Unimac UYT025 Now With Heat!

[pulsator]

It was easy enough to figure out how to change the software to allow for heating. The slightly harder part was figuring out what parts I needed. It took a couple of batches of purchases and some parts shipped from the factory in Europe. So around 2 months. Then I sat down with my dad (electrical geek) and figured out how it’s supposed to be wired. (Which resulted in the second and third batches of parts ordering.) I finally got all the parts I needed and got the heater installed and wired up!

The machine already has slots in the tub/sump with big plugs screwed in sealing to a rubber gasket. After pulling the center plug (I only installed one element in on of the three available slots), I was able to confirm the presence of the spring clips at the back of the sump to hold the element securely in place!

After a little more force required than I expected, I got the heater seated in the spring clips then screwed it down against the rubber gasket. I pulled the left plug so I could check to see that the heater had seated properly.

I ran the wiring, secured everything, made the connections, and fired it up! Now I have 3,000W of glorious heating power at my command!

I have already begun making major cycle changes to best use the heater and I am LOVING IT!

 

[launderess]

My, my, my! You have been the busy little beaver

*LOL*

Congrats on taking your washer to the next level. You'll be doing boil washes soon with rest of us.

Three thousand watts of heating power is what my vintage Miele W1070 and many other older European washers offered. At least those from Germany one has seen. No doubt to cope with raising what could be bitterly cold tap water to near or at boil wash temperature rather quickly I suppose. Newer German AEG toplader isn't far short at 2800 watts of heating power.

IIRC Unimac has a 4000 watt/220v heating element as well.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Jamie that is so super cool!!! Like I made the Super Unimatic, you are now in the middle of creating the Super Unimac!!! Please keep us posted.

There are slots for 3 heating elements? You'd be boiling in no time!

 

[qsd-dan]

Is there a selection of heating temperatures and does the timer stall until the specified heat temp is reached?

 

[pulsator]

I am absolutely beside myself with excitement! The cleaning performance has blown away my expectations!

I may research a little more to see about swapping for the 4,000W element. It can take a bit to get up to 60°C (20 minutes is the longest so far) and keep in mind, while that is with a hot fill, that is also preceded by a 30°C prewash for all the high temp cycles I’ve created. I can’t go too crazy with the heating elements as I’m limited to 30amps. I’m not running yet another 240V circuit in my house. I already have 6 240V circuits and only 100A service lol.

The machine allows you to pause the cycle count down until the target temperature is reached. I have that feature on as reaching temp is important to me. I’ve somewhat countered the longer heat times by reducing the wash time to 2-4 minutes once temp is reached. 6 minutes for heavily soiled items like rags. But that usually works out to a main wash time of 15-25 minutes which seems a bit excessively rough in a commercial machine. I plan to experiment with gentler tumbling with longer pauses between directions (I use 40 RPM with either 8, 10, or 12 seconds of on time and 3 second pauses between).

As for temp selection, it’s whatever I type in. This machine is limited to 80°C and I doubt I have a need to go that high. 60°C is plenty for my purposes!

 

[gansky1]

 

 

That is a perfect upgrade, you'll have the cleanest wash on the block! (as if you didn't before

 

[launderess]

Hell luv!

One would use warm water (50/50 split) for pre-wash. Long as temps are below about 104F there's no worries about setting protein soils or most marks. This would aid in warming up washer and wash lessening bit of work on heater.

What temp are you using for water for main wash with heater? I'd go with tap hot at highest temp possible (140F, 160F....) To lessen work for machine to do in heating water electrically.

Heating power...

In Germany and other parts of Europe where winter weather is chilly to quite washers have long had and still have rated heating power between 3kw to nearly or at 5kw. This is more than adequate for heating even the most chilly tap water to hot or boil wash temps in about ten minutes or so for a 5kg capacity machine.



My older Miele W1070 as two (2) heating elements rated at 1.5kw each for total of 3Kw of heating power. OTOH newer AEG toplader clocks in at about 2.8kW of heating power for 5.5 rated capacity of wash.

On commercial/OPL side of things consider Miele "Little Giant" washers are rated for 3.8KW of heating power (total of 4Kw) using 2x 208v and 2x 20 amp connections. This for a washer capacity of 6.5kg (about 15 pounds).

IIRC Unimac UY025 has rated capacity of either 20 or 25 pounds on low end, so you can see where this is going...

Total wash cycle time of 20-25 minutes just for heating does sound excessive in a commercial washer/extractor. This when you consider if going after thermal disinfection of wash (such as for hospital linen) temp of at least 165 F must be held for 25 minutes.

If adding a second heating element is O-W-T - out, then upping your game to swapping out current element for 4Kw should provide more reasonable time frame for heating. That coupled with other bits such warm pre-wash/flushes and starting main wash with water hot as possible.

Ta!

L.[this post was last edited: 2/20/2025-14:54]

 

[Chetlaham]

Another 240 Volt Circuit

Good chance you can run another 240 volt circuit and no exceed the rating of the main disconnect or service conductors. If you want it enough it can be done.

 

[henene4]

Some corrections to Laundress

Washing machine heating elements actually got SIGNIFICANTLY smaller since the early 2000s.
Besides from Switzerland and outside the professional sector, you don't get more than 2.4kWh connected load anymore - basically everything is now 10A max.
On the other hand, many manufacturers actually downsized to the point some Candy/Hoover machines only had 1.35kWh connected load and could EASILY be run on 120V.
Main reason I guess is efficiency and literal size (main machines here now have super shallow drums with larger diameter).

On the professional site, the new Miele LiGis have the biggest heaters from what I know in that size category at 5kW.
ELux has more like 4.4kW.

 

[pulsator]

Looks like I’d need to get two 2,000W heating elements to get to 4,000W according to the parts diagrams I have for my machine. My machine is a rather odd depth. It’s the width of the 30lb capacity machine but the depth of the 20lb capacity machine and my machine is rated 25lbs. I will investigate switching to dual 2,000W elements. But if it requires changing the wiring, I’ll probably just stick with what I have haha.

The hot water supply to my machine is 135°F (57°C) and when doing hot washes (55°-65°C) I always do a tap hot fill. I have played with doing slightly warmer pre washes but if I go any high than 30°C, it will pause the prewash countdown to heat to whatever temp I have the prewash set to. Unfortunately, I don’t see a way to tell the machine to skip prewash heating but also maintain main wash heating. It’s either both pause the count down until the temp is reached or neither.

I have dialed down the wash action to account for longer washes that include heating delay. That seems to have helped quite a bit! But the wash times could still be shorter. 45 minutes is a bit too long for my taste but much better than most residential machines at this point!

 

[bajaespuma]

Aferim!

Wonderful skill and ingenuity. How did you achieve these talents?

 

 

 

[Chetlaham]

Me personally, if it helps, I like longer cycle times on front loads. 45 minutes are good! I like cold fills with the heater heating the wash to the desired temp. Usually between 140-180*F for cottons, 100*F for colors 72*F for delicates. I like the concept of EU detergents working in stages. 

 

Question- can you skip thermal holds while still having the heater run the entire wash duration? I personally like it not having thermal holds, instead I like it when the heating time is built into the cycle and thermally capped based on the fabric type.

 

 

What circuit do you have in there right now? I'd definitely go to 4,000 watts with a machine of that size and just run a 30 amp circuit. 

 

[launderess]

"I like longer cycle times on front loads. 45 minutes are good.."

True commercial/industrial h-axis washers are different beasts than domestic. They are designed for fast throughput so machines can have more turns per day. Mechanical action is far greater in such machines over domestic which according to Sinner's Circle means wash time can be reduced because of strong mechanical action.

Look inside a SQ, Unimac or whatever true commercial washing machine and you'll find beater bars about 1" to 2" or so deep. Those bars truly lift and slap laundry about. When fully and properly loaded one can feel and hear things being beaten about in SQ washers at local laundromat.

In commercial/industrial laundry world wash cycles are rarely more than 8-12 minutes. For heavily soiled wash besides short pre-flush there will be one, two or more suds baths as required but again cycles are short, between 8-12 minutes or so. Healthcare laundry which requires temps at or > 140F held for 20 minutes would use two baths at about 10 minutes each.

TLDR: Commercial/industrial washers can do in 30 to maybe 40 minutes or so from start to finish what takes domestic washer 90 or more minutes.

Keep in mind for commercial/industrial laundry it's also about chemicals which sometimes are rather aggressive.



post was last edited: 3/20/2025-20:23]

 

[launderess]

Speed Queen gets it, which is why their domestic front loaders have substantial lifter bars.



As one can see in video one benefit of substantial lifter bars is even with smaller (under load) washes things are still picked up and slapped about from 11-4 clock rotation. On some domestic and other front loaders with smaller bars such loads may simply roll about without proper lift and drop action. [this post was last edited: 3/20/2025-21:48]

 

[launderess]

Listen to the man...

He went from a 2 hour run time with older washers down to 40 minutes with Unimac.

 

[henene4]

The multiple suds bath isn't all that up to date.

Over here, you just scale heating power.
Further you reduce balancing time and rinsing time.
Add some VERY strong detergents. And depending on machine size multiple inlet valves (keep in kind if a single bath is 20gal plus, actual fill times suddenly become minutes).

And you end up with a 50min typical 140F cottons cycle on hot fill - regardless of load size.
About 25min of wash, something like 6-8min per rinse and spin, and maybe 10min for full very high speed spin.
With advanced designs even industrial machines go over the 1:10 fill ratio now despite having the same cycle times.

That does mean you can have washers with 20kW of heating or more.
But that's generally something industrial set ups can supply.

 

[servis-dream]

lets see what it can do with the whole 9000 hehe

if you have a circuit that can support it ofc, being 40 amps after all