretically last longer... at least mechanically! As for the fact that big loads lessen the chance of an unbalanced load, this is not always true, it all depends on the composition of the load itself… e.g. you might have a drum stuffed with lots of small items together with 1 bulky heavy item, well, that is the kind of scenario in which the machine will struggle to redistribute the heavy item as the required room is taken up by the small items.

'Bertrum' I can't share your view about all modern machines having sensitive out of balance load sensors (strictly motor tacho) as some aren't sensitive enough... or even if they are to begin with, they’re programmed to override this control after a number of failed attempts and you can very well finish up with an out of balance load much worse than a machine without balance control can ever produce… resulting in uncontrolled gut-shaking! I’ve always noticed Hotpoint to be particularly sensitive whereas Indesit aren’t sensitive enough.

The most recent Hoover and Candy don’t seem to be particularly sensitive either, but they’ve got other means for dealing with this occurrence and some of them have proved to be quite effective (such as slow spin and high water level rinse). My older, but still relatively modern Hoover might perhaps be a little too sensitive when it comes to a final long spin... but its sensitiveness lessens after every attempt and if it can’t balance the load successfully, it reduces the spin speed and stops faffing about for hours on end. This method is still acceptable as the machine still returns well wrung out clothes due to the length of the final spin cycle even if it's carried out at a reduced speed. It’s supposed to cancel the spin sequence if a smidgen of balance can’t be reached, but in all honesty… it’s done that only once (or perhaps twice) in over 7 years of use!

 

[bertrum]

Hi Haxisfan,

Yes all modern front loaders have sensitive out of load sensors, after a set amount of time they often abort the spin and the customer often complains of long washes and clothes coming out wet.

Interesting that you say Hotpoint are sensitive and Indesit are not sensitive enough as Im sure as you know they now have the same electronics.

 

[haxisfan]

@ Bertrum

Hi and thanks for getting back to me.

I'm sure you right about saying that customers often complains of long washes and clothes coming out wet... I agree, this seems to be a recurrent affliction of modern washers, but perhaps the word 'many' or even 'most' rather than 'ALL' in your statement, would have sounded a little less generic.

About Hotpoint and Indesit sharing the same electronics... yes... that's right, but such electronic components can easily be programmed in different ways: it's a bit like having two identical laptops and installing 2 different operating systems on them (this example is probably a little extreme but I'm sure you know what I mean).

Most of the Indesit I've seen... except for some TOL models for some strange reason, are anything but sensitive to unbalanced loads: I've experienced it first hand and I clearly remember very little balancing issues and lots of thumping! By contrast, there are many videos of Hotpoint washers on the net where you can see balancing attempts galore from them.

Well, enough said... but I'm still convinced: 'many'... but not 'all'!

Bye now

 

[aeg03]

Haxisfan, thanks for the advice,, great info as always

I'm going to load less in the machine from now on so hopefully the machine will have an easier time balancing the load, hopefully. This machine reminds me of my ex's BUSH 2010 washer that used to spend ages and ages.

With ref to the Indesit, the balance control was fine, the only thing is that it used to shake a lot but this was cured by placing cushions on the top and sides. The AEG didn't seem to have much of balance control and used to thump and bang but it was well built which is why the machine is fine mechanically and I'm hoping to sell to someone who can repair it themselves.

Had a look at Washerhelp and it's great, read lots of comments regarding modern machines and balancing issues, seems common now. Some machines are more sensitive than others, as you say it results in less thumps and noises. The Zani is nice and stable even on full 1600rpm.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I've noticed that the loads that get out of balance in my Panasonic, are the ones that have jeans, or towels, or a combination of them. Sometimes, the spin is held at a lower speed than the selected 1600rpm.

If the load is still particularly damp, I rearrange the load/shake them out and re-spin. Usually works fine the second time.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Interesting stuff

It can be very frustrating to watch a "Perfect" interim spin and then on final spin the machine does nothing but distribute....again its all down to a few variables - or it should, be but is it?? Sometimes youve gotten more chance of finding the "God Particle" than a final perfect spin sequence.... But heres a few pointers:

Stable Floor and Level Machine:
If you have a wooden suspended floor then make sure its secure (more battons & screwed down rather tha nails) , better still use a cement flag or a metal plate epoxyed to floor.

By a Machine with capacity to suit your needs:
Its no use buying a large capacity machine for the once a year scenario when its full, the drum needs to be 3/4 to full capacity to operate and spin efficiently...

Capacity Loading to suit The drum:
Most drums have three segments or chambers between the baffles, load accordingly, these chambers have to have equal weight / load distribution for spin perfection, so load on size multiples of threes, 1 bathrobe & a few shirts isnt going to cut it, 2 robes and an equal weight of towels is better...

Programming:
The next one is out of our control unless we give enough feedback for change to the manufacturers, many machines / makes do have similar parts, motors circuit boards etc...BUT those can and do operate differently (even same brand) because its all down to the programming!!

Still Unbalanced:
If you still cant stick the washer not spinning then only choice is buying a better built machine with robust stabalisation & fuzzy logic programming, which does come at a dearer price...

 

[ronhic]

I can only echo Mike there.

Buy a machine where you will use most of it's capacity most of the time. Buying huge because you want to wash a comforter every 6 months just leaves you open to problems.

 

[aeg03]

I agree Mike. Theres a reason for everything. Large capacity machines which utilize the same diameter shell need to be stable on the start/end of spins to prevent damage. The 6kg Zanussi I have certainly needs to be balanced on its 1600rpm as it would probably be very loud indeed. Thanks.

 

[spinspeed]

It does seem the newer machines have trouble with balancing. I guess with the faster speeds and biger loads it is important that the load is balanced otherwise excessive vibration could lead to wear and tear and a shorter working life. There was a thread a while ago where a Whirlpool Bravo TL destroyed it self during an unbalanced spin, frightening!

My Zanussi IZ which has the slanted drum rarely has a problem. It always seems to be well balanced and copes with a 1600 spin really well, even with a small load. It also does this cool thing from time to time where it breaks in to a short spin during the rinse when the machine is full of water. Makes quite a lot of noise when it does that, it is quite dramatic.
Simon

 

[aeg03]

Spinseed yeah thats the 'SpinRinse'. Our old AEG used to do that. But its gone now as the pcb was failing and it was 9 years old. Someone purchased it the other day, they will take out the PCB from their broken AEG and put it into the one they got from us, I'm sure the machine will work for a bit longer. Its a shame they dont make them like the IZ anymore.

Link below to the Spin Rinse.

 

[aeg03]

Oops, I was meant 'Spinspeed' Apologies for the typo.